Meeting Archive

When: Thursday, August 12th, 6:00PM - 8:30PM
Where: Battelle for Kids - 1160 Dublin Rd Suite 500, Columbus, OH 43215

Topic
Stay Agile, Stay Sane

Agile software development emphasizes continuous depolyment and its methods do not directly include long term planning. DBAs must ensure data integrity and have a long term view for application scale, so Agile methods present challenges. Come learn about successful real-world practices iteratively developed in a high transaction internet service environment over the last five years. We have create a flourishing Agile shop while meeting high requirements for uptime, customer response, and data consistency. In this session we'll cover key habits for success, practices to avoid, how and when to get started, and why Agile development can be a great thing for DBAs. Topics will also include how "Testing in Production" can be a huge benefit.

Presenter

Kendra Little (twitter, blog)

Kendra Little is a Senior DBA in the online advertising industry who has spent ten years nerding out on SQL Server. Kendra works closely with an Agile development team to deploy frequent incremental changes to scale and improve a busy production environment. She likes tuning production servers, developing tools to automate tasks, building SQL Reports for trending, and secretly enjoys writing troubleshooting guides and documentation. Kendra has a Masters degree in Philosophy and a salt shaker full of certifications, but all the best stuff she's ever learned has come from her smarty-pants colleagues and the SQL Server community. Read her blog at http://littlekendra.com.

When: Thursday, June 10th, 6:00PM - 8:30PM
Where: Battelle for Kids - 1160 Dublin Rd Suite 500, Columbus, OH 43215

Live Meeting available here.

Topics
Accelerating SQL with Solid State Technology

Solid-state technologies are changing the way that MS SQL users run their databases. DBA’s are achieving significant TCO savings through performance enhancements, reliability improvements, and reduced energy and real estate costs using solid-state technologies. Solid state is changing the way datacenters look and how MS SQL Servers perform.

The Benefits of SQL Azure

This talk will focus on the real world benefits, features, architecture and ease of use of SQL Azure. Learn how your projects can benefit from a hosted data storage and query processing service. See by example how to design your program to use SQL Azure.

Presenters

Fusion-io - http://www.fusionio.com/

Aaron Stanley King (blog, twitter)

When: Thursday, April 8th, 6:00PM - 8:30PM

Where: Battelle for Kids - 1160 Dublin Rd Suite 500, Columbus, OH 43215

Live Meeting available here.

Topic
Fundamentals of SQL Server Internals

Abstract

Want to know what makes SQL Server tick?
Ever wonder what SQL Server is doing when you run a query?
Ever wonder which parts of SQL Server are responsible for specific functionality?

Jeremiah Peschka can't promise answers to every question, but he can set you on the path to knowledge about the inner workings of SQL Server.

Presenter
Jeremiah Peschka (blog, twitter)

When: Thursday, March 11th, 6:00PM - 8:30PM
Where: Battelle for Kids - 1160 Dublin Rd Suite 500, Columbus, OH 43215

Topic
Introduction to Analysis Services: OR How to do everything wrong and Still provide business value.

Abstract

This presentation will introduce Analysis Services using a real life business case and an honest exposition of how to get through the learning curve with SQL Analysis Services.

Along the way we will derive a fairly complete list of worst practices for Analysis Services development. Armed with the list of worst practices and the insight gained from the live examples, attendees will have a much better idea of how, and how not, to use Analysis Services. They will also probably have a new insight for times they may be able to use Analysis Services that they may not have thought of previously.

Presenter
Stuart Johnson

When: Thursday, February 11th, 6:30PM - 8:30PM
Where: Battelle for Kids - 1160 Dublin Rd Suite 500, Columbus, OH 43215

Topic
DBA Survivor (or What to Expect When You Are Expecting to Be a DBA)

Abstract

Do you have what it takes to survive as a DBA? Whether you are new to the field or not, Thomas LaRock can help you understand what separates those that are able to survive in their position and those that will struggle getting the job done. Find out what to expect when you are expecting to be a DBA. Attend this session and learn about how you can better communicate with others, how to manage expectations, and how to provide top-notch production support.

Presenter
Thomas LaRock - (Blog, Twitter)

When: Thursday, January 14th, 6:30PM - 8:30PM
Where: Battelle for Kids - 1160 Dublin Rd Suite 500, Columbus, OH 43215

Topic
Indexes and Other Free Performance Boosts

Abstract

The database is often viewed as a major performance bottleneck. There are a number of quick, easy, painless techniques that can increase the performance of an application not just by a small amount, but by orders of magnitude. These techniques includes simple indexing techniques, T-SQL techniques, and general database application design patterns that give great gains in performance. In this session, you will learn how to look at a database to identify these problem areas and how to resolve common issues that you will encounter.

Presenter
Jeremiah Peschka

Jeremiah Peschka is a SQL Server Developer and DBA in the Columbus, OH area with Cass Information Systems. He is a SQL Server MVP, user group leader, and PASS Director at Large. Jeremiah has a passion for spreading knowledge and writing about himself in the third person. When not using a computer, Jeremiah can be found playing guitar, reading, writing, wandering around central Ohio, or speaking at various SQL Server events.

Resources

Jeremiah's presentation, materials, and links - http://facility9.com/go/index_rcc

Josef Richberg - Index Primer - Just what statistics are kept?-http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Optimizer/68141/

When: Thursday, December 10th, 6:30PM - 8:30PM
Where: Battelle for Kids - 1160 Dublin Rd Suite 500, Columbus, OH 43215

Topic
Automating SQL Server Administrative tasks with PowerShell

Abstract
Most administrative functions consist of repetitive sequences of tasks which just take time. PowerShell is a powerful scripting environment which allows an administrator to automate those repetitive tasks, providing better results to the organization while saving the administrator time, and ensuring that the tasks get done properly every time.

This session will give an introduction to PowerShell and demonstrate a number of scripts which help SQL Server administrators effectively manage their environments.

Presenter
Allen White

Allen is a SQL Server Trainer for Scalability Experts, a leading provider of scalable solutions, training and services based on Microsoft SQL Server. He's spent over 35 years in IT, including operations, development, telecommunications, network admin and database design and administration. He's been using SQL Server since 1992 and is certified MCITP:Database Administrator, MCITP: Database Developer and MCT.

Allen has been awarded Microsoft’s MVP Award the last three years for his work in the SQL Server community. He's active in the Ohio North SQL Server User's Group and contributes in the MSDN Forums, answering questions about SMO and PowerShell, and maintains a blog at SQLblog.com.

When: Thursday, October 8th, 6:30PM - 8:30PM
Where: Battelle for Kids - 1160 Dublin Rd Suite 500, Columbus, OH 43215

Topic
Understanding Execution Plans

Abstract
Attendees will be introduced to the wealth of data contained within the execution plans generated by SQL Server. From the simplest "SELECT *" query to complicated joins, the icons and properties that allow you to understand what is occuring within your query will be explained. You will leave knowing what kinds of execution plans you have available and what they can be used for. You'll learn about graphical exeuction plans; what do the icons mean and how are they related; how much information is available and how to access and interpret it. All this information will be used to help you understand what's happening within your queries so that you can identify and fix poor performance in your own environment.

Presenter
Grant Fritchey

Grant Fritchey, Microsoft SQL Server MVP, works for an industry-leading engineering and insurance company as a principal DBA. He's done development of large-scale applications in languages such as Visual Basic, C#, and Java, and has worked with SQL Server since version 6.0.

Grant spends a lot of time involved in the SQL Server community, including speaking, blogging, and he is an active participant int the SQLServerCentral.com forums.

He is the author of SQL Server Execution Plans (Simple Talk Publishing, 2008) and SQL Server Query Performance Tuning Distilled (Apress, 2008).

When: Thursday, September 10th, 6:30PM - 8:30PM
Where: Battelle for Kids - 1160 Dublin Rd Suite 500, Columbus, OH 43215

Food and drinks provided, thanks to this month's food sponsor: HMB Information System Developers.

Topic
Locking and Blocking Made Simple

Abstract
A good working knowledge of how SQL Server makes use of locking and transaction isolation levels can go a long way toward improving an application’s performance. In this session, we will explore SQL Server’s locking methodology and discover techniques for enhancing query response times.

Presenter
Joe Webb

Since its inception, Joe Webb has served as Chief Operating Manager for WebbTech Solutions, a Nashville-based consulting company. He has over 15 years of industry experience and has consulted extensively with companies in the areas of business process analysis and improvements, database design and architecture, software development, and technical training.

In addition to helping his consulting clients, Joe enjoys writing and speaking at technical conferences. He has spoken at conferences in Europe and the North America and has authored books including “The Rational Guide To: SQL Server Notification Services” and “The Rational Guide To: IT Consulting”.

Joe served for six years on the Board of Directors for the Professional Association for SQL Server (PASS), an international user group with 30,000 members worldwide. Joe culminated his tenure on the board by serving as the Executive Vice President of Finance for the organization. Joe also volunteers his time by serving on the MBA Advisory Board for Auburn University and the Computer Science Advisory Committee for Nashville State Community College.

Joe is a five time recipient of the Microsoft MVP Award for demonstrating a willingness to share his expertise with the SQL Server Community. Joe may be reached at joew@webbtechsolutions.com.

When: Thursday, August 13th, 6:30PM - 8:30PM
Where: Battelle for Kids - 1160 Dublin Rd Suite 500, Columbus, OH 43215

Food and drinks provided, thanks to this month's food sponsor: Red Gate Software.

Topic
End-to-End Troubleshooting for SQL Server

Abstract
Learning how to detect, diagnose and resolve performance problems in SQL Server can be very difficult. It often takes years of on-the-job experience to learn how to use the tools and techniques that help you detect when a problem is occurring, diagnose the root-cause of the problem, and then resolve the problem. This hands-on session will take you from the very start of a problem situation on SQL Server, showing you how to use the native tools that help you keep SQL Server at top performance. This session will detail and demonstrate:

Performance Monitor (PerfMon)
SQL Profiler/Server-side Trace
Correlating PerfMon and Profiler results
Graphic Explain Plan and Transact-SQL Showplan
SQL Server 2005 and 2008 DMVs
When to use Trace Flags

These tools and techniques can make your long days shorter and make difficult troubleshooting activities much faster and easier. Every DBA needs to know how to keep their SQL Server in tip-top condition, and you’ll need these skills to do it.

Presenter
Kevin Kline
Kevin Kline is the Technical Strategy Manager for SQL Server Solutions at Quest Software, a leading provider of award winning tools for database management and application monitoring on the SQL Server platform. A Microsoft SQL Server MVP since 2004, Kevin is a founding board member of the international Professional Association for SQL Server (PASS) and served as president from 2002-2006. He is the lead author of SQL in a Nutshell and a co-author of Pro SQL Server 2005 Database Design and Optimization and Database Benchmarking: Practical Methods for Oracle & SQL Server. Kevin writes monthly columns for SQL Server Magazine and Database Trends & Applications and blogs at SQLBlog.com and SQLMag.com. Kevin is a top rated speaker, appearing at international conferences like Microsoft TechEd, the PASS Community Summit, Microsoft IT Forum, DevTeach,and SQL Connections. When he’s not pulling his hair out over work, he loves spending time with his four kids and in his garden.

When: Thursday, July 9th, 6:30PM - 8:30PM
Where: Battelle For Kids - 1160 Dublin Rd Suite 500, Columbus, OH 43215

Food and drinks provided, thanks to this month's food sponsor: Red Gate Software.

Topic
Incremental Loads, Change Data Capture, and SSIS 2008

Abstract
Change Data Capture is a new SQL Server 2008 feature. One benefit of CDC is data filtering for Incremental ETL in SSIS: only touching rows that are new, updated, or have been deleted! In this presentation I walk through enabling Change Data Capture in SQL Server 2008, then present an overview of an SSIS package that utilizes Change Data Capture to perform Incremental ETL.

Presenter
Andy Leonard
Andy Leonard is an Architect and manager with Unisys Corporation, SQL Server Database and Integration Services developer, SQL Server MVP, PASS Regional Mentor (Southeast US), and engineer. He is a co-author of Professional SQL Server 2005 Integration Services , Professional Software Testing with Visual Studio 2005 Team System: Tools for Software Developers and Test Engineers , and MCITP Self-Paced Training Kit (Exam 70-441): Designing Database Solutions by Using Microsoft SQL Server 2005 . Andy founded and manages VSTeamSystemCentral.com and maintains two blogs there: Applied Team System and Applied Business Intelligence . He also blogs for SQLBlog.com . Andy's background includes web application architecture and development, VB, and ASP; SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS); data warehouse development using SQL Server 2000, 2005, and 2008; and test-driven database development.

When: Thursday, June 11th, 6:30PM - 8:30PM
Where: Battelle For Kids - 1160 Dublin Rd Suite 500, Columbus, OH 43215

Reminder: Battelle for Kids is now in Suite 500 at the opposite end of the building.

Food and drinks provided, thanks to this month's food sponsor: Red Gate Software.

Topic
Developing Something for Nothing - SQL Server Express Edition

Abstract
Join SQL Server expert Brent Ozar and SQL Server developer Jeremiah Peschka as they give an overview of the free tools you can’t afford to ignore in tough economic times! In this presentation, you’ll see how to improve your productivity with SQL Server Express Edition.

SQL Server Express Edition – the free version of SQL Server
SQL Server Management Studio Express – the free way to manage your Express Edition instances

Presenters
Brent Ozar

Brent is a SQL Server Domain Expert with Quest Software. Brent has a decade of broad IT experience, performing systems administration and project management before moving into database administration. In his current role, Brent specializes in performance tuning, disaster recovery and automating SQL Server management. Previously, Brent spent 2 years at Southern Wine & Spirits, a Miami-based wine & spirits distributor. Brent has experience conducting training sessions, has written several technical articles, and blogs prolifically at http://www.BrentOzar.com.

Jeremiah Peschka

Jeremiah Peschka is a SQL Server developer in the Columbus, OH area with HMB Information System Developers. Jeremiah has broad IT experience in systems administration, web design, application development, and database development spread across diverse platforms. In his current role, Jeremiah specializes in developing solutions based on the SQL Server platform. Jeremiah is currently the Group Leader for CBusPASS, the Columbus chapter of PASS, and the Group Leader for the PASS Application Development Virtual Chapter. He blogs, but not prolifically, at http://facility9.com.

When: Thursday, May 14th, 6:30PM - 8:30PM
Where: Battelle For Kids

Food and drinks will be provided.

Using Cloud-Based BI to Interpret Perfmon & Profiler Results

After learning how to use Perfmon and Profiler to gather performance statistics about your SQL Server, it still takes a lot of time to interpret those results and figure out what’s going on. Microsoft’s SQL Server Data Mining team has built a free cloud-based data mining tool for Excel that can help slice and dice mountains of data and help you make sense of it all.

Even if you’re not ready for BI in the cloud, you can use this same type of tool in combination with a local SQL Server Analysis Services instance. Wait! Don’t freak out - it’s much easier than you think, and you never have to leave the comforting environment of Excel. Even if this doesn’t sound like fun to you, you might want to learn about it because mid-level managers in your company might want to use this technique to analyze sales or customer data.

Attendees will learn how to install & configure data mining in Excel, how to analyze Perfmon data to break the server’s load into categories, and how to use BI to write a performance report about your SQL Server.

Brent Ozar

Brent is a SQL Server Domain Expert with Quest Software. Brent has a decade of broad IT experience, performing systems administration and project management before moving into database administration. In his current role, Brent specializes in performance tuning, disaster recovery and automating SQL Server management. Previously, Brent spent 2 years at Southern Wine & Spirits, a Miami-based wine & spirits distributor.

Brent has experience conducting training sessions, has written several technical articles, and blogs prolifically at http://www.BrentOzar.com. He's currently writing SQL Server Internals and Troubleshooting for Wiley/Wrox along with Christian Bolton, Justin Langford and Cindy Gross. He's Editor-in-Chief at SQLServerPedia.com, where he also records video podcasts.

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Resources

Tutorial:
http://www.brentozar.com/perfmoncloud

Excel Table Analysis Tools for the Cloud:
http://www.sqlserverdatamining.com/cloud

ClearTrace:
http://www.cleardata.biz/cleartrace

Denny Cherry on SQL Server licensing:
http://itknowledgeexchange.techtarget.com/sql-server/yes-dbas-you-really-do-have-to-deal-with-licensing/

Microsoft web platform installer:
http://www.microsoft.com/Web/

When: Thursday, April 9th, 6:30PM - 8:30PM
Where: Battelle For Kids

Food and drinks will be provided.

Topic
Tips, Tricks, & Techniques from the Community

Speakers & Abstract

A variety of people will be presenting on tips, tricks, and techniques they use to make their life easier on a day to day basis.

When: Thursday, March 12th, 6:30PM - 8:30PM
Where: Battelle For Kids

Food and drinks will be provided.

Topic
Dynamic SQL Tips, Tricks, & Techniques

Speakers & Abstract

Jeremiah Peschka

Dynamic SQL is a powerful but difficult tool to master. Jeremiah will show you techniques for creating rock solid, fast, dynamic SQL that will meet the day to day needs of your production system.

George Brown

Do you have a need for search functionality within your database but are limited to using TSQL stored procedures? Are you not using dynamic SQL due to the risk of SQL injection attacks? Have you seen performance issues with your current stored procedures used for searches? George Brown will bring examples he has come across in the past and will show how to use stored procedures with dynamic SQL, while still protecting against SQL injection attacks.

When: Thursday, February 12th, 6:30PM - 8:30PM
Where: Battelle For Kids
1160 Dublin Rd
Suite 100
Columbus, OH 43215

Food and drinks will be provided.

A LiveMeeting is available for those who are unable to attend in person. Please visit Columbus PASS Chapter Thursday on LiveMeeting for more information.

Topic
Perfmon & Profiler 101

Abstract
These two tools are the key to successful performance tuning. Brent will show how to get started with these tools, how to slice and dice the results, and even how to data mine the results to look for interesting trends.

Speakers

Brent Ozar

Brent is a SQL Server Domain Expert with Quest Software. Brent has a decade of broad IT experience, performing systems administration and project management before moving into database administration. In his current role, Brent specializes in performance tuning, disaster recovery and automating SQL Server management. Previously, Brent spent 2 years at Southern Wine & Spirits, a Miami-based wine & spirits distributor.

Brent has experience conducting training sessions, has written several technical articles, and blogs prolifically at http://www.BrentOzar.com. He's currently writing SQL Server Internals and Troubleshooting for Wiley/Wrox along with Christian Bolton, Justin Langford and Cindy Gross. He's Editor-in-Chief at SQLServerPedia.com, where he also records video podcasts.

Resources

The presentation is available as a PowerPoint 2007 file or a PowerPoint 2003 file.

Brent’s posts about Perfmon and analytics are available online:
http://www.BrentOzar.com/perfmon
http://www.BrentOzar.com/perfmoncloud

In addition, Brent mentioned Excel Table Analysis Tools for the Cloud:
http://www.SQLServerDataMining.com/cloud

In addition, Brent is the Editor-in-Chief for SQL Server Pedia, which is an excellent community driven SQL Server resource.

Topic:	Introduction to PASS and 2008 PASS Summit Review
Date:	Thursday, January 15, 2009

Speaker:	Jeremiah Peschka Jeremiah Peschka is a consultant with HMB Information System Developers. He has over 5 years of experience working with SQL Server technologies and is the current president of CBusPASS - the Columbus SQL Server User Group.
Location:	Battelle For Kids
Overview:	This presentation will show the benefits of joining PASS, taking part in a PASS chapter, and provide a general overview of the 2008 PASS Summit. The future plans of the PASS chapter will also be discussed.

When: Thursday, November 12th, 6:30PM - 8:30PM
Where: Battelle for Kids - 1160 Dublin Rd Suite 500, Columbus, OH 43215

Topic
Dynamic Management Objects

Abstract

With the release of Microsoft SQL Server 2005, the curious DBA had a new arsenal of tools available for indentifying performance issues, automating maintenance tasks, and documenting their environments. These tools are called Dynamic Management Objects. Join Tim Ford as he takes you on a tour through some of his favorite Dynamic Management Objects and see why you just may have found you new favorite thing about Microsoft SQL Server.

Presenter

Tim Ford

Timothy Ford has been working with Microsoft SQL Server for almost 10 years, originally as a developer in SQL Server 7.0 and Visual Basic 6; now as a DBA for the last 8 years. He specializes in mining information from the system tables for automation of administrative tasks and troubleshooting performance matters.

Tim has been a volunteer with the Professional Association for SQL Server (PASS) since 2002, serving as a founding leader of the DBA Special Interest Groups, on the Program Committee for 5 years, on the Editorial Committee, and as the co-creator and host of the annual SIG Quizbowl presented at each of the opening receptions of the PASS Summit for the past 5 years.

He is an author and blogger, writing technical articles for MSSQLTips.com, Simple-Talk, SQL Server Central, and SQLServerpedia, where he also serves as the DBA Section Editor.

Tim was one of the SQL Magazine Innovators of the Year for 2008 and is featured on the cover and in the associated story in the January 2008 issue.

When not engaged in the world of T/SQL you'll usually find him with a camera or spatula in his hands as he enjoys photography and cooking.