What are the best conferences to attend to build your knowledge of SQL Server, either as a developer, or as a DBA?
Some presumably are better from a technical perspective, and others from a networking/community perspective.
asked
What are the best conferences to attend?
If you can only make one conference you should definitely aim for PASS Summit
Dev Connections is another 3rd party popular one that actually includes mutliple conferences in one big mega conference (Sharepoint connections,.NET connections,SQL connections,Visual Studio connections)
For those who want to save money on travel there are now virtual conferences. SSWUG puts these one several times a year and has had good feedback.
SQLSaturday is an event held by user groups in cities all over the nation. These are free events that are modeled after code camps and are FANTASTIC free training opportunities
This link has links to all above conferences in order: http://bundl.it/MjYwMTU
If you can afford a conference, the PASS Summit http://www.sqlpass.org is a great place to network with other professionals and learn in a SQL Server specific area.
TechEd is a great show, but it's got a lot of other focus (windows, mobile, exchange). There is SQL content, but it's not the focus of the event.
SQL Saturday is a franchise started by Andy Warren, Brian Knight, and Steve Jones, who founded SQLServerCentral. We help user groups set up smaller, free events all around the country. They are usually one day events, and you can see the ones scheduled at http://www.sqlsaturday.com
I have to add another vote for the PASS Summit. You'll be very hard pressed to find a better collection of knowledgeable people about SQL Server.
Another conference that I've heard very good things about but have yet to attend, I'm presenting there this year, is SQL Connections. It's part of a bigger conference called Dev Connections. While it won't have as many SQL Server experts as the PASS Summit, it will have a whole bunch of other experts from other disciplines, so if you're not JUST a DBA or database developer, but support Microsoft Dynamics or Exchange or you do a lot of .NET development, this might give you a broader base to learn from.
If you are UK based (and can't get someone to stump up the money for PASS), SQL Bits is the one for you.
