Tag Archives: SQLServer

Heading To PASS Summit 2015 – Now What?

SQLSat403 – Recap

The doors close, lights turn off, and cars begin to pull out of the parking lot. Another SQL Saturday event has come and gone, but this time it was different. The reason for this was from the hard work, effort, countless hours, and collaboration that took place.

This past year I wanted to embark on a journey that I hadn’t done before which was volunteering for a SQL Saturday event. Malathi Mahadevan (B|T) afforded me this opportunity to get involved along with John Morehouse (B|T) . Little did I know what I was about to embark on.

Listen, most attend these events by showing up and listening to a talented speaker pool. After the event attendees stick around for a raffle, and share some laughs with friends. I know because I’ve attended several of these events; I’ve also spoken at a lot of events other than SQL Saturday’s and given presentations. In those times you get to talk with other speakers, attend some nice dinners, and kick back with some deep conversations. What is missing?

SQLSaturday403 in Louisville, Ky changed my mindset drastically. If you have never been apart of something in this nature then I would recommend it; I don’t care if you are a speaker or an attendee at a user group. The hard work and effort that goes into pulling an event such as this off is phenomenal. I walked away with a new appreciation for what goes on behind the scenes along with learning a few things:

People are hungry to learn
It takes a strong team behind the scenes to pull something like this off
Dedication and determination are prevalent
Organization is key

We had a very talented speaker pool come in to town this year who provided attendees with a number of good sessions. The vendors on hand were second to none and put on a great show for everyone to see. What really got my attention was seeing all the hard work we, as a group, put into it. As we crossed that finish line and the day of the event came we saw a record crowd which maxed out our venue with people beating the door down on a waiting list to get in. That means two things to me:

Shows just how eager people were wanting to learn
We were doing something right

Twitter wall

Enter stage left > the twitter wall.

Something new that I have not seen before was, what became, the infamous twitter wall. The idea stemmed from a colleague/friend of mine John Morehouse.

The wall was located in our eating/silver sponsor area and was a big hit throughout the day. It also provided a glimpse into some of the fun we were having:

Photo provided by John Morehouse

One of the cool things that I liked about this idea was seeing all the attendees thoughts as they were sitting through the sessions. The #SQLSat403 was generating quite a buzz, this was proof that what was happening in Louisville was a great thing. The vendors located in this area were pretty stoked about the twitter wall as they were getting some love as well!

Feedback

All of the above shows signs of success, or so I thought, until I got blindsided again by feedback I received from the attendees, vendors, and speakers. Some of the comments that will remain anonymous are:

“I apologize; I’ve been doing this wrong for so long with my code and I am rejuvenated to fix it and make it more efficient“

“This event is free; how is that possible?”

“I am missing out on #SQLSat403; that seems like it is the place to be today”

“I definitely will be coming back to this next year”

Those are some pretty encouraging comments. As with anything, our group realizes that we had hiccups. Some may not have even been noticeable, but the organizers noticed them. Guess what, we are making a list and looking for ways to continue to improve on this event. There is a buzz going on here in the city of Louisville around this event; know that we have a dedicated team in place that will continue to work hard in order to make this one of the best events around.

What can you do?

If you attend one of these events in the future, anywhere in the world, I implore you to walk up and thank the volunteer. I know the group I am associated with are an amazing bunch, and that will go for the rest of the organizers worldwide. It’s been an honor and privilege to serve; looking forward to many more.

How about you? Will you volunteer? Will you speak? You can check out a full schedule on the SQL Sat website here.

Thank You

To my fellow organizer – it truly was an amazing ride and I thank you for the opportunity.

To the attendees – it was a blast to see you all along with seeing a lot of light bulbs go off and discussions we had. Hope you guys had as much fun as I did.

To the speakers – spent a lot of quality time with a lot of you and I look forward to coming to your venues to speak in the future. Thanks for investing time in our community so others may learn.

To the vendors – we couldn’t have done it without you; look forward to cultivating that relationship with you as we move forward.

It’s game time folks; let’s get it done. If you reach one then it is a success.

Perspective

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It’s one small word, but that one word can pack an awful powerful punch. I got a severe dose of it Friday night. No, I won’t go into the great detail that provoked this word to come to light. What I will do is recognize that it has taught me some valuable lessons especially in my every day work life.

We live in a fast paced society. Work will never cease that’s a given; when is the last time you truly stopped, looked around, and appreciated where you are at in this point in time?

I used to struggle a lot with not blogging enough, not giving back to the community enough, not submitting to speak enough, arguments with other data professionals on what is the right way to do things versus the wrong way to do things, and the list could go on and on.

I look at SQL Family and what does it truly mean to me? I take great pride in my work, the people I am involved with daily, the many issues that come up that provide new solutions waiting to be found, but SQL Family is much more than that. It is shown daily by the likes of you and me. You see it in the generosity when one of our own passes away, you see it in others who rally around a good cause, you see it when a seasoned community member takes a newbie under his/her wing to guide them, and yes you see it shown when you receive heart breaking news that we all endure through the journey we call life.

There are intervals in life when you stop and asses priorities; nothing wrong with that. You start to look at if the he said she said argument was even worth it, you blast a newbie because he made a dumb mistake due to the fact that they just didn’t know, or you get on some ego trip because you believe you are entitled to something.

There will be things you can control and there will be things you can’t control; as a data professional and proud DBA I will continue to do the best I can day in and day out. I come from the school that you work hard regardless of the situation. You won’t find perfection, you won’t find a guy who knows it all; what you will find is a guy who has a passion for the SQL Community and a passion for learning and honing is craft.

To the new community member the days will not always be perfect; heck the days you will sometimes wonder what the heck you got yourself into; enjoy the ride. Don’t beat yourself up for things you think you could have done better; learn from them and move on. Realize that SQL Family IS the people, the interaction – it is what makes it thrive.

For the ones who have been around for a long time, with as much respect as I can muster, I just implore you to realize that when life does happen outside of our SQL walls; don’t let that time go by wasted. You need to cherish every minute of it; we (me included) rush around getting to the next event, next speaking engagement, next post and if we aren’t careful we will let those outside moments pass us by.

Some will take this post as me saying not to worry about the security breach that was caused by a pointless mistake, and some will read too much into it and be wondering if I’m speaking at anyone in particular. I get how it all works, these are just intended thoughts of mine that if I can take to heart myself, then it might help me in the future to become a better data professional and DBA.

Work hard, cherish the moments, and realize that taking one day at a time is okay.

Q and A With SQL MVP Chris Shaw

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This has been a long time in the making, back in 2011 I attended a session at PASS Summit by SQL MVP Chris Shaw (B|T). Little did I know that he would become one of my mentors, good friend, and someone I’m truly thankful for. I approached Chris awhile back if he would be interested in doing a question answer session here and without hesitation he said let’s roll. So, without further ado let’s see what the mighty Chris Shaw has to say.

1. SQL Server has many facets to explore; what is one important aspect of SQL that you feel most Data Professionals tend to overlook?

I am not sure if you could call this an aspect in the traditional style. But I think a lot of data professionals overlook the basics. Even some of the basics of design like 3rd Normal Form, what it is, and what are some of the ways it is different from other aspects of database design. Microsoft has done such a great job at making it easier for us to query the data, and faster for us to retrieve the data. But my first reaction when I look into an OLTP at a 16 table join is to question the design of the database (I recall a day when it was best practice for performance that you didn’t have more than 8 joins). I am sure there are many example where this is the best way to approach the design, I just can’t help but wonder how much thought went into a design like that.

2. SQL Saturday’s are everywhere and they are an awesome experience to attend them. Can you explain why these SQL Saturday events are so important to the community and what your favorite venue is?

Multiple aspects to this question. First I think the SQL Saturdays are critical for a couple reasons. The big one of course is the education that is offered at the event free of charge, how can you beat that. But when you look at the community as a whole I think a SQL Saturday gets people ready for A larger event such as the PASS Summit, and knowing what to expect if you have never been. PASS Summit can be a bit overwhelming as a first timer, all the sessions, all the people and then you have the parties and the events that surround the conference. How do you take that all in? How do you network with 200 people on a Saturday event, what can you learn from networking with 200 people that you can apply to 4,000 people over 3 days at the PASS Summit. Anyone can go the Pass Summit, but if go without understanding how to network, how to get involved with the event, you are missing a lot. I pose the question to you Chris… Did you network more during your second Summit or your first? And was the difference because the second time around you knew what to expect?

“Second time was by far the most networking done compared to the first. Not just attending the dinners but also running into people in the hall, people coming up and talking to me off the cuff, the community zone, and the SQL Runs. I think you are correct when you say the first time you go you really don’t know what to expect. It truly is one of the best SQL conferences I’ve attended.”

I am surprised that PASS doesn’t do some sort of award for the SQL Saturdays. I have been to 16 of them as a speaker so far and I have got to admit each one has its own flavor to it. When I organize a SQL Saturday I try to put some sort of flare on the event, something different that you don’t get at the other events. So SQL Saturdays that do thinks just a little bit different are my favorites. So if you are going to hold my feet to the fire and really get me to commit to one event. My favorite event is Kansas City. They go well out of their way to show appreciation for the speakers. If you are a speaker this is a can’t miss event, the Speaker dinner is always special, and the Friday before the BBQ crawl is amazing. Another one I would mention is the Albuquerque event, they have a very good home town feeling, and I love the home made speaker gift I received.

3. PASS Summit is a big yearly event; can you describe what the “community zone” means and why it is so important?

The community zone is a dedicated area where we as speakers and attendees can gather to just network. I believe they have always had bean bags there and it is a great time to just get off your tired feet and visit with other attendees. What do you talk about? Well I had a complex issue that I was working on that became the topic of discussion in the zone for a little while, I was able to come away from the event with an answer to my question. I also learned that a couple of friends were going through a rough patch in their life, some pretty serious stuff and they still came to the conference. I hope that I was able to lend an ear for just a while and to be a friend.

4. What’s on Chris Shaw’s book shelf?

Well due to my lifestyle I don’t have enough room for a book shelf (I am a full time camper and live in my rig). I do however have enough digital media to make many people jealous. Right now most of my attention when I am not working is spent on photography. I have a lecture series from a guy name Manny, out of Florida who does this series called “Go Get that Shot”. I spend a lot of time watching that and re-watching it. One thing I do have on a very small book shelf is my MVP Award, something that is very symbolic to me.

5. Most DBA’s don’t start out being a DBA, but they take various routes to get where they are at. Curious how you became involved with SQL?

Ok so this is a really long story, so I am going to shorten it as much as I can. In 1996 I was the operational director at an antifreeze recycling company. Our Access database went down and I had to hire a consultant that charged us an arm and a leg. Well you know when you look at what you pay for things and you say “I am in the wrong business”, well that happened. I started to learn Access and was talking to a guy who work in the office building next to ours. After some discussion he told me I was asking questions that were above his skill level and he thought I could help him on this new thing they were doing. Ended up being SQL Server version 6.0. They made me an offer that was 10k more than what I was making and bought me a personal computer for my home. That database I designed was for Yellow Pages Inc. and the last time I looked it is still online today. Next time we are in the community zone, ask me and I will give you the full run down.

6. Like you, I was privileged to be a part of the DBA Jumpstart that John Sansom (B|T) put together last year. I’ve learned that the SQL life is a journey not a race; what do you feel a new data professional should consider most in starting out their career?

The chapter I wrote for that was telling people they need to choose between wanting a job and a career. I am a firm believer that if you are just looking for a job, then being a DBA is not the way you want to go. This career field requires a lot of dedication, and a lot of work hours.

7. Outside SQL we also have other hobbies; what are some of the things you like to get involved with to relax?

My favorite thing to do is take photos. Recently I took an extra day with a friend on our way to a SQL Saturday, everyone we were traveling with wanted to go ski, but rather than do that we took a back road to Santa Fe, New Mexico. We had a great time visiting and stopping every 20 min to go take pictures of stuff we had not seen before. It was a great time.

8. It’s got to be asked……tacos or barbecue?

Oh that is a hard one. Today I would have to say… Tacos for sure. But when the summer comes, I may be back to Barbecue.

Conclusion

A big thanks to SQL MVP Chris Shaw for taking time out of his busy schedule to drop by and answer a few questions for the SQL Community.

TSQL Tuesday #63 – Security

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This months T-SQL Tuesday is hosted by none other than Kenneth Fisher (B|T). His topic for this month revolves around security and how you manage security. There probably couldn’t be a more fitting topic; especially with the many breaches we have had lately both ones that are known and ones that are not known.

With that said I want to take this time to expound on a wider variety of topics instead of diving into specific targeted areas within SQL.

When I first heard this topic I immediately drifted to thoughts such as:

Afterthought
Responsibility
Lax
Validation
Vendor Apps
Breaches within
Password Strength

Afterthought

Countless times over the years I have seen, reviewed, fixed, and contemplated over security within SQL that simply was an afterthought. Security whether role based, AD Groups, etc. should be worked into any project plan. If you have ever inherited a system only to review that 600 users have sysadmin access you know how detrimental that could be to the data contained within.

Responsibility

Being a DBA means you have great responsibility. Every single database is under your care, own it. Each day someone will be trying to access that database; at least that should be your mentality especially with any production environment.

Lax

A lot of us are creature are habits. It is very easy for a data professional to fall into the trap of becoming accustomed to daily routines. Security should not fall into this category; I repeat security should not fall into this category. Do you know who has access to your databases and why? Do you know what user accounts are tied to specific groups? If you can’t answer this then you may find yourself in this category

Validation

I like this one, how many of us validate our security measures? Do we take any proactive approaches to see just how safe our data is? Maybe you rely on an outside 3rd party to see if they can hack in; whatever the case maybe it would behoove us as a group of data professionals to be actively testing our systems looking for points of entry. I will be completely honest; if you aren’t you can guarantee someone else is.

Vendor Apps

Yes, I am a vendor installing an app your company purchased and we will need sysadmin rights on the box or cluster. Um. yeah you go right ahead – NOT. I hope by now, as a DBA, you have strategies in place where you will work with the vendor directly or have some form of processes that allow for tracking of such activity. Remember, these databases are yours if you maintain them; you be the gate keeper not the other way around. Don’t let anyone on your system without our knowledge and you better know what kind of data is on your system and who is accessing it.

Breaches Within

If you aren’t careful all your eggs will be in the “protecting from the outside syndrome”. Yes potential threats are rampant from people both stateside and abroad; with that said however have you ever thought about what maybe at risk within your own walls? Do you have safeguards in place for co-workers and fellow employees? Security cannot be just thought of with outside threats. No you need to prepare for both outside and inside threats. To make it even better if you are on a DBA team is your team being audited to keep everyone honest? The data should be your top priority

Password Strength

These little rinky dinky passwords aren’t cutting it guys. Ensure you are following best practices and standards when setting up password strength. The easier you make it the easier it is for threats and breaches to occur. Are the passwords on your systems set to be changed every so often? But that would require a lot of work – yes and when you sign up to be a DBA or Data Professional you retain great responsibility.

Conclusion

Security is one place where you cannot be lackadaisical about. It is a crucial role within SQL or any platform for that matter that usually becomes an afterthought. If you are in a shop you should review your security guidelines and if you don’t have any I suggest that you take initiative and create some. Without proper security you ones business could be jeopardized and once issues arise what would become of the companies reputation; or your reputation. Be proactive, make it yours, own it, and get it done.

TSQL Tuesday

This is a block party started by the renowned Adam Machanic (B|T); if you are interested in becoming a host one month and an avid blogger you can reach out to him via the methods above.

Impact Players – SQL Style

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Awhile back I did a post on my Fab Five – was one of my favorite ones I’ve done to date because it dealt with individuals who have made a tremendous impact in my professional career in some form or fashion. I am not ashamed to admit I am a sports fanatic; lived it my whole life both playing basketball at a high collegiate level, soccer, football, baseball, and golf. Sports has been good to me and some of the lessons I learned early on has carried over into my data professional career.

Teamwork

Have you ever been part of a team at work? Even if you are your own department there are other vendors or departments that you have to work with most likely in order to achieve a goal. One thing that always stuck with me and humbled me at an early age is that “there is no I in team”. Being a past point guard one of my jobs was to facilitate the rock and get people involved in the offense. Little did I know how much those lessons on the court would carry over to my day to day work.

Worth Ethic

I was fortunate enough to be surrounded by some stellar people early on who “invested” (there is that key word again) time in me. My normal routine in high school was waking up at 3 a.m. to get to the gym; meeting my assistance coach. Working out and shooting 800 threes, 200 free throws, countless conditioning drills and the list goes on. Running wind sprints in the street with strength shoes on to gain speed; wearing blind folds as I dribbled the ball to believe in my skill set and handles so come game time I would be sure and capable.

As I sat at my locker I could see a saying that said, “Somewhere somebody is improving getting better each day and one day you will meet that person; what will you do to get ready?”

You know what? All that has carried over into my SQL profession. Don’t get me wrong, a balance has been drawn. Things are different now; I have a family who depends on me and my time is important, but that fire and work ethic is still there – always will be.

Accepting New Ideas

Do you think I walked into college and knew everything that was going on? Ha, back then I thought I did, but quickly realized the level I had to play was nothing I’ve ever seen before. See in high school you could get away with taking a play off, scoring at will. However at this level everyone can do what you do; so what can you do to stand out?

Each day I try to learn something new from someone. The community is filled with brilliant individuals, and so is most shops for that matter. Don’t ever reach the point that you feel you have arrived? If you do than it is then you will start to fail.

Impact Player Series

So, to the point at hand, how do you become an impact player? My Fab Five are top tier individuals, but there are more out there who has helped me with their encouragement and their knowledge. Each month I plan on picking a community member who is just that – an impact player in the community and who goes above and beyond the call of duty.

Individuals who get the job done, not afraid to fail, and continuously work to hone their craft.

At the end of the year I will have a 12 person team assembled of impact players that hopefully will benefit others in the SQL Community that they to can learn from.

Until then…

Reports In SSISDB

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I was approached with an in shop issue where a group could not view the execution reports in the SSISDB. The reason for this was due to the security standards in place at the shop; the user could not be allowed to have the SSIS_Admin role.

In order to allow the user group access to the review Integration Services reports on package executions the SSIS_Admin role had to be given. This role would allow the following capabilities:

· Import Packages

· Delete own packages

· Delete all packages

· Change own package roles

· Change all package roles

This role also elevates privileges to sysadmin. This elevation of privilege can occur because these roles can modify Integration Services packages and Integration Services packages can be executed by SQL Server using the sysadmin security context of SQL Server Agent.

What this document will provide is a solution around not granting the SSIS_Admin role, but still allow the necessary entities access to the SSIS execution reports without granting any write, execute, create, update, or insert access.

The Catalog Views

Microsoft has two catalog views that make up the report access for SSIS packages (2012 and later) that I have found. We will look at both of these views and alter them to comment out the where clause. In doing so this will negate only SSIS_admin and sysadmins from having access to the reports, but will allow other users access to these reports.

Catalog.Event_Messages

The first catalog view we will look at is catalog.event_messages. This view is simply utilized for displaying information about messages that were logged during operations. The way Microsoft has configured this view is to only allow the SSIS_Admin or sysadmin privilege to view. In our case we would like to have other groups the ability to review the messages only. In order to do this we need to alter the catalog view.

To access the catalog view navigate to the SSISDB on the SQL Instance. Right click the catalog view and say alter:

Next comment out the where clause and execute the alter statement updating the catalog view appropriately

Catalog.executions

The second catalog view can be accessed in the same manner as the first catalog by repeating the same methodology of altering the view. Catalog.executions displays the instances of the package execution in the Integration Services catalog. Packages that are executed with the Execute Package task run the same instance of execution as the parent package.

After right clicking and altering the view, the where clause will need to be commented out as shown below:

After the where clause is commented out execute the alter command to update the catalog view.

Granting Catalog Access

After altering the catalog views we are left with a manual but needed process. Within the Integration Services Catalogs the following steps will need to be completed:

1. Right click on the package and go to properties

2. Once the Folder Properties dialog box is initiated go to Browse in the upper right hand corner

3. Once the Browse All Principals dialog box is initiated select the public database role and click ok

4. Ensure the grant read access is then given to the database role and click ok

Conclusion

By taking the above steps the users can now see the reports and that is it. In testing I’ve found that users cannot do the following:

· Create new environmental variables

· Create new packages

· Create new folders

· Cannot add, insert, update, or delete anything in the SSISDB or the Catalog Folders

· Cannot initiate any SSIS SQL Agent jobs

· Cannot execute any queries against the SSISDB

What I’ve found users can do the following:

· See package names

· Right click and select all executions

· View the reports

**As with anything do not take code from the web and blindly implement into your production environment.

SQL Sentry Plan Explorer – Don’t Leave Home Without It

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If you’ve been around me long enough then you realize that I am a Red Gate fanatic. With that said I’ve grown accustomed to another utility called SQL Sentry Plan Explorer by SQL Sentry.

I’m a big Aaron Bertrand (B|T) fan and he is the one that first introduced me to this utility via his blog; if you aren’t following this man then you are missing out. He has some stellar commentary on his blog and twitter and has a deep passion for the SQL Community.

What is SQL Sentry Plan Explorer

One thing that I think of when the words SQL Sentry Plan Explorer are said is query optimization. Do you have that one go to script or utility when you are troubleshooting stored procedures and queries? If so, and this utility isn’t part of it then add it to your tool DBA tool belt.

There are two different versions that you can download; a free version and a Pro version. Both utilize SQL Server to help streamline and make optimization of queries become more efficient for the every day data professional.

What does the Free Plan offer

The free plan offers quite a bit. You can check out the overview here

Enhanced plan diagrams
Statements tree
Plan trees
Top operations
Query columns
Join diagrams
Parameters
Expressions
I/O

These are just a few of the things you can expect to see with the free version

What does the Pro plan offer

In addition to what the free plan offers you will find some of the following:

Wait Stats
Full Query Call Stack
Open Deadlock files
Plan Filtering
Rotate plans

…and much more

Personal Approaches

In the past I have found that the free plan has allowed me to:

Quickly identify bottlenecks
Review and compare statements
Review costly operations
Review index seeks and scans

I think one of the most beneficial items that SQL Sentry has done for this utility is adding it as an SSMS add in.

Utility Downloaded, Now What?

Like any other tool, the goal is to help streamline and make the data professional more efficient. With that said, the data professional has to know the “why’s” and how things function within SQL; don’t utilize the tool as a crutch nor should you utilize the tool as a means to solidify commands like a robot.

A SQL community member and MVP has taught me (thanks Tim Chapman (B|T) that just because you have all these tools at your disposal you, yourself have to be able to connect all the dots which means what guys – learn and know what you are reading.

You see an index seek; great….now why?

You see that Plan Explorer is showing you a critical alert in red on index cost…great; why?

Don’t just simply follow a tool; know what you are looking at.

Conclusion

I highly recommend SQL Sentry’s Plan Explorer; from personal experience it is helped me on more than one occasion. You can view all they have to offer here.

Well done SQL Sentry; well done indeed.

I tell you what; check out what my other colleagues have to say on the matter and how they have benefited from this utility:

If you want to read more about the newly released SQL Search, don’t forget to check out these blog posts:

Julie Koesmarno: Analyzing Execution Plans With SQL Sentry Plan Explorer
Jeffrey Verheul: SQL Sentry Plan Explorer: You can’t live without it
Mickey Stuewe: look for new post in next months installment

On a SQL Collaboration Quest

Four SQL professionals gathered from the four corners of the world to share their SQL knowledge with each other and with their readers: Mickey Stuewe from California, USA, Chris Yates from Kentucky, USA, Julie Koesmarno from Canberra, Australia, and Jeffrey Verheul from Rotterdam, The Netherlands. They invite you to join them on their quest as they ask each other questions and seek out the answers in this collaborative blog series. Along the way, they will also include other SQL professionals to join in the collaboration.

T-SQL Tuesday #61 – Giving Back

PASS Summit 2014 ~ My GameTime Experience

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“How did you like your convention?”

“How was your trip?”

“What did you learn?”

“Where did you go for a week?”

“Who did you meet?”

“Talk with the vendors?”

“What is PASS Summit?”

Those are the types of questions I received after arriving back from attending PASS Summit 2014. More have come in from various places and not just locally so I figured I would share my experience as so many have inquired.

The Journey

Tuesday

After being registered and anticipating the time when it would be to fly out to Seattle finally came. Two colleagues and myself left early in the morning with a layover in Atlanta; we soon found ourselves touching down in Seattle for what always is a great time. I get a kick out of my saying the 5.5 hour plane ride was long after talking to people from all over the world. Makes it seem not so long 🙂

After touchdown we made our way over to the hotels we were staying at. I always stay in the Grand Hyatt; not sure why, but just have since I’ve been attending. Always nice people and have never had a problem.

Walking over to register at the convention center I knew it was game on. I just stood back and looked at the steps in the picture on the left. I remember saying to myself, “time to learn”. Little did I know what I was in store for with the upcoming week…more on that as you read.

Upon grabbing some dinner with my colleagues at the Daily Grille we were gearing up for the welcome reception. It was there I got to see some of my ole friends I hadn’t seen in a year or even longer. Great conversations ensued and Tom Larock (B | T) got us off to the right start. You could feel the vibe in the room and how everyone was excited to be there and about the week that we were about to embark on.

After talking with many of my friends it was time to head over to SQL Sentry’s VIP party at the Pike Brewing Company. What an awesome experience to talk with a lot of my friends and many new friends. For those of you who are not aware of SQL Sentry I implore you to check them out. Peter Shire (T) and Aaron Bertrand (B | T) are a few of the people I follow who are associated with this great company. They also provide a product called SQL Sentry Plan Explorer that I highly recommend.

All in all it was a great night full of conversation and mingling. Had a great time and am thankful to have been a part of it. Well done SQL Sentry…..well done indeed.

Wednesday

After starting off on the right foot Tuesday, little did I know how awesome Wednesday would be. This day I joined in on the #SQLRun. This really wasn’t early to me as back home it would have been 9:00 a.m. so I was ready. As we waited to take off I got to speak with one of the guys who’ve I’ve looked up to a lot in my career, Steve Jones (B | T). While we’ve met before at previous events it is always good just to talk to him of things outside of SQL; truly a stand up guy who genuinely cares about people.

The run was superb; running down by the water and up by the Space Needle. On the way back I just so happened to be running next to Rob Farley (B | T) when I started to cramp up; something I have been battling with my legs. As we continued to run, Rob talked me through it and got me to the finish line; if it wasn’t for his keeping me focused and the cadence down I doubt I would have.

Sessions

After breakfast I decided to hit a few sessions I wanted to hear.

First up was Ryan Adams (B | T) who gave a session on Always On a quick start guide. This session ended up being one of my favorites and was the very first one I went to. Ryan, you rock dude.

Second was Kendra Little (B | T) on world’s worst performance tuning techniques; funny how much I could relate to her session. Kendra’s sessions are always awesome regardless of topic

Third was Sean McCown (B | T) on performance tuning your backups; first time I sat in on this session of his but picked up a few tricks.

Last up was Robert Davis (B | T) on boosting performance with indexing. The SQL Soldier put on a great session and a lot of reinforcement was done in listening to the techniques shown.

Later that night I was excited to attend an event I was invited to, the LinchPin party, where I was stoked to talk with people like Mike Walsh (B | T) and Jason Brimhall (B | T). John Sterrett (B | T), ,whom I value greatly as a friend and community member, got the night started off nicely for me. Having a great conversation with John is exactly what I needed discussing things form PBM (Policy Based Management) to CMS (Central Management Server). Getting to speak with several of my friends at the party was fantastic.

Thursday

I attended a couple sessions on Thursday but the one I want to mention here for this day was Adam Machanic’s (B | T) Query Tuning Mastery: Manhandling Parallelism, 2014 edition. Good gosh what a great mind this guy has. It just so happened that while attending PASS Summit the following week I was hosting T-SQL Tuesday; for more on that you can click here.

After some great sessions and hitting the Community Zone again I was off to one of the events I was looking forward to – The Friends of RedGate dinner over at Farestart. I’ve enjoyed being a FORG this year; I believe in their products and utilize them daily. The story behind the restaurant itself was pretty amazing and I got to hang with some amazing people. TJay Belt (B | T), Julie Koesmarno (B | T), and Mickey Stuewe (B | T) “missed you Jeffrey Verheul (B | T) to name a few. Meeting the RedGate team that I’ve come accustomed to chatting with frequently was a big highlight for me. If you don’t know about their tools you can contact me and I will be happy to let you know my views on them.

Friday

Friday seemed like a whirlwind. It was nice to have many discussions with attendees who just wanted to come up and talk. I found myself in some pretty good conversations throughout the day; in walking back to the community zone and saying bye to my RedGate friends I ran into Argenis Fernandez (B | T). I supported his cause for “Argenis without Borders” (Doctors Without Borders) and he hooked me up with a ribbon for my credentials. I’ve heard Argenis speak on occasions; if you haven’t stop what you are doing and find a video or webinar. This dude is passionate about his work and highly recommended.

The People

So, had a very eventful week. One might say it was non-stop which I enjoyed. However with that said one thing sticks out in my mind above and beyond everything else ~ the People. Guys, I don’t know how else to explain it until you lived it. The camaraderie that exists is second to none. Seeing people in the Community Zone discussing things about issues, or simply just hanging out with friends is surreal. Walking around with the vendors having fruitful conversations on what may or may not work in your shop and why. Hitting the SQL Clinic to discuss problems and get solutions from some of the best minds in the world. All this rolled up into one setting can be overwhelming for some; for me it was so much more than that. Building friendships while learning some new things; what could be better?

I had some stellar conversations with some of my favorite people and it would take a long time to get through them all some of my highlights were getting to talk with:

Allen Kinsel (B | T) speaking to him for a little bit was a great highlight for me. One of the most down to earth people I’ve been privileged to meet.
Steve Jones (B | T) this guy is one of my Fab Five; easy going guy who knows his stuff. One of the all around good guys in our community.
Chris Shaw (B | T) it is because of this guy that I am involved in the community; you already know the impact you made on me bro. Always love hanging out with him; another one of my Fab Five
Jes Borland (B | T) I can’t say enough about Jes; one of the most talented SQL minds in our industry, running motivator, and inspiration to many.
Ted Krueger (B | T) mad props to this guy. First time I got to speak with Ted (meeting him at some of the parties); I have the utmost respect for him and if you don’t follow him, well then you are missing out.
Andy Leanord (B | T) I was blessed enough to spend some good quality time with Andy over breakfast one morning. This was one of my highlights and while I won’t go into detail about our hour long conversation; no words can express my gratitude for this man.
Mike Walsh (B | T) you ever meet someone and been like; man I should have reached out to you a long time ago. This is another guy who invested some time in me while at PASS Summit 2014 and I can’t thank him enough. Like Ted if you don’t follow this guy then you are missing out.
Tom Roush (B | T) many talks with this man and he is becoming a good friend. While our conversations remain separate from this post; I want to say thank you my friend.
Grant Fritchey (B | T) love talking to Grant every chance I get. Has extremely helped me in my career with many things; I truly admire his tireless work ethic.
Tim Chapman (B | T) dude is the real deal; I’d go to battle with him any day of the week and twice on Sunday.

The list could go on and on of discussions had, people met, bridges formed. While I picked up some stellar information I left with one major thing more so than when I attended in the past.

Investing time in others – seems simple enough doesn’t it?

All my life starting with my basketball days in high school and college, to my career as a data professional people have been investing time with me. To the coach who would arrive at 3:30 a.m. for wind sprints in high school, to my mom holding up a broom in front of me while shooting hundreds of jump shots, to the senior in college who took me aside and taught me how to be a true point guard, to the Chris Shaw’s, Steve Jones’s, John Sansom’s (B | T) in our industry; all these people have one thing in common. They all invested time in me.

For me that is what makes this SQL Community so special and what makes PASS Summit such an exciting place for me. Sure you can tap into the learning, that is why most attend. It is when you tap into that extra percent and have meaningful conversations with people does it really hit home.

Do I still have a lot to learn? You bet your SQL database I do. I’m not perfect by any means; only thing I can offer are my past experiences, what I’ve learned and will learn, and encourage others to keep fighting the good fight. I believe in our SQL Community and will continue to work hard and be an advocate for it; I will be here for as long as it will have me.

As my friend Chris Shaw told me many years ago; “pull up a chair and stay a while”. I think I just might.

A BIG HUGE thank you for all the people who made PASS Summit happen. I made it a point to go to the volunteers when I could and just tell them thank you. Countless hours went into this and wanted to make sure nothing was overlooked. While speaking on occasions, I know what goes into it; a huge thank you to all the speakers for taking the time to invest in others; it is not taken for granted.

Until the next PASS Summit……cheers!

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