My PASS Summit 2011 Submissions

Before I list what presentations I have submitted this year to PASS, I want to briefly talk about SQLRally.

SQLRally gives me a wonderful opportunity to present on Database Normalization. This passion of mine is expressed with others in the SQL Server community and I see a really need for others to teach the basics of normalization. It is not an academic knowledge of 1, 2, 3… but more importantly to help performance, reporting and now business intelligence. Another session I have started working on is Database Standard Operating Procedure which came from questions I have received from attendees at SQLSaturday and in-house at Amedisys.

The next opportunity is SQLSaturday #77 in Pensacola. Karla and gang looks like the have many sponsors and the schedule is set. I am going to attend 4 others sessions while presenting at 2.

So here are my PASS Summit submissions:

3rd Normal Form: That's crazy talk!!!

How did the development world conclude that an integer is the best primary key? What has been added to SQL Server in 2005 and 2008 to help change the way database design has evolved over the years? Can we still use a VarChar(xx) for a primary key? What is the difference between a lookup and Parent/Child relationship? What is an example of a Many-to-Many relationship? What is 4th and 5th normal form? This session will go through the history of 22 years of experience with various database designs – normalized and denormalized. The discussion will include the benefits and forward looking that should be required for using various design techniques. The flow will be a discussion with attendee participation to share success and pains in database development, leading to standards for all of us to take advantage of while designing databases.

Execution Plan Basics

This will be a Beginners session highlighting the starting point for using the execution plans from SQL Server to assist in query tuning. Briefly, we will look at the history to get an idea of how Microsoft has improved the display through Graphical Plans and Missing Index suggestion. Examples from the AdventureWorks database will be shown so anyone can take the queries after the session to try on the own, which will be encouraged. Questions will be answered like: What is the difference between a Table and Clustered Index Scan? What is a Lookup? How do you improve performance of Lookups? What are the different types of Loops? How to get more information from the Plan with the properties window? What other options are available in Management Studio to assist with query tuning?

Transition from DBA to BI Architect

Database Normalization and Dimension Modeling are the same but different. Development in today ‘s larger industries require the design and analysis of Online Transaction Processing (OLTP) to take into account Data Warehousing/OLAP (Online Analytical Processing). My transition from Senior DBA to BI Architect at Amedisys has been a process of sanding the rough edges of my passion from fully normalized databases. The Dimensional Modeling started a re-tooling of my mind to look at end result analytics and statistics from smaller and smaller transactions. From previous experience, I know I am not going to get it right the first time. Lessons learned will mold me into a great BI Guy.

RML Utilities\SQL Nexus

Microsoft Support (CSS, formerly PSS) has made available a utility to do an analysis of a trace file. This session will go through an explanation of how to use this utility and interpret the results. RML Utilities can answer questions about where the most resources are being consumed, queries that are responsible for heavy usage, changes in plans during trace and if queries are running slow in comparison to other traces

Good to all submitters and look forward to seeing y’all all in Orlando and Seattle.

God Bless