SQLSaturday #681 - Spartanburg 2017

Event Date: 09/23/2017 00:00:00

Event Location:

George Dean Johnson, Jr. College of Business and Economics
160 East St. John Street
Spartanburg, South Carolina

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

Sessions
Speakers
Sponsors

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Sessions

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

Title: TempDB 101 Plus

Abstract: TempDB is not your ordinary user database and should definitely not be treated like one. The usage patterns dictate that the configuration, monitoring and usage be done in a different way to get the best performance. We will see why aspects such as configuration and file placement play such a key role and why you need to plan ahead for TempDB. See how to detect the memory and space usage associated with the various users in TempDB along with some of the most common performance related scenarios that you will encounter with a well-used TempDB database. In addition we will explain the differences between temp tables and table variables and when to use one over another.

Speaker(s):

Andrew Kelly

Track and Room: Enterprise Database Administration Deployment - 170

Title: Let Her Finish: Supporting Women’s Voices in Technology

Abstract: Next time you attend a meeting, watch what happens when women at the table offer ideas. If your office is like most in America, you’ll notice women are interrupted almost three times as often as men. Some interruptions are to assert dominance but sometimes people do it to be helpful offer affirmation. Regardless of the intent, the results are the same. Women are being left out of the conversation. The consequences are real. Male executives that speak more frequently in meetings are rewarded with 10% higher competence ratings from peers better performance reviews from bosses. This translates into $ when raises and bonuses are handed out. This discussion will cover positive solutions that help women’s voices be heard. Women need to be more assertive. We need to learn to say “Stop interrupting me.” and “I just said that.” However, men can be, no HAVE to be, part of the solution. They can help women become part of the conversation.

Speaker(s):

Rie Irish

Track and Room: Professional Development - 260

Title: Designing an SSIS Framework

Abstract: Enterprise data integration changed with the introduction of the SSIS Catalog. Implementing enterprise data integration often requires functionality beyond the rich features provided by the SSIS Catalog. Building on his previous work in the field of Data Integration Life Cycle Management (DILM) and SSIS Frameworks development, a Data Integration Architect with 10 years of SSIS experience explains the what, why, and how of an SSIS Catalog-integrated Framework that delivers metadata-driven package execution, connections management, and parameter configuration.

In this session, you will learn:

A method for migrating packages from Development, through the data integration life cycle, to Production without editing SSIS Connection Manager Properties.
A metadata-driven approach to SSIS package execution.
A method for customizing enterprise data integration reporting.

Speaker(s):

Andy Leonard

Track and Room: BI Platform Architecture, Development Administration - 180

Title: Database Project Makes Deployment Consistent

Abstract: The deployment process is frustrating; an object is missing, an object is deployed in the wrong order or an incorrect version. Deploying to multiple environments like Dev, QA, UAT, and Prod is a challenge whether on-premise or in the cloud. Source controlling database objects is paramount. Team development is required. Database code will only be deployed when changed. Proper security deployment will be repeatable per environment. Together, let us discover how using Database Project will help us with consistent releases. Deployments can cause you trouble but we will share a reliable deployment and version control process. Let’s see how Database Project can help us accomplish this goal.

Speaker(s):

Thomas Norman

Track and Room: Application Database Development - 170

Title: Interrogating your data sources with Biml

Abstract: You’ve started using Biml to make your ETL development easier. The problem is not all your data sources have easy to read metadata like SQL Server. How do you create usable metadata from these sources?

Simple! Attend my session and learn how others are doing it using my open source Interrogator. This code can take any text-based data and apply a series of tests in order to determine what datatype best fits. These tests also build on each other to allow you to determine the best fit for a column based on the whole file, or on a collection of files. No more guessing based on the first 200 rows!

During the session, I’ll also give a primer on some basic C# programming techniques that can be used along with the code to apply the Interrogator to your own semi-structured data sources.

Speaker(s):

Shannon Lowder

Track and Room: BI Platform Architecture, Development Administration - 250

Title: Using Powershell to Document SQL Server

Abstract: Most DBAs 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 exported because they 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 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, Server Triggers and much more

Speaker(s):

George Walkey

Track and Room: Enterprise Database Administration Deployment - 180

Title: How to Build Your Disaster Recovery Plan

Abstract: So your boss asked for a copy of your DR plan. Once you’ve wiped that deer-in-the-headlights look off your face, you realize “We’ve got database backups,” isn’t exactly a plan. You need to come up with a plan to recover your business when disaster strikes. This session will help you build this plan by defining what a disaster could be, documenting the business impact, and identifying your limitations. We will show how to use this information to establish metrics (such as RTO and RPO), document current recovery configurations, and design an effective recovery strategy that meets the needs and budget of your business. Attending this session will give you the knowledge and tools to create an effective disaster recovery plan that will make your boss happy and ensure the continuity of your business.

Speaker(s):

Rie Irish

Track and Room: Enterprise Database Administration Deployment - 160

Title: Enabling EDW and BI workloads on Hadoop with Hive / LLAP

Abstract: In its origin, Hadoop was created as a distributed computing system designed to process data in batches, but the many advantages of the platform lead to an immediate desire to run interactive analytical queries against Data Lakes built on Hadoop. So a few years back the Stinger initiative was created as an ongoing effort to bring interactive SQL querying capabilities to Hive, and its latest release has finally delivered! In this session, Luis Figueroa (Solutions Engineer @ Hortonworks) will walk you through the latest advancements that make Hive on Hadoop a powerful SQL engine that expands you EDW capabilities with unlimited scale and amazing flexibility. Luis will provide a technical overview of the Hive engine, an update on SQL compatibility with the ANSI standard, real world use cases and a live demo. If you are a data pro this session is for you!

Speaker(s):

Luis Figueroa

Track and Room: BI Information Delivery - 170

Title: Treating Tables Like Legos: Table Partitioning Basics

Abstract: Have your tables and indexes that have grown rather large? Are they taking longer to query? Are your windows for maintenance getting tighter? If you answered yes to any of these questions, table partitioning may be for you! With table partitioning, you can break a table or index down into smaller more manageable chunks. It can help you perform maintenance on just part of a table or index. You can even move data in and out of tables with quick and easy metadata only operations. We’ll go over basic partitioning concepts such as horizontal vs. vertical partitioning, and techniques like partitioned views and sliding windows. You’ll see how we can make our index and statistics maintenance easier. At the end of this session you’ll have a firm understanding of how partitioning works and be able to make decisions on how and when to implement.

Speaker(s):

Brandon Leach

Track and Room: Enterprise Database Administration Deployment - 150

Title: Tame Your Unruly Data With Constraints

Abstract: Bad data comes in many forms: duplicate rows, wrong data type, invalid values, and orphaned or missing foreign keys. Time is wasted cleansing, reviewing and correcting data, not to mention the potential hazards bad data can cause. This introductory presentation will explain the data types and constraints available in SQL Server, and how they can replace or augment business rules that would otherwise be written in application or procedure code. Performance benefits provided by constraints will be demonstrated. We will examine the various system views and procedures that describe constraints and how to use them to document your databases. You will be able to apply this knowledge to your database environments and see significant improvements in data quality, performance, and reliability.

Speaker(s):

Rob Volk

Track and Room: Application Database Development - 160

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 - 260

Title: SQL Server Databaseology: A Deep Dive Into Database Internals

Abstract: Have you ever taken apart a toaster or an alarm clock just to see how it worked? Ever wondered how that database actually functions at the record level, behind the scenes? SQL Server Databaseology is the study of SQL Server databases and their structures down to the very core of the records themselves. In this session, we will explore some of the deep inner workings of a SQL Server database at the record and page level. You will walk away with a better understanding of how SQL Server stores data and that knowledge will allow you to build better, faster databases.

Speaker(s):

John Morehouse

Track and Room: Application Database Development - 160

Title: Making Your List and Checking It Twice: Introduction to unit testing with tSQLt

Abstract: Unit testing allows database code to be consistently tested during the development process, but it can be challenging to get unit testing setup for database development. This session will give an overview on the purpose of unit testing, the installation of the tSQLt framework, and the design of unit tests. I will use general concepts of test driven design to create and run unit tests to confirm that objects exist and to test single and multiple test cases. Learn how to implement unit testing in a development environment and create and run your own units tests.

Speaker(s):

Elizabeth Noble

Track and Room: Application Database Development - 260

Title: Execution Plans for Mere Mortals

Abstract: For beginning database professionals, execution plans can be intimidating. This 1-hour session takes you through the basics of reading graphical execution plans and drills into key operators, warnings, and properties. Learn how, why, and when an execution plan is created and saved to plan cache.

Reading execution plans becomes 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 and save it for analysis and comparison after modifications.

Speaker(s):

Mike Lawell

Track and Room: Enterprise Database Administration Deployment - 250

Title: SQL Server 2016 In-Memory OLTP Tables

Abstract: In-Memory OLTP in SQL Server 2016 has been reborn. Many limitations within the previous versions have been removed, making it a viable option for a variety of workloads. In this session we will highlight critical issues in implementing and managing SQL Server 2016 instances and databases containing In-Memory tables. The bulk of this session will be spent walking through the process of identifying candidate In-Memory tables, migrating an on-disk table to an in-memory table and comparing performance.

Speaker(s):

Justin Randall

Track and Room: Enterprise Database Administration Deployment - 180

Title: Getting started with SQL Azure Database: What you need to know

Abstract: Azure SQL Database offers a way quickly spin up new databases with minimal management requirements. However, the number of differences between on-premises SQL Server and Azure SQL Database can be overwhelming. Even worse, with DBaaS it’s not clear who is responsible for what anymore. In this session, we will cover all the basic steps of getting your first Azure SQL Database instance spun up. We’ll cover common gotchas, like firewall settings and resource locks. We’ll also dive into some more advanced options with templates, allowing you to make your processes reproducible. By the end of this presentation, you’ll understand if Azure SQL Database is the right choice for you and your needs. You’ll understand how it can simplify management and allow you to scale easily. Finally, you’ll have the confidence to go and create your own instance with ease.

Speaker(s):

Jim Donahoe

Track and Room: Cloud Application Development Deployment - 250

Title: Making your existing hardware work for you

Abstract: Many of us have to deal with hardware that doesn’t meet our standards or contributes to performance problems. This session will cover how to work around hardware issues when it isn’t in the budget for newer, faster, stronger, better hardware. It’s time to make that existing hardware work for us. Learn tips and tricks on how to reduce IO, relieve memory pressure, and reduce blocking. Let’s see how compression, statistics, and indexes bring new life into your existing hardware.

Speaker(s):

Monica Rathbun

Track and Room: Enterprise Database Administration Deployment - 260

Title: Controlling Competing Workloads with SQL Server Resource Governor

Abstract: With heavily consolidated instances and competing workloads, the Enterprise only Resource Governor feature is an incredibly useful tool for any DBA to have in their toolbox. It allows for the effective throttling and control of CPU, memory and I/O consumed by multiple workloads running on a single SQL Server instance. In this session, we will cover the fundamental concepts of the SQL Server Resource Governor and provide demonstrations of practical scenarios where Resource Governor can control resources for specific workloads. Some of these demonstrations include how to limit the amount of memory consumed by memory-optimized tables and how to prevent poorly-written queries from overwhelming your storage subsystem. We will also discuss cases where Resource Governor can mitigate parameter sniffing problems. Finally, we will look at ways to leverage the useful information contained in the Resource Governor DMVs for monitoring and reporting.

Speaker(s):

Brian Carrig

Track and Room: Enterprise Database Administration Deployment - 150

Title: Environmental SQL Server Troubleshooting

Abstract: When called in to diagnose a performance issue what are the 1st things you review? Many DBAs and developers make the mistake of diving straight into the code looking for an answer. However, often times the solution is not in the code but rather in the overall environment. Environmental troubleshooting is often a quick and overlooked method for discovering and configuring SQL Server to perform at a higher level without the need for application change controls.

In this session we will discuss both performance pitfalls and optimizations that can be made to the system outside of code changes. We will diagnose configurations commonly misapplied and review best practices in SQL Server, Windows Server, and VMware!

Speaker(s):

Jeff Mlakar

Track and Room: Enterprise Database Administration Deployment - 180

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). PowerBI also uses DAX for all the formula expressions. We’ll cover the basics of DAX, and go over some time intelligence functions.

Speaker(s):

Azhagappan Arunachalam

Track and Room: BI Platform Architecture, Development Administration - 160

Title: Self-Service ETL with Microsoft Power Query in PowerBI

Abstract: Are you trying to quickly extract, transform and load data from multiple data sources for data analysis without going through an extensive ETL development? In this session, I will introduce you to Microsoft’s new self-service ETL tool “Power Query” for PowerBI. I will show you with several example demos, how to source data from various data sources, how you can massage the data and consume the data for your use in the data pipeline. I will introduce you to “M” language that is used in Power Query. I will show you how you can discover and mash data from public data sources with Power Query and model the data very easily. If you would like to do ETL quickly without writing SSIS packages or scripts, Power Query is the way go. Come and attend this session to learn “Power Query” for Power BI and Excel. You will be the data analysis star in your organization.

Speaker(s):

Damu Venkatesan

Track and Room: Analytics and Visualization - 250

Title: Winning with Columnstore - A Customer Story

Abstract: This session will feature a real story of a customer who was running into performance and scaling issues on a big iron Oracle RAC system and why they decided to consider the magic of the Column Store for this situation. Discussion will focus on the existing environments for testing both SQL 2016 and Oracle as well as the methodologies used for testing. We will examine the decisions made for choosing indexes (both traditional and column store) for the main tables in the data warehouse as well as the partitioning strategies employed. We will wrap up the discussion with the results of the testing and where they are now.

Speaker(s):

Rick Heiges

Track and Room: Enterprise Database Administration Deployment - 260

Title: Play Data - Increase Your Power BI Skills With Free and Fun Data Sets

Abstract: Many of us have by now dipped our toes into the Power BI pool and liked it so much we thought we were ready to swim out to the deep end and dive right into analyzing data from our day to day jobs, whatever that may be. Soon we discover that we are now actually working. No fun. Using freely available data sets and some that I have modified from “work” to “play” with data that interests me, I will show how you can find, model, and analyze the data you find interesting as well. And then you can go back to work which should be much easier now.

Speaker(s):

Rodney Landrum

Track and Room: Analytics and Visualization - 150

Title: Stop Doing That! Common T-SQL Anti-Patterns

Abstract: There are several programming design patterns that work great in object oriented code but do not scale inside SQL Server. Things like Scalar-Value functions, Unions, CTEs, and row by row processing can make for more work then you would expect.

In this session, we will focus on several anti-patterns like these and show how to rework them to improve scale in the database engine.

By the end of the session, you will be able to quickly identify these common anti-patterns and analyze their sometimes unclear cost to the engine. Heading back to the office, you’ll be able to identify pain points in your longest running queries from a T-SQL perspective and become a code tuning rockstar!

Speaker(s):

William Wolf

Track and Room: Application Database Development - 150

Title: Master Data Management with SQL Server 2016 MDS

Abstract: Want to know the position Master Data Management and MDS play in an organization’s overall data strategy? We’ll review the key concepts and the different roles and responsibilities to help you get your organization moving forward with MDM. We’ll then take a look at the features of SQL Server 2016 MDS that make it an excellent tool for MDM. This demo-packed presentation will cover architecture and installation, different ways of processing data, hierarchies, security and many other features that will get you up and running with MDS.

Speaker(s):

Neal Waterstreet

Track and Room: BI Platform Architecture, Development Administration - 170

Title: Getting Noticed: Strategies for Your Resume and LinkedIn

Abstract: You know you are well qualified for the jobs that you search for on any major job site. You know that if you just get to that next step that they will see it for themselves. This lightning talk focuses on strategies for your resume and LinkedIn profile to help get you noticed and reach that next step. Interaction with the audience is encouraged throughout the discussion.

Speaker(s):

Rick Heiges

Track and Room: Professional Development - 260

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 Platform Architecture, Development Administration - 180

Title: The DBA Script Thumb (10 year anniversary)

Abstract: Over time and through many different roles I have collected a wide array of T-SQL scripts and techniques that I use many times per week. These vary from basic troubleshooting, to health checks and best practice configuration settings to custom alerting and trending. In this session, I will walk through several of these scripts and ultimately show how you can automate the delivery of the output into useful reports and visualizations that will wow your boss (or customers) but more importantly, help you find and address potential problems fast and for free. https://www.red-gate.com/simple-talk/sql/database-administration/the-dba-script-thumb/

Speaker(s):

Rodney Landrum

Track and Room: Enterprise Database Administration Deployment - 150

Title: R For Sql Developers

Abstract: 15 Mins : Introduction To R Data Structures 05 Mins : R Markdown 10 Mins : Functional Programming - R Functions 15 Mins : RevoScaleR Package 15 Mins : Operationalized R Code

All Section will be demonstrated using very simple examples.

Data Modeling and Data Visualization will NOT be covered in this session. Familiarity with RTVS ( R Tools for Visual Studio) or R Studio will be helpful but not required.

Download R Studio : - https://www.rstudio.com/ Download Open R : - https://mran.revolutionanalytics.com/

Speaker(s):

Kiran Math

Track and Room: Advanced Analysis Techniques - 160

Title: Learning on a Budget

Abstract: Traditional classroom training is not cheap. Many companies do not provide this training to their employees. The cost of this training is often beyond a person’s financial means. To add to this challenge, over the past few years, Microsoft has added a lot of new technology increasing the amount of training to keep up.

There is a log of great training opportunities outside the traditional classroom. This session will go over the these options to allow you the opportunity to keep up with the technology.

Speaker(s):

Robert Eder

Track and Room: Professional Development - 260

Title: Create SQL Server VM, Active Directory VM and App Server VM in Azure

Abstract: Getting started with basics of Azure environment, such as Accounts, VNET, Storage and creating VMS. Once we fly by reviewing several building blocks, we then build Active Directory VM, SQL Server VM and App Server Tier VM using Azure portal and PowerShell.

Speaker(s):

Michael Wharton

Track and Room: Cloud Application Development Deployment - 180

Title: Microsoft Power BI Essentials

Abstract: This session will cover installation considerations as well as more advanced tool usage and visualization techniques. Current release information and tips and tricks will be included.

Speaker(s):

Roger Clark

Track and Room: BI Information Delivery - 250

Title: SQL Server Security Model 101

Abstract: We will talk quickly about login (server), user (database), role (server and database), schema, permission and may be something more.

Speaker(s):

Thomas Chan

Track and Room: Enterprise Database Administration Deployment - 180

Title: Index Fragmentation

Abstract: In this session I will be teaching all about index fragmentation, including why its a problem, how it happens, how to detect it, how to avoid it and how to remove it. This course is applicable to anyone who is responsible for SQL Server perfromance and much more. List of topics include 1.Index structure 2.Singleton Lookups 3.Scans and mary go round scans 4.Read ahead 5.Logical fragmentation 6.Extent fragmentation 7.Low page density 8.Tracking Page splits ,removing fragmentation

Speaker(s):

Stephen Muliokela

Track and Room: Enterprise Database Administration Deployment - 160

Title: SQL Server Internals

Abstract: How does SQL do what it does? Take a look under the hood at how the SQL database engine works with the storage engine. What causes those waits and where do we look to resolve them!

Speaker(s):

Naomi Williams

Track and Room: Enterprise Database Administration Deployment - 150

Title: What is Power BI?

Abstract: You’ve heard all the buzz about Power BI, but you have no idea what it is and how it works. This session explains what Power BI is, who can use it and why you would want to. It’s an introductory session that gives you the information you need to determine if Power BI is right for you and your organization.

Speaker(s):

Angela Henry

Track and Room: BI Information Delivery - 250

Title: ARMed for Azure

Abstract: The Azure Resource Model (ARM) enables Azure infrastructure automation for both IaaS and PaaS deployments. Using Visual Studio as a management tool enables repeatable, automated, source controlled deployments for test and development environments, enabling true DevOps practices for all aspects of pre-production systems. In this session, I will demonstrate, explain, and deploy a IaaS/PaaS hybrid environment (SQL and BI stack elements) using ARM templates, Visual Studio, source control integration, and PowerShell scripts.

Speaker(s):

Geoff Hiten

Track and Room: Cloud Application Development Deployment - 150

Title: Query Store Primer

Abstract: This session will take a look at the new Query Store feature in SQL Server 2016. Query Store tracks changes in execution plans, allowing you to easily view performance differences and revert to older plans with a few clicks of the mouse. We will take a hands on look at how to use Query Store to troubleshoot problems new features in 2017.

Speaker(s):

Tracy Boggiano

Track and Room: Enterprise Database Administration Deployment - 170

Title: A Tour of Cloud Data Platforms as a Service

Abstract: With the proliferation of SQL, NoSQL and Big Data databases, organizations can now target specific fit-for-purpose database platforms that align with their particular application requirements regarding scalability, elasticity, functionality and manageability. Platform as a Service offerings make this even easier now, enabling developers to roll out their own database infrastructure in minutes with minimal management overhead. However, this same amount of flexibility also comes with the challenges of picking the right tool, on the right provider and with the proper expectations.

Speaker(s):

Richard Weiss

Track and Room: Cloud Application Development Deployment - 170

Title: Does This Look Weird? The Importance Of Baselining

Abstract: How do you know when your server is on fire? Without a set of known-good measurements to compare against, you don’t. This session will show you how to capture a performance baseline for a SQL Server instance and help you decide what to capture, and where to store it. Finally we will put it all together by walking through a scenario using the captured baseline data to identify a problem.

Speaker(s):

Tracy Boggiano

Track and Room: Enterprise Database Administration Deployment - 150

Speakers

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

Shannon Lowder

Twitter: - @shannonlowder

LinkedIn: Shannon Lowder

Contact: http://shannonlowder.com

For over 15 years Shannon Lowder has been spotting patterns and learning ways to work smarter instead of harder. He started with development and moved into database administration. Using TSQL, Database Jobs and PowerShell, he automated himself out of contracts quickly. As Business Intelligence became a greater demand, he moved into SSIS, SSRS, and SSAS development. Early on, he tried using PowerShell and .Net to automate BI Development. Later those efforts turned to Biml. After founding a startup six years ago, he finds himself a data platform consultant, designing and guiding other professionals to build highly automated enterprise solutions. Today, he is a Biml Hero candidate and is awaiting the final approval for the award.

Tracy Boggiano

Twitter: - TracyBoggiano

LinkedIn: Tracy Boggiano

Contact: http://databasesuperhero.com

Tracy Boggiano is a Senior Database Administrator for DocuSIgn. She has spent over 20 years in IT, using SQL Server since 1999, and is currently certified as an MCSE Data Platform. Tracy has worked on SQL Server since 6.5. She has spoken at local user groups and numerous SQLSaturdays. She is currently a co-leader of a TriPASS Local Group in Raleigh, NC.

Tracy also tinkered with databases in middle school to keep her sports card collection organized. She blogs at databasesuperhero.com.

Her passion outside of SQL Server is volunteering with foster children as their advocate in court through volunteerforgal.org and being a mental health advocate as part of the PAIMI NC Advisory Council.

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

Lance Tidwell

Twitter: - @Lance_LT

Contact: http://lancetidwell.com

Lance Tidwell, from the Austin, TX, area, has worked as a SQL Server DBA for the last 11 years. During his time as a DBA he has found his passion for all things SQL, but specifically for performance tuning. He has a life-long quest to always be learning new things; currently this quest has lead him to explore more about the Data Analytics/ Data Science areas.

Thomas Chan

LinkedIn: Thomas Chan

I work with SQL Server since 2001 with version 7.

Angela Henry

Twitter: - SQLSwimmer

LinkedIn: Angela Henry

Contact: http://SQLSwimmer.com

Angela is a Solution Architect, living in High Point, NC and loves what she does. She’s worked with all versions of SQL Server worn all the hats that come with dealing with SQL Server throughout the years: developer, administrator, data architect and BI developer. She has her MSCE in Data and Analytics (f.k.a., Business Intelligence), is a Data Platform MVP, and a Microsoft Certified Trainer (MCT). She is the former chapter leader for the PASS Triad SQL User Group in Greensboro, NC. In her spare time you can probably find her in or at the pool, she’s an avid US Masters Swimmer, Coach and Instructor.

Monica Rathbun

Twitter: - SQLEspresso

LinkedIn: Monica Rathbun

Contact: http://www.sqlespresso.com

Azhagappan Arunachalam

Az Arunachalam has been working with SQL server since v4.21/SQLNT. He started his career with troubleshooting at chip level, worked as a network engineer managing Novell NetWare networks, graduated into managing Windows NT, moved onto development, administered databases, and is currently working as a database architect. He#39;s excited about all the cloud offerings that Microsoft and others have made possible, and in sharing his findings with aspiring data enthusiasts.

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.

Brian Carrig

Twitter: - @briancarrig

Brian Carrig is a Microsoft Certified Master of SQL Server and is currently a Senior Program Manager on the SQL Server Tiger Team at Microsoft focusing primarily on persistent memory technology and replication. In a previous life, Brian spent some time as an academic and holds a PhD in Computer Science. He is a native of Dublin, Ireland but now lives with his wife and two daughters in Redmond, Washington. If he is not talking about, thinking about or working with technology you will usually find him watching Chelsea FC.

Damu Venkatesan

Twitter: - @vdamu

LinkedIn: Damu Venkatesan

Damu Venkatesan is a Business Intelligence Consultant with over 25 years of IT experience including architecting and implementing BI/DW solutions using Microsoft SQL Server, PDW, SSIS, SSAS, SSRS, and Power BI. He has been speaking at many SQLSaturdays and user groups on data analytics and is actively involved in the Atlanta SQL community for several years. He has successfully delivered several BI/DW solutions and data migrations to various clients. He is also currently serving as President of DAMA Georgia chapter in Atlanta. He is the co-organizer of BI SQLSaturday in Atlanta.

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.

Lance Tidwell

Twitter: - @Lance_LT

Contact: http://lancetidwell.com

Brian Carrig

Twitter: - @briancarrig

Rick Heiges

Twitter: - heigesr2

LinkedIn: Rick Heiges

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

Richard Weiss

Twitter: - @RichardAWeiss

LinkedIn: Richard Weiss

Contact: http://www.Pythian.com

Richard Weiss is a Principal Consultant and Solution Architect at Pythian specializing in Cloud, SQL Server, and Wintel technologies. Over the past 20 years, he has held senior technology roles at First Data, Western Union, and AAA. Additionally, Richard serves on the Data and IOT standards committee for the National Retail Foundation

John Deardurff

Twitter: - SQLMCT

LinkedIn: John Deardurff

Contact: https://www.sqlmct.com

John has been a Microsoft Certified Trainer (MCT) for over 20 years teaching Azure, SQL Server, Exchange Server, and Windows Server networking courses. He is currently a SQL Premier Field Engineer for Microsoft. He is an MCT Regional Lead for the Eastern United States and a former Data Platform MVP.

Geoff Hiten

Twitter: - SQLCraftsman

LinkedIn: Geoff Hiten

Geoff Hiten is a Technical Solutions Professional at Microsoft. Geoff began working with SQL Server in 1992 with version 4.2 and has used every version since. He specializes in highly available SQL systems, performance tuning, and systems migration. Geoff is heavily involved in the Microsoft SQL Server Community and was initially awarded MVP status in 2004. Geoff was appointed in 2011 to fill an interim Director position at the National PASS organization.

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.

Jeff Mlakar

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

LinkedIn: Jeff Mlakar

Contact: http://www.mlakartechtalk.com/

Jeff Mlakar is a database professional specializing in Microsoft SQL Server. He has worked the past 15 years as a database developer and administrator (admini-loper or develo-strator…take your pick), analyst, and with Business Intelligence. A technology enthusiast – he is interested in data security and privacy topics. Jeff lives in the Raleigh-Durham area of NC.

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.

Brian Carrig

Twitter: - @briancarrig

Rick Heiges

Twitter: - heigesr2

LinkedIn: Rick Heiges

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

Andrew Kelly

Twitter: - gunneyk

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

Andrew J. Kelly is a Senior Technical Subject Matter Expert with B3 Group Inc. and lives in Clarkdale, AZ. He has over 20 years experience with relational databases and application development, but his main focus now is SQL Server. In addition to general SQL Server training and mentoring, he specializes in performance, scalability, and maintainability of large-scale SQL Servers. He is a regular speaker at conferences and user groups and was a SQL Server / Data Platform MVP for 18 years.

Thomas Chan

LinkedIn: Thomas Chan

I work with SQL Server since 2001 with version 7.

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.

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.

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

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.

Rob Volk

Twitter: - sql_r

LinkedIn: Rob Volk

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

Thomas Chan

LinkedIn: Thomas Chan

I work with SQL Server since 2001 with version 7.

John Morehouse

Twitter: - SQLrUs

LinkedIn: John Morehouse

Contact: http://www.sqlrus.com

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.

Michael Wharton

Twitter: - MyProjectExpert

LinkedIn: Michael Wharton

Contact: http://MyProjectExpert.com

Michael Wharton is a Project MVP. He has been an independent consultant for the past 20 years, with over 30 Project/SharePoint Server deployments. He has an MBA from Wake Forest and has over 44 Microsoft Certifications. Michael’s primary job is helping companies setup a PMO, Project Management Office using Project Server using SQL server on a SharePoint Farm. He has worked extensively with the back end support setting up SQL server, SharePoint Server and Project Server using PowerShell.

Tracy Boggiano

Twitter: - TracyBoggiano

LinkedIn: Tracy Boggiano

Contact: http://databasesuperhero.com

Tracy also tinkered with databases in middle school to keep her sports card collection organized. She blogs at databasesuperhero.com.

Elizabeth Noble

Twitter: - SQLZelda

LinkedIn: Elizabeth Noble

Elizabeth Noble is a Director of Database Development in the metro Atlanta area. When she was introduced to her first database over 10 years ago, it was love at first sight. Her passion is to help others improve the quality and speed of deploying database changes through automation. When she is not trying to automate all of the things, she can be found spending time with her dogs, playing disc golf, or taking a walk at the gym.

Azhagappan Arunachalam

Jim Donahoe

Twitter: - SQLFlipFlopsDBA

Contact: http://www.sqlflipflopsdba.com

Jim is a Premier Field Engineer for Microsoft in the Data/AI space. He lives in Pittsburgh in a small suburb. He loves working with all things Azure(ARM templates, DBaaS, SQL on IaaS). He is an avid collector of retro video games! He is a member of the Idera ACE program for 2018.

John Morehouse

Twitter: - SQLrUs

LinkedIn: John Morehouse

Contact: http://www.sqlrus.com

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.

Michael Wharton

Twitter: - MyProjectExpert

LinkedIn: Michael Wharton

Contact: http://MyProjectExpert.com

Tracy Boggiano

Twitter: - TracyBoggiano

LinkedIn: Tracy Boggiano

Contact: http://databasesuperhero.com

Tracy also tinkered with databases in middle school to keep her sports card collection organized. She blogs at databasesuperhero.com.

Justin Randall

Twitter: - jh_randall

LinkedIn: Justin Randall

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

Azhagappan Arunachalam

Jim Donahoe

Twitter: - SQLFlipFlopsDBA

Contact: http://www.sqlflipflopsdba.com

John Morehouse

Twitter: - SQLrUs

LinkedIn: John Morehouse

Contact: http://www.sqlrus.com

Neal Waterstreet

Twitter: - @nealwaterstreet

LinkedIn: Neal Waterstreet

Contact: http://www.nealwaterstreet.com

Neal is a BI Architect/Consultant with more than 20 years of industry experience. Neal is skilled in the entire BI spectrum, including dimensional modeling, ETL design and development using Integration Services (SSIS), designing and developing multidimensional cubes and Tabular models using Analysis Services (SSAS) and Master Data Management using Microsoft Data Services (MDS). He’s also involved with the database community and is the co-founder and co-leader of the PASS Healthcare Virtual Chapter and the Atlanta Modern Excel User Group.

Andrew Kelly

Twitter: - gunneyk

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

Stephen Muliokela

LinkedIn: Stephen Muliokela

I have been a DBA for many years now and currently hold multiple SQL Server certificates. In addition, I am also a Six Sigma Blackbelt.

George Walkey

Twitter: - sqlbytehd

Contact: http://insyncva.com

SQL Server DBA, Developer, IT Manager, Business Owner from the Richmond, VA USA Area Interested in pushing the limits of both hardware software and my own brain

William Wolf

Twitter: - sqlwarewolf

LinkedIn: William Wolf

Contact: http://www.sqlwarewolf.com

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.

Naomi Williams

Twitter: - naomithesqldba

LinkedIn: Naomi Williams

Naomi Williams is a SQL Server professional working in the San Antonio area. Currently a seasoned Database Administrator for both Oracle and SQL Server doing database development, SSIS, SSRS and SSAS. Naomi has been working with SQL Server for almost 15 years. Naomi is passionate about performance, high availability, and creative non standard solutions to complex problems

Roger Clark

Twitter: - @pylot

LinkedIn: Roger Clark

I am a business intelligence expert with over 16 years of experience in vertical markets such as financial/banking, hospitality, retail, manufacturing and telecommunications. I have worked on data warehouses between 10’s of gigabytes to over 81 terabytes. I have completed 10 full life-cycle data warehouse and business intelligence implementations spanning Oracle, Microsoft, SAP, IBM, Cisco and Teradata platforms. I am functional in 8 advanced business intelligence tools including Cognos, Power BI, Tableau and Sisense.

Luis Figueroa

Twitter: - @luisefigueroa

LinkedIn: Luis Figueroa

Contact: http://blog.luisfigueroa.net

Luis Figueroa is a data professional with more than 15 years of experience in Information Technologies across many industry verticals. Luis has held a variety of positions in IT such as Network Administrator, Systems Engineer, Database Administrator and EDW / BI Architect. In the most recent years Luis found his passion in architecting and developing open source data centric solutions that help businesses manage their data and gain a competitive advantage through analytics. Luis currently holds a position as Solutions Engineer for Hortonworks, Inc. where he works with many clients including Fortune 500 companies. Luis’ main focus areas are in Data Warehousing, Business Intelligence, Advanced Analytics, Big Data, IoT and Cloud Computing.

Azhagappan Arunachalam

Kiran Math

Kiran Math is a Software Engineer on the Construction Predictive Analytical team at Fluor, where he specializes in T-SQL, R, Python, C# etc.

A resident of Greenville, South Carolina, he can be found cycling and hiking the trails around Greenville.

He is active in his local SQL PASS chapter in Greenville, speaking and volunteering at SQLSaturdays.

Andy Leonard

Twitter: - AndyLeonard

LinkedIn: Andy Leonard

Contact: https://andyleonard.blog

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.

Rie Irish

Twitter: - IrishSQL

LinkedIn: Rie Irish

Rodney Landrum

Twitter: - @SQLBeat

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

Robert Eder

Robert Eder is a database administrator with nearly 20 years experience in designing, implementing and maintaining the SQL Server database engine. His experience includes more than 10 years working with high availability from the traditional fail over cluster to the AlwaysOn cluster. Robert has a passion for automation though scripting in vbscript and PowerShell.

Brandon Leach

Twitter: - SQLServerNerd

LinkedIn: Brandon Leach

Rie Irish

Twitter: - IrishSQL

LinkedIn: Rie Irish

SQLSaturday #681 - Spartanburg 2017

Sessions

Title: TempDB 101 Plus

Title: Let Her Finish: Supporting Women’s Voices in Technology

Title: Designing an SSIS Framework

Title: Database Project Makes Deployment Consistent

Title: Interrogating your data sources with Biml

Title: Using Powershell to Document SQL Server

Title: How to Build Your Disaster Recovery Plan

Title: Enabling EDW and BI workloads on Hadoop with Hive / LLAP

Title: Treating Tables Like Legos: Table Partitioning Basics

Title: Tame Your Unruly Data With Constraints

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

Title: SQL Server Databaseology: A Deep Dive Into Database Internals

Title: Making Your List and Checking It Twice: Introduction to unit testing with tSQLt

Title: Execution Plans for Mere Mortals

Title: SQL Server 2016 In-Memory OLTP Tables

Title: Getting started with SQL Azure Database: What you need to know

Title: Making your existing hardware work for you

Title: Controlling Competing Workloads with SQL Server Resource Governor

Title: Environmental SQL Server Troubleshooting

Title: Excel with DAX

Title: Self-Service ETL with Microsoft Power Query in PowerBI

Title: Winning with Columnstore - A Customer Story

Title: Play Data - Increase Your Power BI Skills With Free and Fun Data Sets

Title: Stop Doing That! Common T-SQL Anti-Patterns

Title: Master Data Management with SQL Server 2016 MDS

Title: Getting Noticed: Strategies for Your Resume and LinkedIn

Title: Introduction to SQL Server Integration Services

Title: The DBA Script Thumb (10 year anniversary)

Title: R For Sql Developers

Title: Learning on a Budget

Title: Create SQL Server VM, Active Directory VM and App Server VM in Azure

Title: Microsoft Power BI Essentials

Title: SQL Server Security Model 101

Title: Index Fragmentation

Title: SQL Server Internals

Title: What is Power BI?

Title: ARMed for Azure

Title: Query Store Primer

Title: A Tour of Cloud Data Platforms as a Service

Title: Does This Look Weird? The Importance Of Baselining

Speakers

Sponsors