Just posted two new suggestions to the Microsoft Connect site.
First of is a suggestion, that when using a sensitive parameter, you get a warning when trying to use it in an expression. On the other hand, if you create the expression first, you don’t get the same warning when changing the sensitivity of the parameter.
Secondly I miss the ability to reorder the items in the SSIS Toolbox:
Before today I have only been fiddling about in with new SQL Server Data Tools Integration Services projects, without any problems what so ever. I’ve seen demos done without any problems what so ever.
And now that I finally get to grind some data with the new tool, it rears its ugly head, for just about every five minutes. I can’t seem to do any, even simple, tasks without Visual Studio hanging/locking up on me. Most of the times I need to kill the process and re-open the project. I do, occasionally, get the kind popup message that Visual Studio is busy. DUH!
It’s not like I’m doing any fancy stuff, at all… Observe CPU load as I do a rename of a sequence container:
Sometimes I’m lucky and just get hit by non critical errors like this one (deleting an ADO destination):
In my previous experience with SSIS, I’ve often been able to go ’round problems like these by deleting the, in this case an Excel Source, component and the add the component again. While trying to do so, I deleted the flow between the Excel Source and the Derived Column task. This simple procedure took several hours, and resulted in this message:
I really hope Microsoft deals with this, and soon… Five breakdowns within the hour is not very productive.
Vote at MS Connect: https://connect.microsoft.com/SQLServer/feedback/details/743111/ssis-data-tools-locking-up-hang
Update:
In fact there was a Cumulative Update 1 at the time of writing, but there doesn’t seem to be a fix intended for this issue. The update was brought to my attention by Bill Fellows (blog|twitter) as I was ranting about it on twitter using the #SSISHELP hashtag.
There is a lot of talk around the block about the now not so new certification plan from Microsoft, in regards to SQL2012. The new tracks MCSA, MCSE and MCSM looks real nice in their flashy gift wrappings 🙂
I will, like many others, take the full monty, so to speak. Maybe its just a trick of the mind, but when you keep upgrading certifications, you get the feeling you’re not quite tested in all the corners of the material. Another thing about it is, that the new path includes a track of DBA stuff, not previously encountered on the MCITP:BI program. So my plan for the rest of the year, is to take a new certification at least every two months, which means that by the end of this year, I should be able to achieve the SQL2012 MCSA level. See diagram for clarification of levels:
As I earlier blogged about here, I have been attending the beta exams for 70-461, 70-466 & 70-467. Best case scenario would obviously be that I just need to take the two remaining certifications 70-462 & 70-463, but I doubt my skills in the tabular model will prove adequate for the level required, but at least I now know the scope of the exams.
Other excellent resources for the SQL Server 2012 certifications:
James Serra (blog|twitter): Upgrade info
Alex Rosa (blog|fb): Certification path
Update:
Looks like I passed alle three betas and I’m off to a great start
Today I passed the 70-463 certification, so now I need to face the toughest of them all IMO
On Thursday 26th I will be attending the 5th Microsoft BI Professionals Denmark meeting at Microsoft in Hellerup. The meeting will have prominent guests as Marco Russo (blog|twitter) and Alberto Ferrari (blog|twitter) has offered to stop by and share some knowledge on these two subjects:
Inside xVelocity (VertiPaq)
PowerPivot and BISM Tabular models in Analysis Services share a great columnar-based database engine called xVelocity in-memory analytics engine (VertiPaq). If you want to improve performance and optimize memory used, you have to understand some basic principles about how this engine works, how data is compressed, and how you can design a data model for better optimization. Prepare yourself to change your mind. xVelocity optimization techniques might seem counterintuitive and are absolutely different from OLAP and SQL ones!
Choosing between Tabular and Multidimensional
You have a new project and you have to make an important decision upfront. Should you use Tabular or Multidimensional? It is not easy to answer, because sometime there is a clear choice, but most of the times both decisions might be correct, at least at the beginning. In this session we’ll help you making an informed decision, correctly evaluating pros and cons of each one according to common scenarios, considering both short-term and long-term consequences of your choice.
This session should be loads of fun 🙂
I’ve signed up for three (3) of the five (5) available beta exams on the new SQL Server 2012 Business Intelligence certification program which Kendra Little (blog|twitter) has written a great post about here.
Since there are numbered seats on these beta exams, I went straight for the BI specific tests. So at friday the 23rd of March I took on [70-467] Designing Business Intelligence Solutions with Microsoft SQL Server 2012, followed by a short break of SQLBits, then on to [70-466] Implementing Data Models and Reports with Microsoft SQL Server 2012 on the 3rd of April.
Tomorrow I’m up for [70-461] Querying Microsoft SQL Server 2012
First of all I’m taking the tests in order to identify my weak spots in regards to the new version of the stack. Secondly it’s a great, and not to forget free, opportunity to achieve the certifications that looks nice on the resume (before the peers @ work).
My first impression with the tests so far, is that Microsoft Learning (blog|twitter) has done a really good job at re-designing the tests. IMHO the tests will go deeper and further than their respective prequels. And maybe it’s just me, but it seems as if there is a more real-world-feel about the questions in the test than I’ve previous expreienced. Good job MSLearning!