Virtualization | Technobabble by Klee

Speaking at SQL PASS Summit 2013

Cloud, Events, Professional Development, SQL Server, Technology, User Groups, Virtualization No Responses »

May 222013

WOW! I was selected to present at the SQL PASS Summit 2013 in Charlotte, NC. in October! All I can do is keep repeating WOW. I’m in shock.

Even better, I was chosen for a spotlight session! I could not be more ecstatic! I received the email while I was traveling to Atlanta for SQL Saturday Atlanta this past weekend, and I think about 20 other Friday night travelers at Chicago’s Midway Airport thought that I was crazy with how I publicly reacted.

I’ll be presenting a 90-minute spotlight session on “Squeezing Top Performance from Your Virtualized SQL Server“. I have delivered a similar session on performance setup from VMware-based SQL Servers, but am working fervently to extend the tips and tricks into the Microsoft Hyper-V realm.

This is my third SQL PASS Summit and the second Summit where I have gotten to speak. Last year I was lucky enough to sneak in with Kevin Kline to speak with him on virtualization, and I could not have been happier.

Track: Enterprise Database Administration & Deployment

Abstract: Just about anyone can click through a SQL Server installation and get it working, but more than a little tuning is required to get the most performance out of your servers. When your servers are virtualized, additional tuning can help get even more performance out of that virtual machine.

This session will cover valuable details for both VMware vSphere and Microsoft Hyper-V on how to tweak and tune your virtual infrastructure for business-critical virtualized SQL Servers. You’ll learn tips for configuring your SQL Server installations for maximum performance when virtualized and for monitoring and capacity management so that you know when you need to add more hardware to keep your database servers running at peak performance.

The conference is located in Charlotte, NC, from October 15-18. I am planning to attend the pre-conference session from Grant Fritchey on “Thriving as a DBA in the World of Cloud and On-Premise Data“. Pick a pre-conference session and attend because these are some of the best speakers and most in-depth topics that you can find. I have been to a pre-con two years in a row, and cannot wait to make it a third!

As always, thank you #sqlfamily. You’re the reason that I do this. You are the best technical community on the planet, and I get a big smile every time I think about meeting up with any of you. Make sure to register for the event here, and I will see you there!

Now – anyone up for go-karting before or after the event? Email or tweet me and let’s start a mailing list to get an event coordinated!

SQL Saturday Atlanta was incredible

Performance, SQL Server, Technology, User Groups, Virtualization No Responses »

May 212013

This past Saturday I was fortunate enough to present a session at the largest SQL Saturday EVER in Alpharetta GA. This was a special event for me – I grew up just three hours south of Atlanta, and it was great to be back in my old stomping grounds.

With over 800 registrants and over 200 on the waiting list, 555 people dedicated their Saturday to attend this event. Thank you goes out to all of the folks who attended my session on SQL Server virtualization. Your questions were great, and I look forward to hearing more from you soon. The event was flawless and very well organized. The coordinators and volunteers deserve a huge thank you! I’ll see you all next year!

Squeezing the Most Performance from your VMware-Based SQL Server

Sure, your SQL Server is up and running. Anyone can click through a SQL Server install nowadays. But… is it running at its peak potential? Do you have your VMware environment configured properly? Have you measured the performance lately? Your business-critical SQL Server performance does not have to suffer just because it was virtualized. Very specific VMware and SQL Server tuning tips and tricks from David Klee (@kleegeek) will be presented in this session.

Session Level: Advanced

Download the slide deck here: Squeezing the Most Performance From Your VMware-Based SQL Server – 2013.05.pdf

Virtualization Networking Tips for SQL Server 2012 AlwaysOn

SQL Server, Virtualization No Responses »

May 162013

A while back Kendal Van Dyke (b | l | t) asked me a great question regarding the ideal VMware vSphere networking configuration for a SQL Server 2012 AlwaysOn Availability Group configuration. That’s a great topic for a blog post, so let’s go!

Normally, a fairly stock setup can work without any major issues, but in systems with heavier activity, these tips can prevent or fix potential networking issues that can lead to system instability.

Speaking at SQL Saturday Atlanta

Performance, Professional Development, SQL Server, User Groups, Virtualization No Responses »

May 032013

WOW! SQL Saturday Atlanta this year is turning into one of the largest SQL Saturdays ever! I’m absolutely honored and pumped to be lucky enough to speak at this incredible event. May 18 is going to be a wild day at Georgia State University in Alpharetta, GA. I’m very excited to speak here – Georgia is my home state, and I have not been back in quite some time. I’m doing a deep dive on getting the most performance when virtualizing your business-critical SQL Servers, which is one of the topics that I get the most excited about.

Session Title: Squeezing the Most Performance from Your VMware-Based SQL Server

Session Abstract:

Session Level: Advanced

I look forward to meeting all of you there! Tell your friends and let’s all geek out!

SQLIntersection conference wrapup

Business, Cloud, Professional Development, SQL Server, Technology, Virtualization No Responses »

Apr 252013

Two weeks ago was a busy one. I helped coordinate and spoke at our second SQL Saturday Omaha on April 6, flew to Las Vegas for the new SQLintersection conference at the MGM Grand, and then flew to Chicago to speak at SQL Saturday Chicago.

SQLintersection is part of a group event trifecta along with DevIntersection and AngleBrackets. Take a look at the following speaker lineup. How could you NOT want to attend these conferences! MVPs, industry founders and executives, and legendary experts abound!

(This list is not all inclusive, and for those speakers that I omit, it’s not because I don’t like you! It’s because I’m mainly putting the speakers whose sessions I attended)

Aaron Bertrand (b | t)
Connor Cunningham (b)
Kevin Farlee (b)
Grant Fritchey (b | t)
Steve Jones (b | t)
Andrew Kelly (b | t)
Kevin Kline (b | t)
Kendra Little (b | t)
Brent Ozar (b | t)
Jeremiah Peschka (b | t)
Paul Randal (b | t)
Joe Sack (b | t)
Paul Sheriff (w)
Kimberly Tripp (b | t)
Bob Ward (b | t)
Paul White (b | t)

VMworld Presentation Voting – I Would Appreciate Your Votes

Performance, Technology, Virtualization No Responses »

Apr 242013

This year is the first year that I have submitted a session to VMware’s VMworld 2013, to be held in San Francisco this August 25-29. They are cool enough to open up the submissions for the general public to vote on which sessions they would like to see at the event! I’d really like to speak on one of my favorite topics, Business-Critical SQL Server Virtualization, and would very much appreciate your votes if you would like to see me present the following session. You can even vote if you are not planning to attend the conference.

Please click HERE to access the voting site, create an account, and scroll to my session (number 4726). Click the thumbs-up icon to vote for my session.

Session Title: Successfully Virtualizing All of your Business-Critical SQL Servers

Abstract: Virtualizing all of your organization’s business-critical SQL Servers is technically achievable, but is sometimes met with resistance for any number of reasons. In order to ensure complete success with your SQL Server virtualization initiatives, let’s explore a new approach that involves all application and business owners in the process. We will discuss how to measure and quantify the physical server’s performance levels. We will demonstrate many key configuration and tuning techniques that will squeeze out the most performance from the virtualized SQL Server. We will then discuss how to apply these techniques to objectively demonstrate that the virtualized SQL Server will perform equal to or better than the physical equivalent, and how to broadcast this success to the entire organization. Once virtualized, we will also discuss how to efficiently manage and monitor the performance of these machines to ensure that the systems continue to operate at peak performance.

Featured on ITCentralStation this week

Business, SQL Server, Technology, Virtualization No Responses »

Apr 162013

WOW! This week I was featured on the ITCentralStation.com home page as their Reviewer of the Week with my review of Microsoft SQL Server! I am honored!

As you all know, I really like this site. It is an up-and-coming site that focuses on real-world reviews of some of the building blocks of modern IT, and I strongly advocate for it. I’d like to see more traffic at this site. Please check out the site and take a few minutes to contribute to their reviews.

April 2013 Events

Professional Development, SQL Server, User Groups, Virtualization No Responses »

Mar 222013

April is going to be a fantastic month! I am slated to have quite a few speaking and training opportunities for the SQL Server community. I am thrilled to be able to speak this much.

SQL Saturday – Omaha – April 6 (My home event!)

SQL Server vs. Oracle: The Throwdown!

Come see David Klee (@kleegeek) and Joe Grant (@dba_jedi) in a “discussion” with a competitive comparison between SQL Server and Oracle in a highly interactive dynamic session. Each database engine has its place in the IT world, and we will discuss which is the right tool for the job. The goal is to be objective and compare features, strengths and weaknesses, and editions. Check your opinions at the door and come join us for an educational session!

SQL Saturday – Chicago – April 13

Database Health and Performance

Sure, your SQL Server is up and running. Is it healthy? Is it performing the best that it can? Where are your performance bottlenecks? In an emergency, can you objectively demonstrate where a performance problem lies? This dynamic dialog session by David Klee (@kleegeek) will present a solid process for checking your environment’s overall health and performance levels as well as solutions for common problems. Some of the items focused on include dynamic management views (DMVs), Windows Perfmon, and disk performance tools such as IOMeter and SQLIO.

SQLPASS Performance Virtual Chapter

It’s All About the Performance, Right?

Just about anyone can click through a SQL Server installation and get it working. But, it is not running close to efficient, and as the workloads grow, it will only get worse. This session by David Klee (@kleegeek) provides valuable details on how to tweak and tune your SQL Server installations to ensure maximum performance, as well as tips on capacity management so you know when you need to add more hardware to take your server to the next level.

SQL Saturday – Fargo – April 27

Database Health and Performance

I look forward to seeing each of you at the event closest to you!

Cleaning orphaned SIDs after a SQL Server VM template deployment

SQL Server, Technology, Virtualization No Responses »

Mar 112013

A few weeks ago (or longer, I’m behind on email again) Nate Palm (LinkedIn) messaged me after the most recent SQL PASS virtualization webinar and asked me a fantastic question. He asked how to get rid of the orphaned account SIDs that sometimes come about after a SQL Server virtual machine template has been Sysprepped after the template deployment process.

If a VM was joined to a domain before the template conversion, or if the SQL Server services were not set to use a domain service account during installation, orphaned SIDs can occur. These are not detrimental to the services functioning normally when you grant proper access to your service accounts, but it’s always great to have a clean system.

After the sysprep process, the following groups were showing some orphaned SIDs.

1 SQLServerMSSQLUser$ComputerName$MSSQLSERVER (ComputerName\SQLServerMSSQLUser$ComputerName$MSSQLSERVER
2  
3 SQLServerSQLAgentUser$ComputerName$MSSQLSERVER (ComputerName\SQLServerAgentUser$ComputerName$MSSQLSERVER

The process that I normally use after a sysprep involves a free program from Microsoft called SubInACL.exe. It is a command-line program that helps you deal with security details for programs, services, and can help us clean up the orphaned SIDs across the server. It’s crazy powerful, and can be used to do all sorts of things. I build this into my SQL Server VM templates.

Once a server has been deployed from a previously configured SQL Server template, I have a script in the works that is configured to clean up certain things. The key command is as follows.

1 subinacl /samobject /cleandeletedsidsfrom=domainname=all

That should take care of it, and if it does not in your case, check out all the different operations that can be executed with various parameters.

Thanks to my session attendees

SQL Server, Virtualization No Responses »

Feb 262013

To all of the wonderful attendees to both the VMware Partner Exchange SQL Server on VMware VBCA boot camp on Sunday and the guys who braved the nasty weather for the Fort Wayne SQL Server Users Group presentation tonight, I say thank you. All of your questions were great and thought provoking, and I absolutely enjoyed the time spent! Thank you, and please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions that I can help answer. It might take me a couple of days to get back to you, but I promise I will reply! Thank you!

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