It’s almost time for the biggest SQL Server focused conference in the world – PASS Summit. I’ll be heading down to Charlotte, NC for a week of learning, teaching, running, and networking!

There are two days of full-day preconference sessions on Monday, October 14 and Tuesday, October 15. Guess what? I’m presenting a precon!

Tuesday, I’ll be teaming up with my coworkers Brent Ozar and Kendra Little to teach “Make SQL Server Apps Go Faster”. We’re going to show you how to find problem queries and how to fix them. Built-in tools and custom scripts will be demoed. I’ll be talking about wait statistics, indexes, and data design anti-patterns. If you want your brain crammed full of great tips you can start using immediately, sign up today!

Wednesday, October 16 – Friday, October 18, there will be three full days of 75-minute, 90-minute, and three-hour sessions. You can learn about almost anything in SQL Server, from database design best practices to high availability lessons learned to the latest business intelligence tools and features.

I’ll be giving two sessions! Index Methods You’re Not Using will show you filtered indexes, indexed views, and compressed indexes. I talk about use cases for each of them, limitations, and demos. The Not-So-Secret SQL Server Agent gives you a tour through all the Agent features. I’ll be talking about Operators, Jobs, Alerts, and more. There are plenty of demos and real-world examples here too!

The week won’t be all work and no play. One of my goals is to run in all fifty US states, and I get to cross another one off my list! I’m organizing a 5K #sqlrun on Wednesday. I love getting to run in new places, and I love getting to run with friends I don’t see all the time. This brings them both together! Adding icing on the cupcake, SQL Sentry will be sponsoring t-shirts for all the runners. Exciting!

There’s a lot of other stuff going on during the week. The SQL Server team will be hosting the SQL Server Clinic. There will be Lightning Talks. Every day at lunch, there’s a different topic – Wednesday is the PASS Chapters lunch, Thursday is the WIT lunch panel (which I’m live blogging!), and Friday is the MVP Birds of a Feather lunch.

This is going to be the best PASS Summit yet! I’ll see you in Charlotte!