Why should I care about this episode? I know many of you are going to ask that question. Artificial Intelligence is getting lots of buzz and in this episode we invite Hope Foley from Microsoft to discuss why and how AI is relevant to those in the data platform community. We get a little help from Kevin Feasel as we try to connect the dots between all the hype and how this can and will affect you in the future. Did we do a good job? Let us know and contribute to the conversation. The show notes f...
Mar 28, 2019•41 min•Season 2Ep. 165
DAX is the acronym for Data Analysis Expressions, and it is the formula language used throughout Power BI. In this episode we talk about DAX concepts and how they are simple and straightforward, but can be confusing for those coming from a relational database background. DAX uses some unique programming concepts and patterns which can make it difficult to fully use and understand. We talk about some experiences getting started with this language and ideas on how you can get started. The show not...
Mar 21, 2019•25 min•Season 2Ep. 164
Are you experiencing challenges managing Very Large Databases (VLDBs), or anticipate challenges with future growth? In this episode, we are joined by Aaron Hayes to discuss the practical advice on managing very large databases in SQL Server, focusing on common problem areas we have found, along with our own experiences. Topics include storage layout decisions, unique tuning challenges, HA/DR implications, and database restores, along with the challenges of getting backups, re-indexing and DBCC c...
Mar 13, 2019•40 min•Season 2Ep. 163
In this corner, coming in with all its Excel glory we have Power Query! And in this corner we have a new programming language, DAX! Have you ever felt like there is a tug of war going on between these two technologies? In this episode, the team discusses the two technologies, what they do, when -- and perhaps more importantly, WHY might you use them. The show notes for today's episode can be found at http://sqldatapartners.com/2019/02/27/episode-162-power-query-vs-dax. Have fun on the SQL Trail!...
Feb 28, 2019•28 min•Season 2Ep. 162
How do you migrate 8,000 databases on a single instance in an environment that doesn't tolerate downtime? Today's episode focuses on migration strategy and how our guest Andy Levy faced the challenge of moving all those databases in the time constraints given him by the business. We also talk about some of the strategies Andy employs to administer and monitor all those databases. The show notes for today's episode can be found at http://sqldatapartners.com/2019/02/20/episode-161-migrating-upgrad...
Feb 21, 2019•45 min•Season 2Ep. 161
The traditional model for Power BI is to pay per user, but what if you want to use the reports in your web app and don't know who all the users would be? In this episode the team explores Power BI Embedded -- how it differs from the traditional service, what you need to set it up, and some reasons why you might explore this option over the others. The show notes for today's episode can be found at http://sqldatapartners.com/2019/02/13/episode-160-power-bi-embedded. Have fun on the SQL Trail!...
Feb 13, 2019•31 min•Season 2Ep. 160
So what happens when you want to use data from two different sources, manipulate it (transform it) and then present the data in Power BI -- and you don't know how to use SSIS? Well, it turns out you can use Power BI dataflows. In this episode we explore the topic of dataflows with our guest, Matthew Roche, and talk about the scenarios and types of folks dataflows was intended for. The show notes for today's episode can be found at http://sqldatapartners.com/2019/02/06/episode-159-power-bi-datafl...
Feb 06, 2019•46 min•Season 2Ep. 159
For only 10 bucks a month you can start visualizing your data and finally get the dashboard your executives have been waiting for!! What's that? You need to refresh the data--perhaps even multiple times a day? Oh, well it's still $10 a month, but you are also going to install a gateway. What's that you say? Well, in this episode we begin our discussion on Power BI with one of the first components you will need outside of the Power BI Desktop for your users to start interacting with updated data....
Jan 24, 2019•36 min•Season 2Ep. 158
I can still remember working in high school when you had to 'dial in' to the internet and Microsoft bought the rights to the Rolling Stones song 'Start Me Up' for the release of their highly anticipated software Windows 95. It was a complete game changer for me and shaped my professional life with the releases of the Windows Server Operating System. While you could never just wing it, the GUI provided a rich interface and the ability to explore features without having to know all the syntax to e...
Jan 10, 2019•34 min•Season 2Ep. 157
How well do you connect with others? We generally think pretty good of ourselves and at first glance you may give yourself a pretty high score. While there is no test you can take to compare your results to mine, the way you connect with others can have a profound influence in the workplace and we are each judged by the people we come in contact with. Our guest in this episode, Linda Groszyk, talks with us about some of the ways social intelligence can impact us, how we can get better at it and ...
Jan 02, 2019•47 min•Season 2Ep. 156
Do you want to be a data scientist? Do you even know what data science is? In this episode, we tackle the idea of being a data scientist and discuss the criteria and what it may take to get the job description of data scientist. So not everyone feels out in the cold, our guest Brad Llewellyn, talks about how this field has developed out of data analysis and how we may have much more in common than differences between us. The show notes for today's episode can be found at http://sqldatapartners.c...
Dec 13, 2018•40 min•Season 2Ep. 155
Who hasn't had a deployment go a bit sideways? For all the talk of DevOps these days, the ability to push out code can still be challenging. When I heard David Moore, our guest today, talk about the increased confidence they have in pushing out database changes in very short cycles, I was interested. While we have talked about tSQLt in the past, David's experience of trying to implement test driven development and the results they experienced are worth considering. While the results can be impre...
Nov 21, 2018•42 min•Season 2Ep. 154
Year Two of our beautiful idea--gather together with a group of podcast listeners in a conference type format and find ways for us to connect and help each other grow. I am influenced by what I see in other events; however, I want to add my own flavor to what is currently offered. I want SQL Trail to be different--learning should be attendee-driven rather than event planned. The focus should be on the networking--the hallway track. Everyone should make a new friend. In this episode of the podcas...
Nov 07, 2018•21 min•Season 2Ep. 153
Those trained in SSAS may cringe a bit, but a curious thought entered my mind. Many organizations start using data warehouse structure with fact and dimension tables, but never make it to the 'cube' state--actually using analysis services. Admittedly, I don't use SSAS and the occasional reprocessing of a cube or dimension is about my only experience. When Trey Johnson, our guest for this episode, wanted to chat about SSAS, I thought this would be interesting to get his perspective on using SSAS,...
Nov 01, 2018•44 min•Season 2Ep. 152
Platform as a service has finally arrived to Microsoft's Azure offering. With the release of Azure SQL Database Managed Instances--quite the mouthful--there is now an option to explore database services without missing all the functionality we didn't have with Azure SQL Database. We are joined by Javier Villegas to discuss his experiences with Managed Instances and why we think this will be one service more organizations will want to start adopting. The show notes for today's episode can be foun...
Oct 24, 2018•39 min•Season 2Ep. 151
Today we, the SQL Data Partners team, celebrate our 150th podcast episode! We introduce ourselves, talk about what we're doing, our goals for the coming year and answer the SQL Family questions. Come get to know us! The show notes for today's episode can be found at http://sqldatapartners.com/2018/10/18/episode-150-sql-data-partners-team. Have fun on the SQL Trail!
Oct 19, 2018•32 min•Season 2Ep. 150
Do you ever feel like you have too many databases to manage? Managing lot of databases can get tricky and in this episode we explore some of the techniques you can use when you need to manage lots of databases. Tracy Boggiano joins us to discuss some of her techniques, as she has managed over 300 instances. The show notes for today's episode can be found at http://sqldatapartners.com/2018/10/11/episode-149-managing-lots-of-databases. Have fun on the SQL Trail!
Oct 11, 2018•36 min•Season 2Ep. 149
SSRS is great -- it comes with SQL Server, provides quite a bit of functionality, but sometimes doesn't always perform well. In this episode we welcome back Bert Wagner as he chats with us about some of the ways he has improved his under-performing reports. Our conversation focuses on SSRS itself -- we are going to assume you can tune the queries in SSMS from previous episodes or the interwebs. What do you think of our list? Did we miss one? Let us know! The show notes for today's episode can be...
Oct 03, 2018•40 min•Season 2Ep. 148
Security is always important to data folks and when a new feature like Always Encrypted comes along, it gets your attention. In this episode, we discuss this feature introduced in SQL Server 2016. We are joined by our guest Sam Nasr and he shares an overview and we find it may not cover all the scenarios you might think when you hear the name. Our discussion leads to scenarios in both on-premises and cloud solutions. Joined by Kevin Feasel and Eugene Meidinger, this episode will allow you to be ...
Sep 19, 2018•36 min•Season 2Ep. 147
So what is SQL Trail all about? In this episode we invite our MVPs to discuss some of the topics they are ready to share on SQL Trail. We know there are lots of options for training and networking -- this is our iteration on what the experience should be. If after you listen to the episode and want to sign up, you can use our sponsor code "MaconIT" to save $250 of the cost! We hope to see you on the SQL Trail! The show notes for today's episode can be found at http://sqldatapartners.com/2018/09/...
Sep 12, 2018•23 min•Season 2Ep. 146
In this episode we finish up our conversation with Jason and Cathrine and talk about how they keep up with all the changes in data conversions. The advent of Azure services is great, but can be tricky to navigate. We also get to hear Jason's answers to the SQL Family questions. The show notes for today's episode can be found at http://sqldatapartners.com/2018/09/05/episode-145-is-ssis-still-relevant. Have fun on the SQL Trail!
Sep 05, 2018•25 min•Season 2Ep. 145
Moving data with SSIS is a forgone conclusion for most of us -- it is part of SQL Server, it has a interface we are somewhat familiar with, and connects to lots of common data sources like csv, excel, and of course SQL Server. Are our needs changing as our environments become more hybrid -- as we introduce cloud services? Are you still building packages the same way you were 10 years ago? Just as our data sources have grown, the capabilities needed to move data around have increased. This episod...
Aug 29, 2018•44 min•Season 2Ep. 144
We frequently talk about how many DBAs are concerned our job may be phased out in the future. This episode discusses one common career path in going from DBA to Data Warehouse Architect and we talk with Thomas LeBlanc about his transition: his decisions, his path and his advice. Many companies can’t afford to staff separate individuals as developers, DBAs, analysists and architects, so there are generally opportunities for most of us to learn these technologies. Whether or not you can fully tran...
Aug 09, 2018•42 min•Season 2Ep. 143
Are you giving yourself a HEAP of trouble by using tables with no clustered indexes? But it is faster you say . . . because you don't have to worry about the sorting when inserting. Our guest Rick Lowe suggests everything is fast until you decide to SELECT, UPDATE, or DELETE. We talk about why you may or may not want to use HEAP tables. I know I was surprised to get his take on the use of HEAP tables and I think you will be, too. Do you agree with our assessment? Let us know in the comments on t...
Jul 26, 2018•32 min•Season 2Ep. 142
In this episode, we chat with David Maxwell about wait stats, what they are and why we should care about them. There are so many different directions we can go and if you have a specific use case you’d like us to consider, let us know and we can include it in a future episode. The show notes for today's episode can be found at http://sqldatapartners.com/2018/07/04/episode-141-wait-wait-what. Have fun on the SQL Trail!
Jul 04, 2018•41 min•Season 2Ep. 141
They're just numbers, right? A date's a date. It's just string data, who cares? I admit I have posed those questions before and only much later did I understand how complicated it can get. Angela Henry, our guest for today, has heard these same phrases many times before and she chats with us to enlighten us on the issue and ways we can get around it. Perhaps you have heard about terms like SARGable and implicit conversions. This episode seeks to tie these terms to one of the very first decisions...
Jun 20, 2018•50 min•Season 2Ep. 140
"The move to the cloud is inevitable." Listening to Microsoft marketing and all the MVPs out there, it can certainly seem like we are getting further and further behind each day we aren't use cloud services. Sure, lift and shift of VM resources are straightforward at this point and they are happening with more frequency; however, this doesn't mean everyone is leveraging cloud services. How do you go about trying to prepare for the future when the company you work for isn't quite ready to make th...
Jun 13, 2018•48 min•Season 2Ep. 139
I invited our fearless panelists Kevin Feasel and Eugene Meidinger to join me for a podcast discussion. We couldn't agree on a topic so we'll just call this episode Meeting of the Minds. You're welcome. The show notes for today's episode can be found at http://sqldatapartners.com/2018/06/06/episode-138-meeting-of-the-minds. Have fun on the SQL Trail!
Jun 06, 2018•38 min•Season 2Ep. 138
What’s in a name? That which we call a rose, by Any Other Name would smell as sweet. We could say the same for analytics -- there are plenty of similar or related words we use to describe the role or process of working with data. In this episode, we talk with Nicki Tinson about her journey into analytics, how others, like you, might break into the fields, and what has remained the same even when the names change. I am joined by Kevin Feasel and Eugene Meidinger, so you know we keep the conversat...
May 31, 2018•58 min•Season 2Ep. 137
Everybody does things a little differently and this is one of the things I LOVE about the podcast--chatting with others about how they get work done. In this episode I chat with Tom Norman about how he uses Visual Studio for source control, deployments, and keeping his sanity. We explore the setup process and how we have a reverse 80/20 rule when it comes to importing databases with Visual Studio. The show notes for today's episode can be found at http://sqldatapartners.com/2018/05/23/episode-13...
May 23, 2018•48 min•Season 2Ep. 136
