Exciting news! On Thursday, March 17, 2016, I’ll be debuting my newest full-day training event, How to Get Started Using SQL Server in Azure. This is part of what is sure to be one of the greatest weekends ever – St Patrick’s Day, in Boston, combined with SQL Saturday 500!

The details about the training:

Microsoft Azure is a mature, stable ecosystem, but some people and companies are still hesitant to adopt it. In this full-day class, I'll teach you why building SQL Server environments in Azure is safe, easy, and reliable – and how to do it.

We'll begin with an overview of the Azure ecosystem. SQL Server is one of a large number of services being offered, and many work together. I'll walk through the main management tool, the Azure Portal, to show you how to use it. I'll cover the security and compliance of features of Azure, which are numerous. You'll understand the differences between Azure Infrastructure as a Service (Iaas) and Platform as a Service (PaaS) offerings.

You'll see how to build IaaS SQL Server VMs. I'll talk through licensing, networking, security, and what you'll pay for. We'll talk about how to move your current data into the VM, how to connect to the databases for management or from the application, and uses for VMs such as DR. The HA/DR options for IaaS will be explained.

You'll also see how to build PaaS Azure SQL Databases, with the same information – networking, security, and what you'll pay for. I'll show you how to move your current data to the database, and how it differs from the IaaS product. You'll learn how to connect to and manage the databases. We'll also cover how HA/DR is handled with PaaS databases.

I'll cover intricacies learned from hands-on experience, such as security and networking settings to be aware of, and how to use Azure's ability to scale up and down as necessary. You'll come away from this class fully prepared to build your first IaaS or PaaS deployment.

Here’s what you should do: register to attend my full-day pre-con on Eventbrite. A full day of training is a great deal at only $150 – and it’s only $125 if you register before January 2, 2016!

If you or anyone else is interested in Denny Cherry’s pre-con on SQL Performance Tuning and Optimization, register for that, too. And definitely remember to register for SQL Saturday!

Please help spread the word about these three great days of training in March!