SQLSaturday #381 - Richmond 2015

Event Date: 03/21/2015 00:00:00

Event Location:

  • ECPI
  • 800 Moorefield Park Drive
  • Richmond, Virginia

PDF of Schedule

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Sessions

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


Title: Performance Tuning Pit Stop for DBAs

Abstract: Our users are in constant demand of faster running servers that spill out data before they can blink. Performance can be hard to measure and improve. Before we get in the race we will cover how to get a Performance baseline using the PAL Tools. The first Pit Stop will be to review TempDB setup to improve performance. Before getting into high gear we’ll pull over to refuel on some Log File best practices and performance implications of VLFs. Finally before passing the checkered flag we’ll make one more stop to talk about Data Files and improving your mileage from there. After this session you’ll have a good idea of how to make changes transparent to any application to get your server crossing that finish line in style!

Speaker(s):

  • Ayman El-Ghazali

Track and Room: Track 6 - N/A


Title: Learn How To Build A Golden Record for Any Subject Over Lunch!

Abstract: Attend the lunch demo and see how you can use Master Data Services and Maestro to: • Create a golden record for any subject area in a matter of minutes Leverage your Microsoft licenses, skills and infrastructure to lower license costs and FTE costs, and reduce the complexity of an MDM environment? • Understand how to implement workflow and business process solutions around the management of MDM, without having to write complex custom coding for everything? • Tackle data quality, consistency and control by empowering business and subject matter experts, without needing heavy IT resources and writing complex code or scripting • Improve data quality, data stewardship, workflow, and data sharing with any of your enterprise

Speaker(s):

  • Gene Webb

Track and Room: Track 1 - N/A


Title: How In-Memory Database Objects Affect Database Design

Abstract: With SQL Server 2014, Microsoft has added a major new feature to help optimize OLTP database implementations by persisting your data primarily in RAM. Of course it isn’t that simple, internally everything that uses this new feature is completely new. While the internals of this feature may be foreign to you, accessing the data that uses the structures very much resembles T-SQL as you already know it. As such, the first important question for the average developer will be how to adapt an existing application to make use of the technology to achieve enhanced performance. In this session, I will start with a normalized database, and adapt the logical and physical database model/implementation in several manners, performance testing the tables and code changes along the way.

Speaker(s):

  • Louis Davidson

Track and Room: Track 4 - N/A


Title: Convince Me – Persuasion Techniques That Get Things Done

Abstract: This was the top scoring professional development session from the PASS Summit 2013.

Ever wanted to convince the boss try something new, but didn’t know where to start? Ever tried to lead your peers only to fail to achieve your goals? This session teaches you the eight techniques of influencing IT professionals, so that you can innovate and achieve change in your organization.

  1. Learn about the fundamental difference between influence and authority and how you can achieve a high degree of influence without explicit authority.
  2. Learn the eight techniques of influencing IT professionals, when to apply them, and how to best use them.
  3. Discover the communication and procedural techniques that ensure your ideas get a hearing by bosses and peers, and how to best win support for them.

Speaker(s):

  • Kevin Kline

Track and Room: Track 3 - N/A


Title: Dealing with Dirty Data with SQL Server and SSIS

Abstract: Dirty data is everywhere, and it’s headed for a database near you. Extraction, transformation, and loading (ETL) can be difficult, but often the most challenging component of that process is the validation and clean up of data. Information must be cleansed in such a way that it retains its original message and business value, while conforming to the expectations of the destination system(s).

In this session, we’ll discuss some design patterns for addressing different types of dirty data using SQL Server Integration Services. We will review the various cleansing tools accessible from within SSIS including native Integration Services components, T-SQL, and SSIS scripting. In addition, we’ll briefly review the new SQL Server Data Quality Services and its integration with SSIS. We’ll cap off the discussion with demonstrations of several methods for data cleansing.

Speaker(s):

  • Tim Mitchell

Track and Room: Track 7 - N/A


Title: Supporting SharePoint and Project Server databases as SQL Server Database Administrator

Abstract: This Session will help you learn faster “How to support SharePoint and Project Server databases” as SQL Server Database Administrator. SharePoint and Project Server are growing very fast and capturing fair market share. SQL Server is backbone for both of these products. SharePoint databases size is growing very fast and quickly in terabytes. Performance of SharePoint and Project Server depends on the performance of SQL Server. During this session you will know about capacity planning, database creation, Server Configuration and Performance Tuning using best practices from the experts. This will enable you to learn and support Sharepoint and Project Server databases very efficiently.

Speaker(s):

  • Ram Saini

Track and Room: Track 2 - N/A


Title: From Zero to Loading a Data Warehouse

Abstract: You’re tasked to create the ETL process for a brand-new data warehouse. Where do you start? Data warehouse ETL boils down to three specific problems: Staging, Dimensions, and Facts. This session will show you solutions to these three problems. You’ll first learn the fundamentals of a data warehouse before diving into creating packages and leveraging common patterns. You’ll see both simple and advanced scenarios such as incrementally loading staging tables, processing type1 and type2 slowly changing dimensions, early arriving facts, snapshot fact tables, and bridge tables. If you want to create scalable and efficient SSIS packages to load a data warehouse, this session is for you.

Speaker(s):

  • Samuel Vanga

Track and Room: Track 1 - N/A


Title: TempDB Parasites!

Abstract: Unless you happen to be Chuck Norris, your SQL Server instances only have one tempDB. That makes tempDB a single point of contention for an instance. What’s worse is that there are a lot of things going on in tempDB that you may not be aware of. Let’s look at some things that can use tempDB while we’re not looking.

Speaker(s):

  • Jason Hall

Track and Room: Track 5 - N/A


Title: XQuery: get FLWORed

Abstract: There are a number of difficult tasks in SQL querying that can be solved using XML and XQuery. Learn about pivoting, row concatenation, transactional processing techniques, and other things that can be accomplished by reshaping small data sets into XML.

Speaker(s):

  • Jennifer Kenney

Track and Room: Track 5 - N/A


Title: Using Extended Events in SQL Server

Abstract: Extended Events were introduced in SQL Server 2008. With SQL 2014, we have seen a significant upgrade to this feature. Join me for a little adventure into the realm of extended events. We will discuss how to use extended events to aid in performance tuning and in day to day administration. We will also explore some background and the architecture of extended events. This is a fast paced session and will be a lot of fun. Attendees will be able to take back several sample XE sessions to help troubleshoot different issues and get to more intimately know their data/environment.

Speaker(s):

  • Jason Brimhall

Track and Room: Track 3 - N/A


Title: Social Networking Is Alive!!!

Abstract: Social Networking/Media is all over the news today. Did you see that on Facebook? Johnny 5 said what on Twitter?? Can you believe Susie moved to that company?? Do any of those sound familiar? No? Never heard of Twitter? Don’t have any fear as this session is for you! Social networking can be a very confusing place and when you don’t know where to start, that makes it even worse. In this session, we will go over different facets of Social Networking/Media and how you can use them to enhance not only your personal lives but just as importantly, your professional one. We’ll be covering Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.

Speaker(s):

  • John Morehouse

Track and Room: Track 2 - N/A


Title: Are Availability Groups a good fit for your database?

Abstract: How do you know if Availability Groups are the correct high availability solution for your business application? We’ll cover some common business problems that Availability Groups can solve and go through a quick install where we’ll cover some pre and post checklist items to help you understand the requirements for a successful implementation.

Speaker(s):

  • Doug Purnell

Track and Room: Track 1 - N/A


Title: Dealing With Difficult People

Abstract: John knows everything and goes out of his way to correct you at every turn. Mary is agreeable to a fault and just placates everyone. Mike is full of doom and gloom and whines constantly. Are these your co-workers? Relatives? Frenemies? You? Learn two golden rules to reduce the stress produced by the difficult people in your life.

Speaker(s):

  • Gigi Bell

Track and Room: Track 7 - N/A


Title: Making Predictions with Microsoft Data Mining Tools

Abstract: Whether predicting customers or All Stars, the process and the tools remain the same. Microsoft’s Analysis Services Data Mining tools enable you to quickly profile your data, identify hidden relationships and predict future outcomes based on those relationships. Join me to see what data mining is, what data mining is not and how Microsoft’s data mining tools can help you analyze your business. During this session, I will walk us through a start-to-finish data mining prediction project. It’s easier than you might have thought.

Speaker(s):

  • Mark Hudson

Track and Room: Track 5 - N/A


Title: Ten T-SQL Techniques with Tally Tables

Abstract: Chris Hyde has been working with the Microsoft SQL Server stack for over thirteen years and has completed certification exams in SQL versions 2012, 2008, 2005, and 2000. He is a Senior Consultant with Leidos Health specializing in the healthcare market, which he particularly enjoys as he gets to tackle different types of data problems at each client. He is currently on the board of the Albuquerque chapter of SQL PASS.

Speaker(s):

  • Chris Hyde

Track and Room: Track 8 - N/A


Title: Essential Policy-Based Management

Abstract: Policy-Based Management, introduced in SQL Server 2008 gives DBAs an easily accessible tool for ensuring consistent SQL Server configurations across their environment. This presentation will offer a core set of essential policies and options for implementing and maintaining them.

Speaker(s):

  • Justin Randall

Track and Room: Track 6 - N/A


Title: Analysis Services: Multidimensional vs Tabular

Abstract: The difference between Analysis Services Multidimensional versus Analysis Service Tabular can be difficult to understand for both new and seasoned Microsoft business intelligence developers. However, this understanding helps you to pick the model type that will provide the best possible solution for your end users. This session will describe each model type, list the pros and cons of each model type, and show developer and end user functionality for both model types. After this session, you will be able to successfully pick the right Analysis Services model type for you.

Speaker(s):

  • Jessica Moss

Track and Room: Track 8 - N/A


Title: Mobile Data Made Easy

Abstract: Managing data on thousands of mobile devices isn’t difficult with the right tools. As it turns out, SQL Server gives us everything we need to keep iOS, Windows and Android devices synchronized with a central data repository. In this highly-interactive session, we’ll explore SQL Server’s Change Tracking features in depth and write some application code that can be used on a variety of mobile platforms to perform simple, high-performance and robust data synchronization.

Speaker(s):

  • Kevin Hazzard

Track and Room: Track 2 - N/A


Title: Scripting out SQL Server for Documentation and Disaster Recovery

Abstract: Most DBAs need to use multiple native and third party tools to fully document SQL Server instances yet still dont get all the objects. Even using Visual Studio and Database Projects, not all objects are exportable and live at the server level, above the database. Using Powershell, we will script out an organized set of files that can be checked into any Source Control system and or used for moving or recovering a SQL server instance for Disaster Recovery purposes. Objects exported include: SQL Agent Jobs/Alerts/Schedules, NT Service Credentials, SSIS-MSDB, SSIS-Catalog, SSAS Cubes, SSRS Reports, Logins, Server Configs, Linked Servers, DB Mail Operators/Accounts, and Server Triggers

Speaker(s):

  • George Walkey

Track and Room: Track 8 - N/A


Title: Charlie and the SQL Server Re-Fill Factory

Abstract: Will show you the chocolate of Fill Factor and how to win the Golden Ticket by easy Re-FillFactoring

Speaker(s):

  • Slava Murygin

Track and Room: Track 2 - N/A


Title: But it worked great in Dev! Perfomance for Devs

Abstract: If you’ve ever found yourself stating the above, this session is for you. For many developers, writing T-SQL that works is not the challenge. But too often, functional T-SQL is not the same as good T-SQL. In this session, we will examine why “SQL that works” is not good enough. Understanding indexes, exectuion plans, sargability, and more are all critical to writing good T-SQL. We will also examine several real-world examples of T-SQL that “worked great in dev” but caused major issues when it hit production.

Speaker(s):

  • Randy Knight

Track and Room: Track 6 - N/A


Title: Hacking Exposé - Using SSL to Protect SQL Connections

Abstract: Are you someone (A DBA, Developer, etc) that connects to SQL Server to use data? You probably hear a lot about how protected your database can be when at rest. But what about when you connect to SQL and start running some queries? Using a simple hacking technique we will dig into some packets on our network and see what’s in them. You may be shocked! Then we will create a self-signed SSL certificate, use it to encrypt our connections on the SQL Server, and see the actual changes in the packet as hackers would. *Warning - do not try some of these demos at work without proper permissions as hacking techniques are used.

Speaker(s):

  • Chris Bell

Track and Room: Track 7 - N/A


Title: ETL Design Topics - Staging

Abstract: The staging area of the data warehouse is an often under-utilized tool in the ETL developers tool belt. It can be used to optimize ETL performance while limiting impact on source systems. It can be used to identify data quality concerns before they hit the target load process. It can be used as a supplemental repository for unintegrated data. This discussion will cover several common and some not-so-common patterns in the design and use of stage tables within the ETL process and the audience will come away with new ideas and core concepts to put to immediate use.

Speaker(s):

  • Philip Noakes

Track and Room: Track 5 - N/A


Title: I’m New, Select Me!

Abstract: I have been new to something at some point in my life, new town, new job or new profession. Now, I am the new DBA! Feeling overwhelmed, not sure where to begin. I know I have data and maybe lots of it. I need a friend and mentor to help me discover my new role. Select wants to be my friend, in fact Select and I need to become best friends. For Select and I to become best friends, we need to learn about each other, our weaknesses and our strengths. Come along, Select wants to introduce you to all of Selects friends. Let’s meet Where, Join, Group By and more of Select friends. Come along, let’s discover Select and his friends.

Speaker(s):

  • Thomas Norman

Track and Room: Track 4 - N/A


Title: Wheel of Doom

Abstract: Lightening Talks with a twist: Random speakers will be selected to perform a random lightening talk presentation submitted by various speakers.

Speaker(s):

  • Wayne Sheffield

Track and Room: Track 1 - N/A


Title: Excel with DAX

Abstract: DAX is the new formula language (builds upon Excel’s) supporting PowerPivot and Analysis Services Tabular mode. If you know Excel, you already know the basics of DAX (without even knowing it). If you have been meaning to use Analysis Services, but MDX has been getting in the way, now is the perfect time! Come check out DAX and see how it can help you.

Speaker(s):

  • Azhagappan Arunachalam

Track and Room: Track 4 - N/A


Title: Automated SQL Server installation and configuration using PowerShell

Abstract: Using the SQL setup wizard and management studio (SSMS) to install and configure a new SQL server is a time-intensive process. PowerShell scripts can greatly reduce the time required to complete the process. They can also ensure build standardization throughout your SQL environment. In this session we will look at PowerShell scripting, including the basic syntax and commandlets needed to automate the installation and post-install configuration of a SQL Server.

Speaker(s):

  • Jamie Wick

Track and Room: Track 7 - N/A


Title: SSRS 101 to 301: Learn how to build Simple and Intermediate level SSRS Report

Abstract: We will start with basic reporting services report and work up to intermediate level. If time allows, we will cover some advance feature. We will also cover some “Gotchas” as we move along. The session will be heavily demo based.

Speaker(s):

  • Ravi Kumar

Track and Room: Track 2 - N/A


Title: APPLY Yourself

Abstract: Microsoft introduced the APPLY operator in SQL Server 2005. This under-used, non-standard operator can help us solve a number of common (and not-so-common) problems with elegant code which performs well. We will look several problem spaces in which the APPLY operator shines, such as joining to table-valued functions, getting the top N child records for each parent record, string splitting, and word matching. With the use of these examples, we will gain a deeper understanding of when to use the APPLY operator.

Speaker(s):

  • Kevin Feasel

Track and Room: Track 1 - N/A


Title: Transactional Replication-10 steps for successful implementation

Abstract: What is potentially our biggest problem with transactional replication? You guessed it…it breaks! It may break for a variety of reasons and we as DBA’s probably have experienced them all at one point or another. Our biggest worry? Bringing replication back online whenever a full snapshot reinitialization is not an option due to time or space concerns. But don’t you worry; we have a couple of tricks up our sleeves! During this session, we will go over options available to you to re-sync your replication with minimal downtime for your production environments.

Speaker(s):

  • Konstantin Melamud

Track and Room: Track 6 - N/A


Title: SSIS 2014 Data Flow Tuning Tips and Tricks

Abstract: Do you want SSIS to go fast? This session is for you! Attend and learn techniques for developing, instrumenting, monitoring, and managing SSIS 2014 Data Flow performance in your data integration enterprise.

Speaker(s):

  • Andy Leonard

Track and Room: Track 3 - N/A


Title: What exactly is big data and why should I care?

Abstract: You may understand what a data warehouse is, but what is big data? And why should I care about it? How will it help me? I’ll talk about the things to look at to understand if you have big data, and cover those buzz words you may have heard but don’t know what they mean (data scientist, Hadoop, Internet of Things, data lake, modern data warehouse). I’ll also give examples of how big data is making companies make better business decisions.

Speaker(s):

  • James Serra

Track and Room: Track 7 - N/A


Title: Audit Solutions using SQL Azure Database Audit the SQL Server Audit Feature

Abstract: In this demo-heavy session we will take a look at the SQL Server auditing capabilities of Azure-based resources and on-premises resources. We will discuss and demonstrate the basics of SQL Azure Database Audit, how configure it, and how to review and analyze the audit findings generated from SQL Azure Database Audit. We will also discuss and demonstrate the basics of using the SQL Server 2014 Audit feature on-premises and for SQL Server IaaS resources in Azure. We will also discuss best-practices and real-world considerations for both the SQL Azure Database Audit and the SQL Server Audit Feature.

Speaker(s):

  • Timothy McAliley

Track and Room: Track 8 - N/A


Title: Basic Monitoring with Perfmon

Abstract: Perfmon is a standard windows monitoring tool available on every windows deployment. It can provide a wealth of information about the activities within your system. We will cover the basics in this session which include how to setup/schedule perfmon to capture data as well as some basics around initial analysis. This session will have a strong component of demos.

Speaker(s):

  • Rick Heiges

Track and Room: Track 3 - N/A


Title: The Real Value of Name-Value Pairs: Using PIVOT and UNPIVOT

Abstract: This session will show in-depth how to use both PIVOT and UNPIVOT. How to use the functionality will be described in detail along with how to use more advanced features like Dynamic PIVOT!

Speaker(s):

  • Kevin Wilkie

Track and Room: Track 4 - N/A


Title: Query Tuning - Get it Right the First Time

Abstract: SQL Server query tuning is often more art than science and it can quickly eat up a lot of DBA and/or Developer time. This presentation will outline a method for determining the best approach for tuning queries by utilizing response time analysis and SQL diagramming techniques. Regardless of the complexity of the statement, this quick, systematic approach will lead you down the correct tuning path with no guessing. If you are a beginner or expert, this approach will save you countless hours tuning a query.

Speaker(s):

  • Janis Griffin

Track and Room: Track 4 - N/A


Title: Know Your Role(s)!

Abstract: Developers and DBAs naturally conflict with each other over permissions since developers want to be able to fix their code and research issues, but DBAs are the gatekeepers. In this session we will discuss Microsoft recommended best practices for setting up users and service account permissions. We will go over common server and database roles and what they actually allow, including roles that should be avoided as potential security loopholes. He will also look into alternatives for elevated database roles, and easier ways of setting up users across an enterprise environment, all as part of how to consolidate your development servers into fewer instances.

Speaker(s):

  • Robert Verell

Track and Room: Track 1 - N/A


Title: Common Coding Mistakes and how to Mitigate them

Abstract: There are several programming design patterns that work great in object orientated code that doesn’t scale well inside of SQL Server. In this session we will focus some of these patterns and show you how to make them scale in the database engine. We will touch on Scalar-Value functions, Union, CTE, RBAR and more.

Speaker(s):

  • William Wolf

Track and Room: Track 2 - N/A


Title: Query Compilation and Plan Caching

Abstract: SQL Server often appears to be a black box. Queries go in and results come out. But a lot goes into making that happen. In this session, we will take a look at the stages that SQL Server goes through when it compiles a query plan and some of the optimization that can be used. Once compiled the plans can be cached for reuse. I will explain where the plans get cached to and how SQL Server knows when it can re-use a plan.

Speaker(s):

  • Dale Burnett

Track and Room: Track 3 - N/A


Title: De-Mystifying SQL Server Statistics

Abstract: In order to build optimal query plans the SQL Server optimizer relies on statistics to estimate the size of the query workload, which determines the resources that get allocated to the query.

This session will demonstrate how to determine if your statistics are current, how to make them current, and how bad things can happen when they are not current.

Speaker(s):

  • Dave Turpin

Track and Room: Track 8 - 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.

Philip Noakes

Contact: http://www.captechconsulting.com/

Philip Noakes is a data integration specialist with experience in all facets of SQL Server. He has been with CapTech Consulting for the last nine years and is an MCITP in SQL Server Business Intelligence. Philip hails from the Short Pump area where he lives with his wife and 2 daughters.

Janis Griffin

Twitter: - DoBoutAnything

LinkedIn: Janis Griffin

Janis Griffin has over 30 years of DBA/database experience including design, development and implementation of many critical database applications. Before coming to Quest Software, Janis primarily worked in the Telecom/Network Industry, working with both real-time network routing databases and OLTP business to business applications. Janis also held positions as a Principal Architect and Senior Manager, mentoring other DBAs on best practices in database performance tuning.

Thomas Norman

Twitter: - ArmorDba

LinkedIn: Thomas Norman

Contact: https://armordba.com/

Tom Norman is a Database Architect at KPA with a strong fervor to protect data. He works daily to review and improve data protection methodologies while reviewing governing laws affecting finance, healthcare, and personal data. His areas of expertise include encryption, auditing, data identification, and database object deployment. He is the current leader of the PASS Virtualization Group and Vice President of the TRIPASS user group. You can read his blog at https://armordba.com/ and reach him on twitter at @armordba. Tom speaks at a number of SQLSaturday events and SQL Server user groups.

William Wolf

Twitter: - sqlwarewolf

LinkedIn: William Wolf

Contact: http://www.sqlwarewolf.com

Bill is the Manager of SQL Server Performance Tuning for RDX. He works with over 400 customers on solutions within the SQL Server environment and specialized in code tuning and mentoring the team within RDX. He has become a SQLSaturday veteran speaking at nearly 40 SQLSaturdays in the last 3 years. He has also spoken at Summit and is an Idera Ace class of 2018. Bill is active in the Pittsburgh SQL Server User Group. He is also the chapter lead for the DevOps Virtual User Group. He is passionate about educating users on SQL Server and mentoring others.

James Serra

Twitter: - www.twitter.com/JamesSerra

LinkedIn: James Serra

Contact: http://www.JamesSerra.com

James Serra is a big data and data warehousing solution architect at Microsoft. He is a thought leader in the use and application of Big Data and advanced analytics. Previously, James was an independent consultant working as a Data Warehouse/Business Intelligence architect and developer. He is a prior SQL Server MVP with over 35 years of IT experience. James is a popular blogger (JamesSerra.com) and speaker. He is the author of the book “Reporting with Microsoft SQL Server 2012”.

Wayne Sheffield

Twitter: - @DBAWayne

LinkedIn: Wayne Sheffield

Contact: http://blog.waynesheffield.com/wayne

Wayne Sheffield, a Microsoft Certified Master in SQL Server and Microsoft Most Valuable Professional, started working with xBase databases in the late 80’s. With over 25 years in IT, he has worked with SQL Server (since 6.5 in the late 90’s) in various dev/admin roles, with an emphasis in performance tuning. He is the author of several articles at www.sqlservercentral.com, a co-author of “SQL Server T-SQL Recipes”, and enjoys sharing his knowledge by presenting at SQL events worldwide and blogging at http://blog.waynesheffield.com/wayne

Jessica Moss

Twitter: - @jessicammoss

Contact: http://www.jessicammoss.com

Jessica M. Moss is a well-known architect, speaker, author, and Microsoft MVP of SQL Server Business Intelligence. Jessica#39;s expertise includes data warehouse modeling, Integration Services ETL, Analysis Services semantic modeling, Reporting Services report design, and helping customers across industries successfully implement and enhance their BI solutions. She enjoys sharing her knowledge with the SQL community and has co-authored numerous technical books.

Randy Knight

Twitter: - randy_knight

LinkedIn: Randy Knight

Contact: http://www.sqlsolutionsgroup.com/blog

Randy Knight is a data professional who has worked with Microsoft technology for over 25 years, focusing on SQL Server since 1997. He has worked in a variety of settings, including 6 years as a database architect for match.com. In 2010, he founded SQL Server Solutions Group LLC, a boutique SQL Server consultancy. A Microsoft Certified Master (MCM) in SQL Server, he speaks often at events all over the country including the PASS Summit, SQLIntersections, and numerous SQLSaturday and User Groups.

Wayne Sheffield

Twitter: - @DBAWayne

LinkedIn: Wayne Sheffield

Contact: http://blog.waynesheffield.com/wayne

Wayne Sheffield, a Microsoft Certified Master in SQL Server and Microsoft Most Valuable Professional, started working with xBase databases in the late 80’s. With over 25 years in IT, he has worked with SQL Server (since 6.5 in the late 90’s) in various dev/admin roles, with an emphasis in performance tuning. He is the author of several articles at www.sqlservercentral.com, a co-author of “SQL Server T-SQL Recipes”, and enjoys sharing his knowledge by presenting at SQL events worldwide and blogging at http://blog.waynesheffield.com/wayne

Tim Mitchell

Twitter: - @Tim_Mitchell

LinkedIn: Tim Mitchell

Contact: http://www.TimMitchell.net

Tim Mitchell is a business intelligence architect, author, and trainer. He has worked with SQL Server for over a decade, specializing in data warehousing, ETL/SSIS, and reporting. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science from Texas AM at Commerce, and is recognized as a Microsoft Data Platform MVP. Tim is a business intelligence consultant and principal at Tyleris Data Solutions.

Tim is an active community speaker and volunteer, having spoken at over 100 events including the PASS Summit, SQLBits, Dev Connections, SQL Intersection, and scores of SQLSaturdays. He blogs at TimMitchell.net, and tweets at @Tim_Mitchell.

Rick Heiges

Twitter: - heigesr2

LinkedIn: Rick Heiges

Contact: http://sqlblog.com/blogs/rick_heiges/default.aspx

Rick is a Former Data Platfrom MVP and Sr. Consultant for Microsoft where he focuses on working with customers on their data estate. His career includes work as a DBA, University full-time faculty member, Systems Analyst, Project Leader, and Developer. He has found his passion in working with data and the community. Rick served nine years on the PASS Board of Directors and spearheaded the popular 24 Hours of PASS event. He also started his local User Group in 2002. Today, he spends much of his time with his head in the clouds.

Kevin Feasel

Twitter: - feaselkl

LinkedIn: Kevin Feasel

Contact: http://www.catallaxyservices.com

Kevin Feasel is a Microsoft Data Platform MVP and CTO at Envizage, where he specializes in data analytics with T-SQL and R, forcing Spark clusters to do his bidding, fighting with Kafka, and pulling rabbits out of hats on demand. He is the lead contributor to Curated SQL (https://curatedsql.com), president of the Triangle Area SQL Server Users Group (https://www.meetup.com/tripass), and author of PolyBase Revealed (https://www.apress.com/us/book/9781484254608). A resident of Durham, North Carolina, he can be found cycling the trails along the triangle whenever the weather’s nice enough.

Jennifer Kenney

Jennifer Kenney has been with CapTech Consulting for two years, specializing in Data Architecture with Microsoft SQL Server. She has fifteen years of experience with SQL Server. During that time, she’s worked with querying transactional databases, modeling both transactional databases and data warehouses, data integration into both transactional databases and data warehouses, change management, and administration.

Jennifer lives in Goochland, VA with her husband Brian and their beagles.

Ram Saini

Working in the field of IT from last 26 years in the following capacities: Hardware Engineer: Assembling and Maintenance, Programmer/Developer, System Analyst, Application Architect, System Architect, Administrator for Microsoft Technologies: Windows Server, Exchange Server, Network, SQL Server 6.5/2000/2005/2008/2012, SharePoint, Project Serve Project Manager – Infrastructure support and Development, and Business Analyst.

Gene Webb

Twitter: - None

LinkedIn: Gene Webb

Contact: http://None

Gene Webb is a Regional Sales Executive with The Profisee Group based in Alpharetta Georgia. Profisee is the successor to Stratature the company that built Master Data Services (MDS) and sold the product to Microsoft in 2007. Profisee focuses around Master Data Management (MDM) and as a Gold ISV provides solution sets built on MDS and the Microsoft Stack. Gene spent 7 years working at Microsoft as a SQL Server and Developer Tools solution specialist and an ISV Developer Evangelist.

Timothy McAliley

Twitter: - sysframeworks

LinkedIn: Timothy McAliley

I am currently a Microsoft Cloud Solutions Architect in the Washington, DC area. Previously, I was a Microsoft Technology Solutions Professional (TSP), a Microsoft Account Technology Strategist and a SQL Server Premier Field Engineer. Prior to Microsoft, I was a Technical Trainer and DBA in the Enterprise Security Group at Symantec . I have been in IT for over 20 years. My particular interests are IT operations, IT auditing, IT audit frameworks, IT service management (ITSM), ITIL, information security, project management, and database/application tier high availability solutions. I also co-run the Northern Virginia SQL Server User Group ( @novasl) and also co-run the Azure Datafest events.

Jason Hall

Twitter: - @SQLSaurus

LinkedIn: Jason Hall

Contact: http://blogs.sqlsentry.com/jasonhall

Jason Hall (@SQLSaurus) leads SentryOne’s Product Management team, which is responsible for managing product design, development and delivery.

Jason has worked in varied technology roles for over 20 years and holds industry certifications including MCSE (legacy), MCSD, MCTS, MCPD, and PMC-III.

Slava Murygin

Twitter: - SlavaSQL

LinkedIn: Slava Murygin

Contact: http://slavasql.blogspot.com/

Started working with SQL Server 7.0 as DBA and Developer. Since then went through all SQL Server versions, migrations and multiple companies of different sizes and industries. Currently working as a contractor with all aspects of SQL Server, including, but not limited to: troubleshooting performance, designing/developing: databases, systems, processes, data warehouses, cubes, reports, ETLs; Refactoring old code; Migrating data from other systems to SQL Server; Securing the data on enterprise level.

Chris Hyde

Twitter: - ChrisHyde325

LinkedIn: Chris Hyde

Chris Hyde is a Microsoft Data Platform MVP and Microsoft Certified Trainer based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He works as an independent SQL Server BI and DBA consultant, and is the leader of the Albuquerque PASS local user group. He is also part of the Friends of Redgate program and was a member of the Idera ACE class of 2018. He loves loud music and cricket, but usually not at the same time.

Kevin Kline

Twitter: - kekline

LinkedIn: Kevin Kline

Contact: http://blogs.sentryone.com/author/kevinkline

Kevin Kline is a database and industry expert serving as Principal Program Manager at SentryOne, the industry leading SQL Server database tools vendor. A Microsoft SQL Server MVP since 2003, he is a founder and former president of PASS. Kevin is an author of many books, blogger, columnist, and popular international speaker. Kevin’s best known book is the best-selling SQL in a Nutshell and contributes monthly to Database Trends Applications magazine. He tweets at @kekline and blogs at http://Blogs.SQLSentry.com/Author/KevinKline.

Jason Brimhall

Twitter: - sqlrnnr

LinkedIn: Jason Brimhall

Contact: http://jasonbrimhall.info

Jason Brimhall has more than 20 years of experience and has worked with SQL Server 6.5 through SQL Server 2019. He has experience in performance tuning, high transaction environments, and large environments. He is currently a consultant specializing in performance tuning, server analysis, and problem resolution. Jason is a Microsoft Certified Master (MCM) and a Data Platform MVP.

Dave Turpin

Contact: http://www.daveturpin.com

Dave has been working with SQL Server since 1996 v6.5. He is currently THE SQL Server and Netezza DBA for Quaero, where he manages about 40TB of data warehouse information. Too many years in the IT industry. He has graduate and undergraduate degrees in Computer Science. His focus is on the SQL Engine, particularly in the area of query performance and tuning.

Outside of the office he rides a unicycle for fitness and charity FUN-raising.

Mark Hudson

Twitter: - HMarkHudson

Mark Hudson is an MCITP with many years of experience in business intelligence and data analysis. He has developed data solutions using numerous platform tools including multiple SQL Server versions. He is a data architect and developer with CapTech (www.captechconsulting.com) and served as a leader of the Richmond SQL Server User Group (www.richmondsql.org).

Chris Bell

Twitter: - @cbelldba

LinkedIn: Chris Bell

Contact: https://www.wateroxconsulting.com/

Chris Bell offers a unique view of how we live and work with data, both now and as we head into the future. Having braved many roles, lifecycles, and battles in the IT world, he has honed his DBA (Database Administration or Do ‘Bout Anything) skills in Information Systems and development, focusing on SQL Server. Currently, he serves as the lead DBA at The Motley Fool. You can keep up with Chris’ thoughts and technical community activities at WaterOxConsulting.com.

John Morehouse

Twitter: - SQLrUs

LinkedIn: John Morehouse

Contact: http://www.sqlrus.com

John Morehouse is currently a Consultant with Denny Cherry Associates living in Louisville, Kentucky. With over 2 decades of technical experience in various industries, John now focuses on the Microsoft Data platform and specializes in Microsoft SQL Server. He is honored to be a Microsoft Data Platform MVP, VMWare vExpert, Friend of Red Gate, Sentry One PAC member Community Ambassador, and 2016 Idera Ace. John has a passion around speaking, teaching technical topics, and giving back to the technical community as much as possible. He is a user group leader, SQLSaturday organizer, and former PASS regional mentor. He is also a blogger, avid tweeter, and a frequent speaker at SQLSaturday’s as well as other conferences.

Gigi Bell

Twitter: - @sqlspouse

LinkedIn: Gigi Bell

Known across the country as the SQL Registration Princess, Gigi Bell actually has vast experience in training and development. Being married to a SQL DBA, she knows enough about SQL to be dangerous, but her real passion is helping people learn and achieve their true potential. She has spoken at SQLSaturdays across the country since 2014.

Ravi Kumar

Twitter: - @sqlravi

I have over 12 years of experience working with SQL Server and Business Intelligence Technology. My current focus is cloud technologies: Power BI, Azure Analysis Services, Azure SQL Data Warehouse, Azure Data Factory. As a PFE at Microsoft, I regularly deliver 2 - 4 day training workshops.

Justin Randall

Twitter: - jh_randall

LinkedIn: Justin Randall

Contact: http://blogs.sqlsentry.com/justinrandall

Justin Randall is a Senior Consultant at SQL Sentry, LLC. He has over 30 years of data management experience in a variety of roles from Enterprise Data Modeler to DBA, supporting development in DB2, Sybase, and SQL Server. Justin frequently speaks at SQL Server User Group meetings and SQLSaturdays, and has presented at several SQLintersection conferences. His current professional interests are SQL Server performance monitoring and tuning, and career development.

Samuel Vanga

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

LinkedIn: Samuel Vanga

Contact: http://SamuelVanga.com

Sam Vanga helps business people solve their data problems and enables them make data-driven-decisions. His specialties include data integration, data warehouse and database development, and BI design. Sam blogs at http://SamuelVanga.com.

Azhagappan Arunachalam

Az Arunachalam has been working with SQL server since v4.21/SQLNT. He started as a network engineer managing Novell NetWare networks, graduated into managing Windows NT, moved onto development, and is currently working as a database architect. He holds a BS in Electrical and Electronics Engineering, and MS in Information Systems.

Jamie Wick

Twitter: - Jamie_Wick

LinkedIn: Jamie Wick

Contact: http://blog.wicktech.net

Jamie Wick is the Systems Database Engineer for The College of William Mary and has been working with SQL databases for the past 10+ years. His background includes working for several years as a SQL SysAdmin for the University of Queensland (Australia), a Masters degree in Computer Information Systems from Boston University, and assorted Microsoft SQL certifications. He is the Chapter Leader of the Richmond SQL Server Users Group, a volunteer and speaker at regional SQL events (User Groups/SQLSaturdays), helps run the SQLSaturday RVA events, and is an avid photographer.

Kevin Wilkie

Twitter: - Oskaruth

LinkedIn: Kevin Wilkie

Contact: http://sherpaofdata.com

Kevin has 15+ years experience with SQL Server and has worked with the product since version 6.5, although he remembers with distaste the early versions of the product. He started working with SQL Server as an “Accidental” DBA, and has moved up through the ranks as a SQL Developer, a BI Associate, and Production DBA at various parts of his career. Currently, he works as a Lead Data Analyst spreading the gospel of how great data can be to anyone and everyone who will listen.

Dale Burnett

Contact: http://daleburnett.com

Dale Burnett is a database engineer at ChannelAdvisor specializing in SQL Server. He has been working with databases since 1998 and exclusively with SQL Server since 2008. His previous experiences provided exposure to many industries including financial services, retail, insurance, and customer service. His primary SQL Server interests are architecture and optimization.

Doug Purnell

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

LinkedIn: Doug Purnell

Contact: http://sqlnikon.wordpress.com

Doug Purnell is a DBA at Elon University and is a co-leader for the Triad SQL BI PASS User Group. In his spare time you can find Doug taking photos and cooking up some BBQ on his cooker.

Robert Verell

Twitter: - @sqlcowbell

LinkedIn: Robert Verell

Contact: http://sqlcowbell.com/wordpress/

Robert Verell is a SQL Server professional working in the Nashville area and has worked in healthcare, insurance, and banking. He found his passion for databases by learning SQL Server Integration Services and writing stored procedures, and eventually became a database administrator. Robert is a chapter lead for the Nashville SQL Server User’s Group, a volunteer for SQLSaturday, and was a finalist in the 2016 PASS Summit Speaker Idol competition.

Louis Davidson

Twitter: - drsql

LinkedIn: Louis Davidson

Contact: https://www.red-gate.com/simple-talk/author/louis-davidson/

Louis Davidson has worked in the IT industry for over 25 years as a corporate database developer and architect. He has been a Microsoft SQL Server MVP for 15 years and has written five books on database design, and contributed to many other SQL Server books as an author and tech editor. He has a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. You can read more about Louis at http://drsql.org.

Andy Leonard

Twitter: - AndyLeonard

LinkedIn: Andy Leonard

Contact: https://andyleonard.blog

Andy Leonard is founder and Chief Data Engineer at Enterprise Data Analytics, Microsoft Data Platform MVP, creator of the DILM (Data Integration Lifecycle Management) Suite, an SSIS trainer, consultant, developer, Business Intelligence Markup Language (Biml) developer and BimlHero, SQL Server database and data warehouse developer, community mentor, engineer, and farmer. He is a co-author of “The Biml Book and SQL Server Integration Services Design Patterns” and author of “Managing Geeks - A Journey of Leading by Doing”, “Data Integration Lifecycle Management with SSIS”, “Building Custom Tasks for SSIS”, and the “Stairway to Integration Services”. Andy blogs at andyleonard.blog where you can learn more on the About Andy page.

Konstantin Melamud

Twitter: - @kmelamud

Konstantin has over 15 years of SQL Server experience and demonstrates his expertise and commitment to helping SQL Server DBAs succeed through his position as Director of Service Delivery at RDX. In his role, Konstantin is responsible for designing and implementing RDX’s service delivery strategies, including those for SQL Server. Since joining RDX in 2009, Konstantin has proven to be a strong leader and expert in SQL Server database administration, architecture, performance tuning, and business intelligence. He is also a very active member of the SQL Server community and frequently presents at SQLSaturdays and user groups throughout the year. In addition, Konstantin presented during 24 Hours of PASS and at the PASS Summits.

Ayman El-Ghazali

Twitter: - thesqlpro

LinkedIn: Ayman El-Ghazali

Contact: http://www.thesqlpro.com

Ayman is a passionate SQL Server DBA, Developer, and BI Developer. His passion for technology started when he was a young boy playing DOS games on his father’s computer. He can be reached via his blog or twitter handle and is looking forward to connecting with other SQL Geeks.

Kevin Hazzard

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

LinkedIn: Kevin Hazzard

Contact: http://www.linchpinpeople.com/blog/

Kevin Hazzard is a Partner at Linchpin People LLC, leaders in the data integration and database wellness space. He was a long-time Microsoft MVP and the author of a book entitled Metaprogramming in .NET. Kevin also serves as an elected member of his local School Board and dedicates most of his non-professional time promoting public education.

George Walkey

SQL DBA for 25+ yrs from the Richmond, VA USA area. Business Owner, Software Developer, with broad background in IT disciplines. SQL Server user since 6.0

Sponsors

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