The Training

Scaling SQL with Solid State

Brent Ozar

SSD prices are coming down and adoption is going up.  My clients have used them to solve all kinds of performance problems, and we’ve found some surprising results.  In this session, I’ll explain the internals of these fast drives and show the pros and cons of the various connection methods (SATA, PCI Express, SAN).  Then we’ll switch over to the SQL Server world to see how to tell when and where you need SSDs.  You’ll even get real-world before-and-after metrics to help make the case to management. Miami, Alaska

Procedure Cache BI

Brent Ozar

SQL Server stores tons of data about SQL statements and execution plans in memory, but unfortunately a lot of it is hard-to-query XML.  I’ve got the fix: we’ll treat it like a BI project.  We’ll build an ETL process to get the data out, normalize it into a reporting structure, and then make smart tuning decisions based on the aggregated findings.  You’ll step off the boat armed with ready-to-go scripts to do consultant-style analysis right away.  Miami, Alaska

 

SAN Features for Senior DBAs

Brent Ozar

SAN snapshots and SAN replication can be the DBA’s best friend.  They bring one-click disaster recovery options to antiquated SQL Server 2000 instances, and one-minute backup options to even the largest data warehouses.  In this session, we’ll cover how my clients have saved time, money, and manpower with these features.  We’ll briefly dig into the “how” using NetApp as an example SAN, and then cover the SQL Server management techniques that work regardless of the SAN vendor.  Miami

 

Making You Look Smarter: One Dynamic Management Object at a Time

Tim Ford

Dynamic Management Objects are a great tool for learning about your SQL instances, resolving perfomance issues, and identifying problems (sometimes) before they happen.  Tim takes you through some of the most important DMOs that you have at your disposal for identifying issues before users realize they have a problem and fixing issues when they do catch you by surprise.  Miami

 

Automate and Manage SQL Server with PowerShell

Allen White

PowerShell is now a core IT skill. This soup-to-nuts session will first introduce you to PowerShell, after which you’ll learn the basic SMO object model, how to manipulate data with PowerShell and how to use SMO to manage objects. We’ll then move on to creating Policy-Based Management policies, manage your system inventory and gather performance data with PowerShell. After this 4 hour session you’ll be ready to go to work and able to use PowerShell to make you truly effective.  Alaska

 

What’s New In SQL Server “Denali”

Aaron Bertrand

SQL Server “Denali” delivers many highly anticipated features that some feel are long overdue. In this session you will get a first-hand look at many of these new features relating to the engine (contained databases, AlwaysOn, and T-SQL enhancements), client tools (Management Studio, Books Online, and “Juneau”), and changes to setup and system requirements. You’ll also learn about some of the features that will not be making it into Denali, and deprecated functionality that will stop working in this or the next release.  Miami

 

T-SQL:  Bad Habits to Kick

Aaron Bertrand

Bad habits: we all have them. SELECT * is the obvious one; but in this session you will learn about various other habits and why they can be bad for performance or maintainability. Come learn how these habits develop, what kind of problems they can lead to, and how you can avoid them. Eliminating these habits will lead to more efficient code, a more productive work environment, and – in a lot of cases – both.  Miami

 

Leadership Skills for the Database Professional

Kevin Kline

The skills that made you a successful IT professional are NOT the skills that will make you a top-notch manager. This presentation will teach you the fundamental management skills needed to lead a team of technologists and will take you from motivating and coaching your team, to approaching communications in an organized fashion, to handling common difficult management scenarios. Leaving this seminar, you’ll feel equiped for the challenges of team leadership and ready to lead.  This session will be greatly expanded for our Alaska 2012 cruise based upon feedback from our Miami 2012 cruisers!   Miami, Alaska

Real World Database Configuration and Tuning

Kevin Kline

This multi-module seminar covers the spectrum of best practices as they relate to database and application design and configuration, implementation, maintenance and performance tuning. With a special focus on IT organizations with large SQL Server deployments, MVP Kevin Kline will discuss:

• Bare metal tuning of server and disk configuration
• Benchmarking performance
• Physical machine versus virtual machine deployment
• Database conceptual design and normalization through to physical deployment of databases, indexing and partitioning
• Understanding SQL Server query performance
• Identifying performance bottlenecks and resolving performance issues
• Automating as much as possible so that life gets easier!

Miami

 

Sports Medicine for High Transaction SQL Server Databases

Kendra Little

Everyone wants a piece of your critical, highly utilized database. As a Senior DBA, your mission is to keep database performance sharp when your hardware feels too small. When your SQL Statistics:Batch Requests/sec counter in Perfmon goes over 1,000– and stays there– you need to know how to make sure your database can handle the current and future pressure. In this session I’ll give you insight into how resources are used in SQL Server as transaction load increases. I’ll describe what has happened to my clients when their application’s pulse went off the charts, and why these problems are tricky to solve with built-in features in SQL Server. We’ll cover how to monitor high transaction databases, and how to evaluate features that can keep your SQL Server in the game.  Alaska

 

Bigger and Faster:  Killer Techniques for Database Performance

Jeremiah Peschka

Bigger and Faster: Killer Techniques for Database Performance

No matter how much you tune your code, if the database is slow your application will be slow. While there are almost as many ways to make a database faster as there are databases, there are universal principles to apply that will make the performance tuning process easier. Learn how to identify indexes, understand execution plans, and configure storage.

The database is often the most critical piece of any environment; performance problems in the database cascade outward to effect everyone. This talk will cover tried and true techniques to ease the pain of growing a database while improving application performance from the perspective of both a large enterprise and a small business. We’ll delve into real world scenarios and investigate the different options that were considered before putting the solution into place.

We will explore application development patterns, database tuning techniques, and physical hardware options. This talk is targeted at anyone with an interest in improving application performance at the database level.  Alaska

 

Recovering Data and Databases

Robert Davis

One of the top priorities for database professionals is protecting the data. There are many potential threats to the data and many of them you may never see coming. Accidental deletion, intentional sabotage, or corruption could be just around the next corner. These threats may not always be avoidable despite best efforts. When it does occur, we had better be prepared to handle it and recover lost or corrupt data with as little data loss as possible and as little downtime as possible. This session will cover what you can do to ensure you are best protected against data loss and what to do when you are faced with a data loss scenario.

You will learn the following skills:

• Protecting against data loss
• Identifying and recovering missing or lost data
• Detecting and understanding corruption
• Recovering from different types of corruption

Alaska