SQLSaturday #491 - Pensacola 2016

Event Date: 06/04/2016 00:00:00

Event Location:

  • Pensacola State College, Main Campus
  • 1000 College Blvd
  • Pensacola, Florida

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: SS2014 In-Memory Tables: Formula 1 Performance Unleashed?

Abstract: Query performance is what it is all about. SQL Server 2014 now has the new in-memory functionality that takes a completely different approach to data access and manipulation. Google “In-Memory Tables” and you’ll get a myriad of results from white papers, blogs, webinars, etc. This session will consolidate the relevant information from all these sources so the production DBA/Developer will be able to understand, create, use, maintain, and trouble-shoot in-memory table functionality. This session will also examine several demo scripts showing performance gains using the in-memory tables over equivalent disk based tables.
This session is all about when and how to apply in-memory tables in a production environment. After this session you will

  1. Understand what in-memory tables are and how to create and maintain them including their limitations
  2. Be able to identify performance gains over equivalent disk back tables
  3. Comprehend the new data monitoring needed for in-memory table

Speaker(s):

  • Mike Byrd

Track and Room: Application Database Development - 1774


Title: Execution Plans for Mere Mortals

Abstract: As a beginner database professional, execution plans are intimidating. In this session, I will take you through the basics of reading graphical execution plans and drill into key operators, warnings and properties.

You will understand how, why and when the execution plan will be created and saved to plan cache.

Reading the execution plan will be much less intimidating as we walk through the flow and process of a graphical execution plan.

After looking at the key operators, you will be able to analyze the operators of your execution plans, view the operator properties, and identify common performance tuning opportunities.

Finally, you will be able to capture the execution plan, save it for analysis and comparison after modifications have occurred.

Speaker(s):

  • Mike Lawell

Track and Room: Application Database Development - 1774


Title: Understanding SQL Server Backup and Restore

Abstract: Everyone knows that it’s critical to have backups but it’s amazing how few people make sure those backups can be restored properly! Too many times to count, lt;name removedgt; has been brought in by organizations to help recover failed systems where administrators simply didn’t know how to properly restore SQL Server backups when they have to. In this session, lt;name removedgt; will explain the various types of backups that can be taken and demonstrate how to restore each of them. Apart from covering the common full, differential and log backups, lt;name removedgt; will also cover partial, filegroup, and COPY_ONLY backups, backing up to and restoring from a URL, backup encryption, and how to perform a hack attach for the ultimate tail log restore. There’s something here for everyone to learn!

Speaker(s):

  • Tim Radney

Track and Room: Enterprise Database Administration Deployment - 2175


Title: Overview of Security Investments in SQL Server 2016 and Azure SQL Database

Abstract: Join me for an overview of the most recent security investments for SQL Server 2016 and Azure SQL Database in the areas of encryption, data filtering and data masking. I will showcase a real-life user scenario with examples and demos of Always Encrypted, Row Level Security and Dynamic Data Masking. The demos include a real working .NET application with source code for testing. This is based on the session and demos I co-presented with Microsoft at SQL Summit 2015 so if you missed Summit or the presentation and are interested in learning what Microsoft is doing in the area of security in SQL Server 2016 and Azure SQL DB then this is the session for you.

Speaker(s):

  • Jamey Johnston

Track and Room: Enterprise Database Administration Deployment - 2172


Title: Introducing Forensic Analytics with Power BI

Abstract: Despite the wealth of analytical technologies available today, 65% of fraud at public companies is detected through tips, management review, or simple accidents. Forensic Analytics combine human intuition and leading-edge technologies, and can provide superior detection methods to significantly improve the detection and investigation of illegal or unethical activities. In this session, we explore Forensic Analytics: a set of techniques we can use to uncover irregularities in financial data. We also gain an understanding of goals of Forensic Analytics: to enable us to find out how — and why — these irregularities exist, and to find out their source(s) — especially when fraudulent activity is suspected. We discuss guiding principles that are key to isolating data anomalies, and outline a standard, repeatable process to Forensic Analytics. Throughout the session, we view examples of how we can employ Power BI to drive Forensic Analytics via various tests and reviews.

Speaker(s):

  • William E Pearson III

Track and Room: Analytics and Visualization - 2171


Title: Tame Your Unruly Data…With Constraints!

Abstract: Never given time or care, never forming good relationships, becoming bloated, corrupt and rife with indistinguishable copies, and all so horrifyingly pervasive in society. But enough about the Kardashians, what about YOUR DATA? If you want to straighten it out and prevent it from going too far in the first place, this session is for you. We will cover constraint basics (not null, check, primary key/unique, foreign keys), provide standard use cases, and address misconceptions about constraint use and performance. We will also look at triggers and application logic and why these are NOT substitutes for (but can effectively complement) good constraint usage. Attendees will enjoy learning how to keep THEIR data off the tabloid page!

Speaker(s):

  • Rob Volk

Track and Room: Application Database Development - 2172


Title: PowerShell Desired State Configuration from the Trenches

Abstract: There are lots of things to consider when configuring systems in your on-premises datacenters with Desired State Configuration depending on what the state of your current environment is, whether or not DSC will be configured to apply and monitor or apply and autocorrect configuration drift, and whether or not you’ll be using push or pull configuration mode. During this session, PowerShell MVP Mike F Robbins will share his lessons learned while configuring both physical and virtual production systems in multiple datacenters with DSC during a recent hardware and software refresh cycle. We’ll briefly discuss writing configurations, applying configurations via push and pull mode, and we’ll have a quick discussion about DSC resources. You’ll leave this session with the basic concepts of the end-to-end process. Prior experience with PowerShell is recommended.

Speaker(s):

  • Mike Robbins

Track and Room: Other - 1774


Title: Tone Analysis with HDInsight and Azure Machine Learning

Abstract: People’s sentiments and opinions are written in social networks. There are tweets, Facebook posts, book reviews, forum discussions, and more. These attitudes and feelings are communicated using text, with format depending on the social network. Twitter messages are limited to 140 characters and use hash-tags,; Facebook messages can be longer. This session reviews the different Natural Language Processing, text mining, and data mining techniques you can use for sentiment and tone analysis. Organizations can use the extracted knowledge for brand reputation, market predictions, and automatic learning. We’ll look at, Hadoop, data mining, Microsoft Big Data Hadoop distribution HDInsight and Azure Machine Learning

Speaker(s):

  • Paco Gonzalez

Track and Room: BI Information Delivery - 1774


Title: Fundamentals of Disaster Planning Recovery

Abstract: In this session, we’ll cover the basics of Disaster Planning and key operational items to consider when establishing software systems. We’ll cover terms and their importance as well as commonly used software and hardware techniques for disaster planning purposes.

Speaker(s):

  • Michael Viron

Track and Room: Strategy and Architecture - 1776


Title: Only You Can Prevent Database Fires!

Abstract: Do you find yourself constantly putting out “fires”? Can’t take anymore heat in the data center? We as DBAs can easily become burnt out with dealing with these daily blazes. Wouldn’t it be grand to learn how to prevent these fires from scorching us to begin with? In this session, we will jump into things you can start implementing as “fire prevention” to stop the “fire fighting”. We will talk about several things that you can take back to your shop and put into action easily ranging from code tuning, backup maintenance, monitoring and performance tuning!

Speaker(s):

  • John Morehouse

Track and Room: Enterprise Database Administration Deployment - 2175


Title: Let Me Finish… Isolating Write Operations

Abstract: OLTP databases can be constantly written to and reporting databases are written to at least periodically. In order to ensure consistent results, connections must be isolated from one another while executing, ideally with the lowest possible cost to concurrency. How this isolation is handled is based on the isolation level, whether the classic lock based or the newer optimistic scheme of the in-memory OLTP engine is used, or even if both engines are enlisted in the same transaction. In this session we will look at examples of how SQL Server isolates reading and writing operations from other writing operations to explore how this may affect your application through error messages and performance hits.

Speaker(s):

  • Louis Davidson

Track and Room: Application Database Development - 2175


Title: Mastering and Enhancing Company Data

Abstract: Getting a good 360 degree view of organizations (customers or vendors) or doing customer centric analysis is often complicated as a result of bad data/ duplicate data / inconsistent data coming from multiple systems. In addition, there are external factors like mergers and acquisitions, inter-company relationships and other nuances that may not be captured in source systems. Getting a clear picture of customer and vendor data can not only provide a clear picture for analysis of information, but also aid in critical risk management functions. In this session, you will learn about some techniques and data services from DB that you can use to clean and enhance your data.

Speaker(s):

  • Rushabh Mehta

Track and Room: BI Information Delivery - 1775


Title: SQL and VMWare - More than just virtualization demos

Abstract: The demos in this session have been developed to illustrate a few key capabilities of VMware vSphere and VMware NSX that can be used to enhance the overall SQL Server implementation. As a true platform of virtualized hardware, vSphere should be considered the premier platform on which to implement SQL Server. Features such as vSphere vMotion, vSphere HA, Distributed Resource Scheduler and Fault Tolerance are complimentary to all the features and capabilities of SQL Server and create an unparalleled combination of the world’s top RDBMS and the world’s most complete and effective virtualization proposition. With network virtualization NSX can provide security enhancements unachievable with any other technology and can streamline SQL server deployment automation processes. Please join us for this demonstration of advanced vSphere and NSX feature functionality and an explanation as to how this enhances your SQL Server environment.

Speaker(s):

  • Rodney Landrum

Track and Room: Cloud Application Development Deployment - 1776


Title: NEW FEATURES WITH SQL SERVER 2016 REPORTING SERVICES

Abstract: 1). NEW FEATURES WITH SQL SERVER 2016 REPORTING SERVICES (75 minutes) (Level 200) ABSTRACT: In this session we will outline the new features of SQL Server 2016 Reporting Services that puts the power of data in the hands of everyone. In this session we will cover the alignment of Microsoft’s cloud and on-premises reporting solutions. We will cover how existing SSRS and PowerBI expertise will transfer across these deployment modalities so you can easily mix and match on-premises and cloud components. We will cover paginated, interactive, and mobile reporting, dashboards, and analytical report and charts.

We will focus on the new capabilities of mobile reporting and web based reporting which allows for greater consumption of your report capabilities across the board.

We will cover the new visualizations and Power BI integration dashboard. This further allows you to leverage your existing reporting investments in SQL Server Reporting Services.

Speaker(s):

  • David Pless

Track and Room: BI Information Delivery - 1776


Title: A SQL Developer’s Guide to MDX Basics

Abstract: You already know how to write SQL queries against a data warehouse but your new job responsibilities require you to write MDX queries against Analysis Services (SSAS). MDX is the query language of SSAS in multidimensional mode. While SQL and MDX share some common keywords, they have very different syntax and concepts. In fact, the common keywords can be confusing if you are used to thinking in SQL.

In this session you will explore how data is organized in SSAS in a data structure called a cube. Next, we will write MDX queries while comparing them with SQL queries that return similar results. You will see how certain queries are much easier to write in MDX, especially when it comes to querying data that contains hierarchies such as a date rollup. Finally, you will learn how to capture MDX queries generated by Excel and SQL Server Management Studio, to use as practical examples of how to write MDX queries.

Speaker(s):

  • Shabnam Watson

Track and Room: BI Platform Architecture, Development Administration - 2172


Title: Data Pages, Allocation Units, IAM chains… Oh My!

Abstract: Understanding how SQL Server organizes your data under the hood can seem like a daunting task. In this session we’ll take a look at how objects such as tables and indexes are stored in the data file. We’ll also look at how these concepts tie in to your work as a DBA or developer. We’ll see these concepts in action using demos and see how we can use this knowledge to better design solutions.

We’ll start off by looking at the structure of a row and then move on the concept of a data page. From there we’ll cover a few special page types like the index allocation map. Then we’ll look at index structures and talk about the differences between heaps and clustered indexes.

Speaker(s):

  • Brandon Leach

Track and Room: Enterprise Database Administration Deployment - 1775


Title: SQL Admin Best Practices with DMVs

Abstract: In this practical and script-focused session, we’ll discuss many best practices regarding SQL Server administration, maintenance, optimizations and monitoring using Dynamic Management Views. DMV’s are essential tools for the SQL administrator, but have a wide range of applications by developers, network engineers and DBAs. We will delve into best practices for server maintenance, index fragmentation, XEvents, wait type analysis and future features. This session will be informative and eye-opening to anyone from a junior DBA on up.

Speaker(s):

  • William Assaf

Track and Room: Enterprise Database Administration Deployment - 1776


Title: End to End Protection with Always Encrypted in SQL Server 2016

Abstract: Protecting our data from unauthorized access becomes more and more important all the time, however it has been difficult to ensure sensitive data is encrypted in SQL Server. The new Always Encrypted feature in SQL Server 2016 makes this much simpler for developers and DBAs with a framework for protecting data from the client, across networks, and inside of the database. This new feature allows for limiting access to the data, even from the DBAs and sysadmins that may control the database instance itself. Learn how to implement and use Always Encrypted in your applications.

Speaker(s):

  • Steve Jones

Track and Room: Application Database Development - 1775


Title: RedGate - Automatically Tracking Deploying Database Changes in Order

Abstract: Managing individual database scripts is often seen as slow, old-fashioned and error-prone. But how times have changed. With more teams automating deployments, script-based change processes (sometimes called “Migrations”) are undergoing a renaissance. When the SQL code is visible up-front, an exact change can be rehearsed through progressively more realistic test environments, so that deployment contains no surprises. Come see how easy it can be to track all your database changes in Visual Studio and deploy those changes to a test and production environments reliably.

Speaker(s):

  • Steve Jones

Track and Room: Enterprise Database Administration Deployment - 1775


Title: Managing a Production Azure SQL Database - True Story!

Abstract: I develop for and manage a small, but active, web application that lives completely inside of Azure from code to data. I’ve been involved with it since inception, and I’ve learned a few things about developing for, and managing data in this environment the hard way.

I’d like to share some of the lessons I’ve learned in hopes that it can save others some time.

Speaker(s):

  • Jason Hall

Track and Room: Cloud Application Development Deployment - 2172


Title: Hostile Takeover

Abstract: In the spirit of Tim Ford’s year long Entry Level Challenge, what do you do when given a SQL Server to manage? This presentation will walk you through how to gain access to a SQL Server you have never seen before, what are the basic tools to use to collect inventory information, and what scripts I use to best determine the “health” of the server.

Speaker(s):

  • Robert Bishop

Track and Room: Enterprise Database Administration Deployment - 2171


Title: Beginners SQL Server Security the Low Hanging Fruit

Abstract: Security is not for the faint of heart and this session is just the tip of the iceberg. Those new to the DBA role and of course the Accidental DBA’s can take away a few nuggets to get them started securing their SQL Servers and raising awareness to the importance of securing the data we have been sworn to protect. Let this session jump start your journey to learning why DBA’s are called the gatekeepers and increase your value in the office while getting noticed for caring enough to stop intrusions to your SQL Servers.

Speaker(s):

  • Lindsay Clark

Track and Room: Enterprise Database Administration Deployment - 1775


Title: Performance Monitoring AlwaysOn Availability Groups

Abstract: Have you deployed Availability Groups in your data center? Are you monitoring your Availability Groups to ensure you can meet your recovery objectives? If you haven’t this is the session for you. We will discuss the importance of monitoring and trending Availability Group Replication, how AGs move data between replicas and the impact replication latency can have on the availability of your systems. We’ll also give you the tools and techniques to go back to the office and get started monitoring and trending right away!

Speaker(s):

  • Anthony Nocentino

Track and Room: Enterprise Database Administration Deployment - 2175


Title: Giving Feedback: How to Effectively Communicate to your Employees

Abstract: As a manager or team leader giving effective feedback is vital to the success of projects. In this session we will discuss soft skills and best practices to give feedback, performance improvement, and even disciplinary actions. Learn how to handle confrontation tactfully.

Speaker(s):

  • Christine Assaf

Track and Room: Professional Development - 2172


Title: Azure Data Factory: My Data Wandered Lonely as a CLOUD.

Abstract: Azure Data Factory is a json based data integration tool. It is not SSIS in the cloud, but like SSIS, its main purpose is moving data. This is an absolute beginner session on Azure Data Factory. I will cover basic terms and operations and show how to move your data the Azure way.

Speaker(s):

  • Julie Smith

Track and Room: Cloud Application Development Deployment - 2171


Title: Beginning SQL Server Investigation and Troubleshooting

Abstract: You have just been handed the keys to the kingdom - unfortunately, you’ve also been handed all of the responsibility to ensure that everything is running as expected. In this session we will take a high level look at topics which will be necessary for properly ensuring that your servers are running as flawlessly as possible. We will discuss what SQL Server is telling us through its’ dynamic management objects, some great tools from the community on how to interpret these signals as well as how to set up maintenance, and finally how we will diagnose what is going on when your server is having issues.

Speaker(s):

  • Eric Wisdahl

Track and Room: Enterprise Database Administration Deployment - 2172


Title: Why Should I Care About … Partitioned Views?

Abstract: Partitioned tables are awesome and partitioned views are dead, right? Well, sure partitioned views are not sexy but there are still plenty of applications where they are critical. And we don’t just talking about standard edition - they are also great for special indexing needs, multidimensional partitioning for starters. Come hear why this is still an important topic long after cargo pants and trucker hats went away.

Speaker(s):

  • Rick Lowe

Track and Room: Enterprise Database Administration Deployment - 1775


Title: Introduction to SQL Server Integration Services

Abstract: Take an introductory journey into the world of SSIS through the eyes of a SQL Server DBA as he navigates the Business Intelligence waters. This is an introductory course for beginners or users without any SSIS experience. Come learn how to SSIS with me!

Speaker(s):

  • Ed Watson

Track and Room: BI Information Delivery - 1776


Title: SQL 2012 2014 Extended Events

Abstract: In this session, come and learn how to perform monitoring and troubleshooting of your SQL Server using the new and improved Extended Events that are found in SQL Server 2012 and 2014. You will also learn about the improved XEvents interfaces and how to use XEvents to performance tune your server by tracking issues. This session will dive into the internals of XEvents and investigate the details of some of the events themselves.

Speaker(s):

  • Gareth Swanepoel

Track and Room: Enterprise Database Administration Deployment - 1774


Title: Top 10 Wait Types Everyone Should Know

Abstract: There are over 800 wait types in SQL Server 2014, but there are only 10 (in my experience) that are seen very often. If you can learn these 10 wait types, what causes them and their solutions, you will be ahead of the performance analysis game. The list of 10 wait types to be discussed came from over 100 consulting engagements with customers, so come find out what they are and improve your performance troubleshooting skills.

Speaker(s):

  • Janis Griffin

Track and Room: Enterprise Database Administration Deployment - 2171


Title: Power BI – Exploring New Frontiers

Abstract: Everyone is eager to get started with Microsoft’s new offering: Power BI. It promises to be a great delivery system of information and analytics. This session will show some tips and tricks to getting started fast and deliver some real WOW factor to your users. We will explore bringing in data, enhancing it, and then displaying it. We will look at how to work with the standard visualizations as well as a few custom visualizations. We will discuss publishing options to allow us to show off our work. Come join the fun and see why there is so much ado about Power BI.

Speaker(s):

  • Pam Shaw

Track and Room: Analytics and Visualization - 2175


Title: SIOS - Clusters Your Way

Abstract: SAN and SANless clusters for physical, virtual, and cloud environments

Speaker(s):

  • Brandon Leach

Track and Room: Cloud Application Development Deployment - 2172


Title: Crash Course on Better SQL Development

Abstract: What does one need to know to become better SQL Developer? How can I modular code to make it reusable? What about error handling? What is execution plan and how do I read it? Is there easier way to refactor code? All these questions and many others will be answered by writing some code, demo of free tools and showcasing SSDT.

Speaker(s):

  • Vladimir Oselsky

Track and Room: Application Database Development - 1776


Title: Tuning SQL Server for SharePoint

Abstract: We will discuss SQL and SharePoint integration concepts, walk through the different types of SharePoint databases, and get you more comfortable with the SharePoint platform. Some of the topics covered will include: the configuration steps and settings needed for SQL Server to properly host SharePoint databases, database size considerations, the SQL permissions your SharePoint administrators REALLY need, and why SharePoint databases have a GUID in their name (and how to avoid them!).

Speaker(s):

  • Daniel Glenn

Track and Room: Other - 2175


Title: Cisco UCS for the Data Professional

Abstract: Tim Radney will share his experience with working with clients from all over the world that utilize Cisco UCS for the underlying infrastructure as well as how he helped a client migrate thousands of databases with over 100 instances to Cisco’s UCS.

Speaker(s):

  • Tim Radney

Track and Room: Enterprise Database Administration Deployment - 2171


Title: Parent, Child development Using SSIS Framework

Abstract: Learn how to extend and reuse SSIS development using package controllers and drivers. Extend parallel process and view the different options for SSIS package configurations and become the GURU on ETL development for your organization

Speaker(s):

  • Jorge Novo

Track and Room: BI Information Delivery - 1776


Title: Women in Technology: Identifying, Understanding and Combating Gen

Abstract: Gender Bias is something we’re all guilty of. It’s typically unconscious and often stems from long held misperceptions about women job responsibilities. We’ll learn about the origins of some of these biases and how to identify gender bias when we see it. We’ll discuss some strategies for how both men and women can combat this at work in our every day lives. This session is about developing positive solutions to a problem that often goes undiscussed.

Speaker(s):

  • Rie Irish

Track and Room: Professional Development - 2171


Title: Getting started with Tabular Analysis Services

Abstract: This session will give the basics of starting a tabular model with Analysis Services 2014 and PowerView from Excel 2013. We will start by opening the Visual Studio environment to create a Solution/Project. The Fact and Dimension tables will be imported and Filtered. Basic attribute and hierarchies will be created along with some calculations on the fact data. The Deployed project will be previewed in PowerView from Excel 2013.

Speaker(s):

  • Thomas LeBlanc

Track and Room: BI Platform Architecture, Development Administration - 1774


Title: I’m It - Survival Techniques for the Lone DBA

Abstract: Are you the only database person at your company? Are you both the DBA and the Developer? Being the only data professional in an environment can seem overwhelming, daunting, and darn near impossible sometimes. However, it can also be extremely rewarding and empowering. This session will cover how you can keep your sanity, get stuff done, and still love your job. We’ll cover how I have survived and thrived being a Lone DBA for 15 years and how you can too. When you finish this session, you’ll know what you can do to make your job easier, where to find help, and how to still be able to advance and enrich your career.

Speaker(s):

  • Monica Rathbun

Track and Room: Professional Development - 1775


Title: SolarWinds Database Performance Analyzer Overview

Abstract: Are you struggling with performance issues and your current tools are not providing answers? This presentation outlines a method for determining the best approach for tuning SQL statements by utilizing response-time analysis wait types. Janis Griffin will use real-life case studies to show how quickly you can identify and fix the problems that are affecting your end user applications.

Speaker(s):

  • Janis Griffin

Track and Room: Enterprise Database Administration Deployment - 1774


Title: Azure SQL Database: Deployment and Development of Your First DB

Abstract: Azure SQL Database offers compelling features for developers, especially those creating cloud applications. In this session, you’ll learn about the Azure SQL Database platform and the tools provided for deployment and management of your databases. Demos will provide step-by-step examples of creating a SQL Server and Azure SQL Database, deploying a database using various methods and then managing that database.

Speaker(s):

  • Sven Aelterman

Track and Room: Cloud Application Development Deployment - 2171


Speakers

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

William E Pearson III

Twitter: - @Bill_Pearson

LinkedIn: William E Pearson III

Contact: https://mvp.support.microsoft.com/profile=02C5CD07-7511-4151-A678-3A4A3451F85E

Bill Pearson created Island Technologies Inc. in 1997, and has developed a large and diverse customer base since. Bill#39;s background as a CPA, Internal Auditor, Management Accountant, and SQL Server MVP (BI) enables him to provide value to clients as a liaison between Accounting / Finance and Information Services. Bill has implemented enterprise business intelligence systems over the years for many Fortune 500 companies and focuses his practice upon the integrated Microsoft Business Intelligence

Thomas LeBlanc

Twitter: - TheSmilingDBA

LinkedIn: Thomas LeBlanc

Contact: http://Thomas-LeBlanc.com

Thomas LeBlanc (Microsoft Data Platform MVP) is a Data Warehouse Architect in Baton Rouge, and uses his 30+ years in IT to develop OLTP systems with normalized databases for high-performing T-SQL and dimensional data marts. Development is done in SSIS, SSAS, SSRS, Power BI, and Excel. As a PASS volunteer, he is past chair of Excel BI and Data Arch VCs and is active in the Baton Rouge Analytics and SQL Server User groups, as well as SQLSaturday in Baton Rouge. You can find his blog at TheSmilingDBA.BlogSpot.com and website at Thomas-LeBlanc.com

Mike Byrd

Twitter: - ByrdNest_TX

LinkedIn: Mike Byrd

Contact: http://logicalread.solarwinds.com/?s=byrd, www.TSQLMentoring.com and SQLServerCentral.com

Former rocket scientist and USAF Fighter Pilot – now a SQL Server geek (24 years)! Past opportunities include free-lance technical writer for PC Magazine, Senior Software Manager for government sponsored munitions effectiveness committee, and insurance company CTO. Currently senior database engineer consultant for several Austin companies.

Presenter at many SQLSaturdays over last 6 years in United States, Europe, and Australia.

Specialize in SQL Server performance tuning; database (OLTP OLAP) architecture; trouble-shooting; teaching TSQL (Basic through Advanced).

Video presentations (for local SQL Server user groups or SQLSaturdays) can be found at http://usergroup.tv/videos/category/speaker/mike-byrd

Rie Irish

Twitter: - IrishSQL

LinkedIn: Rie Irish

Rie lives with her family just north of Atlanta, Georgia. She worked as a SQL Server DBA, manager director for over 20 years. She’s worked in many industries including the non-profit sector, education, big pharma, and e-commerce. She was awarded the MVP in the Data Platform 3 times beginning in 2017 and gave that up to accept her role as a Senior Program Manager with Microsoft in 2019. She is very involved with the Atlanta MDF User Group, SQLSaturday Atlanta and is co-leader of the PASS Women in Tech virtual group.

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.

Tim Radney

Twitter: - @tradney

LinkedIn: Tim Radney

Contact: http://www.timradney.com

Tim is a Data Platform MVP and has a whole collection of Microsoft and other industry certifications. His experience includes HA/DR, virtualization, SSIS, SSRS, and performance tuning, among everything else SQL Server-related. Tim is very active and passionate in the SQL Community. He runs the Columbus GA SQL Users Group, has been a PASS Regional Mentor for a number of years, was named a PASS Outstanding Volunteer in 2012, and is a frequent speaker at user groups, SQLSaturdays and PASS Summits. Tim is one of the top ranked in karma on ask.sqlservercentral.com, answers questions as @tradney on Twitter, and blogs at http://timradney.com and SQLskills blog at http://www.SQLskills.com/blogs/tim.

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.

Steve Jones

Twitter: - way0utwest

LinkedIn: Steve Jones

Contact: http://www.voiceofthedba.com/

Steve Jones is a Microsoft SQL Server MVP and has been working with SQL Server since version 4.2 on OS/2. After working as a DBA and developer for a variety of companies, Steve co-founded the community website SQLServerCentral.com in 2001. Since 2004, Steve has been the full-time editor of the site, ensuring it continues to be a great resource for SQL Server professionals. Over the last decade, Steve has written hundreds of articles about SQL Server for SQLServerCentral.com, SQL Server Standard magazine, SQL Server Magazine, and Database Journal.

Michael Viron

Twitter: - mviron

LinkedIn: Michael Viron

Michael Viron has a wide range of experience as a senior IT manager amp; business owner. As Director of IT amp; Software Engineering at KAMedData, Inc, he has been heavily involved in coordinating numerous product launches amp; both company amp; division startups. A key team member, his main responsibilities include technical operations, project management, security, short and long range technical planning, and development. As owner of General Education Online, he handles both IT and business operations.

Mike Lawell

Twitter: - @sqldiver

LinkedIn: Mike Lawell

Contact: http://sqlserverassociates.com/Blog

Mike Lawell is an 19 year veteran of SQL Server, working with all versions since 6.5. He specializes in performance tuning and high availability as an independent consultant.

He is a Linchpin People Teammate, he also consults with SolidQ, Intellinet and Microsoft Consulting Services.

He is also a certified Scuba instructor with a long bucket list of dive sites.

He resides in Atlanta, GA and you can catch him at many of the SQLSaturdays in the SE region of the United States.

Shabnam Watson

Twitter: - ShbWatson

LinkedIn: Shabnam Watson

Contact: https://shabnamwatson.wordpress.com/

Shabnam Watson is a Business Intelligence architect with 20 years of experience developing data warehouse and business intelligence solutions. Her work focus within the Microsoft BI Stack has been on Analysis Services and Power BI.

She is an active member of PASS community and has spoken at PASS Summit, SQLSaturdays, PASS Business Analytics and Women in Technology virtual chapters, and many other local user groups and conferences. She is one of the organizers of SQLSaturday Atlanta BI Edition.

She holds a master’s degree in computer science, a bachelor’s degree in Computer Engineering, and a Certified Business Intelligence Professional (CBIP) certification by The Data Warehouse Institute (TDWI).

Brandon Leach

Twitter: - SQLServerNerd

LinkedIn: Brandon Leach

A Microsoft Data Platform MVP, Brandon manages the DB Operations team for financial company x. With a data estate of several petabytes, he puts a high focus on performance tuning and automation. He is a frequent speaker at events like conferences and user groups.

Pam Shaw

Twitter: - @PamShaw

LinkedIn: Pam Shaw

Contact: http://sqlpam.wordpress.com/

Pam Shaw has been in IT for over 30 years. Since 2001, Pam has been working with SQL Server, first 2000, then 2005, 2008, 2008 R2, 2012 and now 2014. Pam currently works as a BI Developer as an independent contractor. Pam is also the Chapter Leader of the Hillsborough SQL Users Group PASS chapter and organizer of SQLSaturday Tampa.

Monica Rathbun

Twitter: - SQLEspresso

LinkedIn: Monica Rathbun

Contact: http://www.sqlespresso.com

Monica Rathbun lives in Virginia, is a Microsoft MVP for Data Platform and Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert. She has nearly two decades of experience working with a wide variety of database platforms with a focus on SQL Server and the Microsoft Data Platform. She is a frequent speaker at IT industry conferences on topics including performance tuning and configuration management. She is the Leader of the Hampton Roads SQL Server User Group and a Mid‐Atlantic PASS Regional Mentor. She is passionate about SQL Server and the SQL Server community, doing anything she can to give back. Monica can always be found on Twitter (@sqlespresso) handing out helpful tips. You can find Monica blogging at sqlespresso.com

Rob Volk

Twitter: - sql_r

LinkedIn: Rob Volk

Contact: http://weblogs.sqlteam.com/robv/

Rob Volk is a SQL Server DBA in the Metro Atlanta area since 2001. He also moderates and answers the forums on SQLTeam.com. While an old-time cranky DBA, he no longer considers quot;business intelligencequot; an oxymoron or quot;the cloudquot; as merely atmospheric moisture, and is delightedly dipping his toes into both of these new oceans, and loves to do things in new and and unusual ways.

Lindsay Clark

Twitter: - @LindsayOClark

LinkedIn: Lindsay Clark

Lindsay started out in network administration with a BA in Computer Science from South University prior to finding her true love in database administration. Whether it#39;s mentoring in the office or presenting sessions at SQLSaturday, Lindsay loves to find new ways to collaborate and share information. In addition to her role as DBA at American Credit Acceptance, she actively recruits speakers for her user group and chairs her local SQLSaturday event.

Robert Bishop

Twitter: - http://twitter.com/sql_padre

Contact: http://sqlpadre.wordpress.com

Robert has been working with databases since SQL Server 2005. After 4 years as a .NET developer using SQL Server, Robert became a DBA out of necessity, a true “Accidental” DBA! Robert has presented at his local SQL Server User group, SQLSaturdays and PASS Virtual Chapters. As a Microsoft MSCA and an Idera ACE, Robert enjoys administrative tasks, configuring SQL Server for optimal performance, troubleshooting problematic SQL queries and making those query run faster than the speed of light. In the event of “free time”, Robert enjoys camping, playing his guitars and spending time with his family.

Brandon Leach

Twitter: - SQLServerNerd

LinkedIn: Brandon Leach

A Microsoft Data Platform MVP, Brandon manages the DB Operations team for financial company x. With a data estate of several petabytes, he puts a high focus on performance tuning and automation. He is a frequent speaker at events like conferences and user groups.

Tim Radney

Twitter: - @tradney

LinkedIn: Tim Radney

Contact: http://www.timradney.com

Tim is a Data Platform MVP and has a whole collection of Microsoft and other industry certifications. His experience includes HA/DR, virtualization, SSIS, SSRS, and performance tuning, among everything else SQL Server-related. Tim is very active and passionate in the SQL Community. He runs the Columbus GA SQL Users Group, has been a PASS Regional Mentor for a number of years, was named a PASS Outstanding Volunteer in 2012, and is a frequent speaker at user groups, SQLSaturdays and PASS Summits. Tim is one of the top ranked in karma on ask.sqlservercentral.com, answers questions as @tradney on Twitter, and blogs at http://timradney.com and SQLskills blog at http://www.SQLskills.com/blogs/tim.

Eric Wisdahl

Twitter: - @EricWisdahl

LinkedIn: Eric Wisdahl

Eric Wisdahl is a computer engineer working in the database field. He has held multiple roles and positions in e-commerce, marketing and insurance industries. Currently, he is working as a database administrator in a development role for an e-commerce company.

Eric Wisdahl does not like writing about himself in the third person. It is kind of creepy.

Rodney Landrum

Twitter: - @SQLBeat

Contact: https://www.simple-talk.com/blogs/author/2133-rodney-landrum/

Rodney Landrum has been architecting solutions for SQL Server for over 12 years. He has worked with and written about many SQL Server technologies, including DTS, Integration Services, Analysis Services, and Reporting Services. He has co-authored 4 books on Reporting Services. He is been a regular contributor to SQL Server magazine, sqlservercentral.com and Simple-talk.com. Rodney is also SQL Server MVP

Jorge Novo

Twitter: - @ETLDEVDBA

LinkedIn: Jorge Novo

Contact: http://etldevelopernotes.blogspot.com

Jorge Novo is a database developer with more than 10 years of experience in the design, implementation, and maintenance of OLAP, ROLAD database system for the enterprise. Jorge specialize himself on ETL processes, SQL tuning, and much more. Jorge is always eager to learn and shared his ideas and challenges with the SQL Community.

Jamey Johnston

Twitter: - STATCowboy

LinkedIn: Jamey Johnston

Contact: http://STATCowboy.com

Jamey Johnston is a Senior Data Scientist/Engineer for a large independent OG company. For over 25 years, he has worked for Fortune 500 companies architecting successful platforms in the cloud, on the edge, and on-premises for BI reporting, statistical analysis, ML, and AI. Lately, he spends his time in Azure, Python, R, Power BI, MS SQL, and SAS JMP. He holds a BS in Spatial Analysis from LSU and a Masters of Science in Analytics from Texas AM. He is a professor at the Mays Business School at Texas AM in the MS Analytics program. He is active in his PASS Local Group in Houston, co-leader of the local Power BI users group and data analytics group. He regularly speaks and volunteers at PASS events. He is also a Microsoft Data Platform MVP.

Christine Assaf

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

LinkedIn: Christine Assaf

Contact: https://www.hrtact.com

Christine Assaf is an experienced HR pro who is passionate about the mental health of employees, leadership, and organizations. She is a leadership development professional with over 15 years experience in human resources and 20 years in business management. She holds a BS in Business Management, received her HRM certification at LSU, and is finishing up her master’s degree at Colorado State University in Industrial and Organizational Psychology. She is a certified DDI Trainer, experienced public speaker, and is dedicated to teaching others about ways to support a culture of “expressiveness” in the workplace that creates connectivity.

Vladimir Oselsky

Twitter: - @VladyOselsky

LinkedIn: Vladimir Oselsky

Vladimir Oselsky (Vlady) is an IT Professional with over 15 years of experience in various IT Jobs. Born and raised in Siberia, moved to United States in late 90s. Passion for computer and programming started with DOS games and learning Borland Paschal in 8th grade as a hobby. IT career consisted of everything from hardware and software support to server administration. Current focus on SQL Server Database Development and .NET programming

Ed Watson

Twitter: - http://twitter.com/SQLGator

LinkedIn: Ed Watson

Contact: http://sqlgator.com

Ed Watson is a Principal Data Platform Consultant for Improving Enterprises, a full-stack Microsoft consulting firm in Atlanta. Ed is a Microsoft Data Platform MVP since 2014 and like most children, Ed was born at an early age. Today, Ed specializes in the Business Intelligence stack and enjoys specializing in Power BI immensely. He currently lives in Atlanta and is active with the Atlanta MDF and Atlanta BI user groups and is an organizer for SQLSaturday Atlanta, Atlanta BI, and Pensacola.

Rushabh Mehta

Twitter: - @rushabhmehta

LinkedIn: Rushabh Mehta

Contact: http://blogs.solidq.com/RushabhMehta

Rushabh Mehta is a Business Intelligence Mentor with SolidQ and the Managing Director for Solid Quality India Pvt. Ltd. He served as PASS President for 2010/2011 term.

Rushabh has worked with MS Data Platform since 1998 and has designed and developed BI systems since 2001. He has been the lead architect for many large-scale and complex BI solutions for clients such as Publix, Raymond James, Jackson Hewitt, US Dept. of Defense, and Microsoft. He is an MVP with Microsoft, Damp;B amp; Melissa Data

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.

Steve Jones

Twitter: - way0utwest

LinkedIn: Steve Jones

Contact: http://www.voiceofthedba.com/

Steve Jones is a Microsoft SQL Server MVP and has been working with SQL Server since version 4.2 on OS/2. After working as a DBA and developer for a variety of companies, Steve co-founded the community website SQLServerCentral.com in 2001. Since 2004, Steve has been the full-time editor of the site, ensuring it continues to be a great resource for SQL Server professionals. Over the last decade, Steve has written hundreds of articles about SQL Server for SQLServerCentral.com, SQL Server Standard magazine, SQL Server Magazine, and Database Journal.

Rick Lowe

Twitter: - DataFLowe

LinkedIn: Rick Lowe

Contact: http://dataflowe.wordpress.com/

Rick is a Microsoft Certified Master with more than 20 years of SQL Server experience in a variety of roles. He currently lives in Washington state and works as an independent consultant providing remote performance DBA and performance tuning services for clients in the USA and Canada. His first exposure to SQL Server was as a database developer, but over time he became more and more interested in how the database engine operated… eventually specializing more on performance issues than code.

Rick will work with all things relational, but most enjoys helping smaller companies get better performance from MSSQL, as well as smoothing over relationships between DBA and development teams.

Daniel Glenn

Twitter: - DanielGlenn

LinkedIn: Daniel Glenn

Contact: https://DanielGlenn.com

Daniel is a Microsoft MVP with 15 years’ experience building technology solutions, intranets and extranets. As Practice Leader for the Nashville-based InfoWorks Inc., Daniel helps organizations of all sizes solve complex data challenges by implementing Office 365 and SharePoint without the need of customization and costly investments.

Daniel is passionate about giving back and building the Microsoft technical community. Daniel holds leadership roles in various local user groups, serves as an organizer for Microsoft 365 Nashville, and is a co-host for the popular podcast 365 Message Center Show on https://MessageCenter.Show. You can follow Daniel online at https://DanielGlenn.com and @DanielGlenn on Twitter.

Mike Robbins

Twitter: - @mikefrobbins

LinkedIn: Mike Robbins

Contact: http://mikefrobbins.com/

Mike F Robbins is a Microsoft MVP on Windows PowerShell and a SAPIEN Technologies MVP. He is a co-author of Windows PowerShell TFM 4th Edition and is a contributing author of a chapter in the PowerShell Deep Dives book. Mike has written guest blog articles for the Hey, Scripting Guy! Blog, PowerShell Magazine, and PowerShell.org. He is the winner of the advanced category in the 2013 PowerShell Scripting Games. Mike is also the leader and co-founder of the Mississippi PowerShell User Group. He blogs at mikefrobbins.com and can be found on twitter @mikefrobbins.

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.

David Pless

Twitter: - @dpless

Contact: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/sql_pfe_blog/

For the past nine years, I have been a Technical Solution Professional with Microsoft. As a TSP I conduct full training workshops, conduct demo sessions, and perform architectural reviews on all supported builds of SQL Server. I mainly support the Southeast focusing on Florida, but I can be anywhere in the world.

My core areas are Performance Tuning and Optimization, Azure, AlwaysOn, Reporting Services (SSRS), custom monitoring, building custom dashboards, and more.

William Assaf

Twitter: - william_a_dba

LinkedIn: William Assaf

Contact: http://www.sqltact.com

William Assaf, Data Platform MVP, is a principal consultant in Baton Rouge, LA. Initially a .NET developer, and later into database administration and architecture, William currently works with clients on SQL Server and Azure SQL platform optimization, management, disaster recovery and high availability, and leads a crack multi-city team of consulting SQL DBA’s. William has written for Microsoft SQL certification exams since 2011 and was the lead author of the 2017 and 2019 editions of “SQL Server Administration Inside Out” by Microsoft Press. William is a member of the Baton Rouge User Groups board, a regional mentor for PASS, and past lead of the annual SQLSaturday Baton Rouge Planning Committee, having run one of the largest SQLSaturdays.

Anthony Nocentino

Twitter: - nocentino

LinkedIn: Anthony Nocentino

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

Anthony Nocentino is the founder and President of Centino Systems as well as a Pluralsight author, Microsoft Data Platform MVP, Linux expert, and corporate problem solver. Anthony designs solutions, deploys the technology, and provides expertise on business system performance, architecture, and security. Anthony has a Bachelors and Masters in Computer Science with research publications in high performance/low latency data access algorithms and spatial database systems.

Julie Smith

Twitter: - @juliechix

LinkedIn: Julie Smith

Contact: http://datachix.com

Julie Smith is a Microsoft Data Platform MVP and a BI consultant for Innovative Architects in Atlanta, GA. She#39;s implemented increasingly complex Business Intelligence solutions for over a decade at various organizations. She#39;s also worn many other database “hats” in her career – production DBA and database developer–but data integration and BI are her true passions. Julie holds a BA from the University of South Carolina. She and Audrey Hammonds co-created The Datachix.com blog.

Paco Gonzalez

Twitter: - @pacosql

LinkedIn: Paco Gonzalez

Paco Gonzalez is the CEO of SolidQ North America, and a Microsoft Data Platform MVP. Focused on Business Analytics and Artificial Intelligence, he specializes in helping organizations become data driven from a strategic and technical perspective. Paco is a speaker at small and large conferences such as PASS Summit, Ignite, and Business Applications Summit, and he has published several books and whitepapers. He is based in Atlanta, GA.

Gareth Swanepoel

Twitter: - @GarethSwan

Contact: http://mygareth.com

Gareth Swanepoel is a sysadmin-turned-SQL Server DBA. He has been working in the IT industry doing support and administration for over 25 years. He enjoys solving the complex problems that customers encounter when performance tuning SQL Server or when deploying SQL Server in large data warehouse environments. He is originally from South Africa and is currently a Dedicated Support Engineer (PFE) with Microsoft. He is a passionate member of the SQL Server community and is an accomplished author and speaker having presented at various user groups, SQLSaturdays, the PASS Summit and other technical conferences.

Sven Aelterman

Twitter: - @svenaelterman

LinkedIn: Sven Aelterman

Contact: https://svenaelterman.wordpress.com

Sven Aelterman is the Director of IT for the Sorrell College of Business at Troy University; a role with a global scope. He is also a lecturer in Information Systems and teaches courses in data warehousing and information security. He continues consulting work through Adduxis, where he assists customers with various Microsoft technology implementations. Co-author of The Art of SQL Server FILESTREAM, published by Red Gate; and SQL Server 2017 Administration Inside Out, published by Microsoft Press. Cloud Software Architect at Sorrell Solutions, L.L.C. developing a Microsoft Azure-hosted Electronic Health Record system.

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.

Sponsors

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