Data Architecture VC hosts Nigel Sammy: TSQL Tips and Tricks

Please join the Data Architecture Virtual Chapter as they host SQL Server MVP Nigel Sammy his take for T-SQL Tips and Tricks for developers and DBAs.

Thu, Dec 19 2013 12:00 (GMT-06:00) Central Time (US & Canada)

Nigel Sammy - T-SQL: Tips and Tricks

RSVP: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/5187602867480253442

Queries are running longer than expected? Your database server isn't performing as well as it should? There are many reason that this could be happening and one of them is the T-SQL being executed on the system. T-SQL offers various ways to get the information that you need but sometimes the option you choose might return the data that you want but may not be the best query structure or logic to use.
This session will share insight on how basic query structure and logic works so you can avoid wasting too much time on trial and error when writing queries. It will also show you some tips and tricks to avoid some bad T-SQL coding habits and help you write better queries. This session is for Developers and Database Administrators.

Presenter Bio:
Nigel is a Microsoft SQL Server MVP with over a decade of technical experience and over eight years database and SQL Server experience. He's progressed through several roles in his career including Lecturer, Developer, Analyst, Database Administrator/Developer, Project Manager, Architect, Team Lead and Manager. He's the founder and current chapter leader of the Trinidad and Tobago SQL Server User Group (TTSSUG) and is also the chapter leader of the PASS Azure Virtual Chapter.

PASS Data Architecture VC presents Steve Simon–Challenges to Designing Financial Warehouses

Please join the Data Arch VC with Steve Simon this Thursday Nov 14th at noon central for a great look at Steve’s experience while implementing a financial data warehouse.

https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/3299406050712061698

Next Meeting

Thu, Nov 14 2013 12:00 (GMT-06:00) Central Time (US & Canada)

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Challenges to designing financial warehouses

Summary:

In today’s rapidly changing financial world, designing robust and durable data warehouses can be a challenge that does not always stand the test of time. In this presentation, we shall look at some of the challenges and design issues that were encountered whilst designing two custom warehouses and the steps that were required to cope with ongoing requirement changes, indecision from management, and shrinking budgets; all of which affected the progress of moving these projects from the design board to a profitable production stage.

About Steve:

Steve Simon is a SQL Server MVP and a senior BI Development Engineer with Atrion Networking. He has been involved with database design and analysis for over 25 years. Steve has presented papers at eight PASS Summits and one at PASS Europe 2009 and 2010. He has just recently presented a Master Data Services presentation at the PASS Amsterdam Rally.  Steve has also presented 5 papers at the Information Builders' (IBI) International Summits. He is a PASS regional mentor & chair of the Oracle/SQL Server VC.

Summit 2013 Review!!! plus SQLSaturday #237 Charlotte BI Edition

The week is over and I waiting for my flight home. I did not to get to as many sessions as past summits, but that was replaced with speaking opportunities consisting of 1 half-day session, a 75 minute regular session and speaking at the Charlotte BI SQLSaturday.

Tuesday was a busy day with the Volunteers meeting at 8AM followed by the Virtual Chapter meeting at 9AM. Good discussions were had at both, especially in the second meeting when I transitioned out as Data Architecture VC chair (to my friend Robert) and enter as a Virtual Chapter mentor. I was able to meet the leaders of the Azure(Nigel), Russian(Andrey), App Dev(Gabriel) and Fundamentals(Mark) VCs. It was good to put a face with a name. The Virtual Chapters are growing fast and have a lot to offer.

I spent the late morning and afternoon in a BIML workshop presented by Varigence and Linchpin People. Scott from Varigence did a great job showing the Mist interface with biml/biml script. This tool seems to be a great choice for people with large SSIS implementations. You do need some object oriented knowledge to work with the script, but it is worth it. I hope to just implement the BIML to create a template for connections and variables we use at work for most SSIS packages.

The evening was hanging out with Robert from Baton Rouge for the Welcome Reception and Quiz Bowl. That is always entertaining and we talked to some First Timers at Summit and were able to help with explaining the next three days to them. Part of the evening was of course spent rehearsing the session demos. I even bumped into John Sterret during lunch.

Wednesday morning I arrived at 6:30AM to help start the day at the Community Zone which was a hug, huge hit for the whole conference. Thanks Karla!!! I spent the morning in the Speaker Ready Room cleaning up the Slicing and Dicing presentations and talking with speakers I have not seen in awhile. I meet Paul Turley and watch a cool demo he had for dashboards through his Windows Surface. Lunch was sitting at the Baton Rouge and North Arkansas chapter table and chatting with some new friends. Talk turned to not normalizing data and I had to leave I did see Carlos Bossy talking about Predictive Analytics and the always great presenter Peter Meyers for Data Mining. Peter added some interface programming in .Net which was pretty cool along with 4 other demos.

Thursday was all about the 1/2 day session I was presenting on Attributes and Hierarchies in Analysis Services Multi-Dimensional edition. The presentation was being filmed and I forgot about that, so I am sure there are some comments I am going to regret if I watch it. The session went well, but the room was not half-full. One a good note, most people came back after the break and stayed to the end. I received many complements and look forward to the comments from the evaluations. Thursday evening was the Community Appreciation party at the NASCAR Hall of Fame and was packed. The facilities were great and probably heaven for some NASCAR fans.

Friday morning I presented at 8AM on Transition from T-SQL to MDX and the room was packed. I received more compliments for this session than the previous. Afterwards, I bumped into Patrick LeBlanc who has moved from Baton Rouge to Atlanta. I spent time in the community zone and attended the ETL table for Birds of a Feather lunch. Todd McDermid (SSIS MVP for about 5+ years) stopped by and shared his experience which was appreciated. The afternoon was sessions from Brian Mitchell – Clustered-Column Stored Indexes for 2014, MS Program managers showing PowerView integration with Multidimensional Analysis Services and Paul White talking about Parallel Execution Plans.

One interesting point about the talks on Friday is 2014 clustered column indexes restricts the tables to not allow constraints, including a primary key.  Brian’s explanation was good and I understand why (because of the structure of a column store index), but it does not sound like a good idea to me. The PowerView on Multidimensional was good, but it only works with SharePoint integration.

Friday night for the Speaker’s dinner for SQLSaturday BI Edition in Charlotte, NC. I did the 60 minute presentation for Attributes and Hierarchies on Saturday. This event was well run (thanks to a large good of MSBI professionals in the CBIG group) and some speakers that were also speaking at the Summit. Here are some links to photos - http://slavasql.blogspot.com/2013/10/sql-saturday-237-charlotte-nc.html and http://www.flickr.com/photos/purnellphotography/sets/72157636740830425/

  

My PASS Summit Schedule this Week

Well, it is here folks. The PASS Summit 2013. If you have never been to a PASS Summit, please look in to attending one year. There is more SQL Server Learning than you could fit in a month. You just need to break it down into digestible chunks.

Monday was a travel day, thank Delta and the Sheraton Downtown.

Tuesday, I am starting the day at 8AM for a PASS volunteer meeting, then continuing with the Virtual Chapter meeting at 9AM. I rotated out as chair of the Data Architecture VC and now I am a Virtual Chapter Mentor. The day continues with a late arrival to the BIML workshop. We could really use the automation from this script language for SSIS.

Wednesday morning, I will be volunteering at 6:30AM for the PASS Community center. Please come by and visit sometime during the Summit to meet the people who help put PASS events on. Then, on to learn some BI and Business Analytics with BI Power and Data Mining sessions

If you are not here, please follow sessions and announcements on PASS TV. You can actually watch some of the Spotlight sessions LIVE!!!

My first session is Thursday – Slicing and Dicing: Attributes and Hierarchies

Hopefully, I will be able to give a blog about each day and the sessions attended.

Houston Tech Fest 2013

I am traveling (driving) with the family to Houston to present on SSIS 2012 at Houston Tech Fest 2013 at the Reliant Center. The session in the first of the morning in the database track. SSIS 2012 has lots of new features, but this presentation focuses Change Data Capture component, Data Quality Services (DQS) and the SSIS Catalog. All during the presentation are 10-15 other new features used for the demos. The session is about 90% demo.

Please come get some free training and network with other IT professionals.

Using SSIS 2012 for ETL in a Data Warehouse

Abstract

This session will go through some old and new features of Integration Service 2012 to help with loading data into a Data Warehouse/Mart. The GUI has been improved visually during design and execution. The storage of packages has been update with Integration Service Catalogs. The Change Data Capture task helps with incremental updates. Logging has been improved for debugging. A demostration of creating your own Slowly Changing Dimension with current Tasks will be shown with some design hints

Session 1

Track Database

Time 9:30-10:30

Room Room 308

PASS Data Arch VC presents Louis Davidson Relational Database “Good Enough”

Please join us Thursday Sept 12th at noon Central for the monthly Data Architecture Virtual Chapter presentation. We will have SQL Server MVP talking about relational databases. Please don’t miss this session which is a preview to the Pre-Conference session Louis will be doing at the PASS Summit 2013 in Charlotte, NC Oct 14-19.

Next Meeting: Thu, Sep 12 2013

How Recognize Relational Database is "Good Enough"

Online Meeting URL: http://dataarch.sqlpass.org
Webcast:  https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/495593124197097216

iCal
UTC : Thu, Sep 12 2013 17:00 - 18:00
Event Time : Thu, Sep 12 2013 12:00 - 13:00 (GMT-06:00) Central Time (US & Canada)

Characteristics of a great Relational Database

Speaker: Louis Davidson, Data Architect drsql.org

Summary: Characteristics of a great Relational Database

About Louis: Louis Davidson has worked in the IT industry for over 15 years as a corporate database developer and architect. He has been a Microsoft SQL Server MVP for 8 years and has written five books on database design. Louis is currently the data architect for the Christian Broadcasting Network, supporting offices in Virginia Beach, VA, and Nashville, TN. He has a bachelor's degree in Computer Science from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. You can read more about Louis at http://drsql.org.

Baton Rouge SQLSaturday and Tech Day 2013

This will be the fifth SQLSaturday and Tech Day in Baton Rouge, LA on Saturday August 3rd, 2013.

I found a collection of SQLSaturday, SQLRally and PASS Summit shirts with various stickers collected over the last 5 or 6 years.

It is going to be hot this weekend in Baton Rouge, so why not join us in the Business Complex at Louisiana State University for some AC, Networking, visit with Sponsors and excellent sessions.

Thomas

24 Hours of PASS: Preview to Slicing and Dicing Summit Session and more…

For 24 Hours of PASS 2013 Summit preview (#24HOP – twitter hash tag), I was asked to give a preview of the 1/2 day session on Slicing and Dicing in Analysis Serves 2012 for the upcoming PASS Summit 2013. My response: No Problem.

In Denver, it was the year 2007 when I attended the first Summit. I had never been to a SQL Server conference before and just happened to read about it on SQLServerCentral.com. My boss thought it was a good idea for both of us to attend, Wow, what an experience that the first year! I sat through session after session of presentations on SQL Server stuff I had never known before. We used the SSC code to get a discount and a visit to the Casino Night put on by Steve Jones and gang.

Now, the tables have turned, and I have to present while expecting the attendees to learn the same as I had learned in 2007. By the third Summit in 2009, I was thinking: Hey, I can do that.

Analysis Services caught my attention because of the degree I received at LSU – Quantitative Business Analysis. I was amazed at what OLAP could do with data. This lead to reading Kimball books and a lot of trial and error. The meat of everything seemed the entry into a dimensional model, and this was through Attributes and Hierarchies.

This preview is about the defaults in Analysis Services Multidimensional Cubes and what needs to be changed or configured before using Attributes and Hierarchies.

Please come online with us on July 31st thru August 1st and get a taste of what you can expect from the Summit in Charlotte, NC Oct 14-18, 2013. You can pick one and more sessions to learn more about SQL Server.

• Application & Database Development
• BI Information Delivery
• BI Platform Architecture, Development & Administration
• Cloud Application Development & Deployment
• Enterprise Database Administration & Deployment

• Practical Performance Troubleshooting
• From Reporting Services Rookie to Rockstar
• Big Data Visualization for Business Intelligence Professionals
• Into the Blue: Extending AlwaysOn Availability Groups
• Be a Successful DBA in the World of Cloud and On-Premise Data

• 24 jam-packed hours of SQL Server and BI training
• Sneak peek of PASS Summit 2013 content
• Content delivered from across the globe
• Free access to the best in technical education

PASS Data Architecture VC presents Steve Simon–Challenges Designing Finance Data Warehouse

Steve Simon will join us on Thursday June 20th at noon central to help us understand some challenges with designing a financial data warehouse in the real world. Come chat with a SQL Server MCP and seasoned data warehouse architect to reflect on his many years experience in this industry.

There will be a $50 amazon gift card given away during the session.

Online Meeting URL: https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/659855837
DataArch.SQLPass.org

When iCal
Event Time : Thu, Jun 20 2013 12:00 - 13:00 (GMT-06:00) Central Time (US & Canada)
Challenges to designing financial warehouses, lessons learnt

Speaker: Steve Simon, Senior Business Intelligence Development Engineer Atrion Networking Corporation

Summary: In today’s rapidly changing financial world, designing robust and durable data warehouses can be a challenge that does not always stand the test of time. In this presentation, we shall look at some of the challenges and design issues that were encountered whilst designing two custom warehouses and the steps that were required to cope with ongoing requirement changes, indecision from management, and shrinking budgets; all of which affected the progress of moving these projects from the design board to a profitable production stage.

About Steve: Steve Simon is a SQL Server MVP and a senior BI Development Engineer with Atrion Networking. He has been involved with database design and analysis for over 25 years. Steve has presented papers at eight PASS Summits and one at PASS Europe 2009 and 2010. He has just recently presented a Data Quality Services presentation at the PASS Nordic Rally in Copenhagen. Steve has also presented 5 papers at the Information Builders' (IBI) International Summits. He is a PASS regional mentor & chair of the Oracle/SQL Server VC.

PASS Business Analytics VC presents Mark Tabladillo – Framework for Data Mining

Please join the Business Analytics Virtual Chapter as Mark Tabladillo talks about Best Practices for building a Framework for Data Mining. The GoToMeeting link for Noon Atlantic on June 13th is https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/7717448277059007488

More Information

June 13th BAVC Virtual Chapter Meeting

• Online @ http://BAVC.sqlpass.org (map)
• 12:00 - 13:00 (GMT-04:00) Atlantic Time (Canada)
• https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/7717448277059007488
• Language: English

Virtual Meeting

Featured Presentation: A Best Practices Framework for Data Mining

Mark Tabladillo, Data Mining Architect MarkTab Consulting

Data mining increasingly fascinates business people and information technology professionals alike, with the promise of finding meaningful patterns, relationships, and opportunities in our continuously growing volumes of data. There are tried and tested best practices you can follow to begin and improve your data mining efforts.

About Mark:
Mark Tabladillo, a Microsoft MVP and SAS expert. He helps teams become more confident in making actionable business decisions with the use of data mining and analytics. Mark provides training and consulting for companies in United States and around the world. He also teaches part-time with the University of Phoenix. He tweets @marktabnet and blogs at http://marktab.net

SQLSaturday #220 Atlanta

From the tweets, it looks like there will be about 800 attendees sitting in on 11 different tracks with 5 or 6 sessions on each track. This will be the largest SQLSaturday event I have been a part of. It will be my first time at a SQLSaturday event in Atlanta. There are also 5 different pre-conference sessions today (Friday) from some great speakers – Bill Pearson, Denny Cherry, Stacia Misner, Eddie Wuerch and Adam Machanic.

I get to present 2 different sessions. DW ETL with SSIS 2012 was a session I did at the PASS Summit last year and Attributes and Hierarchies is a new session I presented to the local Baton Rouge SQL Server User Group a month ago.

Using SSIS 2012 for ETL in a Data Warehouse

This session will go through some old and new features of Integration Service 2012 to help with loading data into a Data Warehouse/Mart. The GUI has been improved visually during design and execution. The storage of packages has been update with Integration Service Catalogs. The Change Data Capture task helps with incremental updates. Logging has been improved for debugging. A demonstration of creating your own Slowly Changing Dimension with current Tasks will be shown with some design hints.

Attributes & Hierarchies in Analysis Services 2012

The session explains Attributes and Hierarchies in Analysis Services 2012 Semantic Model. They are used to slice (filter) and dice (group) measures and dimensions used to view analytical data. The slicing and dicing of data involves fields, columns, or whatever you want to labeled them. But, in SQL Server Semantic model these are called Attributes and Hierarchies. The configuration of these slicers and dicers are important in SQL Server Analysis Services. This session will demonstrate the difference between an attribute and columns in a hierarchy in the dimension as well as the configuration of these for best performance and viewing.

Hope to see ya’ll all there if you are local to the area.

PASS Data Arch VC presents Robert Davis–Case Study: Designing a Global Scale-Out Architecture

Thursday May 16th at noon central, we are going to be educated by MCM and past SQL Server MVP Robert Davis talking about “How to deliver a public-facing website on a global scale.” The online webcast is part of the monthly presentations by the PASS Data Architect Virtual Chapter which Robert help revitalize about 2-3 years ago. Please join us.

Online Meeting URL 

https://www.livemeeting.com/cc/usergroups/join?id=2PKSJC&role=attend&pw=fb%2CN%7C3-qZ

 

When iCal UTC : Thu, May 16 2013 17:00 - 18:00
Event Time : Thu, May 16 2013 12:00 - 13:00 (GMT-06:00) Central Time (US & Canada)

Case Study: Designing a Global Scaled-out Architecture

Speaker: Robert Davis, SQL Server Master SQL DBA Master

Summary: How do you deliver a public-facing website on a global scale? To be truly competitive in a global market, you need to deliver a high performing website no matter what part of the world the user is in. Scaling out websites to multiple locations is easy, but it doesn’t really provide the performance required if the website has to get data from halfway around the world. This session will look at the challenges to scaling out the entire application to meet global performance requirements and how we addressed these challenges for an existing web application.

About Robert: Robert is a SQL Server 2008 Certified Master and an experienced Database Administrator, SQL Server evangelist, speaker, writer, and trainer. He has worked with SQL Server for 13+ years, most recently as Chief SQL Server Evangelist for Idera Software. Previously he served as PM for the SQL Server Certified Master Program at Microsoft Learning, and as a production DBA at Microsoft. Robert helped found the PASS Data Architecture Virtual Chapter and was co-author of Pro SQL Server 2008 Mirroring

SQLSaturday Atlanta #220–May 18th

I am pleased to be selected to present a session on Analysis Services at the Atlanta SQLSaturday this May 18th at Georgia State University. If you follow @SQLPass and #SQLSatAtl on twitter, you might have seen tweets about 775+ registered attendees for this event. You can still get on the waiting list if you really want to attend. So what does this mean? There are going to be lots of networking along with some of the great speakers sharing their SQL Server knowledge.

It is going to be cool to talk with Bill Pearson again, visit with Adam Machanic and Louis Davidson, plus get to sit in on sessions from Stacia Misner, Teo Lachev and Mellissa Coates. I wish I had time to go to a Brave’s baseball game, but I will instead go to the Speaker Dinner Friday night and the after-party on Saturday, then fly home.

Below is my session:

Attributes & Hierarchies in Analysis Services 2012

The session explains Attributes and Hierarchies in Analysis Services 2012 Semantic Model. They are used to slice (filter) and dice (group) measures and dimensions used to view analytical data. The slicing and dicing of data involves fields, columns, or whatever you want to labeled them. But, in SQL Server Semantic model these are called Attributes and Hierarchies. The configuration of these slicers and dicers are important in SQL Server Analysis Services. This session will demonstrate the difference between an attribute and columns in a hierarchy in the dimension as well as the configuration of these for best performance and viewing.

T-SQL Tuesday #41 – Presenting and Loving It

Some Tuesday mornings I have bacon with eggs and an English muffin. Not today though. I am blogging about Why I Love Presenting for T-SQL Tuesday #41 hosted by Bob Pusateri. I will attempt to answer all his questions.

What was the first time you gave a presentation in front of a group and really enjoyed it?

It was probably when I worked at IEM and became a Microsoft Certified Database Administrator (MCDBA) in SQL Server 2000. We (me) started to do Lunch & Learns at the office where everybody brought their lunch to a conference room and listened to a presentation. We were about to upgrade to SQL Server 2000 from 7.0 and I was asked to show the .Net developers (I was a developer back then slowly becoming the Accidental DBA) what was new in SQL Server 2000. There was so much to talk about, that it took about 2 months giving a Lunch & Learn every 2 weeks to cover everything significant to developers. One thing I learned by presenting was that SQL Server 2000 included Cascade Update and Delete in foreign key constraints. I had just finished a month project coding this in triggers for a 7.0 database with 100+ tables.

Was it something that was required of you in school?

Yes, presenting at a speech class at LSU was a requirement, but I did not take it as serious as I do today. It was just school, right?

Something you did in the workplace?

Yes, see answer to first question. I also continued Lunch and Learns when I started working for Amedisys following IEM. They actually provide the lunch for the group. We were upgrading to SQL Server 2005 at this time. This eventually led to presenting at the local Baton Rouge SQL Server User group started by Patrick LeBlanc about the Performance Dashboard.

Were you inspired by other SQL community members and thought “I think I can do that too”?

After attending the second PASS Summit, this is what I started saying to myself. I noticed that some presenters were really excited (Grant Fritchey and Paul Neilsen) about a topic and I thought I could do the same. It was not as easy as I fantasized, but it was worth the time and energy.

Whatever your story is, I’d love to hear it.

From there, I presented at the local user group and started submitting to the Summit. I was not accepted the first 2 or 3 years, but after presenting at about 5-6 SQLSaturday events, I was accepted by SQLRally in 2011, then the Summit in 2011 and 2012. The Virtual Chapters of PASS really help as well and I started to volunteer to help run a VC.

By far the greatest benefit realized from presenting is learning the technology. There is countless hours I sit and read and practice the material over and over. This repetitiveness ingrains the mind with the ideas and practices of the technology. It then carries over into the day-to-day motions of being a DBA. The companies I have worked for get an experience expert.

PASS Business Analytics presents MVP Jessica Moss: Putting the Business Into Business Analytics

I saw Jessica Moss presenting at the PASS Summit a couple of years ago on Reporting Services. She has been an author to many books and has a good series on SQLServerCentral.com’s Stairway series for Reporting Services.

Please join the PASS Business Analytics virtual chapter on April 4th at noon Eastern as Jessica presents “Putting the Business into Business Analytics”. Do not forget about the PASS Business Analytics conference in Chicago April 10-12 where you can see Jessica live.

Putting the Business into Business Analytics

Live meeting: https://www.livemeeting.com/cc/8000181573/join?id=3J2DTB&role=attend&pw=RG%2F652Wqq

Jessica Moss, BI Architect CapTech Consulting

Having analytical information is only as good as what you do with it. A key component to business analytics is incorporating your informational results back into your business to create an ecosystem of analytics that will continually improve how you run your business. This session will discuss ways to integrate your knowledge back into your business processes, using examples from several industries and subject areas.

About Jessica:
Jessica M. Moss is a well-known architect, speaker, author, and Microsoft MVP of SQL Server Business Intelligence. Jessica's expertise includes data warehouse modeling, Integration Services ETL, Analysis Services semantic modeling, Reporting Services report design, and helping customers across industries successfully implement and enhance their BI solutions. She enjoys sharing her knowledge with the central Virginia community, speaks regularly at user groups, Code Camps, and conferences, and has co-authored four technical books. You can read more on her website at http://www.jessicammoss.com.

PASS Data Arch VC presents Steve Hughes on Accounting for Windows Azure

I meet Steve this past November in Seattle at the PASS Summit. Reading his series on XMLA and Analysis Services help me understand more about SSAS. It was good to finally talk with this dude and get him to present to the Data Arch VC

His blog is Data on Wheels.

Please join us on March 21st at noon central to get some data architecture information for Windows Azure.

Steve Hughes Accounting for Windows Azure

Online Meeting URL: https://www.livemeeting.com/cc/UserGroups/join?id=C2NPG7&role=attend&pw=x9%25%299%23Dr2

When iCal
UTC : Thu, Mar 21 2013 17:00 - 18:00
Event Time : Thu, Mar 21 2013 12:00 - 13:00 (GMT-06:00) Central Time (US & Canada)
Accounting for Windows Azure in Your Data Architecture

Speaker: Steve Hughes, Practice Lead - Data and Business Intelligence Magenic

Summary: As Windows Azure becomes a more significant part of the IT landscape, data architects need to understand the data technologies at their disposal. Not all data can nor should be stored in the relational database in Azure. The discussion will include the various storage types available for data in Azure and how they may fit into an architecture. Learn which data storage techniques may work best for your next project with Azure and some of the nuances of using each type within a project.

About Steve: Steve Hughes is a Practice Lead at Magenic, working with Microsoft’s SQL Server stack to deliver data and BI solutions. He has worked with technology for over 15 years and is passionate about helping customers understand that data is valuable and profitable. Over the past 6 years, he has delivered more than 30 presentations on SQL Server and data architecture. In 2010, he received Consultant of the Year honors at Magenic. Steve is also a PASS Regional Mentor for the Northeast.

Baton Rouge SQL Server User Group

Wednesday March 13th 2013, I have the pleasure in presenting to the local SQL Server User group in Baton Rouge, LA. The topic will be Attributes and Hierarchies in Analysis Services 2012. The flow will be from requirements gathering thru implementation in the Semantic Model.

My employer, Turner Industries, LLC, will be sponsoring the evening which includes the .Net User and Windows Phone groups in Baton Rouge. We all meet on the same night and have networking/dinner together with a lightening round for all groups. Please come join us at Louisiana Technology Park on Florida Blvd. The park is an business incubator for technology companies in Baton Rouge and Louisiana.

March '13 SQL Server User Group Meeting

Topic: Attributes and Hierarchies in Analysis Services 2012

Date: Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Location: The Louisiana Technology Park

Sponsored By: TBA

Agenda:

5:45 - 6:15 pm: Networking and Refreshments

6:15 - 6:30 pm: Lightning Round Topic

6:30 - 8:00 pm: Main Topic

8:00 - until: Open Forum for questions and giveaways

Main Topic: Attributes and Hierarchies in Analysis Services 2012

Main Topic Speaker: Thomas LeBlanc, Turner Industries

Summary: The session explains Attributes and Hierarchies in Analysis Services 2012 Semantic Model. They are used to slice (filter) and dice (group) measures and dimensions used to view analytical data. The slicing and dicing of data involves fields, columns, or whatever you want to labeled them. But, in SQL Server Semantic model these are called Attributes and Hierarchies. The configuration of these slicers and dicers are important in SQL Server Analysis Services. This session will demonstrate the difference between an attribute and columns in a hierarchy in the dimension as well as the configuration of these for best performance and viewing.

Summary: Thomas LeBlanc (MCITP DBA/BI) is a Sr. SQL Server DBA @ Turner Industries & the PASS Data Architecture Virtual Chapter Chair. His specialties include normalization, performance tuning, database design, ETL-SSIS, SSAS cubes and T-SQL code. DBA work includes monitoring many SQL Server instances at Turner for performance and uptime then spends the other half of his time gathering requirements, designing, coding and presenting Data Marts using SSIS, SSAS Cubes, Excel & PerformancePoint while migrating some cubes to 2012 Tabular Model for PowerView.

PASS Data Arch VC presents: Neil Hambly’s Think You Have The Right Data-Type?

Please join this Thursday Feb 24th 2013 at noon central for Confio SQL Server expert Neil Hambly talking SQL Server Data-Types. This seemingly simply feature is the heart of tables and data in SQL Server, so you do not want to miss Neil sharing implications of not knowing the details to Data Types.

Online Meeting URL: https://www.livemeeting.com/cc/UserGroups/join?id=7BTR84&role=attend&pw=s%26Q2H%2B%3A%263
RSVP URL: DataArch.SQLPass.org

This month Confio DBA Neil Hambly presents Think you have the right Data-Type? He will talk about selecting the right Data-Type (DT) for data is key to efficient data storage, retrieval and processing, with over 30 different DT to choose from this isn’t as straight forward as you might think. Join us Feb 28th 2013 at noon central for a talk about data type design and decisions.

When

iCal
UTC : Thu, Feb 28 2013 18:00 - 19:00
Event Time : Thu, Feb 28 2013 12:00 - 13:00 (GMT-06:00) Central Time (US & Canada)
Your Local Time: 2/28/2013 12:00 - 13:00

Think you have the right Data-Type?

Speaker: Neil Hambly, Database Administrator Confio Software

Summary: Selecting the right Data-Type (DT) for data is key to efficient data storage, retrieval and processing, with over 30 different DT to choose from this isn’t as straight forward as you might think, have your also considered the usage pattern of the data in addition to its storage requirements This session explores the various data-types now available, we look at conversion’s between different DT’s as well as index sizes & effectiveness, compression and other factors can that influence these decisions, we finish off by discussing different approaches on ‘migrating’ a DT to a different DT, throughout the session we consider any performance considerations, such as when implicit conversions occur and more

About Neil: Neil Hambly is a SQL Server veteran of more than 14 years, with expertise in SQL Server from Version 6.5 to the latest 2012 edition. He's held database roles at major organizations, including the BBC, ABN AMRO, and Accenture, as well as at a number of market-leading companies. Currently a Senior DBA at Confio Software, he’s held prior roles as a DBA, developer, and architect. Leader of the PASS London Chapter, Neil can frequently be found speaking at UK and international events.