PASS Summit | Convergence of Data and Infrastructure

Speaking at PASS Summit 2019

Jun 252019

I am proud to announce that I am presenting at this year’s PASS Summit conference, to be held in Seattle WA from November 5th to 8th at the Washington State Convention Center.

The biggest session of this conference for me is presenting a full-day preconference training session called “Advanced Virtual SQL Server Performance“ as part of the Architecture stream.

Session Abstract: Virtualization is the new norm in datacenters. Even the ubiquitous “cloud” is nothing more than virtualized servers in someone else’s datacenter with advanced automation on top of it. However, just because it’s everywhere doesn’t mean it is implemented and managed correctly. Done incorrectly, your SQL Server performance can take a massive dive. Are your SQL Servers running at their best possible performance?

This full-day boot camp covers all aspects of performance engineering for virtualized SQL Servers. We will review critical topics such as virtualization layers, VM construction, NUMA, resource scheduling, query parallelization and physical server alignment, “right-sizing,” and storage performance-oriented presentation. Availability and disaster recovery guidelines will also be reviewed. Most importantly, this seminar informs you on methods and terminology to help you work better with your infrastructure team to streamline your critical SQL Server performance. You will understand how to review your critical SQL Servers for both their performance and availability as they relate to the virtualization and physical compute layers underneath, and work with your infrastructure team to implement and streamline any of your findings.

In addition to the preconference training day, I am presenting an abridged technical fire hose session on key topics in a session called “Virtual SQL Server Performance Deep Dive“. This session is designed to ramp up attendees on critical (and silent) performance killers in both cloud and on-premises virtual SQL Servers.

Session Abstract: Your business-critical SQL Servers should not suffer from virtualization-related bottlenecks. When properly architected and managed, the principal bottleneck of performance of these SQL Servers should be only limited by code. However, if not properly constructed, silent and seemingly random performance killers can strike and significantly hurt your database performance. Items such as CPU scheduling, storage queueing, and memory overcommitment can all penalize database performance, and are tough to identify.

This session is packed with many live examples of tips and tricks gained from years of experience in getting the most performance from your virtual SQL Servers. The major roadblocks to performance will be discussed, and tools, techniques, and processes will be demonstrated to help you measure and validate the system performance of the key components underneath your data.

If you’ve never attended the PASS Summit before, I urge you to go. This conference is the best Microsoft data-platform-centric conference there is, and the information you will gain is second to none. Just look at this list of sessions! The friends you make last a lifetime. The sessions are certain to improve your career and your job. I know won’t miss it, and I hope to see you there! If you want to meet up and talk shop for a bit, or just hang out, let me know!

PASS Summit Precon – The Complete Primer to SQL Server Virtualization

Cloud, Events, Professional Development, SQL Server, Storage, Technology, User Groups, Virtualization 1 Response »

Jul 102015

I am very pleased to announce that Argenis Fernandez and I will be presenting a new precon training session at this year’s PASS Summit in Seattle entitled “The Complete Primer to SQL Server Virtualization“. This all-day preconference training session is to be held on Monday, October 26th, at the Seattle Conference Center.

This interactive session is sure to be a blast! If you have a virtualized SQL Server in use today, you need to be at this training event.

Virtualization is here to stay, and learning more about the infrastructure underneath your mission-critical SQL Servers will make you a better DBA. If they are not already virtualized, it’s probable that they will be virtualized soon. The virtual infrastructure is a vital portion of the server ecosystem, and this session is designed to ramp you up so you can do everything from understand the sysadmin lingo to quickly identify and triage infrastructure issues.

(Plus, we both have quirky senses of humor and love Nerf projectiles, so you’re sure to get a laugh or two!)

Training session abstract: Your SQL Servers are mostly virtualized at this point, but have you lost the control you used to have over the infrastructure when they were physical servers? Do your SQL Servers “feel” slower now that they are virtualized? When architected and managed with SQL Server in mind, this added layer can help to improve the SQL Server’s availability and ability to change with the business, but only when executed properly.

This all-day, interactive, and hypervisor-agnostic pre-conference session is designed to help data professionals learn more about virtualization and infrastructure. Discover how this new layer can be used to improve the management, availability, and performance of your databases. You will be exposed to all layers of virtualization underneath the SQL Server, from storage to hypervisor. Discover many useful tips and tricks to tuning the database layer to boost performance and availability. This session addresses these topics:

* Virtualization and infrastructure fundamentals

* The SQL Server virtual machine (VM)

* Networking, support, and licensing

* High availability and disaster recovery

* Performance investigation and tuning of the entire stack

Register for the PASS Summit today (and do it before July 12th, when the price hikes!) and make sure to sign up for this precon! This is the best event for SQL Server practitioners, hands down, and this event is vital for the continued professional growth and efficacy in the role of a data professional.

SQL PASS Summit 2012 Came and Went – and Changed My Life

Professional Development, SQL Server, Virtualization 2 Responses »

Nov 142012

I cannot believe how surreal this past SQL PASS Summit was for me. This was the second Summit I have attended, was the best conference of my life, and I’m quite amazed at the difference a year can make in my professional life. Last year, I was a relative unknown in the SQL Server community. Having been much more involved in the community since the last conference, this year was quite different.

Speaking with Kevin Kline at SQL PASS Summit 2012

Professional Development, SQL Server, Virtualization 4 Responses »

Nov 082012

WOW! I’m absolutely honored to announce that I am speaking with the Kevin Kline tomorrow at the SQL PASS Summit 2012. Kevin and I are speaking on Managing SQL Server in a Virtual World at 9:45a on Friday. I am blessed by this opportunity, and am very excited at the presentation topic. Come attend this session and learn more about my favorite topic, SQL Server virtualized on VMware!

The details on the session are as follows.

Managing SQL Server in a Virtual World [DBA-322-S]
Session Category: Spotlight Session (90 minutes)
Session Track: Enterprise Database Administration & Deployment
Speaker(s): Kevin Kline (and myself!)

Why are so many organizations implementing VMware, and what does it mean for SQL Server DBAs? In this deep-dive session, you’ll see that when configured and managed properly, SQL Server can run just as well in a virtual environment as a physical one.

We’ll review the benefits VMware provides, including hardware abstraction, easier failover, and simpler capacity planning. We’ll also explore key tips to help administer a SQL Server instance running inside a virtual machine. You’ll learn the differences in general administration, disaster recovery, and high availability on VMs; get a better understanding of activity and performance trends on VMs; and learn how to ensure effective capacity planning and optimal performance on VMs. If you’ve ever had a virtual deployment go bad, or if you’re struggling to manage the performance of virtualized SQL Servers, be sure to catch this session.

SQL PASS Summit just one week away!

Professional Development, SQL Server No Responses »

Oct 312012

Happy Halloween everyone!

I’m stoked that the SQL PASS Summit is just one week from now! You are already registered, have your flights and hotel booked, and amped, right? The sessions are going to be incredible. The camaraderie will be life-changing. The weather might be damp! Plus, my former employer’s SQL Server on VMware Boot Camp that we are holding the Tuesday before the Summit should be very enlightening if you are not planning to attend any pre-con sessions.

You are going to the Summit, right? If not, make plans now to attend next year and every year afterwards. It’s the best thing you can do as a SQL Server professional.