Next Meeting: Wednesday, May 15th @ 5:30pm

101 Session: "SQL Tips and Tricks: BackupSet" by Mike Fal

Abstract: Managing backups is a fundamental part of being a DBA.  The great thing about SQL Server is that so much information is baked right into the product.  This short presentation will dive into the specifics of the BackupSet table in MSDB and how we can leverage that information as part of our day to day jobs.

Bio: Mike Fal is a musician turned SQL Server DBA, with 10+ years of experience as a database administrator. He has worked for several different industries, including healthcare, software development, marketing, and manufacturing and has experience supporting databases from 1 GB to 4 TB in size. Mike received his a Bachelor's Degree from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 1996 and has been caught playing trombone in public on more than one occasion.

Main Session: "Predictive Modeling with SQL Server Data Mining" by Carlos Bossy

Abstract: This session will show you how to solve a real-world data mining problem by demonstrating the entire development life cycle of a predictive model. Attendees will learn the essentials required to harness the power of a the data mining algorithms in SQL Server to develop and optimize a production ready predictive model. Carlos will also show how to iterate through the process to improve the model’s effectiveness. Finally, you will see show how to make the most of a predictive model by deploying it and utilizing in your applications and reports. 

Bio: Carlos Bossy (MCTS, MCP SQL Server 2008 BI, CBIP) is a Consultant with 25 years experience in software and database development. As the Principal of his company Carlos focuses on developing Business Intelligence solutions including modeling data warehouses, predictive analytics, integration and reporting. He has worked with SQL Server for 12 years and is very enthusiastic about its powerful features. Carlos has developed warehouses and BI solutions for a variety of industries and state agencies.

Next Meeting: April 17th at 5:30pm

Abstract: Data Analysis Expressions (DAX) is the language of PowerPivot and the BISM Tabular Model. Understand the basics of the DAX language and get introduced to evaluation context. The demo will walk through various examples the DAX query language and demo row and filter context.

Intermediate Level

Bio: Reeves Smith is a SQL Server consultant specializing in data warehouse projects. He has been working with SQL Server for over 17 years beginning with SQL Server 6.5. During that time he has had the opportunity to work on various development and data warehouse projects within industries like the DoD, telecommunication, entertainment, oil and gas, manufacturing, travel, and banking. He is a SQL Server MCM, MCSE, MCITP and MCDBA.
 

Meeting Location:

Meeting Location:

Main Session: "Dimension Modeling Design Patterns: Beyond Basics" by Jason Horner

Abstract: This session will provide a deeper dive into the art of dimensional modeling. We will look at the different types of fact tables and dimension tables, how and when to use them. We will also some approaches to creating rich hierarchies that make reporting a snap. This session promises to be very interactive and engaging, bring your toughest Dimensional Modeling quandaries.

Session Level: Intermediate

Bio: Jason Horner has been working with SQL Server for over 10 years. He is currently focused on a large scale Spatial Data Warehouse project. He holds MCITP Certifications in both Database Administration and Database Development.

101 Session: SQL Server 2012 Licensing

Abstract: As SQL Server Professionals, other people assume that we know all about its licensing. This session will cover the 2012 licensing model and the conversions from 2008 software assurance agreements. We’ll discuss the breakeven points of different scenarios using an Excel workbook. At the end of this presentation we are all going to have it memorized using a Memory Palace technique.

Next Meeting: January 16th at 5:30 pm

Main Session: "Lean and Mean: Running SQL Server on Windows Server Core" by Argenis Fernandez

Abstract:

Do you consider the Windows GUI to be a waste of resources? Starting with SQL Server 2012, you can run on top of Windows Server Core 2008 R2 or 2012. In this session we will discuss installation and management of SQL Server on Windows Server Core, along with lots of tips and tricks.

Bio:

Argenis Fernandez is a Senior Consultant for Microsoft Consulting Services, US West Region, based in Redmond, WA. He has worked with SQL Server for over 14 years and enjoys large SQL Server farms, high-end OLTP databases, managing Windows environments, performance troubleshooting, high availability, disaster recovery, following best practices, and PowerShell scripting. Argenis is also a Microsoft Certified Master on SQL Server 2008, an avid Twitter user (you can follow him at @DBArgenis), and occasional blogger on SQL Server topics at http://www.sqlblog.com/blogs/argenis_fernandez/.

Next Meeting: October 17th at 5:30 pm

Main Session: "The Accidental Programmer" with Jason Kassay

Most people in the database world have heard of the term, "The Accidental DBA", those programmers who have to work with databases. How about the other side of the coin? What about DBA's an Dev's who have to write code or have to work closely with programmers? This presentation is a best practices guide for working with SQL Server in a .Net environment. You will learn how to recognize when bad code is written that interacts with the database, how to track it down, and most importantly how to fix it. On top of that you will also receive an introduction to object oriented programming concepts such as data abstraction, encapsulation, tier architecture, and class objects so that you can better communicate with your programmers.
 

Bio: Jason has been a software developer for over 10 years and currently works at EZFacility, providing scheduling, management, full-service billing, and membership solutions for the sports, health, and fitness industries. He has worked primarily with .Net (C# and VB) and SQL Server as well as HTML, CSS, and Javascript. When he is not coding or spending time with his awesome family, you will find him either running (to train for the zombie apocalypse) or stopping hockey pucks as a goaltender.
 

Location:

Next Meeting: September 19th at 5:30 pm

101: "Are triggers good or evil and when should they be used?"

During the first few minutes of the meeting we will discuss "Are triggers good or evil and when should they be used?" rather than doing a 101 session.

Main Session: "Contained Databases in SQL 2012" with Steve Jones

The idea of keeping all of a databases relevant information inside the database can ease the work of developing for and administrating databases. Partially Contained databases in SQL Server 2012 are covered in this talk.

Bio: In 2001, Steve founded SQLServerCentral.com with Brian Knight, Andy Warren, and three other partners that were bought out the next year. In 2002, Steve left his job with Peoplesoft to manage SQLServerCentral full time as editor, publisher, and writer. Andy, Brian, and Steve continued to manage and grow SQLServerCentral until 2007 when it was sold to Red Gate Software along with Database Weekly (then Database Daily). At that time Steve went to work for Red Gate and has continued his work with SQLServerCentral and Red Gate since that time.

Location: 

Join SQL Server Expert Kevin Kline at our End of Summer BBQ! August 15th starting at 5:30 pm

We are extremely thrilled to announce renowned database expert, Kevin Kline, will be presenting at our August meeting!

Bring a friend! Prizes will be given away to members attending with a guest interested in SQL Server. Seating is limited so reserve your seat now!

"End to End Troubleshooting" with Kevin Kline

Learning how to detect, diagnose and resolve performance problems in SQL Server is tough. It often takes years of on-the-job experience to learn how to use the tools and techniques that help you detect when a problem is occurring, diagnose the root-cause of the problem, and then resolve the problem. So strap yourself in to a time machine, because you’ll learn in less than two hours what it took Kevin years to figure out through hands-on troubleshooting and problem solving.

Bio: Kevin Kline is the Director of Engineering Services at SQL Sentry. Kevin is a renowned database expert, software industry veteran, Microsoft SQL Server MVP, and long-time blogger. As a noted leader in the IT industry, Kevin's blog covers Microsoft SQL Server features and best practices, third-party software, trends in the IT industry, and professional development for IT professionals.

Special August Schedule:
5:30 - 6:00 – Networking & Complementary BBQ Dinner
6:00 - 6:10 - Introductions & Announcements
6:10 - 7:15 – Kevin Kline’s Awesome Presentation
7:15 - 7:30 - Questions

End of Summer BBQ! Join us for hamburgers, hotdogs, cool refreshments, and more!

Next Meeting: July 18th at 5:30 pm

Main Session: "Intro to Storage" by Brad Nestelroad

Many IT professionals have heard of enterprise storage, but have little to no idea of what is really is or what it has to offer.  Enterprise storage is not rocket science, it's might be closer to model rocket science.  Once you understand how enterprise storage works and the functionality and flexibility it offers you be able to build bigger, faster, more stable database environments.

Bio: Brad Nestelroad has been in the IT industry for 15 years.  In that time he has been a software developer, MSSQL DBA and enterprise storage engineer.  He currently resides at The Children's Hospital of Colorado as a Senior Enterprise Storage Engineer.  In his spare time he enjoys assisting in the search for the Higgs Boson.
 

Next Meeting: June 20th at 5:30 pm

Main Session: "What Your Developer Friends Already Know About Windows 8" by Jerry Nixon

Windows 8 is a big deal. The changes for the user interface are significant, but the impact on software development might be bigger. Microsoft developers are working hard to grab onto the new paradigm of app development. For non-developers, what are you missing out on learning? Here’s your chance to catch up.

Bio: Jerry Nixon is a Microsoft Developer Evangelist in Colorado. He has been developing and designing on the Microsoft platform for 15 years. He speaks at universities, events and groups on Kinect, XAML, Windows Phone, and Windows 8. Most of Jerry’s days are spent teaching his three daughters Star Trek character backstories and episode plots.

Next Meeting: Wednesday, May 16th at 5:30 pm

Main Session: "Fast-track to BI Analytics with SQL Server 2012" by Carlos Bossy

SQL Server 2012 has made it easier to make the move to Business Intelligence and in this session Carlos Bossy will present three new features you can (and should) implement immediately. The new Analytics functions in T-SQL, Columnstore indexes, and the Tabular model are powerful features that will give your users the ability to analyze data in a faster, more effective manner. Each of these features was targeted at casual or beginning BI developers and DBAs who more familiar with traditional relational database models. You will leave this session with a good understanding of the next steps to take to get on the fast-track to BI.

Bio: Carlos Bossy (MCTS, MCP SQL Server 2008 BI, CBIP) is a Consultant with 25 years experience in software and database development. As the Principal of his company Carlos focuses on developing Business Intelligence solutions including modeling data warehouses, predictive analytics, integration and reporting. He has worked with SQL Server for 12 years and is very enthusiastic about its powerful features. Carlos has developed warehouses and BI solutions for a variety of industries and state agencies.

Meeting: Wednesday, April 18th at 5:30 pm

Main Session: "Develop a Quick and Dirty Web Interface to your Database: for the DBA and other non-developers" by Gabriel Villa

So you want todevelop to your database? Do you have your own tools to check performance? DoesChris Shaw's Utility Database sound like a tool you have and want a web interface, but don’t want towrite a lot of code? I will demonstrate how a simple ASP.Net MVC site can be developedand deployed against your database. See firsthand how easy we can use Shaw'sutility database and access across the web over a mobile device so you maymanage performance online whilst zipping your drink of choice.

Bio: Originally from El Paso, Texas, Gabriel has over 10 years’ professional developer experience using Microsoft technologies. Gabriel is an MCPD, ASP.NET Developer and an MCTS in SQL Server 2008 Database Development. He has developed desktop, web and database systems for the medical, retail, imports distributors, and automotive industries. Gabriel recently moved with his wife and three kids to Colorado Springs, where he works for a small ISV developing software for the big-ticket retail industry.

Meeting: Thursday, March 22nd at 5:30 pm (it's not a typo)

Main Session: "Oracle for the SQL Server DBA" by Kellyn Pot'vin, (pronounced Poet-Vaughn)

Are you curious about Oracle, but afraid to admit it?  It is common for many DBA's to be biased to one database platform, but it has become more and more demanding of the database administrator to manage and have a firm knowledge of more than one in many environments.  This session will introduce the SQL Server DBA to Oracle in a way that will meet their day to day challenges in a multi-platform database environment.  Come learn about how Oracle and SQL Server are very similar, different and how to translate common concepts in SQL Server to Oracle database administration.  No prior experience in Oracle is required and important features and concepts will be covered to assist the SQL Server DBA in incorporating Oracle into their database skill set.

Bio: Kellyn Pot'vin, (pronounced Poet-Vaughn) has been a database administrator for over eleven years, a new Oracle ACE, specializing in large database performance tuning. In the last year, she's been working with large SSD databases and Exadata, taking advantage of the newest technology and performance tuning features. Kellyn is known for her technical blog, dbakevlar.com, and is a member of the board of directors for Rocky Mountain Oracle Users Group, (RMOUG). She's performed numerous presentations on performance tuning and written articles for various technical newsletters and Web sites, starting out as an active participant on the Oracle-L list. She currently contributes to several technical sites and publications, including ITNewsCast and OraDBPedia. Kellyn lives with her three children in Broomfield, CO, and currently is honing her technical skills at I-behavior, a marketing firm in Louisville, CO.

101 Session "What is the Best Disaster Recovery Solution?" by Chris Shaw

Case Study – Get ready to work through a real world problem, we are going to spend this session reviewing a company and the challenges they faced when it comes to Disaster Recovery.  Once we have a good handle on the challenges they have, we will talk through what the solution for them would be.  Consider this a follow up to last month’s meeting.  Take a few minutes to download and review some of the specifics on this company.

NEW LOCATION!

We are now meeting at the Hyatt Place - Garden of the Gods. It is located at 503 West Garden of the Gods Road.

Meeting: Wednesday, February 15th at 5:30 pm

NEW LOCATION!

As of February 15, 2012, we will now meet at the Hyatt Place - Garden of the Gods. It is located at 503 West Garden of the Gods Road.

Main Session: "What is the Best Disaster Recovery Solution?" by Chris Shaw

It depends, every situation is different. The question is often asked of DBA's to provide a solution to very open ended requirements.  However, the best solution can only be provided if the database professional is getting all the answers.  This session is a case study into many of Disaster Recovery options that we as database professionals have.  Understand the answers to the important questions that  we should be asking to provide the best solution not only for the database but for the business as well.  As an attendee you will learn how to change an answer from it depends into a solid solution that can be built upon. We will take examples from experiences and as a group determine what the best situation is, and then compare it to the actual solution implemented.

i.   At the end of this session, the attendees will be able to describe the differences between all the disaster recovery solutions and when to use them.
ii.  Walk away knowing the right questions to ask when presented with a disaster recovery project and why the answers change the disaster recovery options that could be presented.
iii. Learn from real life examples the stumbling points that you won’t read in books on line.
 

Instead of the January meeting, we are hosting SQL Saturday #104 on January 7th, 2012. If you haven't already, register now!

The Holiday Party is here! Sign up now! It will be Wednesday, December 7th at Mr. Biggs. We'll have VIP lanes reserved for Bowling! With special thanks to RedGate, we will also provide an actual dinner (not just appetizers) and Laser Tag! Bring your family! We'll have tons of fun! Sign up here: sqlchristmas.eventbrite.com

Wednesday, November 16th at 5:30 pm

101 Session: "A Journey Through the Metadata Catalog" by Troy Ketsdever
In this interactive session, we will explore the system catalog views that tell us about the schema and structure of your database. Navigating the views via their logical relationships, we will examine representative queries and their utility for learning about your db design.

Bio: Troy Ketsdever is a data architect with over 15 years of commercial software development experience, and has maintained a love/hate relationship with SQL Server since version 4.2. In addition to his "day job", Troy enjoys writing articles and presenting at user groups on a variety of database design and implementation topics. His main objective and vision is “making the right information available to the right people at the right time.

Main Session: "SQL Server Performance Tuning" by Mark Halstead
SQL Server performance tuning with an emphasis on finding the bottlenecks, Query design problems and database design problems.

Bio: Mark Halstead is the SQL Server technical lead dba for Xtivia working in the Virtual-DBA group. He had been with Xtivia, Inc. for 5 years and has worked with SQL Server for more than 15 years. He has worked in IT for 20+ years specializing in database administration.

 Wednesday, October 19th at 5:30 pm

101 Session: "This is SQL Jeopardy!" with your host Rebecca Mitchell

The category is “Colorado Springs SQL Server User Group”. The clue is “A thrilling, mettle-proving battleground of fun in which knowledge of SQL is proven amongst peers in 20 glorious minutes!” If you said “What is SQL Jeopardy?” you are absolutely right!  Join our very own T-“Do Not Call Me Alex” SQL Princess in our first ever SQL Jeopardy as we set our members against one another to determine who will be crowned the SQL Jeopardy Champion!

Bio: Rebecca is currently a database administrator with six fun-filled years of experience in SQL Server administration and development. With a background in a variety of technologies, she possesses over twelve years of notable success in providing and implementing technology solutions in an assortment of industries including aerospace manufacturing, container shipping, and local government. Sometimes referred to as the “T-SQL Princess,” she is also the Vice President of Marketing for the Colorado Springs SQL Server User Group and an overall goofball.

Main Session: "Devs are from Mars, Report Servers are from Venus" by Doug Lane

Do you remember what it was like to fall in love? Wasn't it wonderful? Lately it just hasn't been the same. You've been stuck in the same old routine, doing the same old charts and tables. Maybe Reporting Services doesn’t tell you what’s wrong. Maybe you're even thinking about seeing other reporting products (!) In this session, Doug will re-ignite your passion for RS by showing you how to design for better performance, explaining what RS has been trying to tell you through logs (but you haven't been listening), and demonstrating some new -- and easy -- tricks you may not have known RS can do. After this session, you'll want to spend some time alone with your new old flame.

Bio: Doug (MCTS) is a business intelligence, database, and sometimes ASP.NET/C# developer with ten years experience using Microsoft web and database products in the agriculture, insurance, taxonomy, and healthcare industries. He currently works for University Physicians, Inc. as a BI developer.Contact URL: http://www.douglane.net

Wednesday, September 21st at 5:30 pm

101 Session: "10 Things I Wish I Knew Then" by Chris Shaw

Have you ever looked back at your life or decisions you have made and said….  I wish I would have known that 10 years ago.  In this short but quick session I will share with you the 10 things I wish I had known then, that I know now.

Main Session: "Detecting and Correcting Database Design Anomalies" by Troy Ketsdever

It's nice when, as database developers, we have a clean slate to work with. Most of the time, however, we inherit and must support existing designs and implementations (or, perhaps even worse - revisit a design we deployed long ago before we "knew the ropes"). To add to the challenge, more often than not documentation of the database doesn't exist or is out-of-date with respect to the production system.In this session, we'll look at some tools, techniques, and scripts that will accelerate your understanding of that beast you're now in charge of supporting and extending, with a focus on identifying and correcting design and implementation anomalies.

 Bio: Troy Ketsdever is a data architect with over 15 years of commercial software development experience, and has maintained a love/hate relationship with SQL Server since version 4.2. In addition to his "day job", Troy enjoys writing articles and presenting at user groups on a variety of database design and implementation topics.
His main objective and vision is “making the right information available to the right people at the right time”.

When not attempting to wrangle logical conundrums (aka, constraint-less dbs), he enjoys empirical testing via field trials of various aspects of fluid dynamics, particularly with respect to gravitational interactions on deformable dynamic structures in gaseous mediums.

Wednesday, August 17 at 5:30 pm

101 Session: Intro to "Denali" SQL Server Security

Get up to speed on the new security features in "Denali", the next version of SQL Server. Disclose the new permissions, roles and encryption added to Denali. You'll discover some commonly overlooked practices in securing your SQL Server databases. Learn about physical security, passwords, privileges and roles, and preventative best practices. I'll demonstrate auditing and .Net code samples to use on your applications to prevent vulnerabilities.

Originally from El Paso, Texas, Gabriel has over 10 years’ professional developer experience using Microsoft technologies. Gabriel is an MCPD, ASP.NET Developer and an MCTS in SQL Server 2008 Database Development. He has developed desktop, web and database systems for the medical, retail, imports distributors, and automotive industries. Gabriel recently moved with his wife and three kids to Colorado Springs, where he works for a small ISV developing software for the big-ticket retail industry.

Main Session: Utility Databases

If you were asked what average runtime was of your slowest stored procedure, could you provide the answer? What if you needed to provide that information for last month? Do you review your error logs each day? Do you know the growth percentages of your databases for the past year or even the past month? If your database has an unusual growth event will you know about it?  In the utility database that we create during this session we will track stored procedure information along with information about the hard drives such as free space. We will look at how you can have the errors in your error logs emailed to you each day. The goal of this session is to help you automate and centralize as many of your day-to-day tasks as you can.  

Chris Shaw started his database career while in the Marine Corps working with Lotus Ami Pro databases somewhere in 1993. From there he went on to companies such as Wells Fargo, Pulte Mortgage and Yellow Pages Inc., and later consulted with insurance companies including Anthem Blue Shield. Chris has enjoyed writing and speaking about SQL Server over the last 10 years at events such as SQL Connections, Pass and SSWUG Ultimate conferences. Chris received the Microsoft MVP award.
 

Wednesday, July 20, 2011 5:30 PM
Primary Keys and Performance Level: Intermediate

In Paul’s top 10 most evil errors in SQL Server database development, number 2 is composite Primary Keys, and number 4 is Unwanted Bookmark Lookups. Both of these performance suckers are caused by poor Primary Key design. In this session Paul will explain how Primary Keys and clustered indexes affect performance and Situational Modeling - his proprietary method for designing Primary Keys.

Extreme Database Designs and the Queries that loved them Level: Advanced

You’ve heard that the EAV pattern is evil, you’ve heard that temporal database designs are impossible, and you’ve heard that the only way to model classes and objects in the database is to use an ORM like nHibernate or Entity Framework. But none of these myths are true and I’ll prove it with working design and code. In this session we’ll take SQL Server beyond the typical flat relational design to mind altering states including:
· how to properly model object-oriented inheritance

· how to code an EAV pattern with data integrity and ease of data query, insert, and update.

If you’ve become slightly bored with the relational model; if there’s no challenge to database design; if you long to break free from the flat 2-D relational designs, then this session will be like a breath of fresh air.

Paul Nielsen is a 7x SQL Server MVP, former author of the Wiley SQL Server Bible series, and the one behind the SQL Server MVP Deep Dives collaboration book. One of the old guys, he’s been designed and developing database since the early 80s (DEC Basic, Z80 assembler, AN/UYK-7 assembler, dBASE II CP/M, DataFlex, xBase, Access, VB/Pioneer SQL, SQL Server 6.5, 7, 2K, 2005, 2008, SQL Azure) . After three decades of mostly consulting, speaking, and writing, Paul now spends all his waking time on a software startup and bounces between T-SQL, SQL Azure, C#, WPF, and MVVM (plus finance, marketing, and usability testing) hourly. He lives in Colorado Springs with his 30 inch monitor, beautiful wife, and 3 kids.

June 15th 101 Session "Isn't That Spatial"

Abstract: "Isn't that Spatial" is a 30 minute overview into the spatial features introduced in Sql Server 2008. We will cover the basics of working with spatial data including: importing, querying, and visualizing. As time permits, we will dive into some best practices for working with spatial data and ways to improve spatial query performance.

Bio:
Jason has been working with SQL Server since version 6.5 and currently hold's several Microsoft certifications including: MCSD, MCDBA and MCTS. His most recent focus has been architecting large scale BI solutions. Previously, he helped architect, design, and build several high volume OLTP systems in a wide range of business domains.

June 15th "Managing SQL Server Permission"

Abstract: When your boss asks you who has access to your databases, do you break out into a cold sweat? Or, instead, are you worried about those other people who might have 'sa' access to your server and might be causing trouble on your server? Either way, as DBAs we need to be able to audit our SQL Server security. This presentation will give you a general overview of the different types of roles that you can use to manage access, what they mean, and how we look at the security gremlins hiding under the covers of our databases.

Bio: Mike Fal is a SQL Server DBA with 10+ years of experience, with some brief excursions into Oracle and Netezza. He currently works for a nation-wide marketing agency, supporting over 100 database servers with databases from 1 GB to 4 TB in size. Mike holds a Bachelor's Degree from the University of Colorado at Boulder and has been caught playing trombone in public on more than one occasion.