Please join the PASS Data Architecture virtual chapter on Thursday Jan 30th at noon central for SQL Server Tips and Tricks presented in 5 minute lectures.
DataArch.SQLPass.org
Next Meeting
Thu, Jan 30 2014 12:00 (GMT-06:00) Central Time (US & Canada)
RSVP: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/2529334496189827586
Please join the PASS BI/DW VC today January 15th at 7PM Central for a presentation on Attributes and Hierarchies in Analysis Services 2012. This is a presentation I have shown at 2 SQLSaturdays and the Baton Rouge SQL Server User Group as well as 24 Hours of PASS.
Next Meeting
Wed, Jan 15 2014 7PM Central
Thu, Jan 16 2014 12:00 (GMT+10:00) Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney
Attributes & Hierarchies in Analysis Services 2012
RSVP: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/3419604662485554177
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.
Thomas LeBlanc (MCSA BI 2008, MCITP 2005/2008 DBA & MCDBA 2000) is a Data Warehouse Architect in Baton Rouge, LA. He has been in the IT field since 1989 starting as a COBOL programmer, graduating to dBase, FoxPro, Visual FoxPro, upgrading to Visual Basic versions 3-6 and even some .Net(C#). Designing and developing normalized database has become his passion. Dimensional Modeling is now his future. Full-time DBA work started in 2001 for Thomas while working at a Paper Mill. DBA related work involved supporting 600+ GB databases with replication to a Data Warehouse and DB Mirroring to a disaster recovery site. Performance tuning and reviewing database design and code are an everyday occurrence. Using the Microsoft BI stack for analytical reporting has sharpened his skills with SSIS, SSAS, SSRS and PerformancePoint.
Please join us tonight, Wednesday Jan 8th starting at 5:45PM with networking and food. The information below is from the BRSSUG Website: http://www.brssug.org/
January '14 Baton Rouge User Groups Meeting - Azure!
Topic: Microsoft Azure!
This is an all user groups on deck meeting! SQL, .net, SharePoint, IT Pro, La-WIT are all invited!
Date: Wednesday, January 8, 2014
Location: The Louisiana Technology Park - http://www.brssug.org/where
Sponsored By: Microsoft
Agenda:
5:45 - 6:15 pm: Networking and Refreshments
6:15 - 6:30 pm: Announcements
6:30 - 8:00 pm: Microsoft!
Main Topic: Microsoft Azure Info for ALL User Groups
Main Topic Speakers: Ryan Roussel, Microsoft and Bobby Lee, Microsoft
Main Topic Summary:
Azure is an exciting platform and between IAAS, PAAS, big data, storage, media, mobile services, etc. the possibilities in Azure truly seem limitless. This user group session will focus on an introduction to Azure with a focus on the agenda topics below. The session will include lots of live Azure demonstrations and answering questions from the group.
Every person in attendance will have free access to Azure so they can do everything demoed at the user group meeting on their own after the session!
Agenda:
· Review Azure IAAS (Infrastructure As A Service) – Windows and Linux
o http://www.windowsazure.com/en-us/solutions/infrastructure/
· Review Azure PAAS (Platform As A Service) and Azure for the web
o http://www.windowsazure.com/en-us/solutions/web/
o How do developers leverage Azure for .Net, JAVA, Node.js, PHP, Python, Ruby, etc.
· Review Azure Mobile Services – Azure development for mobile apps on iOS, Android, Windows Phone
o http://www.windowsazure.com/en-us/develop/mobile/
· Azure storage options review Azure storage (tables, blob, queue)
o http://www.windowsazure.com/en-us/services/storage/
o Developer perspective, when to look at Azure Storage, IAAS database (SQL or Oracle) for SQL Database (Azure PAAS database)
· Free Azure access, review options:
o MSDN users have free Azure access of $150-$200 free Azure capacity per month. Activate today no credit card needed: http://www.windowsazure.com/en-us/pricing/member-offers/msdn-benefits/
o Free Azure access for Non-MSDN users, NO credit card needed: http://www.windowsazure.com/en-us/pricing/free-trial/
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.
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)
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.
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 
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/
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.
