24 Hours of SQL Server 2008

Audience:  Developer
Duration:  60 Minutes

In this webcast, we look at how Contoso LTD can increase methods of accessing data without the need for complex connections and filters on firewalls. We concentrate on Service Broker and ADO.NET Data Services in this session.

Presenter: Ron Cundiff, MSDN Developer Evangelist, Microsoft Corporation

Audience:  Developer
Duration:  60 Minutes

Throughout this webcast, we explore the new features in SQL Server 2008 that the developers are excited about and we focus on T-SQL improvements, such as MERGE, the Table Valued Parameters feature that lets data rows be passed as parameters to stored procedures, in addition to Date/Time, Intellisense, and multi server T_SQL.

Presenter: Ron Cundiff, MSDN Developer Evangelist, Microsoft Corporation

Audience:  Developer
Duration:  60 Minutes

In this webcast, we look at growth in unstructured data and options for its storage, access, security, and searching needs. Join this session as we look at the FILESTREAM attribute and Remote BLOB Store API features in SQL Server 2008 as potential solutions to this problem. We cover the differences from large unstructured data storage in Microsoft SQL Server 2005 and then explore the new SQL Server 2008 features in detail, while explaining how to implement them.

Presenter: Ron Cundiff, MSDN Developer Evangelist, Microsoft Corporation

Audience:  IT Professionals
Duration:  90 Minutes

In the next two webcasts of this series, we look at the management side of Microsoft SQL Server 2008 and focus on challenges that database administrators face. See how Contoso's business in the Far East has grown rapidly, and as such, their major operations at ports in Los Angeles, Tacoma, Rotterdam, and Tilbury have grown too. This has resulted in an increase in SQL Server deployments to handle the data required to deliver up-to-date information to sales teams and customers. Contoso is looking to SQL Server 2008 to assist in the management of this environment.   We cover topics including managing complex and high-value tasks, proactively monitoring and tuning system health, scaling management to multiple data centers, and gaining insight into historical trends and real-time activities.

Presenter: Bryan Von Axelson, Partner Solutions Advisor, Microsoft Corporation

Audience:  IT Professionals
Duration:  90 Minutes

In this webcast, we focus on the Policy-Based Management  (PBM) and its use to define policies that apply to servers, databases, and other objects in Contoso's data environment. This session is solely focused on PBM and covers the scope, definition, and deployment of policies.

Presenter: Bryan Von Axelson, Partner Solutions Advisor, Microsoft Corporation

Audience:  Developer
Duration:  90 Minutes

Contoso now wants to implement a mapping feature into its systems. It sees a number of benefits to this, from assisting in pickup and delivery of consignments by providing maps to the local transports teams, in addition to providing data on consignment locations to customers, and re-routing options for agents. Join us to learn how to use spatial data types within SQL Server to create these mapping features using Microsoft Virtual Earth.

Presenter: John Pelak, ISV Architect Evangelist, Microsoft Corporation

Audience:  IT Professionals
Duration:  90 Minutes

In this part of the Microsoft SQL Server 2008 series, we focus on IT professionals and the SQL Server 2008 the Trusted Platform. In the first part of the series we spent time looking at how Contoso was using SQL Server 2008 as a productivity platform. Now we change direction from developers and look at how Contoso's IT operations embraced the new and enhanced features to make sure that SQL Server 2008 was a trusted platform. The first two parts address security, which is a main theme for Contoso as they have large amounts of critical data that needs to be protected against both internal and external threats. Either data loss or compromise would be a nightmare scenario. In this session, we look at features such as surface area configuration policies, external key management, and Network Access Protection (NAP), and Windows BitLocker Drive Encryption, which Contoso could use to protect its data.

Presenter: Bryan Von Axelson, Partner Solutions Advisor, Microsoft Corporation