As an independent I have firstly to look at the overall cost and where in the cycle of an SQL version are we. Even with the best speakers on the subject hearing about SQLXXXX for the nth time doesn’t really interest me.

I cannot afford any of the pre and post cons so I try and get there the day before the full conference because you had better be ready for a 7 am start most days.

Once I register I pick up the agenda and try and figure out the sessions I want to go to in the DBA track. Sometimes the schedule changes at the last minute and that’s why I don’t preplan anymore. Most times I have more than 1 session marked for each timeslot (shows the quality of the sessions). I now have to weigh the speaker against the subject to make my number 1 choice and my number 2 and maybe number 3. Also remember the best sessions will fill up quickly and in some of those cases PASS my add a repeat later in the conference.

I mentioned where in the SQLXXXX version cycle the product was at so at the last two years I went to a lot of SQL2008 sessions to be prepared for using it. I also look for the hot button issues and Jimmy May’s disk alignment was one of those last year as has been Linchi Shea’s ones on SAN performance.

I usually find 3 days of fully loaded sessions leaves me with way too much I want to do when I get back to work and way too much to remember. I will certainly spend time with the CSS group this year as Microsoft are being represented by much broader groups than just speakers nowadays.

I cannot speak for other than just being a DBA but I get so much more out of the PASS Summit than I can learn by taking courses. It doesn’t take long at the Summit to realise who the experts actually are so if they say something then you take notice. With so many opinions freely expressed on the Internet it can be difficult to know who and what to believe.

So with this year being in Seattle again (much more top notch Microsoft people there) and maybe the dollar getting back close to par it will be time again to attend PASS. It’s also a year to take my wife so I can have some downtime before and after the conference.

HTH

Chris