SQLSaturday #238 - Minnesota 2013

Event Date: 10/12/2013 00:00:00

Event Location:

University of Minnesota - Keller Hall
200 Union Street SE
Minneapolis, Minnesota

This event has completed. All data shown below is from the historical XML public data available.

Sessions
Speakers
Sponsors

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Sessions

This is a list of sessions from the event, based on the schedule in the XML files.

Title: Unit Testing Fundamentals

Abstract: How can you be certain the “little change” you’re about to make to that stored procedure isn’t going to take down your whole company? “Real” developers use a technique called “Unit Testing” to minimize that risk, a concept that’s also available to you. With unit testing you can quickly ascertain whether the the changes to functions, stored procedures, and even other objects in your database had a negative unforeseen impact.

In this session we’ll walk through the basics of what unit testing is, how to set up a simple Unit Testing project in SSMS, how we can tell whether something has negatively changed in our functions or procedures. We’ll then introduce the tSQLt framework to run our test suite as well as SQL Test from RedGate.

Speaker(s):

Eric Selje

Track and Room: Keller 3-125 - N/A

Title: Data Mining Deep Dive: Clustering

Abstract: Microsoft SQL Server makes it simple to apply data mining algorithms to a wide variety of data. Applying the results to business decisions without a thorough understanding of how the algorithms work is dangerous to the bottom line of the business, though. This session will take one of the algorithms, the Microsoft Clustering Algorithm, and do a deep dive into the mechanics of how it works. The algorithm is valuable for analyzing data in the fields of marketing, social networks and many others. The session will also examine the types of data that are valid for clustering. A demonstration of building a clustering model using SQL Server Analysis Services and viewing the model using the Excel Data Mining Add-In will be given.

Speaker(s):

Eric Ness

Track and Room: Keller 3-210 - N/A

Title: Take Your Data Global with Microsoft BI Data Explorer, GeoFlow, and Power View Maps

Abstract: Business Intelligence has now been a global discipline for several years, and with new Microsoft tools you can now bring the globe to Business Intelligence. Microsoft Data Explorer for Excel 2013 enables you to access, harness, transform, and mash-up data like never before. Data that is separated by source type, format, location and more will be reviewed and mashed up in Data Explorer. GeoFlow is a new geospatial Business Intelligence tool which literally adds another dimension to data visualization. The power of GeoFlow to transform inanimate data into a story will be demonstrated. Power View for Excel 2013 has the capability to recognize geospatial data and create reports that integrate with Bing Maps, enabling global data BI report development from a desktop computer. The ease of use, intuitive design, and value of maps with Power View 2013 will be reviewed with some interesting examples leveraging publically available data. Take your data global…literally.

Speaker(s):

Greg Beaumont

Track and Room: Rapson 54 - N/A

Title: (SQL,SSIS,MDS) Adv Fuzzy Matching Roll Your Own

Abstract: Fuzzy Matching, Similarity Matching or Record Linkage is the most critical and least understood process in any Data Warehouse, BI, Integration, Big Data , Data Quality, MDM , Social Network or integrating crap effort. Over at LinkedIn there is Group run by Henrik Liliendahl Sorensen for Data Matching, Bill Winkler, principal researcher at the US Census” has written a series of white papers on record linkage and particular a technique called “Blocking Indexs”. In addition we wil cover William Cohen Research Professor, Machine Learning Department, Carnegie Mellon University white papers an implementations. Presented will be our collection of “real world” examples(Code) and you will leave a master of record linkage and the concepts behind it

Speaker(s):

Ira Warren

Track and Room: Rapson 56 - N/A

Title: Implement a Dynamic Table Partitioning Solution

Abstract: Have a large or potentially large database that you would like to partition? Manually implementing partitioning and the corresponding maintenance can be a lot of work, especially if you have many tables. In this presentation we look at how you would implement a partitioning solution dynamically for all tables with the designated partition column. We set it up to keep a FIXED number of file groups. The partition maintenance will recycle the file groups over time as partitions are dropped and created. We do as much as possible through dynamic scripting. This solution can easily be used for archiving but in this example we are simply keeping the most current 6 months of data and dropping the rest. Assumes you have a basic understanding of SQL Server table partitioning.

Speaker(s):

Kirby Richter

Track and Room: Keller 3-180 - N/A

Title: DANGER: The Art and Science of Presenting

Abstract: Is there a great difference in the brain chemistry of someone fleeing a hungry mountain lion and someone presenting to a group of colleagues in a corporate board room? The answer is: NO. Over the past decade, a lot has been learned about the chemistry of the brain and why humans react the way we do to events in our environment. The concept of EQ (Emotional Intelligence) is a compelling and growing concept that applies this knowledge in a set of learnable, improvable skills for leading human beings. While EQ is often applied to corporate leadership, the parallels to presenting are fantastic. This session will explain the basics of EQ and demonstrate how you can apply it to make your presentations better in the following areas: * Crafting better slide decks * Preparing yourself for presenting * Delivering your content * Dealing with the unexpected Understanding and practicing the concepts of EQ can make your presentations a better experience for everyone in the room–including you.

Speaker(s):

Mark Vaillancourt

Track and Room: Keller 3-115 - N/A

Title: Why are we Waiting..

Abstract: An in-depth session examining “Waits” happening in your SQL Servers, using the well-known “Waits Queues” methodology.

With particular focus in the session on understanding and interpreting the information found the (DMV) sys.dm_os_wait_stats, Taking note of which “Waits “with the highest counts or excessive wait times, as well as those which “Waits” can be safely ignored, We can discover those “performance hurdles” and ways to overcome or remove them, restoring your SQL Servers performance levels. By using established methodologies like “Waits Queues”, we can systematically identify and remove performance

Previous Presented @ SQLBits 8 9 in UK @ SQLPASS Summit 2011 (310 Attendees) SQLDay And @ several UK User Groups

Speaker(s):

Neil Hambly

Track and Room: Rapson 43 - N/A

Title: The care and feeding of your adolescent SQL Server.

Abstract: Many organizations bring SQL Server into their environment and evolve in their use of it in a similar manner. They may start with extensive use of Microsoft Access and Excel data stores and bring in SQL Server to address the limitations of these products. They may bring in SQL Server to support a departmental application development initiative, or to start a BI project. A developer or server administrator may be pressed into service as a DBA, and as the project or use of the server increases, an improvisational approach to managing the server starts to get cumbersome. At this stage in the organization’s use of SQL Server, there are a few simple things that can prepare the server for its increasing role in the organization:

Speaker(s):

Mark Knutson

Track and Room: Rapson 45 - N/A

Title: Database Snapshots - Making Your Job Easier

Abstract: Want to off load some of that reporting workload, make an emergency rollback during a production upgrade faster, or make managing your test databases easier? If any of these appeal to you, then you should be familiar with database snapshots within SQL Server. Available since SQL Server 2005, use of this feature can make your life a lot easier.We’ll spend the first part of this session taking an in depth look at how database snapshots work. We’ll look at what exactly is happening behind the scenes when you create a snapshot and when you query a snapshot. Once we’ve covered the basics, we’ll spend the rest of our time analyzing and discussing a number of real world use cases where snapshots can be very beneficial and save you a great deal of time.

Speaker(s):

Paul Timmerman

Track and Room: Keller 3-180 - N/A

Title: Temporary Objects Without Permanent Consequences

Abstract: Temporary objects like Table Variables and Temporary Tables are not inherently bad, but they are overused and misunderstood by many. Increase your understanding and learn when you should favor a Temporary Table over a Table Variable. We will start with the basics, but also look at execution plans to get a better grasp on the cause of those performance differences. Table-Valued Parameters are implemented as read-only Temporary Tables under the covers, and have some solid use cases. Discover how Table-Valued Parameters can be used to: 1) avoid the dynamic sql used by application code (or t-sql string splitting functions) to allow multi-value selection and 2) dramatically reduce the number of round trips between an application and SQL Server.

Speaker(s):

Rick Krueger

Track and Room: Keller 3-180 - N/A

Title: Service Broker: The Queue Continuum

Abstract: Pop quiz: How can SQL Server help developers build scalable, distributed, and asynchronous applications? Service Broker is the answer! In this presentation, I’ll show you what it is; talk about when and why you might want to use it in your applications; walk through an example of how to set it up; and share a few lessons learned from our successful implementations.

Speaker(s):

Ed Leighton-Dick

Track and Room: Keller 3-125 - N/A

Title: They Say We Shouldn’t, But Let’s Do It Anyway – Ad

Abstract: You know all of those things that people say you shouldn’t do with Tabular models; many-to-many relationships, parent-child hierarchies, actions, etc? Let’s do those! In this session we’ll work through a few scenarios to implement some of the more advanced SSAS Tabular techniques. Not only those things that we often hear we shouldn’t do (though there’s often a business case to do them), but also those advanced aspects of Tabular models and the DAX language like dynamical security, using inactive relationships and implementing a direct query model that aren’t as frequently implemented. Come join me to try out all of the things we shouldn’t.

Speaker(s):

William Weber

Track and Room: Keller 3-210 - N/A

Title: Mastering the CUBE Functions in Excel 2013

Abstract: This session explores the seven CUBE functions that are natively available in Excel 2013. Unknown to many business analysts, these useful functions can be used to retrieve data model members and values to create parameter-driven report designs.

The session topics will introduce each of the seven functions. Demonstrations will range from the simple, to the more sophisticated involving dynamic expressions, MDX expressions, integration of data from multiple data models, and macro-driven layouts.

This session is a must for those looking to drive more from Excel when reporting from the BI Semantic Model. Much of the content presented in this session is also applicable to Excel 2007 and Excel 2010.

Speaker(s):

Peter Myers

Track and Room: Keller 3-210 - N/A

Title: Eureka! Visual deep dive into storage internals

Abstract: Sometimes half the battle in computing is just to see what’s happening. We will take a visual tour of physical database storage structures, using live demos with the freeware application SQL Server File Layout Viewer and our old friends the DBCC commands as guides. See what happens in a data file when you convert a table from a heap to a clustered index! See fragmentation and the havoc wrought by Shrink! Marvel at the behavior of multiple files and filegroups! Index Rebuilds! Eureka!

Speaker(s):

Merrill Aldrich

Track and Room: Rapson 43 - N/A

Title: Data cleansing life cycle with Data Quality Services in SQL 2012

Abstract: Do you have dirty data? Most likely yes… This session will take us on the adventure of designing data cleansing solution and implementing it with Data Quality Services and SSIS. We will walk through creation of Knowledge Bases, Domains and Rules. You will learn how to Conform and De-duplicate text data and Enrich it with information from Windows Azure Data Market.

Speaker(s):

Anton Rozenson

Track and Room: Rapson 54 - N/A

Title: Hadoop on Windows

Abstract: Hadoop has long been a technology focused on crunching the world’s data on Linux. With the partnership between Microsoft and Hortonworks, Hadoop has been brought to the Windows platform. This talk will focus on the Hadoop components available in the Hortonworks Data Platform for Windows and discuss integrations with the Microsoft technology stack.

Speaker(s):

Paul Codding

Track and Room: Keller 3-115 - N/A

Title: Self-Service Roles and Responsibilities

Abstract: Defining the roles and responsibilities around Microsoft’s self-service ETL, Data Modeling, and Business Intelligence offerings. Excel 2013 includes several benefits to how Business Analysts, Data Analysts, Data Modelers, DW Developers, BI Developers, Power Users, and Users work with data. Join as I lay out how the Microsoft BI stack is changing the roles and responsibilities around requirements gathering, data discovery, data management, reporting, and opportunity analysis. In this session I will cover Excel’s Data Explorer, PowerPivot, PowerView, and Spreadsheet Management Tools. The intended audience would be Analysts, Data Modelers, Developers, and Power Users.

Speaker(s):

Ross McNeely

Track and Room: Rapson 54 - N/A

Title: Beyond Power Pivot - Building Tabular Model Solutions

Abstract: So you have built this awesome Power Pivot model and deployed it SharePoint. Now you need additional security or better processing strategies. What do you do? Migrate the model to a SQL Server Analysis Services Tabular Model. In this session, we will explore those features that make the Tabular model more robust than a Power Pivot model. We will walk through migrating and updating a solution to take advantage of security, partitioning, and other Tabular model capabilities.

Speaker(s):

Steve Hughes

Track and Room: Rapson 56 - N/A

Title: When Scripting Worlds Collide: PHP + SQL Server

Abstract: PHP is a popular, and free, scripting language. It can be used to create websites, or simply perform a variety of tasks when run from a command prompt. Combine PHP with SQL Server and you have a powerful way to create data driven websites. In this session learn how to install, configure, and use PHP with SQL Server. Learn the basics of connecting to databases, writing queries, and using data to create dynamic, data driven websites.

Speaker(s):

Jeff Prom

Track and Room: Keller 3-115 - N/A

Title: PowerShell and SQLPSX the Dynamic Duo for the DBA

Abstract: With PowerShell and SQLPSX your DBA life can be a lot simpler. SMO is powerful, but can be difficult to use. Enter SQLPSX. Chad Miller put together a set of PowerShell functions that streamline the use of SMO, easing management of a multi-server environment. Come learn when and how the addition of PowerShell and SQLPSX can benefit you.

Speaker(s):

Jim Dorame

Track and Room: Keller 3-180 - N/A

Title: Managing SQL Server Performance with Extended Events

Abstract: One of a DBA’s primary responsibilities is managing the performance of a SQL Server environment. When performance problems arise, DBAs need to have the correct tools in place to be able to dig in and discover the issues that are occurring. Although it’s one of the newer tools in the DBA toolbox, Extended Events is one of the most powerful tools available. In this session, we will discuss performance management responsibilities for DBAs and provide a foundation, through Extended Events, to understand and resolve performance issues.

Speaker(s):

Jason Strate

Track and Room: Keller 3-180 - N/A

Title: T-SQL: How to create a million sample people

Abstract: This session is a demo how you can create T-SQL code to create a table with a million rows of sample people with addresses, phone number, date of birth, and other demographic columns. Useful for creating realistic-looking data for a project that doesn’t have any, or de-identifying existing data for development and testing purposes.

( Note: An article on this session has been published at http://www.experts-exchange.com/Microsoft/Development/MS-SQL-Server/A_12174-SQL-Server-T-SQL-recipe-to-create-a-million-sample-people.html )

Speaker(s):

Jim Horn

Track and Room: Keller 3-125 - N/A

Title: Yesterday I Couldn’t Even Spell ‘DBA’.

Abstract: Referred to as “DBA by Default” or “Reluctant DBA”, many people are faced with the situation of suddenly becoming a SQL Server database administrator. Once the initial shock passes they realize that they need help. The abundance of SQL Server books and websites that exist, some good and some not so good, might only increase confusion leading to panic and rash decisions. DON’T PANIC! In this session we will cover ways to address basic problems and offer some suggestions for finding good places to find help.

Speaker(s):

Larry Toothman

Track and Room: Rapson 45 - N/A

Title: Subqueries for Superheroes

Abstract: Strictly for beginners, this session explores the lowly subquery, sidekick of the T-SQL world. Learn the different types of subqueries, how they can help you, and how they can hurt you.

Speaker(s):

Tracy McKibben

Track and Room: Keller 3-125 - N/A

Title: Power to the User: a look at Power BI

Abstract: Microsoft has put their user facing BI products into the Power BI suite. In this whirlwind session we will work through a solution that uses much of that power. We will be using Power Pivot, Power Query, and Power View in Excel 2013 to show how any user or techie can take advantage of BI on the desktop.

Speaker(s):

Steve Hughes

Track and Room: Rapson 54 - N/A

Title: Dimension Modeling Design Patterns: Beyond Basics

Abstract: This session will provide a deeper dive into the art of dimensional modeling. We will look at the different types of fact tables and dimension tables, how and when to use them. We will also some approaches to creating rich hierarchies that make reporting a snap. This session promises to be very interactive and engaging, bring your toughest Dimensional Modeling quandaries.

Speaker(s):

Jason Horner

Track and Room: Rapson 54 - N/A

Title: SQL Server 2012 Memory Management

Abstract: SQL Server 2012 brings a wide range of changes from its previous versions - one key change is the way SQL Server memory is managed. With releases prior to SQL Server 2012, there were 2 memory managers, these have been merged into 1 with the latest version, and that’s just the start of the changes for SQL Server memory. This session will dive into questions related to memory primarily for SQL Server 2012.

Speaker(s):

Neil Hambly

Track and Room: Rapson 43 - N/A

Title: Shoveling Frogs into a Wheelbarrow

Abstract: If you face managing over a hundred, or perhaps thousands, of databases, automation, standards and a “policy-based” mindset are critical. In this session we’ll do a walk-through of a rules-based backup and index maintenance solution suitable for zillions of smaller databases, and talk at a high level about features and techniques for multi-server management including monitoring, performance data collection, jobs automation, PowerShell and PBM.

Speaker(s):

Merrill Aldrich

Track and Room: Rapson 43 - N/A

Title: You’re THE DBA. Now What?

Abstract: Are you an accidental DBA trying to find your way through your new role? Are you an experienced DBA moving to a new position, team, or major application? This presentation is for you! In this presentation, we will review best practices for what to do when you’re a brand new DBA. You will learn what to look for when you walk into a new environment, as well as pitfalls to avoid.

Speaker(s):

Gill Rowley

Track and Room: Rapson 45 - N/A

Title: MDX Trek: First Contact

Abstract: Cube space; the final frontier. In this Star Trek themed introduction to MDX, we will discuss the fundamentals of cube structure and vocabulary, including tuples, members, sets, hierarchies, and more. We will introduce and demonstrate the basic syntax of MDX with queries that include navigating hierarchies and even some time-based expressions. This session will give you the tools you need to write simple, yet meaningful, MDX queries in your own environment.

Speaker(s):

Mark Vaillancourt

Track and Room: Rapson 56 - N/A

Title: SSRS data driven subscription using SSIS

Abstract: SQL Server Reporting Services provides a powerful tool to render report based on information in a database table. But in order to use this feature, you are required to purchase an Enterprise license of SQL Server. In this session, we will create an SSIS package that renders reports to the file system based on values stored in the database.

Speaker(s):

Russel Loski

Track and Room: Keller 3-210 - N/A

Title: Big Data in the Cloud with HDInsight

Abstract: Learn the patterns for using Azure for Big Data workloads. Learn how to create a cluster, load a cluster, and develop approaches for analysis to use the data. This session will draw on customer implementations, sharing the questions asked and problems solved by taking various implementation approaches.

Speaker(s):

Lara Rubbelke

Track and Room: Keller 3-115 - N/A

Title: Introduction to BIML and BIMLScript

Abstract: Microsoft has provided some great tools for creating and editing SSIS packages. First Business Intelligence Development Studio (BIDS) then SQL Server Data Tools (SSDT). However, when creating an SSIS package you frequently repeat the same steps over and over. BIML is an XML markup language designed for representing the structure of an SSIS package. BIML Script takes that structure and generates an SSIS package.In this session we will use BIDS Helper to create a simple SSIS package using BIML. We will handle a couple SSIS scenarios with BIML and BIML Script.

Speaker(s):

Russel Loski

Track and Room: Rapson 56 - N/A

Title: Table Partitions for Archiving

Abstract: What is Table Partitioning? How can it be used to move large amounts of data quickly? How can it be used with a data archiving strategy to quickly and easily drop archived data from a table? We will discuss the practical applications of table partitioning using scripts to generate new table partitions, move a partition to another table and discussion on how this can benefit you.

Speaker(s):

Eric Zierdt

Track and Room: Rapson 45 - N/A

Title: Deploying Highly Available SQL Servers in the Amazon EC2 Cloud

Abstract: This is a lecture and demonstration on how to deploy highly available SQL Server instances in the Amazon EC2 cloud presented by Microsoft Cluster MVP David Bermingham. Starting with preparing the EC2 environment including configuring the VPC, routing and security, Bermingham then continues on and shows you how to configure both AlwaysOn Availability Groups as well as AlwaysOn Failover Clusters for cross availability zone failover.

Speaker(s):

David Bermingham

Track and Room: Keller 3-115 - N/A

Title: Agile Data Warehouse - The final frontier

Abstract: Come to this session and learn about why you should always create a data model for enterprise applications. This session will review the benefits and functionality that typically is provided by most data modeling tools. Learn why a data model needs to be more that just a collection of SQL scripts. Many projects try to version their models in a manually manner by generating SQL change scripts and checking them in. This labour intensive process frequently turns out to be not scalable and does not integrate well into the development process. This session will also share a process that was used to version database changes directly from a data model.

Speaker(s):

Terry Bunio

Track and Room: Rapson 56 - N/A

Title: T-SQL: Simple Changes That Go a Long Way

Abstract: Writing TSQL that performs well requires knowledge beyond proper syntax, sometimes it requires more than just knowing TSQL, and sometimes it takes a bit of rework and ingenuity. There are simple things that you will learn in this session that will improve the performance of your queries. Learn about indexing techniques and reading execution plans to see if the optimizer is using the index. Performance isn’t everything though. There are small things you can do to make your TSQL more maintainable too. We will dive into a few TSQL tricks with Common Table Expressions, Table-Valued Parameters, and COALESCE.

Speaker(s):

David Valentine

Track and Room: Keller 3-125 - N/A

Title: Big Data Analytics with PowerPivot and Power View

Abstract: This presentation will introduce big data analytics for the business analyst with PowerPivot and Power View. It will be of interest to those new to the concept of big data, new to self-service data modelling with PowerPivot, and those interested to understand what is new for PowerPivot and Power View in Excel 2013.

Demonstrations will include creating a big data solution by using HDInsight Server; producing a PowerPivot model based on the big data solution; using PowerPivot to integrate big data with local data; and, analyzing the PowerPivot model data by using Power View.

Speaker(s):

Peter Myers

Track and Room: Keller 3-210 - N/A

Title: Data Migration Between SQL Servers

Abstract: Data must often be relocated to a different SQL server, when consolidating or upgrading servers or databases. This session details experiences from numerous such moves, using a number of different techniques. We talk about why you might do such a thing, which approaches are available (with what trade-offs), and some of the things that sometimes get forgotten. And especially, how to handle SQL-based apps for a move.

Speaker(s):

Tim Plas

Track and Room: Rapson 43 - N/A

Title: Back(up) to Basics

Abstract: Are your databases being backed up? Are you sure? Are you sure they’re being backed up correctly? Maybe you’re an “accidental DBA” or a developer who’s not quite sure of the answers to those questions. In this session, you’ll learn what the different types of basic backups are, how to execute them, and (perhaps most importantly) how to restore from them if and when necessary.

Speaker(s):

Ben Thul

Track and Room: Rapson 45 - N/A

Speakers

This is a list of speakers from the XML Guidebook records. The details and URLs were valid at the time of the event.

Jason Horner

Twitter: - jasonhorner

LinkedIn: Jason Horner

Contact: http://blog.jasonhorner.com

Hi, my name is Jason I’m a practice lead at Redapt. I spend most of my day helping clients solve business problems mostly in the Data and Advanced Analytics spaces. Sometimes this involves various and sundry cloud technologies including Azure Data Factory, Azure SQL Data Warehouse, Azure Data Lake Store, Azure Databricks, HDInsight and Azure SQL Database. I’m fluent in several languages including: SQL, C#, Python, and PowerShell.

I’m a Microsoft Certified Master of SQL Server (MCM) and have been recognized for my technical excellence and evangelism efforts by Microsoft by being awarded the Most Valuable Professional (MVP) for the last 5+ years.

In my off hours I like to snowboard, karaoke, ride roller coasters, and play arcade games

Jim Horn

Twitter: - @sqljimbo

LinkedIn: Jim Horn

Contact: http://www.jimhorn.biz

Microsoft-based database developer specializing in Business Intelligence, ETL, and Dashboard solutions using Microsoft SQL Server, SSIS, SSRS, and the Power BI suite. Have worked as a developer, staff manager, production support manager, and internal and external consultant.

I regularly answer questions and write article on Experts-Exchange.com

Presented at SQLSaturday #238 (2013, Minnesota), #453 (2015, Minnesota), and at various local chapters.

Email jim at jimhorn dot biz, twitter @sqljimbo

Eric Zierdt

Twitter: - @EricZierdt

LinkedIn: Eric Zierdt

Contact: http://ericemployed.blogspot.com

Eric is a level 70 Data Slayer, who has worked with SQL Server since 2000. Eric has worked with benefit systems, real estate data, marketing, game data, and medical device data. Eric enjoys performance tuning, T-SQL programming, and SQL Server Administration.

Mark Vaillancourt

Twitter: - @markvsql

LinkedIn: Mark Vaillancourt

Contact: http://markvsql.com

Mark is a Data Solutions Architect for Microsoft, helping organizations design data solutions in Azure. He has been working with Microsoft data technologies since 2007. Before joining Microsoft, he was a Business Intelligence consultant and two-time Microsoft Data Platform MVP. With a background in Theater and Improvised Comedy, Mark makes sure that his presentations are both informative and fun.

Gill Rowley

Twitter: - @BadgerBully

LinkedIn: Gill Rowley

Contact: http://gillrowley.wordpress.com

I#39;m a SQL Server DBA and Business Intelligence Consultant with over 10 years experience working with all versions of SQL Server dating back to SQL Server 7.0. When not playing with SQL Server I spend my time hunting, fishing, weightlifting, relaxing on my boat, playing men#39;s fast pitch softball, and playing with my rescued bull terrier Lola.

Mark Knutson

Began working with SQL on Sybase 4.9 in mid 1990s. SQL Server DBA for the past 8 years. Working with multidimensional cubes since 2005. Worked with Tabular Models in 2013. MCSA in BI. BI Consultant with Superior Consulting Services since December of 2012.

Larry Toothman

Contact: http://IowaTechBear.com

Larry has been a Database Administrator for a non-profit health system in Cedar Rapids, IA since late 2007. With over 20 years of software and database development experience, he was drafted to be the DBA in 1999 for a dev company. Amazed by the wide variety of people in the SQL Server community as well as the support from the “SQL Family” Larry is always looking for opportunities to pay it forward, spread the word mentoring.

Anton Rozenson

Contact: http://blog.gnetgroup.com/

Anton Rozenson has over 13 years of information technology experience, focusing in the business intelligence arena. He has worked both in the consulting industry as well as directly with companies in various roles from Programmer Analyst, Developer, Data Architect, Manager and Solutions Architect.

Tracy McKibben

Twitter: - @RealSQLGuy

LinkedIn: Tracy McKibben

Contact: http://realsqlguy.com

Database background extending back to 1994, includes Clipper, FoxPro, dBase, all versions of SQL from 7.0 forward.

Currently managing a team of production DBAs for Pearson VUE, and serving as the Director Of Program Development for PASSMN.

Paul Codding

Paul Codding has been a field engineer with Hortonworks ever since the first release of the Hortonworks Data Platform. Throughout that time he has worked with many large customers in multiple industry verticals to bring Hadoop to production. Paul’s focus is on helping companies effectively use Apache Hadoop as a next generation data management platform.

Ben Thul

Twitter: - @spartansql

Contact: http://www.spartansql.com

Born naked and defenseless, he overcame these obstacles to become a mender of broken things, seeker of magic rings, and occasional watcher of slow pings.

Ed Leighton-Dick

Twitter: - eleightondick

LinkedIn: Ed Leighton-Dick

Contact: http://www.edleightondick.com

Ed Leighton-Dick is a Microsoft MVP, SQL Server performance and architecture specialist, and Founder/Principal Consultant of Kingfisher Technologies. He is a frequent volunteer with PASS, including current roles as a Regional Mentor, co-leader of I-380 PASS local group, and co-leader of the HA/DR virtual group. He can often be found teaching sessions at local, regional, and national events, including user groups, SQLSaturday, and PASS Summit.

Ira Warren

Over 35 years experiences in Software Sevelopemt, IT Management and BI Architecture.

Neil Hambly

Twitter: - Neil_Hambly

LinkedIn: Neil Hambly

Contact: http://dataidol.com/NeilHambly

Neil Hambly is a SQL Server consultant, founder and consultant at Datamovements, a Gold Microsoft Data Analytics Consulting company. Neil has 20+ years in a variety of SQL Server roles and is an MCT. He is a regular presenter (200+ events) at user groups, and PASS events, including PASS Summit and SQLSaturday, and many UK events (SQLBits, SQLRelay). Neil is the leader of PASS London (UK), a Professional Development VC, a Melissa Data MVP, and a SQL Cruise Technical Lead, who loves Guinness, whisky, and dancing.

Jason Strate

Twitter: - @stratesql

LinkedIn: Jason Strate

Contact: http://www.jasonstrate.com/

Jason Strate is a SQL Server Solutions Architect with Pragmatic Works. He is also a Microsoft SQL Server MVP and MCM. He has over 15 years of experience developing, architecting, and managing data platforms. Jason writes, blogs, and presents on SQL Server.

Jeff Prom

LinkedIn: Jeff Prom

Contact: http://jeffprom.com/

Jeff Prom is a Data and BI Developer with over 15 years experience. From a wide variety of industries, he has worked at corportations both large and small including several global fortune 50 companies. Jeff is an active member in the SQL community and regularly speaks and attends user groups and conferences. He has earned MCTS certifications for Database Development, Administration, and BI. Jeff is currently employed at Silver Bay Realty Trust Corp as a Data Architect in Minnesota.

William Weber

Twitter: - williamweber

LinkedIn: William Weber

William is a Business Intelligence Consultant at Superior Consulting Services in Burnsville, Minnesota. He started his career as a professional juggler. Almost got a degree in Theatre. Actually got a degree in Chinese. And now builds business intelligence solutions for clients all around the Twin Cities.

Lara Rubbelke

Twitter: - @sqlgal

Lara Rubbelke brings her passion for architecting, implementing, and improving Azure data solutions to the community as a Principle Software Development Engineer for Microsoft. Many know Lara from her work on the DDP Framework, EPM Framework, and Separation of Duties Framework. Her expertise involves Big Data, analytics, OLTP and DW systems. Lara frequently delivers technical presentations at conferences and events including Build, PASS Summit, SQLBits, and webcasts on Channel 9 and MSDN.

Kirby Richter

Twitter: - @sqlkirby

LinkedIn: Kirby Richter

Kirby Richter is a Minnesota SQL Server Professional with 20 years’ experience. Currently Principal Database Architect at Dell Storage, specializing in Database Administration, large databases and Performance Tuning. Working with all versions of SQL Server since 6.5 Enjoys Development, Database Administration and Business Intelligence. Presents periodically at local events. Hobbies include kayaking, camping and amateur Astronomy.

Russel Loski

Twitter: - sqlmovers

LinkedIn: Russel Loski

Contact: http://www.sqlmovers.com

Russ Loski is a SQL Server BI Developer based in Dallas-Fort Worth. He current works as a Data Analytics Engineer for Navisite, a remote managed IT services company. Twenty years ago, he began working with SQL Server 6.5. He has since continued to develop applications connected to all of the versions of SQL Server. He has worked with clients in industries from insurance to healthcare, from movie theaters to American football. Russ is a regular speaker at SQLSaturday events, as well as the SQL Server Users Groups in the North Texas region. Russ likes working with data in various shapes.

Eric Ness

LinkedIn: Eric Ness

Eric Ness has over ten years of experience in IT with a focus on data management and business intelligence on the Microsoft SQL Server platform during the last five. He tackles a variety of BI challenges as a Business Intelligence Consultant at Superior Consulting Services. He also currently serves as the Education Officer for the Minnesota chapter of DAMA. Eric has presented at SQLSaturdays in Minnesota and Iowa as well as Enterprise Data World 2012.

Peter Myers

LinkedIn: Peter Myers

Peter Myers is a consultant, trainer and presenter, and has worked with Microsoft database and development products since 1997. Today he specializes in all Microsoft Business Intelligence products and also authors training course content for Microsoft products and services.

He has a broad business background supported by a bachelor’s degree in applied economics and accounting, and he extends this with extensive experience backed by current MCSE certifications. He has been a Data Platform MVP since 2007.

Mark Vaillancourt

Twitter: - @markvsql

LinkedIn: Mark Vaillancourt

Contact: http://markvsql.com

Russel Loski

Twitter: - sqlmovers

LinkedIn: Russel Loski

Contact: http://www.sqlmovers.com

Steve Hughes

Twitter: - dataonwheels

LinkedIn: Steve Hughes

Contact: http://www.dataonwheels.com

Steve Hughes is the Director of Consulting at Pragmatic Works. In his current role, Steve manages the consultant team at Pragmatic Works and directs implementation of our cloud practices for customers. He focuses on team development and company growth with this role. In his previous role as a Principal Consultant Lead, he focused designing solutions for customers on Microsoft technologies including SQL Server, Power BI, and Azure. He has been working with technology for over 20 years with much of that time spent on creating business intelligence solutions and helping customers implement leading BI and cloud solutions. He is passionate about using data effectively and helping customers understand that data is valuable and profitable.

David Bermingham

Twitter: - https://twitter.com/daveberm

LinkedIn: David Bermingham

Contact: http://clusteringformeremortals.com/

David Bermingham is recognized within the community as a high availability expert and has been honored by his peers by being elected to be a MVP in Clustering since 2010 and most recently has been recognized as a Cloud and Datacenter MVP. David’s work as technical evangelist at SIOS has him focused on evangelizing Microsoft high availability and disaster recovery solutions for both on premise and cloud deployments. He lives in New Jersey with his wife and three kids where he a school board member, scout leader and musical director of an 8-piece jazz band, M-Town.

Paul Timmerman

Contact: http://blogs.lessthandot.com/index.php/author/mndba/

Paul is a Microsoft SQL Server MVP and the Lead SQL Server DBA at Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Paul has fifteen years of experience in database administration and currently the Chapter Leader of the Minnesota SQL Server User Group, PASSMN. Paul is an active member of the PASS community and routinely speaks at user group meetings and SQLSaturday conferences.

Ross McNeely

Contact: http://mcneelydwbi.wordpress.com

Ross McNeely, BI Practice Manager, C2 IT Solutions

Ross has presented at several SQLSaturday events in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Iowa. Recently, Ross adds real-world examples from the Financial Services, Logistics, and Retail industries in his presentations. Regardless if you have a beginner, intermediate, or advanced skill set, Ross will provide a solid foundation for each topic he presents. Please join Ross McNeely for a fun and informative meeting.

Steve Hughes

Twitter: - dataonwheels

LinkedIn: Steve Hughes

Contact: http://www.dataonwheels.com

Terry Bunio

Twitter: - @tbunio

Contact: http://www.agilevoyageur.com

Terry started his career working with Adabas as a DBA., Over the next 20 years, Terry has worked with Oracle, Informix, Sybase, and Microsoft SQL Server as both a Data Modeler and DBA. Terry is a huge proponent of normalization and dimensional modeling.

Terry has implemented Operational Data Stores, Data Warehouses, and ETL solutions for Investors Group, LPL Financial, Manitoba Blue Cross, and others.

Terry has recently worked on integrating Agile practices into Database projects.

Rick Krueger

Twitter: - https://twitter.com/dataogre

LinkedIn: Rick Krueger

Contact: http://www.dataogre.com

Rick Krueger has been working with SQL Server as either a Developer or a Development DBA for over 20 years. He is a veteran Independent Consultant, Lead Development DBA and BI Developer based in the Twin Cities. Rick is giving back to the SQL Community by being an active member and presenting at PASSMN, blogging at DataOgre.com, and presenting at SQLSaturdays in the MidWest.

Peter Myers

LinkedIn: Peter Myers

Tim Plas

Twitter: - tjplas

LinkedIn: Tim Plas

Tim is a Principal Consultant at Virteva, in Mpls MN. His current focus areas are cloud architecture / engineering / migration, operational-DBA services (esp. HA/DR), server migrations, server virtualization, and storage. His experience over the past 25+ years has been primarily with server / data-center infrastructure, including being CTO / co-founder of a successful hosting company. Tim has held a variety of MS certifications since 1994.

Eric Selje

Twitter: - @ericselje

Contact: http://saltydogllc.com

Eric Selje is a developer and consultant in Madison, WI who works on a wide variety of applications, from desktop to web to mobile - all of them requiring databases. Eric has for private businesses, non-profits, and is now working for the U.S. Courts. He has been a user group leader since 1995, and other than coding he loves playing Ultimate and baseball, doing crosswords and reading.

David Valentine

Twitter: - https://twitter.com/IngeniousSQL

LinkedIn: David Valentine

Contact: http://www.ingenioussql.com

Dave Valentine is a Development DBA with over 15 years of experience with SQL Server and development technologies, specializing in Business Intelligence and ingenious solutions. Dave has also been an Adjunct Professor at Metropolitan State University for the past 15 years educating students in Database Management and Application Development. Dave started giving back to the SQL community a few years ago by presenting at Local PASS Chapters, SQLSaturday Events, and blogging at IngeniousSQL.com.

Jim Dorame

Twitter: - @DBAJD

LinkedIn: Jim Dorame

Contact: http://www.jamesdorame.com/

Jim Dorame has been working with SQL Server for over 20 years. Over those years he has learned a great deal from the SQL community. He has also given back to the community in the hopes that he may help someone in their career. He is always looking for something to learn and luckily Microsoft keeps adding to SQL Server.

Neil Hambly

Twitter: - Neil_Hambly

LinkedIn: Neil Hambly

Contact: http://dataidol.com/NeilHambly

Merrill Aldrich

Twitter: - @onupdatecascade

LinkedIn: Merrill Aldrich

Contact: http://sqlblog.com/blogs/merrill_aldrich/

Merrill is a consultant with the national Digital and Technology Consultancy RBA. In past lives he was a SQL Server DBA for Financial Services and Real Estate Management organizations, a designer of buildings, an expert in three dimensional computer graphics and building information modeling, a speaker, teacher, and visiting lecturer.

Greg Beaumont

Contact: http://blog.gnetgroup.com

Greg Beaumont is a Business Intelligence Consultant at GNet Group. He joined GNet Group in 2009, and has industry vertical experience including healthcare, manufacturing, logistics, retail, and public/government data. His professional focus is upon building industry standard reporting methodologies into BI solutions. He enjoys staying up-to-date with technology related to his career within the world of Microsoft BI.

Merrill Aldrich

Twitter: - @onupdatecascade

LinkedIn: Merrill Aldrich

Contact: http://sqlblog.com/blogs/merrill_aldrich/

SQLSaturday #238 - Minnesota 2013

Sessions

Title: Unit Testing Fundamentals

Title: Data Mining Deep Dive: Clustering

Title: Take Your Data Global with Microsoft BI Data Explorer, GeoFlow, and Power View Maps

Title: (SQL,SSIS,MDS) Adv Fuzzy Matching Roll Your Own

Title: Implement a Dynamic Table Partitioning Solution

Title: DANGER: The Art and Science of Presenting

Title: Why are we Waiting..

Title: The care and feeding of your adolescent SQL Server.

Title: Database Snapshots - Making Your Job Easier

Title: Temporary Objects Without Permanent Consequences

Title: Service Broker: The Queue Continuum

Title: They Say We Shouldn’t, But Let’s Do It Anyway – Ad

Title: Mastering the CUBE Functions in Excel 2013

Title: Eureka! Visual deep dive into storage internals

Title: Data cleansing life cycle with Data Quality Services in SQL 2012

Title: Hadoop on Windows

Title: Self-Service Roles and Responsibilities

Title: Beyond Power Pivot - Building Tabular Model Solutions

Title: When Scripting Worlds Collide: PHP + SQL Server

Title: PowerShell and SQLPSX the Dynamic Duo for the DBA

Title: Managing SQL Server Performance with Extended Events

Title: T-SQL: How to create a million sample people

Title: Yesterday I Couldn’t Even Spell ‘DBA’.

Title: Subqueries for Superheroes

Title: Power to the User: a look at Power BI

Title: Dimension Modeling Design Patterns: Beyond Basics

Title: SQL Server 2012 Memory Management

Title: Shoveling Frogs into a Wheelbarrow

Title: You’re THE DBA. Now What?

Title: MDX Trek: First Contact

Title: SSRS data driven subscription using SSIS

Title: Big Data in the Cloud with HDInsight

Title: Introduction to BIML and BIMLScript

Title: Table Partitions for Archiving

Title: Deploying Highly Available SQL Servers in the Amazon EC2 Cloud

Title: Agile Data Warehouse - The final frontier

Title: T-SQL: Simple Changes That Go a Long Way

Title: Big Data Analytics with PowerPivot and Power View

Title: Data Migration Between SQL Servers

Title: Back(up) to Basics

Speakers

Sponsors