Event Location:
Pittsburgh Technical College
1111 McKee Road
Oakdale, Pennsylvania
Abstract:
I was an employee of a company that had an office in the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001. Prior to that infamous date, I had written several departmental documents that ended up being critical to our recovery. In this presentation, I provide a narrative of what happened in the weeks following 9/11, and how documentation played a role in getting the organization back on its feet. While other disaster recovery presentations talk about strategies, plans, and techniques, this presentation focuses on the documentation itself. We will discuss the documents we had and how they were used in our recovery. We will also discuss what documents we didn't have, and how they could have made the process better.
Speaker(s): Ray Kim,
Abstract:
How big should the page file be for Windows Server 2016? How many data files should SQL Server 2016's TempDB contain? What trace flags should we use by default now? These are questions you addressed long ago in your setup checklist. You've spent a lot of time with that checklist, and you're sure it's perfect. Or is it? When was the last time you visited that checklist? Does it make sense for SQL 2014? What about SQL 2016? Change is hard, and DBAs need to constantly challenge yesterday's best practices to ensure they meet today's business needs. Join Microsoft MVP Mike Hillwig and his list of server administration best practices that need to be revisited for modern versions of SQL Server, especially SQL 2016.
Speaker(s): Mike Hillwig,
Abstract:
Are your statistics up to date? Yes, it’s that dreaded phrase you hear all the time when it comes to performance tuning your SQL Server. What does it matter? Why should I care about statistics? Aren’t they automatic or something like that? In this session we will go over why statistics matter, how they are generated, how they impact performance, and even how to maintain them. Once we have that all settled, we will take a quick look at how the cardinality estimator uses statistics to determine a ‘good enough’ plan to use. We will close out the session by taking a look at the performance impact from a simple upgrade of your SQL Server to 2014 and using the new cardinality estimator.
Speaker(s): Chris Bell,
Abstract:
Are you sometimes plagued with the unfortunate event of your SSAS cube refresh exceeding the scheduled maintenance window? Maybe you simply need to update recent data to reflect a critical change during business hours, but can’t afford several hours of downtime. I have a solution for you! In this session, we will focus on building an ETL framework while leveraging your cube’s logical partition design to dynamically process only the necessary data within your measure group. We will discuss audit logging, cube processing options, partition design and metadata access. These techniques and strategies will provide a faster data refresh process for your warehouse or data mart.
Speaker(s): Jeremy Frye,
Abstract:
You’ve just spent the last few days in deep technical training. You have learned many new techniques and best practices that you can take back to the office and use in your work to gain immediate improvements. But if you’re only interested in applying a handful of specific, tactical advantages, then you’ll miss out on the most exciting trend in the IT industry – our data-driven future. Share insights and inspirations in this talk with Kevin Kline, a founder and president emeritus of the Professional Association for SQL Server, to discover the broader trends that are pushing data professionals into greater prominence and strategies you can use to become the most respected, influential, and credible member of your organization’s technical staff.
Speaker(s): Kevin Kline,
Abstract:
You found code you need in a “Holy Grail” article complete with test data and tests across several methods “clearly” identifying the best one to use. Excited at your good fortune, you quickly download the code, rerun the tests on your Dev box . It “passes” with flying colors. You promote the code to production and go home on time for a change. The next day, your boss and the DBA are waiting for you in your cube and, look, the DBA has a bat with your name on it because your code brought the server to its knees and the code failed. How is that possible? The answer is, “The Devil’s in the Data”. Whether you’re an SQL “Newbie” or seasoned veteran, this “Black Arts” session will teach you most of what you need to know to build large quantities of just about any test data you might imagine and more quickly than you ever dreamed. It’ll also show you how to avoid the pitfalls that lead to the DBA with the bat. ;
Speaker(s): Jeff Moden,
Abstract:
This session is for the those who have security objections related to moving to the cloud or are interested in the security features of the of the Azure SQL Database, a relational database Platform as a Service offering in Microsoft Azure. There certainly are Azure SQL Database features which have parity with SQL Server engine features (Always Encrypted, TDE, RLS, etc.). But this session will take a look at security features focused on the Azure SQL Database; server firewall settings, Auditing Threat detection, Alert Rules, Role-based Access Control and configuring Azure AD Authentication. If time permits, we will step through Dynamic Data Making via the Azure portal. Hopefully the main take away will be a warm and fuzzy (and more secure) feeling about planning for cloud workloads.
Speaker(s): Timothy McAliley,
Abstract:
SSRS Subscriptions are one of the great things within SSRS to automate delivery of reports. However, one of the more powerful methods of further enhancing this automation is by use of data-driven subscriptions. Data-driven subscriptions allow us to determine at run time what subscribers and other parameters can be used for automating the generation of these reports. We#39;ll begin with a quick overview of what the more familiar subscription functionality is and then quickly jump into what data-driven subscriptions provide for us. We#39;ll then demonstrate from beginning to end how to implement data-driven-subscriptions. Lastly, we#39;ll wrap up with any tips and tricks to enhance our process.
Speaker(s): Ben Galluzzo,
Abstract:
This session focuses on Microsoft’s BI capabilities within SQL Server and its abilities to make advanced easy to use, accessible, insightful, and actionable decisions, all while helping clients increase organizational performance. Through several releases, 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, PowerBI and SQL Server are an excellent solution for creating self-service dashboards, scorecards, KPIs, pivots, data exploration and discovery.
Speaker(s): Sayed Saeed,
Abstract:
Congratulations, you’re now our DBA! A new SQL instance is like a blank canvas, you stare at it and wonder where to start. As an accidental dba, this session will help you learn how to survive in your new role. In this session, you will be supplied with the beginning brush strokes to make your server a master piece. To do so, we will review best practices for standard configurations, backups, maintenance, and disaster recovery. By the end of this session, you will have developed a pallet of tools to help you create your SQL Server Masterpiece and be able to use it as a print for others.
Speaker(s): Jim Donahoe,
Abstract:
Closing out the day for Wanna Be A DBA, this session will pull everything together. What steps to take to get hired as a DBA. Additional learning opportunities to continue learning after today, Answering any questions that you may have.
Speaker(s): Michael John,
Abstract:
The Microsoft SQL Server stack provides an excellent set of tools for storing, visualizing, and analyzing data, but sometimes we want to do more. In this session, we’ll take a look at the various ways that we can apply advanced analytics by using the R programming language on top of SQL Server. We#39;ll consider the advantages and capabilities of SQL Server R Services and look at how to set up a development environment. Along the way, we will discuss the data science workflow and consider some examples of advanced analytics that are commonly used.
Speaker(s): Michael Schulte,
Abstract:
The Power BI Suite has been around for less than a year and is changing every week. However, the technology behind it has been around for years now. It can be confusing trying to understand PowerThis and PowerThat. In this session, we will cover the different parts of PowerBI and what it might be appealing. We do this from the perspective of a business user.
Speaker(s): Eugene Meidinger,
Abstract:
Understand what#39;s in memory, why it#39;s there, and how to reduce the footprint if that#39;s reasonable. Find your large queries with several techniques, justify them, and tune them. Find indexes to drop, consolidate, or create. Finally, purge your data, because even our accounts hire pyromaniacs with scissors!
Speaker(s): Steve Hood,
Abstract:
Automation is a key part to becoming a great DBA. Without automation a DBA can start to drown in a sea of repeating tasks. The SQL Server Agent can serve as the much-needed life preserver to pull your head above the water. In this session you will learn at how to setup the SQL Agent as well as creating jobs and alerts within the agent to help you automate daily, monthly, yearly tasks. In addition we will look into how to monitor the jobs and alerts created. Lastly we will talk about some common pitfalls to watch out for when dealing with the SQL Server Agent.
Speaker(s): Lance Tidwell,
Abstract:
This session takes a deeper dive into PowerBI. We won#39;t be explaining the individual components, instead we will take time to go through the technology behind the scenes. We will discuss what is in a pbix file. We will cover how the Tabular data model works. Finally, we#39;ll review how the publishing and hosting infrastructure works.
Speaker(s): Eugene Meidinger,
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,
Abstract:
Most flaws in SQL Server can be avoided with proper security policies ... as long as those policies are followed. What can happen if they are not followed or security is very loose? A lot of people will tell you what not to do, but has anyone ever shown you what can happen if you do them anyway? This demo heavy session will show you just what I could do in these situations if I was so inclined to exploit these lapses in security. You will learn how to prevent these security holes to ensure you are protected.
Speaker(s): Robert Davis,
Abstract:
Ever feel like you are just doing busy work while creating new SSIS packages? Feel like you are doing the same thing over and over while changing the names to protect the innocent? Ever wonder if there is a better way? Well wonder no more. Come learn about the magical world of BIML and how it can help transform your environment by increasing your productivity while reducing the possibility of errors. Come with intrigue and leave with a fundamental understanding of BIML!
Speaker(s): Jonathan Stewart,
Abstract:
Once you agreed to an SLA for the databases you manage its time to deliver on this promise This session will show how to select from the many HA/DR features you have in SQL Server to pick the ones that will help you meet the SLA and most important will tell you how you must combine them to be successful. For each one of the solutions we discuss we will define a series of failure modes and then check if the solution actually can fulfill the SLA as promised or if it needs more
Speaker(s): Thomas Grohser,
Abstract:
We will start with the importance of backup for a database administrator. The second part will cover backup/recovery strategy and the three backup types including a demo. The last part will cover the other techniques not considered as a normal backup process but can be used for it like attach/detach, import/export, replication and disaster recovery (log shipping).
Speaker(s): Thomas Chan,
Abstract:
The FileStream feature allows BLOBs to be managed by the DB. FileTable expands on this feature by using specific tables for storing these BLOBs. This allows Windows apps to access these items as if there were stored on the file system but with benefits only a database can offer, such as text searching and querying.
Speaker(s): Sam Nasr,
Abstract:
This session will cover process to create an XML as resultset from the table(s). Live demo samples will include and cover FOR XML clause, also RAW, ELEMENTS, AUTO, PATH, ROOT, and TYPE modes.
Speaker(s): Alex Grinberg,
Abstract:
So you jumped on the bandwagon and set up a Hadoop cluster…but now what? Your database developers and app developers know how to integrate with and develop against SQL Server, but the Hadoop world is a completely different experience. This talk will help bridge the gap between SQL Server and Hadoop, using tools such as SQL Server Integration Services and Sqoop to migrate data between a Hadoop cluster and a SQL Server instance, as well as PolyBase to integrate the two like never before.
Speaker(s): Kevin Feasel,
Abstract:
If you’ve been a SQL Server DBA or Dev for any length of time, you’ve probably heard of various options that you can set at the instance- or database-level that can impact performance. Do you know what they are, when to use them, or what they do? And what about all of those trace flags? There are so many of them and many are undocumented. What gives? In this session, you’ll learn about a variety of ways to speed up IO, adjust memory, change plan and buffer cache behavior, debug the SQL query optimizer, and how to punch SQL Server in the face!
Speaker(s): Kevin Kline,
Abstract:
Covers the day to day administrative duties of a DBA, such as backups, high availability, disaster recovery, security, etc.
Speaker(s): Cardell Washington,
Abstract:
Maintaining a solid set of information about our servers and their performance is critical when issues arise, and often help us see a problem before it occurs. Building a baseline of performance metrics allows us to know when something is wrong and help us to track it down and fix the problem. This session will walk you through a series of PowerShell scripts you can schedule which will capture the most important data and a set of reports to show you how to use that data to keep your server running smoothly.
Speaker(s): Allen White,
Abstract:
Attend this session to learn more about Plus Consulting
Speaker(s): Matt Nelson,
Abstract:
With more and more businesses entering the twenty-first century, they are finding themselves with more and more data. In this session, I will cover the basics of the Microsoft Business Intelligence stack and show how that data is leveraged to make informed business decisions.
Speaker(s): Kyle Walker,
Abstract:
How much do you really understand how your workload changes based on the time of day, background processing, user load, or which application module is in use? There's no better way to understand your workload than to benchmark and replay it. This will help you mitigate risk in production before making changes, allow you to find and improve bottlenecks in your code or infrastructure. In this session, you will learn how to compare and replay your own workload and synthetic TPC-C workloads in your environment to make you look like a rockstar.
Speaker(s): John Sterrett,
Abstract:
One of the most talked about new features in Microsoft SQL Server is AlwaysOn Availability Groups. In this session, we'll cover the pros and cons of using Availability Groups as well as the basics of how to set them up and take advantage of readable secondary replicas. If you want to improve the availability and performance of your applications and databases, are currently using Database Mirroring, or if you're just curious about Availability Groups, then you won't want to miss this session.
Speaker(s): Adam Belebczuk,
Abstract:
Let's bring the 'hallway track' into a session! We'll have a panel of 3-4 speakers and discuss some items that on the minds of the attendees. It will be recorded and made available later in podcast format.
Speaker(s): Carlos L Chacon,
Abstract:
As part of the Wanna Be A DBA track This session will dive into the design of databases. Including tables, views, normalization, cardinality, table relationships, foreign keys, and more.
Speaker(s): Michael John,
Abstract:
We have all encountered difficult managers that leave us stressed out. They can be micro-managers, bullies, too timid, or even just apathetic. In any case, you are currently stuck with this manager, and you need coping strategies! Through case studies and open discussion, we will help you determine if you indeed have a difficult manager. We will identify and categorize behavior patterns of managers so that you can determine the best strategies to deal with him or her. In addition, we will also explore the consequences of these actions, and how they can help you to succeed in furthering your career.
Speaker(s): Gigi Bell,
Abstract:
This session will rely on Audience Participation as we play games like Charades with SQL / BI/ Azure related terms.
Speaker(s): Rick Heiges,
Abstract:
Producing a query plan can be CPU costly process for a SQL Server. To avoid repeating these expensive steps, SQL Server Engine stores its query plans, in the plan cache where they can be reused as needed. In this session, we’ll look at Plan Cache, what it is and what it contains, how query plans get into the Cache , how they are reused and how they get out.
Speaker(s): Slava Murygin,
Abstract:
What does one need to know to become better SQL Developer? How can I write modular code to make it reusable? What about error handling? What is execution plan and how do I read it? Is there easier way to refactor code? All these questions and many others will be answered by writing some code, demo of free tools and showcasing SSDT.
Speaker(s): Vladimir Oselsky,
Abstract:
In this session, we will focus on how to formulate a Master Data Management (MDM) strategy and build a solution to find the single version of the truth, aka the Golden Record. While these techniques can apply to any data domain, we will demonstrate building a sample customer domain, showing how to leverage SQL Server Master Data Services (MDS) and other tools for data quality, matching, and de-duplication across multiple data sources.
Speaker(s): Pam Matthews,
Abstract:
With so many languages around to extract, transform, analyze, and visualize data, Microsoft introduced yet another language : U-SQL. In this session, we'll take a look at what U-SQL is, what it brings to the table, and how it differs from (or overlaps with) the existing constructs (T-SQL, SQL CLR, DAX/MDX, PowerQuery/M, R etc.,). We'll go over step-by-step in getting started with U-SQL, and review some use case scenarios.
Speaker(s): Azhagappan Arunachalam,
Abstract:
Join Steve Tiano to learn more about working at Microsoft on the Data Insights PFE and consulting services team.
Speaker(s): Matt Nelson,
Abstract:
TeleTracking in the Cloud! TeleTracking has been the industry leader in automated healthcare solutions for the past 25 years. From EVS to Transport, TeleTracking has automated solutions available to eliminate waste in healthcare. Come see our future solutions where we explain our products in the cloud using SaaS(Software as a Service), PaaS(Platform as a service), IaaS(Infrastructure as a service), and DBaaS(Database as a service).
Speaker(s): Matt Nelson,
Abstract:
We figured out what to put data into, we need to learn HOW to put it in, get it out, and modify data!
Speaker(s): Brandi Dollar,
Abstract:
What are the different kinds of DBA’s? What are the popular RDMS’s? Presented by Michael John and Ed Wagner
Speaker(s): Michael John,
Abstract:
Attend this session to learn more about EMC
Speaker(s): Matt Nelson,
Abstract:
Have you considered implementing SQL Server partitioning? According to Wikipedia, “A partition is a division of a logical database or its constituent elements into distinct independent parts. Database partitioning is normally done for manageability, performance or availability reasons, as for load balancing”. Would you benefit from it or will it be a big headache for you? In a very straight forward approach, I will introduce what, when, why and how to create partition.
Speaker(s): Brenda Bentz,
Abstract:
Utilizing Azure cloud services does not mean moving all of your data or control away from your on-premises SQL Servers. In this session we will cover the new SQL 2016 Stretch Database and the SQL 2014 Managed Backups to Azure features. We will look at use-cases and limitations of both features to illustrate how these cloud services may fit into your current SQL Server environment.
Speaker(s): Andrew Loree,
Abstract:
Attend this session to learn more about Profisee
Speaker(s): Matt Nelson,
Abstract:
Ah, SQL Server Transactional Replication. The technology everyone loves to hate. But for all the notoriety, there's some interesting technology to be had in it that might you might want to leverage. In this session, we'll explore what happens when you create a new transactional publication: what happens during a snapshot, how data gets delivered to subscribers, and how you can monitor, tweak, and tune your publications. We'll also see some common trouble spots and how to identify them. There will be plenty of examples and demos and, yes, even some PowerShell!
Speaker(s): Drew Furgiuele,
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/sqllocks/
Contact: https://sqllocks.net/
Jonathan Stewart is a Business Intelligence consultant specializing in data visualization, data warehousing, and data management technologies. An advocate for educating others, he is a public speaker, teacher and blogger, continually teaching people about the Microsoft BI Stack. Since 2000, he has been working in the database field with industry leaders in healthcare, manufacturing, financial, insurance and federal, state and local governments. Jonathan is very active in the community. He has presented on SQL Server, SSIS, Reporting Services, Power BI and Business Intelligence at numerous SQLSaturday events, local user groups, and conferences throughout the United States and around the world. He participates in webcasts, podcasts, and on
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/pub/chiu-yuen-chan/b/a67/b07
I work with SQL Server since 2001 with version 7.
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/ben-galluzzo/20/7b9/389/en
Contact: http://www.bengalluzzo.com/
I#39;m a software developer with a passion for anything that beeps and blinks. I first delved into databases on an Atari 800XL, and I never stopped looking forward since. I often have my hands in everything from databases and software to circuits and embedded systems. When I#39;m not beeping or blinking, I#39;m often spending time with my family, woodworking, building things, or outdoors.
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/allen-white-sql-server-mvp/5/784/b08/
Contact: http://dataperfpro.com/blog/
Allen White is a Data Platform consultant. He has been both a developer and an administrator, so he understands both perspectives towards database technology. He loves sharing his experiences and helping people learn how to use SQL Server. Allen has spent over 40 years in IT, using SQL Server since 1992, and has been awarded Microsoft’s MVP Award for the last 13 years. Allen was a PASS Director from 2016 - 2018.
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/itacb
Contact: http://www.sqldiablo.com/
Adam Belebczuk is the Owner amp; Principal Consultant at Belebczuk Consulting Services, LLC and has more than 10 years of experience in IT, ranging from customer service to server/network administration to software and database development and administration. Adam is the Chapter Leader for the Ohio North SQL Server Users Group, a frequent speaker and volunteer at PASS events, and specializes in SQL Server development, performance tuning, high availability, and disaster recovery.
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/mikehillwig
Contact: http://www.mikehillwig.com
Veteran DBA Mike Hillwig is a native Pittsburgher and resident of the Boston Suburbs. He’s a DBA Manager for a financial software company that’s owned by one of the world’s largest bank. Mike has been working with SQL Server since version 7 and has a background in infrastructure and network. Today, he manages a team of DBAs around the globe.
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/kekline/
Contact: http://blogs.sentryone.com/author/kevinkline
Kevin Kline is a database and industry expert serving as Principal Program Manager at SentryOne, the industry leading SQL Server database tools vendor. A Microsoft SQL Server MVP since 2003, he is a founder and former president of PASS. Kevin is an author of many books, blogger, columnist, and popular international speaker. Kevin’s best known book is the best-selling SQL in a Nutshell and contributes monthly to Database Trends Applications magazine. He tweets at @kekline and blogs at http://Blogs.SQLSentry.com/Author/KevinKline.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/pub/kevin-feasel/7/716/504
Contact: http://www.catallaxyservices.com
Kevin Feasel is a Microsoft Data Platform MVP and CTO at Envizage, where he specializes in data analytics with T-SQL and R, forcing Spark clusters to do his bidding, fighting with Kafka, and pulling rabbits out of hats on demand. He is the lead contributor to Curated SQL (https://curatedsql.com), president of the Triangle Area SQL Server Users Group (https://www.meetup.com/tripass), and author of PolyBase Revealed (https://www.apress.com/us/book/9781484254608). A resident of Durham, North Carolina, he can be found cycling the trails along the triangle whenever the weather's nice enough.
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/robertldavis/
Contact: http://www.sqlsoldier.com
Robert is a SQL Server Certified Master, MVP, and has spent 17+ years honing his skills in security, performance tuning, SQL development, high availability, and disaster recovery. He served as PM for the SQL Server Certified Master Program at Microsoft Learning, and in various roles at Microsoft specializing in SQL Server administration, development, and architecture. He currently works as a Database Engineer at BlueMountain Capital Management where he spends a vast majority of his time tuning massively parallel queries. Robert feeds his passion for security by acting as co-leader of the PASS Security Virtual Chapter.
With more than 51,000 posts and 39 mostly 5 star articles, Jeff Moden is a strong contributor on SQLServerCentral.com where he coined the term “RBAR” (Row By Agonizing Row) and helped make the "Tally Table" a household name. Jeff has more than 2 decades of experience with SQL Server and is mostly self-trained in what he calls the “Black Arts” of T-SQL. He’s known worldwide for his informative articles, high performance T-SQL coding methods, and methods of mentoring. His dedication to helping others earned him the MS SQL Server MVP award for nine years and the RedGate Exceptional DBA Award in 2011. His mantra is "Performance is in the code".
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/kekline/
Contact: http://blogs.sentryone.com/author/kevinkline
Kevin Kline is a database and industry expert serving as Principal Program Manager at SentryOne, the industry leading SQL Server database tools vendor. A Microsoft SQL Server MVP since 2003, he is a founder and former president of PASS. Kevin is an author of many books, blogger, columnist, and popular international speaker. Kevin’s best known book is the best-selling SQL in a Nutshell and contributes monthly to Database Trends Applications magazine. He tweets at @kekline and blogs at http://Blogs.SQLSentry.com/Author/KevinKline.
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/stevehoodsql
Contact: http://simplesqlserver.com
I#39;m a DBA who has gone through most of my career with few people to learn and unsure of where to find great help until I found a real mentor. When I started at a company with a great, knowledgeable manager and learned to find others speaking about SQL Server online my skills boomed. This is especially true in my most passionate area, SQL Server performance. Knowing that my knowledge came from others, I now have a second passion of sharing my knowledge with others.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pianorayk
Contact: https://pianorayk.wordpress.com/
Ray Kim is an advocate for documentation and technical communication. He is a co-founder of the Albany, NY SQL group (CASSUG), a member of the AlbanyUX user group, and has spoken at numerous SQLSaturdays and at PASS Summit. He has worked various positions in technology, including as a developer, webmaster, analyst, technical writer, and instructor. He holds an MS in technical communication from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a BS in computer science from Syracuse University. A musician in his spare time, Ray plays four different instruments. He also enjoys going to ball games and doing CrossFit, and is a two-time SQLServerCentral.com fantasy football champion. He lives in Troy, NY with his wife, Lianne, and their two cats.
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/rick-heiges/1/b93/777/
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.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremyilfrye
Contact: https://jeremyfrye.net
Jeremy Frye is the manager of the Business Intelligence and data warehousing team at RDX. He is a Business Intelligence architect and developer with a background in database administration as well. Jeremy has over 9 years of experience in SQL Server. He has spoken on BI topics at many SQLSaturday's throughout the country, webinars, and local and remote SQL user groups. In his spare time, Jeremy often spends time trying to bridge the gap between keyboard strokes and workout reps.
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.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carloslchacon
Contact: http://sqldatapartners.com/blog
Carlos Chacon is the managing partner of SQL Data Partners LLC and co-host of the popular SQL Data Partners Podcast. While getting his start as a typical accidental DBA, Carlos has sat on Microsoft exam review panels, served as regional mentor and chapter leader. He enjoys traveling and has been to four continents, speaks Spanish and can eat his weight in raspberries (not yet proven). He and his family live in Richmond, Virginia.
Mike Schulte is a decision support analyst at Gateway Health Plan. He works with tools such as SQL, Tableau, R, SAS, Azure Machine Learning, and Spark to use data to support decisions. These days he is trying to change the world by supporting value-based healthcare initiatives, whereby healthcare costs are lowered while quality of care is improved! In his spare time, he teaches economics and philosophy courses, plays chess and directs chess tournaments, and rings bells in church bell towers.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-john-3403b45/
With 20 years experience in all aspects of development and administration of SQL Server, from version 6.5 to 2016, I have seen, broken, and fixed just about everything in SQL Server!
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/rick-heiges/1/b93/777/
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.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-grinberg-36773a6/
I have more than 20 years of IT experience. My primary focus is with the latest Microsoft technologies including .NET (VB and C#), SSRS and SSIS. I provide services in tuning, optimization, analysis and development for the creation of new applications, converting legacy technologies (SQL Server, VB.NET and C# ) and site training. I have worked for CSC, VerticalNet, IDP, LSAC , and TMNAS (to name a few) and I am currently employed with Cox Automotive. I am Apress author book "XML and JSON Recipes for SQL Server", also wrote number of articles for Simple-Talk and SQLServerCentral.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: 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.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattpgh
Contact: http://wwww.nelsonsweb.net
Matt Nelson is a Database Administrator and Business Intelligence developer for RDX (Remote DBA Experts) in Pittsburgh, PA. With over 10 years of experience, He works with more than 200 clients on general database administration needs and BI projects. Matt is also the Chapter Leader of the Pittsburgh SQL Server Users Group, and an organizer of Pittsburgh SQLSaturday. He occasionally blogs at www.nelsonsweb.net and http://www.rdx.com/Blog/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/voselsky
Vladimir Oselsky (Vlady) is an IT Professional with over 15 years of experience in various IT Jobs. Born and raised in Siberia, moved to United States in late 90s. Passion for computer and programming started with DOS games and learning Borland Paschal in 8th grade as a hobby. IT career consisted of everything from hardware and software support to server administration. Current focus on SQL Server Database Development and .NET programming
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattpgh
Contact: http://wwww.nelsonsweb.net
Matt Nelson is a Database Administrator and Business Intelligence developer for RDX (Remote DBA Experts) in Pittsburgh, PA. With over 10 years of experience, He works with more than 200 clients on general database administration needs and BI projects. Matt is also the Chapter Leader of the Pittsburgh SQL Server Users Group, and an organizer of Pittsburgh SQLSaturday. He occasionally blogs at www.nelsonsweb.net and http://www.rdx.com/Blog/
Contact: http://www.sqlgene.com
Eugene Meidinger works as a BI consultant and full time Pluralsight author. He currently focuses on content on Power BI and related products. He also leads the Pittsburgh Power BI User Group. He is certified in querying and administering SQL Server.
Kyle is a SQL Server Database Administrator and Business Intelligence Developer at RDX. While he only has 3 years of experience, Kyle has worked with hundreds of clients to assist with their database needs.
LinkedIn: ?https://www.linkedin.com/in/sayed-saeed-68079a18?
Contact: http://www.plusconsulting.com/blog/
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/mattpgh
Contact: http://wwww.nelsonsweb.net
Matt Nelson is a Database Administrator and Business Intelligence developer for RDX (Remote DBA Experts) in Pittsburgh, PA. With over 10 years of experience, He works with more than 200 clients on general database administration needs and BI projects. Matt is also the Chapter Leader of the Pittsburgh SQL Server Users Group, and an organizer of Pittsburgh SQLSaturday. He occasionally blogs at www.nelsonsweb.net and http://www.rdx.com/Blog/
Contact: http://www.profisee.com
Pam Matthews is Director of Customer Solutions with Profisee. Profisee is the successor to the company Stratature that built the SQL Server Master Data Services (MDS) product which Microsoft acquired in 2007. Profisee focuses on Master Data Management (MDM) solutions. Pam has spent the last 10 years providing training, support and implementation assistance to customers implementing master data management projects utilizing MDS.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-john-3403b45/
With 20 years experience in all aspects of development and administration of SQL Server, from version 6.5 to 2016, I have seen, broken, and fixed just about everything in SQL Server!
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.
Contact: http://www.sqlgene.com
Eugene Meidinger works as a BI consultant and full time Pluralsight author. He currently focuses on content on Power BI and related products. He also leads the Pittsburgh Power BI User Group. He is certified in querying and administering SQL Server.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/pub/slava-murygin/9/b95/858
Contact: http://slavasql.blogspot.com/
Started working with SQL Server 7.0 as DBA and Developer. Since then went through all SQL Server versions, migrations and multiple companies of different sizes and industries. Currently working as a contractor with all aspects of SQL Server, including, but not limited to: troubleshooting performance, designing/developing: databases, systems, processes, data warehouses, cubes, reports, ETLs; Refactoring old code; Migrating data from other systems to SQL Server; Securing the data on enterprise level.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattpgh
Contact: http://wwww.nelsonsweb.net
Matt Nelson is a Database Administrator and Business Intelligence developer for RDX (Remote DBA Experts) in Pittsburgh, PA. With over 10 years of experience, He works with more than 200 clients on general database administration needs and BI projects. Matt is also the Chapter Leader of the Pittsburgh SQL Server Users Group, and an organizer of Pittsburgh SQLSaturday. He occasionally blogs at www.nelsonsweb.net and http://www.rdx.com/Blog/
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.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-john-3403b45/
With 20 years experience in all aspects of development and administration of SQL Server, from version 6.5 to 2016, I have seen, broken, and fixed just about everything in SQL Server!
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewloree
Contact: http://www.andyloree.com
Andrew Loree has over nineteen years of database experience with roles in architecture, design, development, and implementation of enterprise-scale SQL Server data solutions, supporting industries from legal e-discovery to manufacturing. Areas of expertise since SQL Server 2000 include data migration and ETL/ELT solutions, disaster recovery planning, high availability service design, licensing and virtualization. Andrew holds fourteen Microsoft certifications, has both a Bachelor and Masters of Science in Computer Science from Wright State University and is a Columbus (Ohio) PASS board member.
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: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattpgh
Contact: http://wwww.nelsonsweb.net
Matt Nelson is a Database Administrator and Business Intelligence developer for RDX (Remote DBA Experts) in Pittsburgh, PA. With over 10 years of experience, He works with more than 200 clients on general database administration needs and BI projects. Matt is also the Chapter Leader of the Pittsburgh SQL Server Users Group, and an organizer of Pittsburgh SQLSaturday. He occasionally blogs at www.nelsonsweb.net and http://www.rdx.com/Blog/
Brenda Bentz is a Senior Database Administrator and Developer for RDX (Remote DBA Experts) in Pittsburgh, PA. With over 17 years of experience, starting back with SQL Server 6.5, she’s had the opportunity to help over 200 clients on vastly different database administration and development needs. In her spare time, she enjoys the time with her family, her dog and exercising (not always in that order…).
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.
I am a SQL Server Manager at RDX. I manage a team of DBAs while handling several clients#39; environments. I enjoy helping people learn - that #39;ah ha#39; moment makes my day - and that#39;s why I speak at SQLSaturdays.
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/samsnasr
Contact: http://samnasr.blogspot.com/
Sam Nasr has been a software developer since 1995, focusing mostly on Microsoft technologies. He’s a Sr. Software Engineer with NIS Technologies where he consults and teaches clients about the latest .Net technologies. Sam has achieved multiple certifications from Microsoft (MCSA, MCAD, MCTS, MCT), and is the leader of the Cleveland C#/VB.Net User Group since 2003. In addition, he’s the leader of the .Net Study Group, an author for Visual Studio Magazine, and a Microsoft MVP since 2013. When not coding, Sam loves spending time with his family and friends or volunteering at his local church.
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/pittfurg
Contact: http://www.port1433.com
Drew Furgiuele is a senior DBA that lives in Dublin, Ohio who is passionate about SQL Server and PowerShell. He's been working with SQL Server since 2002. When he’s not accidentally dropping tables in production, he likes writing automation scripts, blogging about SQL Server Replication, wiring electronics, playing board games, and spending time with his dog. He's also not embarrassed by his Spotify playlists.
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/timothy-mcaliley/10/530/787/
I am currently a Microsoft Cloud Solutions Architect in the Washington, DC area. Previously, I was a Microsoft Technology Solutions Professional (TSP), a Microsoft Account Technology Strategist and a SQL Server Premier Field Engineer. Prior to Microsoft, I was a Technical Trainer and DBA in the Enterprise Security Group at Symantec . I have been in IT for over 20 years. My particular interests are IT operations, IT auditing, IT audit frameworks, IT service management (ITSM), ITIL, information security, project management, and database/application tier high availability solutions. I also co-run the Northern Virginia SQL Server User Group ( @novasl) and also co-run the Azure Datafest events.
Cardell Washington is a SQL server DBA at RDX.
The following is a list of sponsors that helped fund the event.