SQL Saturday Jacksonville #552 Pre-Con: A Day of DBA Fundamentals- Install- Maintenance plans-and Security

Hello Dear Reader!  I'm here in beautiful Jacksonville FL for the SQL Saturday 552 events!  Today my friend Dan Taylor (@DbaBulldog | Blog) and I are presenting our Pre-con A Day of DBA Fundamentals, Install, Maintenance Plans, and Security.

We are having a lot of fun so far, and I wanted to share.  If you are in the class or curios you can download the Deck Here.

More updates as we go!

Final Update 4:43 pm

I just wanted to say a big Thank You to all the people who attended our pre-con today and the SQL Saturday Jacksonville team!

We covered the Azure Portal, SQL Azure DB, Elastic Pools, Azure VM's, and Premium Storage.

I'm exhausted.  The class is exhausted.  It's been a great start to the event.  See you all tomorrow!

Here's the Class waving goodbye!

Update 5

We just finished up group activities working on backups and restores.  Getting the group interaction was key.  A very adapt pupil found a great way to use azure for a highly transactional system.

Not gonna lie I gave them some difficult ones to figure out.  In the process looks like Dan caught me blogging!

Alright up next Maintenance Plans, Azure, and one last group exercise!

Update 4 2:30 pm

At the beginning of the day we split the class into 5 groups.  I told them not to get comfortable and we just showed why.

In this job communication is key.  We just make all the teams regroup and reintroduce themselves.  Next we started work on discussing the importance of backups and restores.  Dan led the way preaching the importance of the right backup strategy for the right business objective.

 During lunch we had a good discussion about how to communicate with the business.  I recomended two books that have become a good starting foundation for me, and a mandatory read for everyone on my old team (Much love to the #TeamBall).

If your interested you can find them here.

Crucial Conversations Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High, Second Edition

Crucial Accountability: Tools for Resolving Violated Expectations, Broken Commitments, and Bad Behavior, Second Edition

Update 1:30 pm

Great lunch by Panera here at the SQL Saturday Jacksonville Pre-Con!  We are having a nice group exercise.  I like watching the teams interact and discuss security and what permissions should be given per scenario.

Will we use AD or SQL Authentication?

Granular permissions?

Dan never could resist a great debate on security!

Update 2 11:49 am

We've taken a break for lunch!  The class exercises so far have been a lot of fun.  We've got a smart crew here today.  So far we've covered the different versions of SQL Server, how features and licensing go together, and using SSMS to create basic options and monitor.

Great participation so far.  We had a nice side discussion on what services should sit side by side.  Lot of caveats with this and this will be a nice blog for a later day.

Oh and Devin Knight stopped by!

OK Lunch Time!



Update 1

Scott Gleason (@SQLScottGleason) Is helping us kick this off!

Great crowd so far!  I wonder what Scott thinks of my performance?

Tough crowd!

Up Coming Speaking Events

Hello Dear Reader!  We are 2 months into 2014 and the New Year is off to a busy start. This year already I've spoken to 3 User Groups and had 1 Workshop on Performance Tuning. This is only the beginning.  Between  now and May I've got 12 more presentations.  While I'm out and about I hope that I will get to see and meet up with a lot of SQL Family.

First Up Tampa!

SQL Saturday #273 is just around the corner.  I am one of a whole host of other great SQL Server Experts that will be on hand for the free training and free learning.  Stop by!  

February 22nd

SQL Saturday Tampa #273

Trimming Indexes Getting Your Database In Shape! (Click the link to go sign up)

Do you have the PASS Summit Blues?  We are 11 months away from the next great gathering of SQL Minds.  During this time of the year you watch your DVD's/Downloads/Streaming content from last.  You look at the presentations at the SQL Saturday's and start to wonder what will be planned for next year.  You miss your friends, you miss the atmosphere, you miss the Summit.

Well Pragmatic Works has the cure for the PASS Summit Blues.  All this month we have been doing our presentations from last year for Free, as part of our Training on the T's.  Next week you will get a chance to see my presentation from the Summit, Plus a little extra content as I take up not ONE, but TWO time slots.

Hope to see you there!

February 25th

Pragmatic Works Training on the T's

SQL Internals Deep Dive Part 1 (Click the link to go sign up)

February 27th

Pragmatic Works Training on the T's

SQL Internals Deep Dive Part 2  (Click the link to go sign up)

This March SQL Server MVP Jorge Segarra (@SQLChicken | Blog) and myself take our two man show on the road.  We did Tampa last month, next up Reston VA.  I'm hoping to catch up with some old friend's while in VA, and I'm sure you want to miss the two of us in action.  We still have seats, but they are going fast!  (Click the link to go sign up)

March 18th - 20th

Pragmatic Works

Performance Tuning Workshop  (Click the link to go sign up)

Reston, VA

Last year one of my favorite all time memories was SQL Saturday Boston.  I'd never been to Boston when I submitted and I'd always wanted to go.  Little did I realize that I would end up back in Boston 5 more times before the end of 2013.  I can't wait to go back and join the amazing speaker line up that Mike Hilwig(@MikeHilwig|Blog) has put together!

March 29th

SQL Saturday Boston #262

Trimming Your Indexes Getting Your Database In Shape  (Click the link to go sign up)

I'm in Portland Oregon for the first time ever.  As if that wasn't enough reason to show up, I'm presenting with none other than my colleague Roger Wolter(@RWolter50 | Blog).  Roger is a former PM for SQL Server for Microsoft.  He has forgotten more about computer science that I've ever known.  He's a nice guy and he's flat out brilliant.  He has worked on some of the largest and most complicated Service Broker installations in the world, he has vast in the field experience with SQL Server.

Roger and I are teaching the Performance Tuning Workshop not once, but twice this year.  I hope to see you there, because this Dear Reader is going to be a lot of fun.

April 8th

Pragmatic Works

Performance Tuning Workshop  (Click the link to go sign up)

Portland, OR

My good friends Jose Rivera(@SQLConqueror|Blog) and Guillero Caicedo(@SQLTitan|Blog) invited SQL MVP Jorge Segarra and myself to present a full day Pre-Con for SQL Saturday Puerto Rico.  I've gotten to know Jose and Guillero quite well from different SQL Saturday's and the PASS Summit.  This is a great honor as it will mark my 1st ever Pre-Con for a SQL Saturday!

Jorge and I will be pulling out all the stops to give you a full day of information and Performance Tuning knowledge that you can use.  I hope to see you there!

April 11th

SQL Saturday Puerto Rico #283  (Click the link to go sign up)

Full Day Performance Tuning Workshop

April 12th

SQL Saturday

Puerto Rico #283

TBD

Roger Wolter and I tackle SQL Server one more time in the Mile High City.  Denver is a beautiful town and I cannot wait to come out and visit will all the #SQLFamily out there.  We will also be presenting at the SQL Server User Group on the 29th.

April 29th-May 1st

Pragmatic Works 

Performance Tuning Workshop (Click the link to go sign up)

Denver, CO

April 29th 

Denver Colorado SSUG

TBD

Jorge and I will be taking our two man show over to SQL Saturday #298 Jacksonville.  When Devin Knight(@Knight_Devin | Blog) called me up and asked I was stoked!  This will be the 4th time that Jorge and I have presented together this year and I can't wait!  Come out and join us for some learning and fun!

May 9th

SQL Saturday Jacksonville #298

SQL Server Performance Tuning and Internals  (Click the link to go sign up)

May 10th

SQL Saturday Jacksonville #298

TBD

As you can see Dear Reader this year will be busy. There are more plans right now that we are working on that go all the way out to the end of the year.  More on that in the next couple of months!

As Always, Thanks for stopping by.

Thanks,

Brad

SQL Rally 2012 Vote For Me!

Hello Dear Reader!  Last year I tossed my hat in the ring on the world of Presenting.  This was a tremendous experience for me.  Presenting is a whole other skill set, one that I had not exercised very often.  The more I presented the more I learned.  I received wonderful questions and feedback that helped me grow from SQL Rally 2011, presenting Page & Row Compression How, When, and Why to the PASS Summit 2011 where I presented Page & Row Compression: Deep Dive.  All of this and there is still more to go into. 

"So Balls," you say, "What are we voting for again?"

Great Question Dear Reader!  While I've presented loads on Page & Row Compression, in 2012 we are adding Spatial Compression to the mix and Vertipaq Compression that gives us Columnstore Indexes.  Not to mention we still have Backup Compression as well.  Put all that together and I've got enough information to fill a whole day, and that is just what I'd like to do!

I've submitted a Full Day Pre-Con on Compression to SQL Rally 2012.  I am honored to say that I'm up for vote along with some other really great sessions.  And you Dear Reader get to vote and decide on who the final two are that make it.

THERE'S ALWAYS ROOM FOR COMPRESSION

The title of my Pre-Con is "There's Always Room for Compression" and here is a copy of my abstract.

Come on There’s Always Room for Compression!  In SQL 2012 Compression hits with a Bang.  We should all be taking backups, and Compressing our backups as well.  But what advanced feature can cost Compression performance and how can you re-claim it?  SQL 2008 we got Backup and Page & Row Compression, SQL 2008 R2 gave us Unicode Compression to add to the mix, and SQL 2012 give’s us Page & Row Compression for Spatial Data.  On top of that we get VertiPaq Compression for Columnstore Indexes.   If you are running an OLTP shop, working heavily with BI, or a mix of the two Compression in SQL Server 2012 is something you should learn about.  There are 3 bottleneck’s in any Database, find out how Page & Row Compression can help you offload I/Op’s for CPU.  BI heavy shop? Understand What Columnstore Indexes are, how they work, and how you can use them. 

If you are interested in Compression, looking at using this at work, or trying to figure out best practices for Compressing Data vote for me!  We will Deep Dive Page & Row Compression and look at the internal components, how it works, how you monitor it, and that will lead to a greater understanding in how to apply it.  The internals of Columnstore indexes using Vertipaq Compression, we will be spelunking on those internals as well!  Come on spelunking on internals, that just sounds fun!  *I first heard that phrase from Paul Randal(@PaulRandal | Blog), it is his but I'm borrowing it J!

Not only will we be Deep Diving a couple different area's but I want this to be an interactive day.  I will be putting together a Sample Database that we will use so we can work together and by the end of the day you will have hands on experience with Determining what Tables are good candidates from Compression, Compressing them, taking baselines Before and After in order to see what benefits that we have achieved.

Compression can help you if you an OLTP shop or if you are a DBA who works primarily with BI.  There is something for everyone.

GO VOTE!

Even if you do not vote for me there are a lot of really great Pre-Con's that you can vote for, (Like my friend & Co-Worker Bradley Schacht(@BradleySchacht | Blog) "The 3 P's of Presentation (PerformancePoint, PowerPivot, Power View)".  All you need is an active login for PASS and you can vote.  Please Go cast yours today Click Here!

Thanks,

Brad 

Buck Woody, Florida, and SQL Saturday 85

What do Buck Woody (Blog|@BuckWoody) and Florida have in common?  Quite a bit actually, and on September 23^rd , at the Lake Mary Marriot, we will add to that list.  Buck Woody, Mr. “The Cloud”, will be presenting on SQL Server Performance Tuning Using Application Path Analysis and it will be AWESOME!

“So Ball’s”, you say “Who is this Buck Woody fellow?”

Buck along with this Brent Ozar (Blog | @BrentO ) fellow had the number 2 ranked session at the PASS Summit last year, You’re Not Attractive But Your Presentations Can Be.  He was a featured presenter on the Quest Virtual Training for SQL Server Series, he has published 5 different SQL Server Books, had over 400 SQL Articles published, he was the President of the Tampa Bay SQL Server User Group for 5 years, a Microsoft MVP, and if you are on Twitter you see that Buck Woody and the Cloud are often mentioned in the same breath. 

Buck has a deep knowledge that comes from being where we are in the real world as a consumer of software products.  He joined Microsoft in 2006 a year after receiving his MVP award for SQL Server.  He brings the same “Real World” DBA sensibilities with a Dash of Microsoft Gusto that you would expect in one of the top names in the industry.

And by name alone he is a candidate to join Jack Corbett (Blog | @unclebiguns) in our future law firm of Biguns & Balls as a full partner.

So now let’s talks some details.

DETAILS

SQL Server Performance Tuning Using Application Path Analysis

There are a lot of resources, products and features you can use to tune the performance of your SQL Server system. Many assume you’re familiar with 400-level concepts, others don’t consider the whole stack of the client, the network, the operating system, platform and the database server. Buck Woody, Microsoft’s real-world DBA, will explain a simple, repeatable process you can follow to tune your entire application – from the client to the server. All of the tools we’ll cover are included with Windows and SQL Server:

·         Using Windows System Monitoring Tools

·         The SQL Profiler and Server Trace

·         Database Engine Tuning Advisor

·         Management Data Warehouse / Data Collector

·         Performance and Configuration Reports

·         The new Activity Monitor

·         Dynamic Management Views and System Views

·         Query Plans

·         Extended Events

·         Resource Governor

In this pre-conference session you’ll cover not only the process, but also review a real-world evaluation. You’ll take home a system and a spreadsheet you can use to monitor and tune your applications, in a simple, easy-to-understand session.

WHAT ELSE IS INCLUDED

For this full day of training, Coffee & tea during the morning and afternoon, with lunch included as well.  All of this Dear Reader for a very Reasonable $99. 

So you may be asking how do I sign up?  Very simple go over to http://sqlsaturday85precon.eventbrite.com/ all of the information is there.  Hope to see you at the event!  ( And Buck Does Too!)

CALL FOR PRE-CON SPEAKERS

As Awesome as Buck is, there is only so much of him that can go around.  So we wanted to offer 2 Pre-cons for SQL Saturday 85 this year.  I’ll be blogging about this more soon but right now head over to my friend Shawn McGehee’s  (Blog | @SQLShawn) post Pre-Con Speaker Wanted: Apply Within to get some more details ASAP about how you can come and be a Pre-Con Speaker as well!

Thanks,

Brad