Event Location:
Microsoft Conference Center, Kendall Square
1 Cambridge Center
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Abstract:
Don’t miss this demonstration of the hot new container technology that will change your assumptions about what it takes to implement high-availability clusters. Join DH2i’s Carl Berglund as he transforms standalone SQL Server instances of different versions and editions into an automated HA cluster failing over between systems—in just a few minutes. In fact, he’ll have plenty of time left over to show you some other cool tricks with his new cluster, such as: QoS controls at the instance level, SQL and OS updates as fast as an application stop/start, and multi-subnet geo-clustering capabilities. And you’ll still have time to grab dessert.
Speaker(s): Carl Berglund,
Abstract:
There’s just so much to do to get your systems to run in an optimal fashion, but where do you start. This session will walk you through an extensive checklist of things you can do to better manage your servers, databases and code. We’ll start with server configurations and what you can do with them. We’ll then move through standard administrative tasks that will help with performance. Then it’s off to the intricacies of database design and how that can affect performance. We’ll finish up with T-SQL and where it can hurt or help your systems. All examples in the session will use readily available tools that are a standard part of SQL Server. Get your own systems to run faster with the information you’ll receive.
Speaker(s): Grant Fritchey,
Abstract:
Clustered implementations of SQL Server instances (FCIs) have traditionally used some sort of attached, or shared storage. However, sometimes that is not the best way to deploy an FCI, especially if you are looking to deploy in the cloud-be it Windows Azure or Amazon EC2. Sometimes you may even want a cost-effective disaster recovery solution without the need for SAN replication. Come hear Microsoft Cluster MVP Allan Hirt discuss your storage options to not only create a #SANLess cluster, but also to increase the availability of your SQL Server instances using SSD and flash-based PCIe storage or the cloud.
Speaker(s): SIOS Technology,
Abstract:
Abstract: The newest version of Azure SQL Database is currently in preview. Table partitioning has been added to this offering to replace Azure federations. Do you know how to effectively leverage this new feature for data warehousing? Coverage: 1 - Various editions of Azure SQL database. 2 - How Service objective relates to performance. 3 - Difference between horizontal and vertical partitioning. 3 - Table / Index partitioning in Azure SQL database. 4 - A review of MERGE, SPLIT and SWITCH statements. 5 - Implementing a sliding window. 6 - Introduction to data compression. 7 - Difference between ROW and PAGE compression. 8 - Adding compression to partitions to reduce space. 9 - Review findings from performance tests.
Speaker(s): John Miner,
Abstract:
Being a DBA is tough job--there are on call situations to deal with, and managing a large amount of servers with less resources is a constant challenge in corporate environments. In this session you will learn techniques to reduce the amount of manual effort in your job, and keep you three steps ahead of your users. Learn techniques such as: • Fully Automating SQL Server Installations • Dynamically Adding Databases to an Availability Group • Syncing jobs and logins between Availability Group members • Patching SQL Servers automatically • Other techniques for process automation This session will benefit both new and Senior DBAs, as well as anyone who wants to automate themselves into a promotion.
Speaker(s): Joseph D'Antoni,
Abstract:
December 1978: 10 people die in a commercial airliner. Why? Bad troubleshooting skills and poor maintenance – disaster-causing attitudes. As you'll learn in this session, the doomed airliner ran out of fuel while the crew of three wasted time troubleshooting a false alarm. We can draw some parallels in the database world. Poor troubleshooting, disaster-causing attitudes, and a lack of disaster preparedness lead to needless downtime and serious user impact across our environments. In this session, we'll look at case studies of real-life aviation disasters and production database downtime incidents. We'll see similarities in attitudes that cause disasters. Come learn about the importance of preparation, troubleshooting, and teamwork. This will be an interactive session where we’ll pick apart disasters, engage in discussion around case studies, and leave prepared to change attitudes in ourselves and our colleagues and avoid disasters at work.
Speaker(s): Mike Walsh,
Abstract:
Let's cut to brass tax. What is the quickest way to create a central performance health repository, where we can continuously collect, upload, store, monitor and report on SQL Server Health of multiple instances? If you are using SQL 2008 and higher, the short answer is MDW, otherwise known as a management data warehouse. MDW is a native feature available in SQL Server, "out of the box" - why not use it? In this session, we will take you through the setup, from the wizard and beyond. To creating, configuring, and deploying the MDW in a jiffy, as well as creating custom collections to capture your own desired performance metadata. We'll discuss baselines, trends, and understanding the data. We'll show you the reports as well, and how to expand upon MDW.
Speaker(s): Robert Pearl,
Abstract:
This session focuses on Microsoft’s BI technologies and its abilities to make advanced easy to use, accessible, insightful, and actionable decisions, all while helping clients increase organizational performance. With the recent release of SQL Server, Microsoft dramatically enhanced the Microsoft BI platform. During this session Plus Consulting, one of Microsoft's top global BI partners, will explore the improvements to SQL Server self-service reporting and talk about creating blended value from your BI platform. We’ll show you why the combination of Microsoft Office 2013, SharePoint Server 2013 and SQL Server 2014 are an excellent solution for creating self-service dashboards, scorecards, KPIs, pivots, data exploration and discovery, collaborative.
Speaker(s): Sayed Saeed,
Abstract:
Quite frankly, some aspects of building out a business intelligence solution are tedious. As you cycle through iterations of your star schema, you’ll find that even a simple data type change in the data warehouse requires you to make corresponding changes to staging tables, SSIS packages, and SSAS multidimensional or tabular models that take a considerable amount of time to implement. But there’s a better, faster way!In this session, we’ll explore lessons from a project that required implementation of a framework to easily generate BI objects based on reusable patterns. We’ll walk through the decision points in the framework design, review the implementation steps, and see demonstrations of how easily you can make iterative changes to your BI solution’s design by using reusable design patterns. Whether you simply want to accelerate change management or reproduce objects in bulk on demand, this session will give you practical tips for automating these processes.
Speaker(s): Stacia Varga,
Abstract:
The world of consulting can be rewarding on various levels. People often think they have the right stuff to be a consultant, but do you? Would you need to work for an agency or company that sells consulting services or could you strike out on your own? Or are you always going to be someone who needs to be a full time employee with a set schedule? What are the things you need to know if this is your ultimately succeed if this is your career path? Becoming a consultant is more than having the right technical skills. This session will cover the highs, lows, and realities of what it takes to be a successful consultant based on my experiences and those of my colleagues over the years.
Speaker(s): Allan Hirt,
Abstract:
With the vast amount of changes that occur in our daily business environments, it becomes more and more difficult to achieve our corporate goals without some ‘lighthouse’ to guide our way. Data mining, (while not a panacea to resolve or ‘control’ the effects of these changes), can provide us with statistical trends by analyzing our data and highlighting probable outcomes. In this hands on BEGINNERS presentation we shall be looking at Microsoft SQL Server’s Data Mining capabilities and we shall be discussing: 1) Defining what questions we want answered and how to go about this in an effective and efficient manner. 2) Creating the data model. 3) How to gather the necessary data, discussing the training and testing aspect. 4) Processing the model. 5) Extracting information from our finished model, discussing the implications of this information.
Speaker(s): Steve Simon,
Abstract:
In many data warehouses we model fact tables with measures based on attributes which we can count and do arithmetic upon. It is more difficult to handle fact tables with measures based on length of intervals of events happening in the source systems. So questions like "What are the typical waiting times in our order process?" are seldom modelled in the data warehouse. Especially if the event data comes from different source systems. In this talk I will show you how Effektor has overcome this difficult problem using an auto generated data warehouse based on metadata on the objects in the EDW/DM layers. In this approach you can auto generate the process data warehouse if only you have the timestamps present in the EDW layer and are able to correlate them. The talk will consist of slides and demos. Examples is taken from Danish reporting on cancer treatment
Speaker(s): Kennie Pontoppidan,
Abstract:
Efficiently managing today’s SQL Server database infrastructure is more challenging than at any time in the past.Today’s server platforms have more computing power and capacity than ever before, but there are also moredatabase applications, many of which need to have very high performance in addition to very high availability.These requirements must also be balanced with an ongoing need for more efficiency and lower infrastructurecosts.In this presentation, you’ll learn why the Cisco Unified Computing System (UCS) is the optimum platform fordeploying and leveraging the new features in SQL Server 2014. Cisco UCS has a unique and advanced serverdesign that solves many of the business problems faced by legacy servers. You’ll learn how Cisco UCS’s featuresenable you to more rapidly provision and deploy servers, optimize online transaction processing (OLTP) andbusiness intelligence (BI) workloads, and improve the availability of business-critical workloads.
Speaker(s): Kevin Schenega,
Abstract:
Over the years, one of the most common questions I am asked is, "How can I configure a cluster on my machine?" Ask no more! Production should never be the only place you have clusters. Having the ability to create a cluster that you can use as a sandbox for testing or as an instruction tool for presentations and demonstrations is something every DBA should have in their arsenal. This session will demystify the "magic" behind configuring a cluster on your laptop or desktop using either Vmware Workstation or Microsoft's Hyper-V, and show how to configure things like the virtual machines, the domain controller, and the storage solution.
Speaker(s): Allan Hirt,
Abstract:
T4 templating support was added in the March 2014 release of SSDT. This means we can now create a T4 template to automatically create CRUD procedures for all the tables in our database project. Sure ORM tools like EF and nHibernate can handle CRUD operations in code, but if you want to provide an API to your database and avoid the tedious work of hand creating simple CRUD procedures this is the session for you! After this session you will: 1. Understand the basics of T4 templating 2. Have a basic understanding of the Dac object model 3. Be able to create a script that will create 100's or even 1000's of CRUD procedures in seconds.
Speaker(s): Jack Corbett,
Abstract:
The world of data is changing rapidly. Come learn what this means for your role as a data professional and what you can do to make sure you stay at the front of your field. What does the future look like for DBA's, BI Developers, and Architects? Come get the lay of the land and guidance on keeping your career and learning on the right path.
Speaker(s): Adam Jorgensen,
Abstract:
We will import AdventureWorks2014 into an SSDT project. We will discuss customization possible with SSDT (templates and snippets) to produce artifacts that conform to your standards. We'll also look at limits of localdb and strategies to deal with them. Finally – we’ll look at Enterprise deployment strategies with DACFx.
Speaker(s): John Flannery,
Abstract:
Bad habits: we all have them. SELECT * is the obvious one; but in this session you will learn about various other habits and why they can be bad for performance or maintainability. You will also learn about best practices that will help you avoid falling into some of these bad habits. Come learn how these habits develop, what kind of problems they can lead to, and how you can avoid them - leading to more efficient code, a more productive work environment, and - in a lot of cases – both.
Speaker(s): Aaron Bertrand,
Abstract:
You’ve read some of the content of well-known Data Warehousing books – now what? How do you take the structures and disciplines inside such books as the Ralph Kimball series and implement them? This session will take several of the key concepts in Data Warehousing and demonstrate some implementations using SQL Server Integration Services and Analysis Services. We’ll look at items such as Type 2 Changing Dimensions, Confirmed Dimensions, Dimension Outriggers, Role-Playing Relationships, Many-to-Many Bridge table relationships, Factless Fact tables, Handling of NULL foreign key values, and more.
Speaker(s): Kevin Goff,
Abstract:
James has worked at Microsoft for the past year. Before that, he was an independent consultant as well as having worked as a permanent employee and contractor and numerous companies. What is different about Microsoft? What is it like to see how things work "behind the curtain"? How does it compare to what he anticipated it to be like? Come join this session to find out more working for Microsoft: benefits, compensation, training, career advancement, work-life balance, travel, types of jobs, etc. We will leave plenty of time to ask questions!
Speaker(s): James Serra,
Abstract:
How are your servers running? What is going on in your SQL Server? How are you trending? When will you need the next server? Do you need to throw more hardware at SQL or more query tuning? (Or both?) In this session – we will share some free tools, techniques and approaches you can take right now with resources you already have to answer these questions and more.
Speaker(s): Mike Walsh,
Abstract:
Over the past many years, I have only come across very limited DBAs who actually openly admit use of third party tools that make their lives easier. Otherwise most DBAs find pleasure in writing complex queries to do routine stuff like backups, maintenance, monitoring; you name it. I would like to share my experience as a DBA, where I have used tools unashamedly to improve my productivity. Hopefuly after this session, you will find the same confidence in using third party tools. Then, use the time saved, to enhance your carreer.
Speaker(s): Paresh Motiwala,
Abstract:
Learning a new technology can be a daunting task. This session is meant to help attendees, new to SQL Server, to get started. We’ll start with an overview of the database engine and tools used to work with it. These are tools that you’ll hear about throughout the rest of your day. We’ll introduce you to some key concepts as well. And go over some very basic database design fundamentals. We’ll also touch briefly on the BI side as well thanks to Stacia Misner. Finally we’ll provide some QA to help get your learning started down the right path.
Speaker(s): Brandon Leach,
Abstract:
Explore some of the mistakes and misconceptions DBAs tend to have about SSIS. Also look at the performance and scalability of ETL vs ELT with real world examples and sample code.
Speaker(s): Paul Rizza,
Abstract:
You’re in a dark room with an ugly query. What do you do next? Microsoft Certified Master Brent Ozar shares his time-tested method of tuning queries starting with simplifying, analyzing the execution plan, making index tweaks, and measuring improvements with statistics. You’ll learn a repeatable process you can use to make queries go faster.
Speaker(s): Brent Ozar,
Abstract:
Need HA and DR? Tired of Mirroring or Log Shipping restrictions? Reporting queries slowing down your production system? The AlwaysOn Availability Groups feature is a high-availability and disaster-recovery solution, which is an enterprise-level alternative to database mirroring. How, and why to use this will be covered.
Speaker(s): George Walters,
Abstract:
Do you have users complaining that applications are running "too slow"? Do your DB traces look like a short story written by monkeys at typewriters? This is a fun, fast-paced walkthrough of the most effective strategies for query tuning. We'll investigate the most common causes of sub-optimal queries (and some quite unusual ones) while building a foundation for solving any optimization problem that the application throws your way!
Speaker(s): Edward Pollack,
Abstract:
How do you restore a database that has lost a file? How do you recover from a lost transaction log? How do you get rid of corruption in the fastest time? At some point in time, these and other destructive scenarios will happen to your databases. And people will look at you and expect you to react swiftly and confidently. Come see the scenarios and demos so you'll be prepared with the right ingredients to cook up your RESTORE recipe!
Speaker(s): Warner Chaves,
Abstract:
A database by its very nature is one of the most resource intensive applications you will ever virtualize. This is even more difficult to do correctly in the context of a virtualized infrastructure that is a shared resource environment. We will look at every possible dynamic to virtualizing a database from Design, Storage, Memory and Network considerations. This presentation is based upon material given at VMworld from a presentation that was in the top 10 out of all presentation given.
Speaker(s): Michael Corey,
Abstract:
Are you someone (A DBA, Developer, etc) that connects to SQL Server to use data? You probably hear a lot about how protected your database can be when at rest. But what about when you connect to SQL and start running some queries? Using a simple hacking technique we will dig into some packets on our network and see what's in them. You may be shocked! Then we will create a self-signed SSL certificate, use it to encrypt our connections on the SQL Server, and see the actual changes in the packet as hackers would. *Warning - do not try some of these demos at work without proper permissions as hacking techniques are used.
Speaker(s): Chris Bell,
Abstract:
Learning a new technology can be a daunting task. This session is meant to help attendees, new to SQL Server, to get started. We’ll start with an overview of the database engine and tools used to work with it. These are tools that you’ll hear about throughout the rest of your day. We’ll introduce you to some key concepts as well. And go over some very basic database design fundamentals. We’ll also touch briefly on the BI side as well thanks to Stacia Misner. Finally we’ll provide some QA to help get your learning started down the right path.
Speaker(s): Brandon Leach,
Abstract:
Is the list of servers you manage growing and growing? Are you starting to wonder if there is a more efficient way to manage your SQL Server instances than T-SQL and SSMS? In this session we will give you an introduction to PowerShell with a focus on SQL Server. In this session, we will cover the basics towards configuring and using PowerShell. We will also cover the basic syntax of PowerShell that will help you get started in the right direction. Finally, we will conclude the session with some examples that could make your SQL Admin life a lot easier.
Speaker(s): John Sterrett,
Abstract:
Computing running totals, averages by state or group, and other complex aggregations are not easy to implement in many relational databases. Thankfully, many relational databases include support for window functions. Window functions are an extension to the ANSI SQL standard. More than just another part of SQL, window functions enable complex ranking, ordering, and other aggregations over a subset of rows in a query. Understanding the capabilities of window functions lets you extend application functionality, build rich and complex queries, and reduce overhead in the application tier.
Speaker(s): Jeremiah Peschka,
Abstract:
Thinking about making a move to the Azure cloud? This session will give a basic overview of the Azure IaaS service before doing a deep dive into explaining exactly what it takes to make sure your SQL Server deployments in the cloud are highly available.
Speaker(s): David Bermingham,
Abstract:
Most DBA's rarely establish Service Level Agreements (SLA) with the Management and if they do they sometimes just come up with some random numbers for availability. Then when at some point something goes really wrong everybody wonders why it takes so long to bring everything back online. This Session will teach you how to ask the right questions, analyze your databases and servers and generate from the gathered data a realistic SLA.
Speaker(s): Thomas Grohser,
Abstract:
This talk will give you an introduction into monitoring SQL Server using Policy Based Management and Central Management System which is provided out of the box with SQL Server. I will then show you how you can combine these features with the Enterprise Policy Management Framework on codeplex to provide monitoring for your whole SQL Server farm. This topic assumes you know nothing about PBM and CMS and will include lots of examples with only a few PowerPoint slides.
Speaker(s): John Sterrett,
Abstract:
Scorecards allow company executives and management teams monitor their progress against key metrics. These metrics could be financial, customer, internal business operations etc. In this session, I will show you to utilize SSRS to develop balanced scorecards.
Speaker(s): Sunil Kadimdiwan,
Abstract:
How high can we go? Frequently in your career as a DBA you will be asked how much load can your SQL Server support. In this session, SQL Server MVP Hilary Cotter, shows you how to Microsoft tools to stress test your application and determine what your bottlenecks are and how high you can ramp up your workload.
Speaker(s): Hilary Cotter,
Abstract:
John knows everything and goes out of his way to correct you at every turn. Mary is agreeable to a fault and just placates everyone. Mike is full of doom and gloom and whines constantly. Are these your co-workers? Relatives? Frenemies? You? Learn two golden rules to reduce the stress produced by the difficult people in your life.
Speaker(s): Gigi Bell,
Abstract:
Extended Events were introduced in SQL Server 2008. With SQL 2014, we have seen a significant upgrade to this feature. Join me for a little adventure into the realm of extended events. We will discuss how to use extended events to aid in performance tuning and in day to day administration. We will also explore some background and the architecture of extended events. This is a fast paced session and will be a lot of fun. Attendees will be able to take back several sample XE sessions to help troubleshoot different issues and get to more intimately know their data/environment.
Speaker(s): Jason Brimhall,
Abstract:
Integration Services 2012 offers a brand new way to store, log, and execute SSIS packages – the SSIS Catalog. How does the Catalog work? Can it be customized? Can it be extended? Yes it can! In this presentation, Andy Leonard shows you how!
Speaker(s): Andy Leonard,
This is a list of speakers from the XML Guidebook records. The details and URLs were valid at the time of the event.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wadamjorgensen/
Contact: http://www.pragmaticworks.com
As President of Pragmatic Works Consulting Adam drives market strategy, sales, partnerships, implementation and thought leadership. He has over 15 years of experience helping companies use their data to fuel their growth. Adam has been wowing audiences around the world for over a decade. He has delivered hundreds of sessions, published over a dozen books and hundreds of online videos and webinars on data and cloud topics. His passion is growing companies and mentoring leaders and companies to help them achieve their dreams.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomasgrohser/
Thomas Grohser has spent most of the past 26+ years exploring the deeper inner workings of SQL Server and its features while working for entertainment, pharmaceutical, and financial services industries. His primary focus is to architect, plan, build, and operate reliable, highly available, secure, and scalable infrastructures for SQL Server. Over the years he has managed thousands of SQL Server instances, processing trillions of rows, taking up petabytes of storage. Thomas has been a Microsoft Data Platform MVP for 9 years and has spoken regularly at conferences, SQLSaturdays, and user groups for 12 years.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/pub/allan-hirt/1/b72/673
Contact: http://www.sqlha.com/blog
SQLHA, LLC founder, consultant, trainer, author, and business continuity, infrastructure, and virtualization expert Allan Hirt has been working with SQL Server since 1992 when it was still a Sybase product. He has also been clustering in Windows Server since the late 1990s when it was known as Wolfpack. Currently a dual Microsoft MVP (Data Platform; Cloud and Datacenter Management) as well as a VMware vExpert, Allan works with all sizes of customers, no matter if they are on premises or in the public cloud. He also delivers training and speaks at events over the world.
Contact: http://dh2i.com/
Carl Berglund has 20+ years of experience helping businesses source and implement sophisticated datacenter infrastructures. Carl has held senior business development roles at HP and PolyServe, where he helped drive enterprise organizations’ SQL Server consolidation, virtualization and optimization projects. As a technology evangelist, Carl helps organizations reduce spend on overall SQL Server lifecycle costs while reducing risk. He is a regular speaker and author on Windows datacenter issues.
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/johnsterrett
Contact: https://johnsterrett.com/community/
John Sterrett is a MCSE: Data Platform, Principal Consultant, and the Founder of Procure SQL LLC. John has experience presenting at community events, including Microsoft Ignite, PASS Member Summit, SQLRally, 24 Hours of PASS, SQLSaturdays, PASS Chapters, and Virtual Chapter meetings. John is a leader of the Austin SQL Server User Group and is the founder of the HADR Virtual Chapter. John's community activities can be found at https://johnsterrett.com/community/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/pub/allan-hirt/1/b72/673
Contact: http://www.sqlha.com/blog
SQLHA, LLC founder, consultant, trainer, author, and business continuity, infrastructure, and virtualization expert Allan Hirt has been working with SQL Server since 1992 when it was still a Sybase product. He has also been clustering in Windows Server since the late 1990s when it was known as Wolfpack. Currently a dual Microsoft MVP (Data Platform; Cloud and Datacenter Management) as well as a VMware vExpert, Allan works with all sizes of customers, no matter if they are on premises or in the public cloud. He also delivers training and speaks at events over the world.
Contact: https://blogs.sentryone.com/author/AaronBertrand
Aaron, Product Manager at SentryOne, produces performance and optimization tools for the entire Microsoft data platform, as well as Plan Explorer, a free tool for SQL Server execution plan analysis. In his spare time, he is either playing volleyball, curling, blogging at sqlperformance.com and blogs.sentryone.com, or contributing to SQL Server conversations on Twitter and dba.stackexchange.com. He has worked with SQL Server since 6.5 and has been an MVP since 1997.
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/christopher-bell/19/a08/93/
Contact: https://www.wateroxconsulting.com/
Chris Bell offers a unique view of how we live and work with data, both now and as we head into the future. Having braved many roles, lifecycles, and battles in the IT world, he has honed his DBA (Database Administration or Do 'Bout Anything) skills in Information Systems and development, focusing on SQL Server. Currently, he serves as the lead DBA at The Motley Fool. You can keep up with Chris' thoughts and technical community activities at WaterOxConsulting.com.
Contact: http://www.plusconsulting.com/
Sayed Saeed is the Business Intelligence Practice Director at Plus Consulting. He is highly proficient in developing targeted BI solutions for clients and offers solid knowledge and experience in BI products that help organizations better leverage information to effectively manage business. He is a Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert in Business Intelligence as well as Oracle Certified Professional.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-corey/
Contact: http://michaelcorey.com/
Michael is a Director Cloud Computing Evangelist for Spectrum Enterprise Navisite. In 2017, was recognized as #42 of the top 100 most influential people in the “cloud industry”. Michael's a recognized Microsoft Data Platform MVP formerly (Microsoft SQL Server MVP), recognized Oracle ACE, a recognized VMware vExpert and has worked with relational databases for over 30 years starting with Oracle Version 3. Michael is a Past President of the Independent Oracle Users Group (IOUG), A Founder of the Professional Association of SQL Server and current President of the IOUG VMware Special Interest Group. Michael is the original Oracle Press author, frequent blogger http://michaelcorey.com/, a regular columnist for the Big Data Quarterly
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jackcorbett
Contact: http://www.wisemanorwiseguy.com
JJack Corbett began working with SQL Server, Access, and VB in 1999, when he served an apprenticeship with a good friend who was the software development manager at the local paper mill. He found his niche and has concentrated on SQL Server development and administration since late 2000. He has worked with SQL Server through version 2017 and was a Microsoft Data Plaform MVP from October 2011 to October 2016. Jack is passionate about helping companies architect, design, and develop high performance applications based on the Microsoft Data Platform. He also has a passion for seeing database developers get the core application code (the database) protected under source control. Jack has presented at many user groups and SQLSaturday even
Contact: http://www.craftydba.com
John has twenty-five years of data processing and project management experience. His expertise encompasses all phases of the project life cycle, including design, development, implementation, and maintenance of systems. He is currently a Senior Consultant at Atrion Networking Corporation providing customers with Database and Business Intelligence solutions. When he is not busy at PASS events, he spends time with his wife and daughter enjoying outdoor activities.
Contact: http://brentozar.com
Jeremiah Peschka sees the magic in technology. He knows how to do things now, and he also knows how to think about possibilities. Jeremiah likes to imagine new kinds of indexes, new kinds of teams, new kinds of applications. This means that when you need to reinvent something, or get unblocked, you should talk to Jeremiah.
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com
Contact: http://www.sqlservercentral.com/blogs/pearlknows/
Robert Pearl is a 5-year SQL Server MVP and creator of the award-winning database and monitoring alert system, SQLCentric. Author of the HealthySQL - Comprehensive Guide to Healthy SQL Server Performance. He’s the founder of Pearl Knowledge Solutions. As a SQL Server community evangelist, he covers local SQL Server events in the New York City area and maintains the Pearl Knows blog. Voted TOP BLOGGER in 2011.
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/scarydba
Contact: http://scarydba.com
Grant Fritchey is a Data Platform MVP with over 20 years’ experience in IT, including time spent in support and development. He has worked with SQL Server since 6.0 back in 1995. He has also developed in VB, VB.NET, C#, and Java. Grant has written books for Apress and Simple-Talk. Grant presents at conferences and user groups, large and small, all over the world. He joined Redgate Software as a product evangelist in January 2011.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/1319388
Contact: http://us.sios.com/blog/
SIOS Technology Corp. makes software products that protect data and applications from downtime, while eliminating complexity, and reducing labor costs. SIOS products make clusters in both SAN and #SANLess environments easy to use and easy to own. By removing the configuration limitations of traditional clusters, SIOS products give enterprise data managers the freedom to run applications in the environment that best meets their needs -- physical, virtual, cloud or any combination thereof.
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/JamesSerra
Contact: http://www.JamesSerra.com
James Serra is a big data and data warehousing solution architect at Microsoft. He is a thought leader in the use and application of Big Data and advanced analytics. Previously, James was an independent consultant working as a Data Warehouse/Business Intelligence architect and developer. He is a prior SQL Server MVP with over 35 years of IT experience. James is a popular blogger (JamesSerra.com) and speaker. He is the author of the book “Reporting with Microsoft SQL Server 2012”.
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/johnwflannery/
John is the Data Architect at Evolution 1 in Simsbury Connecticut – and Adjunct Professor at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut. He has 30 years industry experience; working with SQL server since version 4.2 on OS/2, Oracle since 7.3.4. John holds a Master of Science – Computer Science degree from Rensselaer (1995). John is co-leader of the Hartford SQL User Group - and organizer of SQLSaturday 184.
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/mikepwalsh
Contact: https://www.straightpathsql.com
Mike Walsh is an experienced SQL Server professional and has worked with SQL Server since version 6.5. He has been in the role of DBA, developer, and performance tuner, but always leans on his DBA and tuning experience. He has been awarded the SQL Server (now Data Platform) designation 6 times since 2011 and is a current MVP. He runs a SQL Server consultancy focused on DBA services and cloud enablement. He has spoken several times at PASS and regional events. In his spare time, he runs a small farm with his family in rural New Hampshire and is a call Firefighter in his small town.
LinkedIn: http://ca.linkedin.com/in/warnerchaves/
Contact: http://sqlturbo.com
Warner is a SQL Server MCM, Data Platform MVP and Principal Consultant at Pythian, a global Canada-based company specialized in DBA services. A brief stint in .NET programming led to his early DBA formation working for enterprise customers in Hewlett-Packard ITO organization. From there he transitioned to his current position at Pythian, building and managing data solutions in many industry verticals while leading a highly talented team of Data Platform consultants.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dbajbrimhall/
Contact: http://jasonbrimhall.info
Jason Brimhall has more than 20 years of experience and has worked with SQL Server 6.5 through SQL Server 2019. He has experience in performance tuning, high transaction environments, and large environments. He is currently a consultant specializing in performance tuning, server analysis, and problem resolution. Jason is a Microsoft Certified Master (MCM) and a Data Platform MVP.
Contact: http://www.KevinSGoff.net
Kevin S. Goff (http://www.kevinsgoff.net) is a Microsoft SQL Server MVP Database architect/developer/speaker/author Regular columnist for CoDe Magazine on .NET, SQL Server, and Business Intelligence topics Frequent speaker at community events in the Mid-Atlantic region. Host of BDBI Radio (http://www.bdbiradio.com), a weekly webcast on SQL/BI topics
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/stephenrsimon/
Contact: http://www.sqlservercentral.com/blogs/simon_says/
Steve Simon is a Database Solutions Architect with Business Knowledge Services Inc. He has been involved with database design and analysis for over 35 years. Steve has presented papers at numerous PASS Summits and PASS SQL Rallies. He is also regular presenter on the SQLSaturday circuit and he is a contributor on SQLShack.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sqlservernerd
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.
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/AndyLeonard
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.
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=3997984amp;trk=hb_tab_pro_top
Contact: http://joeydantoni.com
Joseph D'Antoni is a Senior Consultant and Microsoft Data Platform MVP with over 20 years of experience working in both Fortune 500 and smaller firms. He is a Principal Consultant for Denny Cherry Associates and lives in Malvern, PA. He is a frequent speaker at major tech events like Microsoft Ignite, PASS Summit, and Enterprise Data World. He blogs about all topics technology at joeydantoni.com. He believes that no single platform is the answer to all technology problems. Joseph holds a BS in Computer Information Systems from Louisiana Tech University and an MBA from North Carolina State University, and is the co-author of the Microsoft book "Introducing SQL Server 2016”.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gehan-bell-bab55293
Known across the country as the SQL Registration Princess, Gigi Bell actually has vast experience in training and development. Being married to a SQL DBA, she knows enough about SQL to be dangerous, but her real passion is helping people learn and achieve their true potential. She has spoken at SQLSaturdays across the country since 2014.
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/prizza/
Contact: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/paulrizza/
Paul Rizza is a Senior Consultant at Microsoft Consulting Services (MCS), Lead on the MCS SQL Hiring Team, and has over 25 years’ experience consulting, teaching and developing on SQL Server platforms. Paul’s expertise includes ETLs, Dimensional modeling, architecting highly available SQL environments and performance tuning. Paul has an Undergraduate degree from UMBC and a Master’s degree both in Computer Science with a concentration in Database Theory from Johns Hopkins University.
Hilary Cotteris a 20 year IT veteran who has answered over 20,000 questions on the forums. Some of them correctly. He specializes in HA technologies, especially replication, performance tuning, full-text search, and SQL Server Service Broker. Hilary is also an author, or contributor on a number of books on SQL Server.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/profile/public-profile-settings?trk=prof-edit-edit-public_profile
Contact: http://clusteringformeremortals.com/
David Bermingham is recognized within the community as a high availability expert and has been honored by his peers by being elected to be a MVP in Clustering since 2010 and most recently has been recognized as a Cloud and Datacenter MVP. David’s work as technical evangelist at SIOS has him focused on evangelizing Microsoft high availability and disaster recovery solutions for both on premise and cloud deployments. He lives in New Jersey with his wife and three kids where he a school board member, scout leader and musical director of an 8-piece jazz band, M-Town.
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/pareshmotiwala
Paresh Motiwala a Azure/Big Data enthusiast, Manager of Database Platform teams has led several large SQL implementations, migrations and upgrades. He has managed multi terabyte OLTP databases. He has also been a Sr. SQL DBA and a Solutions Architect in Fortune 100 companies. He helps/organizes and speaks at many SQLSaturdays, Azure Bootcamp, Azure Datafests and User Groups(Boston BI UG, NESQL, PASS PD VG and PASS DBA VG). He is certified in Big Data Analytics, FinTech, PMP, Public Speaking, Business Communications. He is a avid singer, cook, open networker, and stand-up comedian. He teaches public speaking, debating, interviewing and group discussion skills and mentors children around the globe via www.circlesofgrowth.com
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/johnsterrett
Contact: https://johnsterrett.com/community/
John Sterrett is a MCSE: Data Platform, Principal Consultant, and the Founder of Procure SQL LLC. John has experience presenting at community events, including Microsoft Ignite, PASS Member Summit, SQLRally, 24 Hours of PASS, SQLSaturdays, PASS Chapters, and Virtual Chapter meetings. John is a leader of the Austin SQL Server User Group and is the founder of the HADR Virtual Chapter. John's community activities can be found at https://johnsterrett.com/community/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgewalters
Contact: https://georgewalters.wordpress.com/
Currently a partner technical strategist, George has been solving customer needs and issues. He can translate customer pain into potential solutions. A seasoned Microsoft SQL and Azure expert, with over 20 years of experience with Microsoft SQL Server, Sybase, Oracle, and other relational databases. Specialties: Partner strategy, PreSales Engineering, Cloud Architecture, Enterprise Scalability, SQL Server performance, Business Intelligence, High Availability, Scale. I volunteer and present relevant topics at SQLSaturday and internal Microsoft events
Contact: http://www.cisco.com/go/microsoft
Rex Backman is a member of Cisco's Data Center organization - home of Cisco's UCS compute family and Nexus switch family - where he is the Worldwide Marketing Manager for Microsoft solutions. Working throughout the Cisco organization Rex is responsible for driving awareness and demand for Cisco's Microsoft solutions: SQL Server, Exchange, SharePoint, and Private Cloud. Prior to Cisco he worked at Microsoft holding positions in the System Center, Windows Server, and Microsoft Research teams.
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/kennie
Contact: http://www.pontop.dk/
Kennie Nybo Pontoppidan is a senior program manager in Microsoft working in the Dynamics NAV server backend team. He has worked in the dangerous field between developers, dbas, customers and project managers for many years and done his part of mistakes as a developer before that in his 15+ years in the it industry. He enjoys working with databases and really, really enjoys his daily dose of sql. Kennie has no humor.
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/mikepwalsh
Contact: https://www.straightpathsql.com
Mike Walsh is an experienced SQL Server professional and has worked with SQL Server since version 6.5. He has been in the role of DBA, developer, and performance tuner, but always leans on his DBA and tuning experience. He has been awarded the SQL Server (now Data Platform) designation 6 times since 2011 and is a current MVP. He runs a SQL Server consultancy focused on DBA services and cloud enablement. He has spoken several times at PASS and regional events. In his spare time, he runs a small farm with his family in rural New Hampshire and is a call Firefighter in his small town.
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/staciavarga
Contact: http://blog.datainspirations.com
Stacia Varga is a Microsoft Data Platform MVP and SSAS Maestro with a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Sciences. A consultant, educator, author, and principal of Data Inspirations, her career spans more than 30 years, with a focus on improving business practices through technology. Since 2000, Stacia has provided consulting and education services for Microsoft's Business Intelligence technologies. As Stacia Misner, she also authored several books covering the Microsoft BI stack.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brentozar
Contact: https://www.BrentOzar.com
Brent Ozar loves to make SQL Server faster. He created sp_Blitz and the SQL Server First Responder Kit. He shares what he's learned at BrentOzar.com.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=81593638
Contact: https://www.sqlshack.com/author/edward-pollack/
Ed Pollack has over 20 years of experience in database and systems administration, which has developed his passion for performance optimization, database design, and making things go faster. He has spoken at many SQLSaturdays, 24 Hours of PASS, and PASS Summit. This led him to organize SQLSaturday Albany, which has become an annual event for New York’s Capital Region. Sharing these experiences with the community is a top priority, and encouraging everyone to take the leap into public speaking and engaging others, a passion. In his free time, Ed enjoys video games, traveling, cooking exceptionally spicy foods, and hanging out with his amazing wife and sons.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sqlservernerd
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.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunilkadimdiwan
Contact: http://www.infotrove.com/events.html
Sunil Kadimdiwan Sunil Kadimdiwan has 25+ years’ experience in architecting and implementing database solutions. He has deep knowledge of the Microsoft SQL Server and Business Intelligence technology stack. He is a frequent speaker at SQLSaturdays, Code Camps, User Group meetings
The following is a list of sponsors that helped fund the event.