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SQL Saturday

Speaking Updates – July 2015

This is a short break from my usual blog posts to share some information on upcoming presentations I’m giving that might interest you.

Performance Palooza – Virtual Performance Chapter

Coming up in two weeks (July 23), I’ll be part of the annual Performance Palooza that is run by the Performance PASS Virtual Chapter. I’m pretty excited, as this will be a new session I’ve built from some work I’ve been doing on benchmarking SQL Server.

SQL SERVER BENCHMARKING: THE POWERSHELL SPEEDOMETER

How fast do you think you were going? The only way to be sure is to have a reliable way to measure your performance. The challenge with SQL Server is that there are many aspects of your stack that you need to measure and understand. Powershell, with its ability to access and report on all these different levels, can give you a robust tool to benchmark your SQL Server. This session will cover benchmarking methodologies, the tools Powershell offers for capturing performance information, and will demonstrate how you can use them to measure performance statistics. After attending this session, you will understand how to effectively use Powershell to measure your database speed.

RSVP here if you’re interested: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/6348286936653801474

Upcoming Precons

I’ve had the opportunity to present my Introduction to Powershell for SQL Server DBAs now at both SQL Saturday Albuquerque and SQL Saturday Atlanta. This has been a great time for me and I’ve already had comments from attendees of how they’ve used Powershell in their current jobs. If you plan on attending either SQL Saturday Omaha or SQL Saturday Denver, you have an opportunity to learn some Powershell and add this robust tool to your skill set.

Introduction to Powershell for SQL Server DBAs

This full day session will help build your foundation for learning and using Powershell.  While we will be focusing on using Powershell as a SQL Server Database Administrator (or Developer), much of the material will also review general use for system administrators.  By attending this training, you will gain an understanding of what Powershell is, how you can use it in your day to day management of your environments, and what specific things can be done using Powershell in a SQL Server environment.

RSVP to either of these links if you are interested:

IT/DEV Connections – Las Vegas, NV #ITDevCon

ITnDevConnections_logo_TylerOptimized_236x59I’m super excited to be speaking at this year’s IT/DEV Connections Conference in Las Vegas. This is a huge opportunity for me to share some of the useful Powershell techniques that I’ve built out in my work environments. I will be presenting two sessions:

There are TONS of great speakers at this event, so it’s a huge learning opportunity for attendees and will be a great time.

PASS Summit 2015 – Seattle, WA #PASSSummit2015

I'm Speaking Graphic_LargeThe grandaddy of ’em all. I’m honored to be part of this year’s Summit speaker line up. This is the premiere SQL Server conference and will be my fifth year in attendance. I’ll be speaking on a Powershell topic that will not only help out a lot of DBAs with their day-to-day work, but will also give you some insights in to how I think the world of database infrastructure is changing with the two magic buzzwords of “DevOps” and “the Cloud”. If you’re the kind of DBA that has to manage the struggles of deploying and maintaining SQL Servers in a highly-available environment or a large enterprise, this session can make your life a whole lot easier.

PowerShell and the Art of SQL Server Deployment

In today’s tech world, IT professionals are driven to perform tasks faster and more consistently. Automation is the watchword for our success, whether we are deploying SQL Server to private virtual clouds or public platforms such as Azure IaaS. This session focuses on rapidly creating and configuring SQL Servers, using PowerShell and desired state configuration. You will see practical examples of how to create repeatable builds of SQL Server that can be deployed in a matter of minutes. We will also review how these techniques can be applied to both public and private cloud platforms, helping to ensure success in any situation.

Even if you don’t want to attend my session, you should seriously consider registering for the Summit. It’s the largest pure-SQL Server conference in the world and has been a tremendous boost for my career over these past five years. And now I get to speak there! (How cool is that)

#Powershell in Atlanta

SQL Saturday Atlanta is coming up in two weeks and I’ll be giving my Introduction to Powershell for SQL Server DBAs precon the day before the event. I’m extremely excited to offer this precon and get more SQL Server professionals exposed to Powershell. Think you might be interested? Here’s the synopsis:

Maybe you’ve only heard of Powershell. Maybe you’ve seen a little bit of Powershell code, but still don’t understand how it works. You’ve been telling yourself for months now that you need to learn it. Why wait? The time to get started with Powershell is now.

This full day session will help build your foundation for learning and using Powershell. While we will be focusing on using Powershell as a SQL Server Database Administrator (or Developer), much of the material will also review general use for system administrators. By attending this training, you will gain an understanding of what Powershell is, how you can use it in your day to day management of your environments, and what specific things can be done using Powershell in a SQL Server environment.

You can sign up on Eventbrite and use the discount code ‘Mike_Fal’ to save $15 off the registration fee.  The session will be held at the Georgia State University Alpharetta Center on May 15 from 9am to 5pm.

I hope to see you there!

 

Validation and Inspiration

I’d like to take a brief break from the technical posts to talk a little bit about community. As I write this, I’m currently heading back to Denver from SQL Saturday Phoenix. As with other SQL Saturdays I have attended, this was a fun event with lots of great learning and camaraderie with my fellow SQL geeks. This is a bit of a love letter to those geeks, but I wanted share with you some of the impact this event had on me.

Validation

As with everything else I’ve done in 2015, my presentation at this event was Powershell related.  I gave a presentation on Powershell Tips and Tricks for SQL Server DBAs for the third time this year and was pretty pleased with my execution. What blew me away was the reception from the audience. I had a ton of positive feedback and comments and could tell the attendees really appreciated what I shared with them.

Why am I telling you this? Because I want to convey to you why you should present and the benefits of it. It’s more than just having your ego stroked or getting that pat on the back (though those don’t hurt). When you share your knowledge, you have an immediate and profound impact on other people’s careers. Each and every one of us has something that others can benefit from.  We need to share it. To know that I showed my audience a better way to do their jobs and help them step up to another level is extremely gratifying.

Much is made of technical presentations being used as a vehicle for advancing your career. They are also a vehicle to advance the careers of your peer group. The great thing is the more we help each other, the more we help ourselves and make our skills and abilities stronger. I could see this in the gratitude of my audience and the feedback they gave me from my session.

Inspiration

What I like most about technical conferences is not just the education and the sessions. These are valuable for both the presenters and attendees, but the true value is gained in the conversations that happen around the event. This is why it’s so important to make time to talk with the other people at these events, to chat with speakers, and to avail yourself of the social aspects. You’ll find inspiration for solving problems at work, developing new strategies for your current position, or defining the next moves in your career.

I had several such conversations while I was at the event. Coming away from this SQL Saturday, I was able to help some of my peers with strategies and ideas for their blogs, their presentations, and their jobs. Beyond that, though, I was inspired for other things I could do to both improve myself and my career.

One example was a conversation with Amy Herold(@texasamy), where we talked a lot about Powershell and automation. She gave me a few ideas that I could further develop and we talked about some projects we could collaborate on. I’ve got some exciting ideas that I hope to work with Amy on over the next few months that will help both of us grow.

It’s hard to have these kind of conversations during our day-to-day jobs. Since we’re usually only one of a couple people (or maybe the lone gunman) doing data work in our jobs, it’s difficult to bounce ideas off of others and get that inspiration. You’d be amazed at what kind of thoughts you will get when you have really smart people to talk with.

Satisfaction

The reason SQL Saturdays are such great events is it allows the greater SQL community to share, connect and learn with one another. If you haven’t been to a SQL Saturday, I strongly encourage you to go. I know it’s sometimes tough, being on a weekend when some of us would rather be getting along with our non-database lives.  I want you to think about what you could do with your career, though, if you gave up that one weekend. Where could you go if you could have that kind of free learning. Most of all, how much better will you be by plugging in to the SQL community and feeding off the energy and knowledge you can find at these events. Building your career is more than just learning, it’s collaborating and sharing. SQL Saturdays give you all of this in spades.

 

Looking Forward

Last time we met (ah, such a wonderful time), I did a once over of my accomplishments for 2012.  While I was pleased with the results, we must remember that career development is an ongoing process.  With 2012 in the review mirror, it’s time to put my 2013 goals to paper.

Speaking

I’m not going to lie, I really enjoy presenting.  It’s addictive and makes me think the tests are right(ENTJ, by the way).  I pushed myself to the edge on this last year by speaking at 5 SQL Saturdays, 2 Virtual Chapter meetings, a handful of user group meetings, and Rally.  This was a good stretch, so no reason not to match it.  In 2013, I will aim to:

  • Speak at 4 SQL Saturdays (and I’ve already got 3 on the books, which will be number 4???)
  • Submit to speak at the PASS Summit.
  • 3 chapter presentations (a mix of virtual and “meat-space”).

Note, I’m just submitting to Summit.  I have no illusions about this one, many people tried for years before they were accepted.  I need to get my foot in the water and start beefing up my presentations to Summit quality.  No, I won’t be doing Bob Ward(@bobwardms) or Adam Machanic(@adammachanic) level stuff, I’m quite happy in the 100-300 range, but I feel there’s a real need for that sort of stuff in the community and I plan to bring my A game.

Blogging

Ugh.  Blogging is what I struggle with.  Not that I don’t have things to write about or I dislike writing, it’s more that I dislike making time to write.  It feels like homework (and it is, after a fashion).  Blogging, however, is a GREAT way to get ideas out of your head and self-document your work.  To that point, I plan on:

  • Blogging once a week.  (ALWAYS commit to a regular schedule)
  • Continue to focus on automation and monitoring.
  • Blog about my server inventory and automated restore testing processes.

Certification

In general, I’m in the camp that certification doesn’t necessarily prove competency.  Many of the smartest people I know don’t have any certifications at all.  However, I agree with Glenn Berry(@glennalanberry) that self-acquired certifications (i.e., you didn’t go to a boot camp) show a willingness to go the extra step, much like community involvement.  Also, having them doesn’t hurt your resume, an overall net gain in almost any case.  My plan for 2013:

  • Get the Microsoft Certified Solutions Associate (MCSA) by June.
  • Get the Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert(MCSE): Data Platform by end of year.

Seeeeeeeeeeeekrit Project

Wow, how’s that for vague?  That’s intentional, as I don’t want to let the cat out of the bag, but I want to put this to paper to hold myself accountable.  Basically, I had a really cool idea at this year’s Summit and I really want to go for it.  Keep your eyes open for more on this throughout the year.

It’s Gonna Be HUGE

As you can see, I’m loading up on 2013 like a starving man at an all you can eat buffet.  It’s exciting and intimidating, but most of all, it’s achievable.  Nothing on this list is out of my reach.  Also, many of these things fold into one another, such as my presentations meshing with my blogging meshing with my seekrit project (ah HA!  Parallelization!).  I’m ready to take it all on, ‘cause it’s gonna be awesome!

SQL Saturday #104 – Colorado Springs (#sqlsat104)

If you’ve been reading my blog, you probably saw the posts I made about SQL Rally, the PASS Summit, and a couple SQL Saturdays.  It is the SQL Saturdays, in particular, that really show the strength of the SQL community.  For those unaware, SQL Saturday is a run of regional events, put on by local user group chapters and supported by the Professional Association for SQL Server, that provide a day of free training and networking.  It’s a great chance to connect with others who do what you do, along with learning about how to do your job better.

SQL Saturday #104 in Colorado Springs was a stellar example of what these events offer and ended up being a great way to start off a new year of career development.  Here’s a brief overview of some of what went on:

  • Scheduled networking activities included as part of the presentation tracks:  Many events will only have a dinner or some after party, but I thought it was a nice way to break up the sessions by including games and other opportunities to network with other data professionals.
  • Regional and national speakers on a variety of topics:  I thought the speaker mix was fantastic, with many “big name” speakers such as Karen Lopez(b|t), Grant Fritchey(b|t), and Tom LaRock(b|t) (amongst others), but also the local talent, including: Marc Beacom(b|t), Doug Lane(b|t), Jason Horner(b|t), and…..me!
  • Professional resume reviews: Face it, job hunting sucks.  We all have to do it sometime and it’s rare that we get a chance for someone who deals with resumes all day to help us with ours.  I think the organizers of #104 scored a coup getting professionals to come in and go over resumes with people.
  • Free precons: Thanks to the sponsors of #104 for helping out with this one.  It was great to spend an entire day learning concentrated SQL info from Glenn Berry(b|t).  I know a lot of other folks benefited from this.  Not many SQL Saturdays can squeeze these in, but I’m glad the Springs folks made it happen.

As for my experience, I had a couple great highlights.  First off, I got to present again, and with a whole new presentation.  It went very well and I got great feedback.  There were also some great sessions that I learned from (have I mentioned how awesome Grant Fritchey is?)  Catching up with those of my SQL family who flew in for the event is always great, because sometimes having friends in other states sucks (and going skiing with these folks was AWESOME!).  Finally, being immersed in the SQL community gives me such a great feeling, both from being able to contribute and all the stuff I learn from it.

If you haven’t ever been to a SQL Saturday, go.  Keep an eye on the website and if there’s an event within easy travel distance, I can’t recommend enough that you get there.  It’s more than learning about SQL Server, it is about getting connected to SQL Server and the people (just like you) who work with it day in and day out.  It is finding out the gotchas and hidden gems within the application that will make your life easier.  It’s about boosting your career, knocking yourself out of that rut, and becoming “the DBA” instead of just a DBA.

I want to thank everyone who made this event possible(such a long list!), but especially Chris Shaw(b|t) and Jeremy Lowell(b|t), the engines that made this awesome event happen.  Keep up the great work!

In the land of Jazz and Meat

I’ve been on the SQL Saturday kick lately.  Truly, these are great events that really tell you what the SQL community is all about, even more so than the Summit.  This time I was at SQL Saturday Kansas City, getting my community involvement on.  The best thing about these events is you get to interact with folks who are getting their first taste of the SQL community, which gets me really excited to share and enjoy.

I was tapped to present on two sessions, my SQL Server Security session (which I’ve done several times now) and my new Query Plan Primer session, where I do a basic rundown of reading query plans and some of the operators we can find within.  Both went well, though I’ve got my presentations lined up to be ~60 minutes each and the KC folks slotted the sessions to be 75 minutes.  This worked out well becuase I got into some good Q & A time with the audience in the remaining time.

I’m getting more and more comfortable with the whole presentation thing. It’s a ton of fun and really stretches my learning.  As I’ve told many people, the act of building a presentation really drives you, getting you to study up on the subject matter.  Open Q & A time is also a bonus, because while you can read all that material and build a nice little presentation, having 30 people quiz you on it is even better because it forces you to think about the subject from different angles.

I also attended a couple sessions that were good.  But it worked in Dev! with the illustrious Randy Knight(b|t) was great fun.  Randy’s a heck of a speaker and was able to express some of the cardinal development sins we find in our production environments in a straightforward, understandable way.  His presentation is that kind that needs to be given at any shop with a serious developer presence.  I caught a solid powershell session by Mike Lynn(t) that was a good introduction to the fundamentals of the language.  Finally, I learned about service broker from Sanil Mhatre(b|t).  Service broker is one of those cool solutions that has a lot to offer, but it’s hard to find the right problem for it to solve.

The KC group did a solid job with the event, from a comfortable speaker dinner, to an excellent event venue, and wrapped it all up with smooth exection.  Shout outs to Bill Graziano(b|t), Bill Fellows(b|t), Kris Nessa(b|t), Andy Cross, and everyone I couldn’t remember.  You guys have got this <<redacted>> DOWN.  I’ll definitely try to be out for next year.

SQL Saturday #94 Wrapup

So take one part road trip, one part awesome community event, one part hanging out with friends old and new, blend thoroughly, and you get my weekend at SQL Saturday #94 – Salt Lake City. It never ceases to amaze me how much fun the SQL community is, but I love it and can’t wait to get more.

As stated previously, I was asked to do my security presentation, which was nice because after four times presenting the session is very comfortable. (I’m going to need to stop submitting it, though, so I can present on other topics.) The session went smoothly and I finished 5 minutes early, but there was good engagement from the audience, with plenty of questions and folks who stayed after to talk more about the topic.

The event itself was run in conjunction with a code camp event and, while that got the bulk of attendees, I felt like we had a nice sized audience for the SQL sessions. Things seemed to run pretty smoothly and (I don’t think) we had any major crises going on. Attendees floated between both floors, so it was nice to get a good cross section. Also, the code camp brought in a lot of open source and non-Windows people, which added to the variety. We even had a session about MySQL! (which I unfortunately had to miss because it was up against my own session)

Besides attending my own presentation, I sat in on a couple others:

  • Mitch Bottel (b|t) spoke on Policy Based Management and Central Management Server, a topic I’ve been dancing around lately. It was good to get his take on it and he gave a good enough taste that many of us in the room were excited to take what he had taught us back to our workplaces.
  • Chad Crawford had a fantastic presentation on partitioning. While I’ve got experience with the topic, Chad really gave a good foundation of all the principles of table partitioning and enough practical knowledge to get folks started implementing it.
  • Ben Miller (b) had a solid session on SQLPSX for Powershell. This is a topic I’m really excited about because there are a lot of management possibilities out there for shell scripting. I saw enough of SQLPSX to know that it’s going to make my life a lot easier once I start piecing together my own scripts.

Outside of the presentations, we also had a nice chance to hang out. Randy Knight(w|t) and his wonderful wife were incredibly generous by entertaining a group of us Friday night at his house with conversation, cheesecake, and ice cream cake. T Jay Belt (b|t) was an awesome host, putting 5 of us in Colorado up in his camper. Then, on top of all of this, the both of them took a group of us up in the mountains after the event to wind down with some barbecue, a campfire, and beer on a comfortable Saturday evening. Really, I can’t think these guys enough for what they did for this event.

Thanks to the vendors who supported the event as well. It’s because of these fine folks that we can have these events, so don’t hesitate to chat with them at these events. The tools they offer have definitely helped me out managing my environments and they can save you a lot of time, too. The reason they invest in the community is because their success is determined by our success, so they want to see all of us do well.

Finally, big huge gigantic thanks go out to Pat Wright (b|t) and his crew for putting this all together. Hosting a SQL Saturday is a non-trivial event and really can take it out of you, but the benefits are huge. It’s what I love about being a SQL Server guy, because we have this awesome grass roots effort to share and learn to everyone who is involved in our technology. I came out of this event with half a dozen new friends (technical contacts, sure, but I consider ’em friends first), additional speaking experience, and some new info about technical topics. If you haven’t had a chance to participate in something like this, take some time and figure out where your local user group meets. Check out the SQL Saturday website and get involved. Once you do, you’ll not only see your career take off, but you’ll have a sh*t-ton of fun doing it.

After all, that’s what’s happening for me!

SQL Saturday #94

First off, I apologize for not posting for a while.  I’ve switched jobs and have been spending the time getting sorted at the new job.  On the one hand, it’s exciting to move into a new environment and learn new things.  However, it’s also been oddly comfortable, since it’s all SQL Server.  Anyway, more on that later.

I found out yesterday that I’ll be presenting at SQL Saturday #94.  Hurrah!  I’m very happy the Salt Lake City folks have given me a chance to present.  Unfortunately, I present opposite to Doug Lane, but at least I won’t have to worry about him heckling me.

For those wondering, I’ll be doing my security presentation again.  For those curious, it’s definitely a beginner presentation, but it was well recieved at all the Colorado groups.  I was even told by a DBA of 20+ years that he got something new out of it.  Hopefully you will to!

Managing and Auditing SQL Server Permissions

When your boss asks you who has access to your databases, do you break out into a cold sweat? Or, instead, are you worried about those other people who might have ‘sa’ access to your server and might be causing trouble on your server? Either way, as DBAs we need to be able to audit our SQL Server security. This presentation will give you a general overview of the different types of roles that you can use to manage access, what they mean, and how we look at the security gremlins hiding under the covers of our databases.

I look forward to seeing you in Salt Lake City!