David E. Myers' Blog ( www.DavidEMyers.com )

Windows 7 RTM Demo Machine

Earlier this month I presented a SQL Server Reporting Services session to the Ottawa SQL Server user group.  I was a bit hesitant to re-install my presentation machine to move from Windows 7 RC to RTM.  After all, I didn’t have a lot of time after Windows 7 RTM was released on MSDN before I needed to present.  I decided to bite the bullet and do it anyway.  It turned out to be a good move (hey, sometimes even I’m lucky :)

I was able to run my demos flawlessly using SQL Server 2008 SP1, running on a Windows Server 2008 SP2 virtual machine.  I ran everything from the VM in full screen mode (including the PowerPoint slides) using the release candidate of Windows Virtual PC on top of Windows 7 x64 Ultimate RTM.  The only slight performance problem didn’t come from SQL Server but one of the PowerPoint slides that had animations (go figure).

Some of the attendees were asking what kind of hardware I was running on so here’s the low down:

Laptop – Dell Studio XPS 16; Processor – Intel Core 2 Duo T9600; RAM – 8 GB

With this rig I was able to comfortably dedicate 3 GB of RAM to the virtual machine.  I have to say it was nice to be able to run everything from the VM.

Since I do a lot of demos and testing (playing) with new versions of software I like to keep my host OS installed with a minimum of applications.  No SSMS, Visual Studio or anything of the likes, just a stable release of Office 2007 applications.  I don’t want to go the Hyper-V route on the laptop hard drive, because I want to take advantage of the graphics card and the mobile power management feature.  Besides, I can take advantage of Hyper-V by booting off the eSATA connector (one of the main requirements on my shortlist for the laptop purchase!!!).

After using Windows 7 RTM for 2 weeks, I can honestly say that I haven’t experienced any issues and performance has been smoking.  (Funny thing is that I can say the same thing about my Windows 7 RC experience too!)

So, what’s next?  Time to dig into BitLocker to see if the performance story continues. ***Yes!  I can finally have the laptop, my portable USB hard drive and USB thumb drive all encrypted by the same system!!!***  (Have laptop will travel… with data this time, no more bad dreams, no more paranoia… LOL)

OttawaSQL.net Business Intelligence Evening Event August 12th: SSRS 2008

Business Intelligence with SQL Server Reporting Services 2008 – an Evening Event: Wednesday, August 12th 6:00 PM to 8:30 PM

Microsoft Ottawa, World Exchange Plaza

Part 1: An Introduction to SQL Server Reporting Services 2008, David E. Myers

Ever since business database applications were introduced, there was a need for great reporting tools.  Executives soon realized that the difference between an okay report and a great report could make or break sales, or their career advancement.  With the release of SQL Server Reporting Services 2008, Microsoft has made a stronger case for investing in their reporting solution.  In this session we will get an overview of the value proposition, core architecture, development tools and how SSRS integrates nicely with SharePoint and MS Office 2007 applications.

David E. Myers (MVP for SQL Server, MCT, MCITP, MCDSB, MCSE) is an IT professional and developer at the Upper Canada District School Board (Brockville, ON).  David primarily works with SQL Server, SharePoint and Windows Client / Server infrastructure, but like most Canadian IT professionals he wears many hats.  As an active member of the Ottawa IT community, he is constantly looking to connect with people that share his passion for technology.  In his spare time, he works as a consultant and trainer for AgileDesignworks.com.

Part 2: An Introduction to Developing Enterprise Solutions with SQL Server Reporting Services 2008, Colin Melia

A powerful set of features sits behind the SSRS designers and web interface.  This session will introduce you to how you can programmatically integrate some of those capabilities into your own solutions from creating RDL files to integrating report generation into your enterprise application workflow.  The architecture of SSRS also allows for various types of extensions.  We’ll further explore how you can extend the reporting pipeline with custom components for deeper integration.

Colin Melia is a Solution Architect for DreamDigital, a UK company CTO/director and committee member for Ottawa user groups.  He has been a hands-on Architect for over 17 years having led the creation of award-winning desktop-based immersive business simulation technology, online learning portals and in-depth competency performance tracking systems as well as creating the first streaming video community site with Windows Media.  He has worked in the finance, telecoms, e-learning, Internet communications and gaming industries, with his latest business solutions now in use by thousands world-wide in corporations like GE, HP, O2, Cisco, IBM, KPMG & Reuters.

Register at: http://www.clicktoattend.com/?id=139999

Refreshments: Pizza and pop will be provided.

Note: No one will be admitted by building security after 5:55 PM, and the event will start promptly at 6:00 PM.

OttawaSQL.net is a community group of Ottawa area developers and IT professionals.  We share an interest in Microsoft’s data technologies especially:  SQL Server, SharePoint, PerformancePoint, Workflow Foundations, LINQ, ADO.NET and Entity Framework.

Tech Days Montreal - Reporting Services and SharePoint Integration Resources

Thanks to everyone for attending my session in Montreal!  It was great to talk to all of you about SQL Server Reporting Services in SharePoint!

As promised at the session, here is the link to Reza's blog where you will find the detailed examples that the demos were based on:  http://blogs.devhorizon.com/reza.  Thanks again to Reza for putting the time and effort to put such good examples together - U R the man!