'tis the Season...

Mark your calendars! ... for Code Camps and other events that is.  Over the next three months there are several community-run events in Massachusetts and New Hampshire spanning developers and IT professionals.  Registration is open for all of these now; check out the specifics below and follow the links to sign up.

Data Camp v1.0 - Waltham, MA, Saturday January 24

It's all about the data! Today's applications are increasingly data-dependent, and whether you're a developer, DBA, or BI professional, you need to know how to work with a variety of data across a range of products. This free, full-day Code Camp-style event will feature three concurrent tracks to satisfy any tech professional who is interested in the latest and greatest tips and techniques for working with SQL Server 2005 and 2008, the Microsoft BI toolset, and all of the new .NET data access technologies--including LINQ and the Entity Framework.

Code Camp New Hampshire - Nashua, NH, Saturday, February 28

The New Hampshire event, held at Daniel Webster College, will feature a wide range of speakers on an even wider range of subjects.

With all of the material being delivered - Visual Studio 2008, SQL Server 2008, and new flavors of Windows - this will be your chance to get a look at some of the new technologies, to see what other local developers are doing these days, and to even present what you have learned to our local community.

Potential speakers, note:  we are open to a wide range of subjects, and since it is developer-to-developer forum, it will be a relaxed environment for any first-time speakers among you.

SQL Server 2008 Loadfest - Waltham, MA, Friday, March 27

Join us for this event and perform a hands-on installation of SQL Server 2008.

The session starts with a discussion of the different editions of SQL Server and where each might be appropriate. Before the installations there will be a discussion on preparation steps:

  • Server sizing
  • Preparing disks for SQL Server
  • Security preparation

During the install process you’ll receive step-by-step instruction and view live demonstrations. Several SQL Server experts will be on-hand to help with any issues that might arise.

The session will continue with post-installation steps to ready your SQL Server for production use, such as

  • Creating a backup strategy
  • Database maintenance, such as index-reorganization and DBCC
  • Managing database growth

Following the installation tasks, the day will continue with breakout sessions.

N.B. There are a limited number of tables for bringing in servers, so be sure to read the entire note on the registration site regarding reserving space.