So I'm finally finishing up the scripts and such for the book. Yes, they are very, very late. But you guys will benefit from that because you'll get a few things which wouldn't have been in there had I released 'em when Pro SQL Server 2008 Failover Clustering was released.

Anyway, I was creating the final versions of the checklists and configuration worksheets using Office 2010. I started them in Office 2007,  but have since installed 2010. I'm working with a client this week and I sent them the latest version of the configuration worksheet. The worksheet contains a lot of dropdown boxes to make it easier in some cases to select a value. The customer said they couldn't see the dropdown. I was baffled. Both Office 2007 and Office 2010 have the same format (.xlsx). I wasn't aware of any changes. Since I didn't have Office 2007 installed, I couldn't figure it out. I was baffled.

Today, I installed Office 2007 in one of the virtual machines on my laptop. Lo and behold, the customer was 100% correct. So what's the difference?

In Office 2007, to create a dropdown with a list of values on another sheet, here's what you do:
1. On the sheet where you want (other than the one you're working on), create the values.
2. Select the values.
3. In the Name box (next to the formula [fx] under the ribbon) enter a name for those values.
4. On the sheet where you want to use those as a dropdown, select a cel.
5. Select the Data ribbon.
6. Select Data Validation, then Data Validation.
7. On the Settings tab, select List in the Allow dropdown.
8. For Source, enter the equals sign and then the name you just created. An example would be =MyList.

In Office 2010, you no longer have to define a name for the list before using it. You are allowed to directly select the data in Step 8, meaning that steps 2 and 3 no longer need to be done.

While this is actually more intuitive, when you save it does not pop up a warning message (like it does for other instances) where this would cause a problem for previous versions of Excel. Now, I didn't select to save this as an .xls (the 97 - 2003 format). I did .xlsx which is the same format as Office 2007. So while the file format is the same, something is clearly different. The file does not error out in Office 2007 at all; it just shows the last selected value in the cel, no dropdown. Annoying.

The moral here: if you are creating documents in Excel 2010 that use dropdowns, and need them to be backwards compatible, do things the 2007 way.

Sometimes living on the bleeding edge isn't the best thing. Although you'll get both 2007 and 2010 versions of my files when I put them up for download soon, so maybe you guys all benefit from my pain ...

PASS was a whirlwind week between the three main conference days and the two MS Insider days on either end. I don't ever remember being so busy at PASS, yet for the first time in ... well ... I don't know how long I actually attended a handful of sessions. I highly recommend the HA customer panel led by two good friends on SQLCAT Prem Mehra and Sanjay Mishra. Besides hearing about real world implementations, I was SO glad the panel talked about people and process. You don't get 12 seconds of downtime with technology alone! It wouldn't be PASS if I didn't say that it was good seeing everyone - friends new and old, including putting faces with people I had been talking to for quite awhile either over e-mail or on the phone. Oh, and Buck - stop trying to make friends with fire hydrants!

Despite all of the excitement I also managed to deliver my own, not without its own set of challenges. By the time I hit PASS, I realized that my session had been made 500 level. 500 level? I may be good, but 500 I think implies I must know a lot about SQL Server and failover clustering lol Now wanting to disappoint, my presentation and demos had major surgery before Thursday, and I hope I passed the audition (to paraphrase a famous rock band ...). I'll see when I get my scores in a few weeks. I only wish I had a two parter or more time, as it would have even been better. It was also fun sitting in for the afternoon on the failover clustering pre-con.

I did see that people posted Tweets about me on Twitter http://twitter.com/search?q=Hirt%20sqlpass. I'm not on Twitter and don't plan on it (I am on Facebook, though). Someone pointed it out to me. Seeing it was a strange experience.

In other news, I saw that Ken Simmons took the time to read and blog with a brief review of my new consolidation whitepaper. It's always nice to see people actually thinking what you do is worthwhile; sometimes it's hard to see the forest through the trees when you're writing and editing.

On Amazon, my Pro SQL Server 2005 High Availability book just got its first review after two years in publication. I was pretty shocked to see it, considering how long it's been out. I know what people have said to me about it, but funny to see a formal review after my new book was published.

Speaking of my new book, I thank those of you who have already bought Pro SQL Server 2008 Failover Clustering  in eBook or a physical format (i.e. a book of the paper kind) since its publication in July. The word on the street is it's doing fairly well, and people seem to like it. I saw at PASS it sold out, which I took to mean it was popular.

Oh, and I know I need to finish the scripts. I will soon - and one of them is a PowerShell-based script which automatically creates the scripts to install your Windows and SQL Server failover clusters pulling the info from my configuration spreadsheet. I know the scripts are way late, but I've been a tad busy and I want to give you guys good value. My apologies.

I've got a few future book ideas up my sleeve - a few of which may come to fruition over the next year or so - but I can say with relative certainty that I'll probably be doing a full HA book (not just failover clustering) for the next full version of SQL Server after SQL Server 2008 R2. Chances are it will be bigger than the 2005 HA book which is about 800 pages. Yes, you read that right. Bigger. Better start lifting weights now!

Well, in the mean time, I'm off to finish preparing for a failover clustering training class I'm delivering next week, and finalize my consolidation/virtualization class I'll be delivering in Singapore in December, along with two normal presentations (one on failover clustering, another on consolidation/virtualization).

Thankfully I'll have a little bit of downtime in Japan (before Singapore) and Hong Kong (after Singapore). I get to spend my upcoming 38th birthday on a plane flying to Tokyo. I look forward to catching the Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra and hopefully Stanley Clarke, Chick Corea, and Lenny White at the Blue Note while in town. I found my USA-made 1976 maple neck fretless Fender Precision there in 2008 for a great price, and it's become a favorite to play. Tokyo not only a great place to visit just as a tourist (this will be my third time there), but an awesome music town. If you're a lover of buying music in a physical format, one of the last places on Earth that still has a lot of great CD and record stores. Hopefully I'll also get to hang a bit with my friend Jason who I was in a band with back in college. My new jazz album is partially done, and I'll be doing a lot of composing and arranging while on that trip. Heaven knows I'll have a LOT of time on airplanes!

All primary writing for the new Pro SQL Server 2008 Failover Clustering book is now complete. I still need to finish the editing process, but that's infinitely easier than writing! So it looks like the book will come out on time in June.

Maybe now I'll get some sleep ... oh wait, TechEd is next week. So much for that idea!

So I've been a bit heads down in writing land trying to finish the primary content for my new book Pro SQL Server 2008 Failover Clustering. My original goal was to have it done for TechEd and in the book store there, but alas, that just isn't going to happen. Right now I'm finishing the edit of Chapter 6, so as of today, the first six chapters are getting close to completion. I should see final copy edited versions soon. As far as content, I'm finishing up Chapter 8 (Administration) which will be done in the next few days, and have one left (Chapter 9 which deals with virtualization and failover clustering).

The slight delay in publication has worked in my favor as I've been able to work in content around Service Pack 1 and Windows Server 2008 R2.

Now, having said that, I'm a bit bummed that I couldn't make TechEd. However, you guys have a great opportunity I just found out about. Over at the website for my publisher, Apress, they have a program called the Alpha Program. The Alpha Program is where as soon as chapters have been first edited, they are put up in Adobe PDF format for you to download and read. These are NOT the final versions, but you do not have to wait for the content.  I will warn you: with some chapters I can definitively say that they have changed and been rearranged; others have not been touched much. Some, due to page count, have lost some screen shots (but really, doesn't affect anything as some were redundant), so if you want those versions of the chapters, this is your chance to get them.

The bonus is that not only do you get alpha/preview versions of the chapters, but when the final book is done, you get that as an eBook. I think it is a really good deal for $27.99 (which is less than the print book which lists at $39.99). To order the Alpha book, click here.

As of today, Chapters 1 - 5 are up there, and I'm told 6 (which is the chapter which covers the actual clustering of SQL Server 2008) will be posted shortly.

Writing
If you've ever wondered how someone can work their normal job along with things like writing a book, it's not easy. For example, one of the chapters I recently finished for my new SQL Server 2008 Failover Clustering book pre-editing in Word weighs in at 117 pages. That's more than most people write at all, let alone one chapter! Granted there are a fair amount of screen shots, but still. I do it because at the end of the day, it's my name on it and I want it to be as good as it can be and very useful for everyone who buys it.

What takes the longest, ironically enough, isn't the writing part. It's setting up all of the test environments to be able to do the writing. You're looking at potentially hours worth of setting up a test to get just one screen capture.

I'm just about 50% done the wrirting of the book and it should, if all goes well, be fully written and through editing by April. I'm still keeping my fingers crossed that it will be out on shelves by TechEd North America in May, but realistically it may be out just after.

As if I didn't have enough on my plate in terms of writing, I'm happy to annouce that I'm updating the SQL Server 2000 consolidation whitepaper I wrote in 2003 for SQL Server 2008. That should be out late Spring 2009 if all goes well. I'll post the link under Resources and put a note here when it is posted. I'm also most likely going to do a webcast for it as well.

TechEd North America 2009
Speaking of TechEd, I'm happy to announce I'll be presenting one session this year - DAT322 Tips and Tricks for Successful Database Mirroring Deployments with SQL Server. I'll also most likely be in the SQL Server area of Microsoft's booth a lot, so you can visit me there as well. 

Training Update
Last, but certainly not least, I'm finally getting serious about putting my training together (who needs sleep!). My clustering class should be done in the near future. I'm currently sorting out my delivery methods. I'm thinking there may be multiple ways to get it:
1. Traditional classroom-type setting
2. Course delivery online
3. Computer-based training

While #1 will always be an option, the reality is that a) I don't have my own training space so I'd need to be hosted (unless it was a private training where that would be taken care of anyway) and b) while it offers the most interactivity, when people are cutting budgets, it may not be possible for people to travel anymore. I'm definitely going to be doing it live ... no question. Stay tuned on this one.

#2 is intriguing to me. It would allow me to have a "virtual classroom" where people wouldn't have to travel, but get live training. I'm looking into the cost and if this is not only a viable option (which I think it is), but how much it would cost, and quite frankly, if anyone would want this over #1.

#3 is something I've been toying with for awhile. This would obviously be a more "canned" thing, but would contain the same material. I do have the ability to have labs, quizzes, etc. for you to do using special software. The cost would be cheaper than #1 or #2 per person, but you lose some of the obvious interactivity. I'm trying to sort out a pricing model for this as well as some options for interactivity with me if you purchased the Failover Clustering CBT.

Let me know your thoughts. Ultimately, you guys are my audience for this class.