SSWUG.org SharePoint Virtual Conference

Session Abstracts

Abstracts
Session/Speaker	Description
Measure twice, develop once Adam Levithan	One site-collection or two? Subsite or List? The answer to these questions guides the decisions of many deployments. When mistakenly answered organizations quickly learn how hard it is to gain their return on investment. We will explore the importance of requirements gathering, the limitations of SharePoint, and some backend considerations in making these decisions.
The Balance of Powers, Understanding SharePoint Governance Adam Levithan	Is it an application? Is it a website? Is it a functional tool? No, look it up on the internet, it's SharePoint! With most technologies users are provided with a "how to" manual and understand that complaints go to the IT department. Online collaboration powered by SharePoint doesn't follow the same form of processes and procedures. We will explore how to create a governance plan that incorporate the needs of the organization (controls) and the user (ease of use).
Understanding the new culture of SharePoint Adam Levithan	You have a sponsor for SharePoint development, you have a budget, now where are all the users? Online Collaboration powered by SharePoint is not only a new technology, but a new culture of doing work. In this session we'll explore change management (the fluffy kind) strategies that can be tailored to your user base. Attract users, and keep your budget!
Log Shipping Basics Brent Ozar	The boss wants you to plan for disaster, and wants to know the business will be protected if the production SQL Server goes down. Be armed with answers about log shipping with this presentation, which will cover the basic concepts and how to implement it.
Introduction to SQL Server Analysis Services Brian Knight	Is your customer looking for drag and drop reports or capabilities inside of Excel. SQL Server Analysis Services (SSAS) is the answer for you then. You’ll be amazed how quickly you can develop sophisticated reports after watching the basics of this session.
Introduction to SQL Server Integration Services Brian Knight	This session will get you past the learning curve of SSIS. Brian covers creating an end to end package that covers many of the concepts in SSIS. He covers, looping over a set of files, processing each file and then archiving. You won't want to miss this if you're new to SSIS.
The Frugal Admin, How to get the most of the built-in web parts Callahan	Don't just accept that your home pages are boring. Put some life into them without spending a penny. Explore the existing web part templates and broaden the horizons of existing list view web parts. Push them to the limit and turn your bland, hum-drum home pages into the spectacular, useful, web part pages they were meant to be. Wow your users, impress your boss, and never wonder if you could have built yourself what you just paid some one else to make. Know for sure what your options really are, without any additional cost.
The Frugal Admin, How to make your own Dashboards, without being a developer or use SharePoint Designer Callahan	Dashboards are easy, depending on what you want to do with them. Why pay for one when you can roll your own? Come see the secrets of the simple dashboard; how to create the views, the web parts, and the web pages that make a site's home page more relevant from management to user. See how far you can go out of the box before you spend a dime.
The Frugal Admin, Make your own Custom Site Templates Callahan	So you think only Microsoft can come up with useful site templates? Think again. Don't be trapped into thinking that if you want a nice site (especially one you'd like to deploy in a few places), you have to pay a developer to create it. Come see how we wrap up this three part series by bringing together the fancy web parts and dashboards to create our own unique site templates. Filled to the rim with useful goodness. With tips and tricks concerning workflows, resource libraries, and more. Learn how to make your templates self referencing, so they can pack up and go without having any extra files to worry about. Elevate your status, become that much closer to a WSS expert by seeing how it's really done-- all without special developer training or expensive additional software. Create the templates you wish Microsoft had thought of after attending this session.
Get Your Implementation Organized Christopher Regan	Service Accounts – Web Applications – Application Pools – File Locations – Database Names… when it comes to SharePoint environments, if you don’t plan ahead, your environment can quickly become a disorganized mess of IIS, SQL & SharePoint components. Suddenly you don’t know what web application maps to what application pool in IIS, or even worse, you don’t know what service accounts perform what functions! This session will cover strategies and provide recommendations on ways that SharePoint administrators can reign in their farm – and make sure that no matter who is managing it, everyone is on the same page. Organization is key – and this session will help get you one step closer to organization nirvana.
Integration SQL Server 2005 Reporting Services with SharePoint – You don’t need to be a Dev or SQL Guru to get it right! Christopher Regan	To help drive the adoption of SharePoint, many organizations find that providing access to key business reports through their sites is critical. And while Microsoft providers the ‘Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Reporting Services Add-In for Microsoft SharePoint Technologies’ to make the job easier, many SharePoint administrators and IT professionals tasked with configuring this implementation run into many issues during the setup. This session is designed to take the mystique out of setting up reporting services, and show how to not only set it up correctly the first time, but how to use its many features and show your business users that you aren’t scared of their reports. As an added bonus, you will also learn how to deploy the reports through Visual Studio – without having to write a line of code!
Protect & Defend Your Data Christopher Regan	With most SharePoint implementations storing critical business data, it is crucial that this data be protected and quickly restorable in the event of a disaster. Learn how utilizing Data Protection Manager 2007 as your backup/restore/disaster recovery solution provides a full-fidelity solution with granular control. We will walk you through the initial configuration of DPM as well as setting up a recovery farm.
Content Types - What are they? Daniel Galant	In this session we will explore the mysteries of SharePoint 's content types and try to answer some of these questions. Do you need them? What are they? How do you create one and where can you use them?
Versions - A Document History Daniel Galant	In this session we will discuss versioning within SharePoint document libraries. How you configure, manage and use versioning to manage the document creation process. We will also point out some of the issues to plan for when using versions with your Document libraries.
Workflows - Go Beyond the Browser Daniel Galant	In this session we will explore how you can use SharePoint Designer to develop workflows that go well beyond the out-of-the-box workflows that Office SharePoint Server provides.
Exhibit Hall Exhibit Hall	Exhibit Hall -- Please take a few minutes to visit our Sponsors
Exhibit Hall Exhibit Hall	Exhibit Hall -- Please take a few minutes to visit our Sponsors
Exhibit Hall Exhibit Hall	Exhibit Hall -- Please take a few minutes to visit our Sponsors
Do Certifications Really Matter? Jason Strate	In this session, see the tracks for SQL Server certifications and discover what you need to know about the exams. Which track will be right for you? What steps should you take? How do I get going? Does anyone take them seriously?
SQL 101 -- The Essentials Jeremy Lowell	If you are new to SQL or a DBA interested in learning the t-sql language, this is a great place to start. We will cover the basics, as time allows for. Topics to include DML statements (select, insert, update, and delete).
SQL 102 – The Essentials – Beyond the basics: Jeremy Lowell	A great follow-up to SQL 101 or a refresher if it’s been a while since you’ve written a join statement that looks like this: “Where a.id *= b.id” We will also begin to explore Stored Procedures, CTE’s and some built in functions like Sum, GetDate, Group by and order by.
SQL 103 – The Essentials – DMV’s & t-sql for internals. Jeremy Lowell	If you have ever wondered what some of those 286 system views are in your user database, this is for you! We will cover a handful of these views, also known as DMV’s. They contain data that every DBA should smile about and be able to understand. We will also look at some t-sql that will provide you with information about what’s going on with your SQL Server.
SharePoint and BI integration - Part One - Report Center and SSRS Lynn Langit	In this session you will learn about the Report Center site template that is part of MOSS. Here we will examine the default web parts and pages in this template. These include containers for connections to data sources, reports, key performance indicators and more.
SharePoint and BI integration - Part Three - BDC in SharePoint Lynn Langit	In this session you will learn what the Business Data Catalog is and why you might be interested in using it. We will discuss and demonstrate the process involved to configure a 'no code' connection to a relational data source by using the BDC via the MOSS administrative website. Then we will demonstrate displaying data retrieved by the BDC via a web part available in the Report Center template of MOSS.
SharePoint and BI Integration - Part Two - Excel Services and KPIs Lynn Langit	In this session you will understand business reasons to use Excel Services. We will them take a look at the procedure involved to enable a MOSS site for Excel Services. Next we'll discuss the three types of key performance indicators that are supported in MOSS. We will then look at implementing a dashboard using KPIs and Excel Services
Configuring SharePoint Anonymous Access: Tips and Tricks Paul Stork	Enabling Anonymous Access in SharePoint isn’t just a matter of flipping a switch in IIS manager. Anonymous Access must be enabled in IIS and then configured in SharePoint. But there are also situations where this basic configuration isn't sufficient. In this talk we’ll review how to enable and configure anonymous access for SharePoint web sites, lists, and libraries. Then we'll enumerate some "Tips and Tricks" for overcoming specific issues with SharePoint anonymous access. We'll demonstrate solutions and workarounds for questions like: 1) How do you require authentication for certain files and list items while maintaining anonymous access for the rest of a list? 2) How do you enable anonymous responses to a discussion list? 3) Can BLOGS and Wiki sites be used in an anonymous access site collection?
Microsoft Single Sign-On Service: Configuring SSO for SharePoint Designer Data Sources Paul Stork	DataFormWebParts are a very flexible and powerful way to display and format data, including data from external databases like SQL Server. One of the biggest issues involved in creating and using SQL data sources in SharePoint Designer is the lack of support for Windows Authentication to the database. The best solution to this is configuring and using the Microsoft Single Signon Service to authenticate in the data source. In this talk we'll demonstrate how to configure and use the Microsoft SSO service when creating a SQL data source in SharePoint Designer.
Migrating ASP.NET Applications: Four ways to convert them to SharePoint Paul Stork	The establishment of a new SharePoint Portal frequently involves the temporary or permanent migration of an existing ASP.NET application to the new SharePoint environment. There are at least four different ways that this can be accomplished. Choosing the correct method is a matter of balancing the amount of effort involved against the resulting functionality and performance. In this talk we'll review the following four approaches and discuss the strengths and weaknesses of each approach. 1) Using a Page Viewer web part to display the existing website from inside SharePoint. 2) Configuring the ASP.NET website to run from a Virtual Directory inside the SharePoint Web Application 3) Converting the existing ASP.NET web pages and code beside files to run inside a SharePoint web site. 4) Refactoring the ASP.NET web site as a set of Web Parts in the SharePoint site.
Beginning Feature Design Rebecca Isserman	What is a Feature? In this session We will dissect the pieces of a feature and a solution package, so that we can further understand the mechanics under the hood. By the end of this session attendees will understand the different pieces of a feature, how to create a feature, how to create a solution package, and where to install a solution package in SharePoint.
Dazzling SharePoint with Silverlight Rebecca Isserman	Silverlight and SharePoint are two up and coming technologies in the development world. SharePoint developers can create robust applications with a variety of tools, such as web parts, user controls, and workflows. Silverlight Developers can create aesthetically pleasing interfaces by harnassing the power of Expression Blend. In this session we will discuss how to blend together SharePoint and Silverlight. We will create some basic Silverlight Applications and discuss what changes a SharePoint Server needs before a Silverlight Application is viewable in a SharePoint Site Collection.
Visually Developing Custom Webparts Rebecca Isserman	ASP .Net Developers who have never worked with SharePoint find it a little overwhelming to jump into the SharePoint Development. In this session we will start out building web user controls, then work our way towards building web parts using the SharePoint Object Model. Along the way we will discuss the differences between average ASP .Net Development versus SharePoint Development (i.e. where to develop, debugging, and basic SharePoint Object Model Information).
Customizing the Content Query Web Part Ricky Spears	One of the most powerful web parts in MOSS 2207 is the Content Query Web Part. This web part can display data from a SharePoint site collection, a particular site, or a particular list, based on content types and provides great filtering capability as well. It’s not very obvious how to go about making customizations beyond what can be done in the tool pane. In this session, you will learn how to customize which columns of information are returned by the Content Query Web Part and how to style the results.
Understanding SharePoint Blogs, Wikis, and Discussion Boards Ricky Spears	The greatest tools for creating community around information in SharePoint are blogs, wikis, and discussion boards. Each of these tools share some similarity in functionality but each one also has their own strengths and weaknesses. In this session you’ll learn how to implement and use of these tools within SharePoint, what makes them different, and how to select the best tool for the type of community collaboration your project or team needs.
Using SharePoint’s Built-In Mobile Features Ricky Spears	Browsers on mobile devices have greatly improved in recent years, however screen sizes haven’t changed much. It’s much easier to interact with content that has been optimized for the small screens of mobile devices. Windows SharePoint Services v.3 has out-of-the-box capability to render views of site content and lists that are optimized for the small screens of mobile devices. In this session, you will learn how to take advantage of the mobile capabilities in SharePoint sites, lists, and even InfoPath forms.
MOSS Administration, are you ready for the test Shannon Bray	In this fast-paced session we'll fast track 30 topics in 60 minutes to help you prepare for the Configuring Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 exam. Upon completion of this session you will understand the key exam topic areas and will understand how to better focus your study efforts.
SharePoint Development: The API and Web Services Shannon Bray	Use what you already know to access the powerful platform of SharePoint. In this session we will cover the references that are required to code against the API and also show you how to get what you need from your SharePoint implementation by using Web Services.
SharePoint Infrastructure: The databases, file structure, and services that make up your SharePoint Implementation. Shannon Bray	In this session, we will discuss the various databases that are created when you install SharePoint from various options. We will also take a deeper look into the 12 hive file structure and the services that are required.
Ditch your public folders Shannon Callaway	Longing for better shared document, shared contacts, and shared calendars? Trying to save room on your Exchange server? Using SharePoint sites, calendaring and contact management you can make the switch and ditch your public folders. In this session we will cover the best types of SharePoint sites to setup to take care of all your former public folder needs. With SharePoint you can more effectively and easily manage your companies calendars, contacts and document stores. Windows SharePoint Services(WSS) Vs Microsoft Office SharePoint Server (MOSS)- which is best for you. A general overview on the differences between the two flavors of SharePoint. Learn which version will work best in your environment, and what the base requirements for each are. This session will offer you a chance to see exactly what each has to offer whether you’re a small business or a large enterprise level company as well as pros and cons for the design and implementation of each type of site.
InfoPath forms- Using this tool is easier than you think Shannon Callaway	Using InfoPath you can quickly and easily design and publish any form from the most simple to truly complex. Publish these forms as web pages and stop worrying about who has what, if any version of word or excel available. It’s all taken care of. Go the extra step and tie workflows into the form to auto update it, send it thru approval processes and keep everything centrally stored and easily accessible on your SharePoint server.
Yes- It will do that Shannon Callaway	The best of what MOSS has to offer, both from the template pack as well as with the basic installs. We will cover some of the best templates and uses for a SharePoint site in your environment whether it be running a vacation calendar, a helpdesk site or a company wide blog tied into an RSS feed delivered daily to your users inboxes. In this session we will cover the main reasons to utilize SharePoint server, as well as tips and tricks for implementing a successful, user friendly and highly utilized MOSS installation
How SSWUGVC is made and Future Planning Stephen Wynkoop	We'll show you our studio and how we deliver the conference to you.
Keynote Day 1 Stephen Wynkoop	Keynote for today.
Keynote Day 2 Stephen Wynkoop	Keynote for today.
Keynote Day 3 Stephen Wynkoop	Keynote for today.
Maintenance Plans Thomas LaRock	In SQL 2008, Maintenance Plans create a workflow of tasks to ensure your database is optimized and backed up on a regular schedule. The Maintenance Plan will create an SSIS package that will be scheduled and run with SQL Agent. Attend this session and learn how Maintenance Plans will ease your administrative overhead.
Best Practices TJ Belt	Having worked with databases for some time now, I felt it important to get some best practices documented. This presentation will touch on the simple things that we often take for granted while using our favorite database systems. From naming conventions, to cursors, to temporary, derived and variable tables, to the use of dynamic sql. We’ll touch on a great many different ideas and hopefully further cement your own best practices, making you a more exceptional DBA or Database Developer.