Info

SQL Data Partners Podcast

Hosted by Carlos L Chacon, the SQL Data Partners Podcast focuses on Microsoft data platform related topics mixed with a sprinkling of professional development. Carlos and guests discuss new and familiar features and ideas and how you might apply them in your environments. Visit our website for episode show notes at marathonus.com/podcast and leave a comment if you have a topic you think we should discuss. We’ll see YOU on the SQL Trail.
RSS Feed Subscribe in Apple Podcasts
2024
February
January


2023
December
November
October
September
August
June
April
March
February
January


2022
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
April
March
February
January


2021
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January


2020
December
October
September
August
July
June
April
March
February
January


2019
December
November
October
September
July
June
May
April
March
February
January


2018
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February


2017
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January


2016
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January


2015
December
November
October
September
August


Categories

All Episodes
Archives
Categories
Now displaying: 2015

Hosted by Carlos L Chacon, the SQL Data Partners Podcast focuses on Microsoft data platform related topics mixed with a sprinkling of professional development. Carlos and guests discuss new and familiar features and ideas and how you might apply them in your environments. Visit our website for episode show notes at marathonus.com/podcast and leave a comment if you have a topic you think we should discuss. We’ll see YOU on the SQL Trail.

Dec 30, 2015

One of the new features being added to SQL Server 2016 is the Query Store which will allow for greater access to the performance history of your databases.  This is going to be extremely helpful when you are approached about 'What happened this morning?'  With the Query Store feature, you will now be able to provide some insight into that question.

I chat with Borko Novakovic, the program manager for Query Store feature, and he shares with you, Compañeros, details about the new feature and how those interested in performance monitoring will be able to use this for their benefit. 

Even if you aren't going to run SQL Server 2016 as soon as it comes out, you will find this information interesting and I hope it helps you along the SQL trail.  Have fun out there.

You can find the show notes for today's episode at http://sqldatapartners.com/2015/12/29/query-store/

Dec 23, 2015

If I were a betting man, I would wager your disk IO system is probably the biggest bottleneck in your SQL Server right now.  Sure, there are lots of moving pieces, but if you can tame the IO situation, you are putting yourself in the drivers seat.  So how do you go about putting together the pieces you need identify your IO constraints?

I chat with Theresa Iserman, a premier support engineer at Microsoft about some of her thoughts and why IO in general is an issue.  She gives us some guidelines and even some metrics to check out.  Join us in the conversation, and I'll see you on the SQL trail . . .

As always you can check out the show notes at http://sqldatapartners.com/2015/12/22/iotuning/ 

Dec 16, 2015

In what has to be one of the most downloaded SQL Server scripts on the planet with over 73,000 downloads, sp_whoisactive has been providing active session information to data professionals for eight years.  I catch up with Adam Machanic to talk a bit about how the procedure came to be, how he uses it and what is in store down the road.

If you are using SQL Server and haven’t used sp_whoisactive before, I invite you go and download it right now, then come back and listen to the program.  We will wait for you.  Ready?  Let's do this.

Have fun on the SQL trail compañeros.

You can see the show notes for today's episode at http://sqldatapartners.com/2015/12/15/sp_whoisactive/

Dec 9, 2015

As one of the newest Azure offerings, Azure Data Factory can at first thought be compared to SSIS.  I don't think we are quite there yet with the comparisons; however, I talk with MVP Reza Rad and discuss some of the similarities and differences between the two.

A consultant now living in New Zealand, Reza has lots of experience with the data management and gives us the scoop on the initial offering of this new Azure tool.  I hope you enjoy the episode.  If you have some feedback or comments, feel free to reach out on Twitter--I am @CarlosLChacon

 

You can see the show notes at http://sqldatapartners.com/2015/12/08/azure-data-factory/

Dec 2, 2015

We all start somewhere and if you can find a mentor who will help you on your way by pointing you in a direction you had not considered, you are a lucky person indeed.  This episode I chat some fellow podcasters about their experience with mentors and the characteristics we think good mentors have.

Experience is simply the name we give our mistakes. -Oscar Wilde

Be brave. Take risks. Nothing can substitute experience.  -Paulo Coelho

Experience is what you got by not having it when you need it. -Author Unknown

[A mentor and mentee] is the third most powerful relationship for influencing human behavior (after the family and couple relationships ) if it is working. -Richard E. Caruso, PhD

 Part of the reason I have the podcast is to help bring to light some thoughts and ideas you may not have considered.  I hope this continues with today's episode.  I hope you check it out.

You can see the links to the other podcasts at http://sqldatapartners.com/2015/12/01/role-of-mentors/

Nov 25, 2015

A hard drive is a hard drive, right?  Storage has come a long way, but is probably still the biggest bottleneck in your system.  Solid State Drives (ssd) have changed the rules in terms of performance and there is new technology on the horizon to allow us to access our data even faster.

I talk with Justin Strong and Ananda Sankaran from Micron Technologies about their experiences with SSD and how organizations are using in their environments.  We also chat about some of the new technologies on the horizon for Micron.

Check out the shownotes at http://sqldatapartners.com/2015/11/25/ssd/ for links to topics discussed in today's episode.

Nov 18, 2015

I learn stuff every day.  In this episode I tackle a new subject for me and one I am hearing a lot about--BIML.  BIML is a markup language you can use to build your SSIS packages. 

I met up with Bill Fellows and Cathrine Wilhelmsen in Portland and they shared with me some insights on BIML, what they use if for, and some tips on getting started.  If you find your self doing more SSIS packages and haven't yet tackled BIML, this episode is for you!

Check out the shownotes at http://sqldatapartners.com/2015/11/17/biml/

Nov 11, 2015

Do you find you have tables and indexes that have grown really large? Are you moving around a lot more data than you used to? Are your windows for jobs and maintenance getting tighter? If you answered yes to any of these questions, partitioning may be for you!


Partitioning allows us to break a table or index down into smaller more manageable chunks.  Partitioning can enable us to perform maintenance on just part of a table or index. We can even move data in and out of tables with quick and easy metadata only operations.


In this episode, we’ll go over basic partitioning concepts such as horizontal vs. vertical partitioning, how to identify if a table is ready for partitioning, and what you need to know about your applications before you implement partitioning.

Check out the show notes at http://sqldatapartners.com/2015/11/10/partitioning/

Nov 4, 2015

I learn things every day.  One of the great things about the SQL community is the willingness to share their learning experiences and today's episode is an example of this.  I chat with Mark Wilkinson about the SQL Server Agent--some best practices and MSX--a feature I have not used in the past. 

If you are interested in expanding your SQL Server agent horizon, this episode is for you.  Check out the show notes for today's information at http://sqldatapartners.com/2015/11/03/sql-server-agent

Oct 28, 2015

Corporate culture is a BIG deal when it comes to job satisfaction, and it is interesting to see how different sectors can be.  Today we talk with Doug Purnell, DBA at Elon College in North Carolina and Jamie Wick, DBA at William and Mary in Virginia about their experiences working in the university system.

Check it out compañeros, and have fun on the SQL trail.  As always, the shownotes are available at http://sqldatapartners.com/2015/10/28/working-at-a-university/.

Oct 21, 2015

Clustering is a now tried and true technology to help increase the availability of your SQL Server environment.  I talk with Paul Popovich about his experiences with clustering and how his approach has changed as the technology has evolved.  If you are looking for a good introduction to some concepts of clustering, this episode is for you!  It should be noted this episode does not include the new feature of Availability Groups.

You can view the show notes for this episode at http://sqldatapartners.com/2015/10/03/clustering/

Oct 14, 2015

I attended Kevin Feasel's SQLSaturday session entitled Apply Yourself and thought it was pretty funny.  While not close friends, I have know Kevin for a while and knew he had good stuff. 

He there shared this quote in his session.  “If you don't understand the APPLY operator, your skills are somewhere around the 50th percentile at best.” -- Adam Machanic. 

I knew immediately I wanted to have him on the show.

This episode will introduce some concepts, but you will have to do a bit a leg work if you want to start 'Applying' this into your code--I'm sorry, I couldn't resist.

As always, you can check out http://sqldatapartners.com/2015/10/13/the-apply-operator/ for the show notes.  Have fun on the SQL trail!

Oct 7, 2015

Database corruption is something that will eventually come to all data professionals.  While I have been fortunate to only come across is a handful of times, I was glad that I was able to get back the corrupted data and get everyone back on track.

In May of 2015, Steve Stedman set the data community ablaze with his database corruption challenge.  Some of the biggest names in the community jumped in with solutions to his challenge and I knew I wanted to have Steve on the show.

If you are interested in hearing more about his experience and his suggestions for dealing with database corruption, this episode is for you!

Sep 30, 2015

So it turns out an old dog can learn new tricks--or at least that is what happened to me when I chatted with Grant Fritchey from Red Gate software about SQL Server Statistics.  Always taking an opportunity to teach, Grant talks about why statistics are important and we go over some fundamental items you may just want to know about.  As always compañeros, have fun on the SQL trail.

 

Be sure to check out the show notes at http://sqldatapartners.com/2015/09/29/statistics for information we chat about during the program.

Sep 23, 2015

We mix things up a bit as I chat with Thomas Frank from collegeinfogeek.com about test anxiety and test preparation.  Taking a test can be a big deal and it is always interesting to get other options on preparation.  As data professionals, of course we want a way to be able to advance our careers and a certification can play a role in that, but we might have a bit of anxiety around it.  The biggest take away for me from this session was Thomas's tool recommendation and how he was able to start better habits.  I took his advice and have seen some results I may share in a latter episode.  Have fun on the SQL trail compañeros!

As always, you can check out links for the show on the website http://sqldatapartners.com/2015/09/23/episode-10-test-anxiety-and-test-preparation.

Sep 16, 2015

Joey D’Antoni has been doing quite a bit with database automation and I caught with him to discuss his experiences about how database automation has helped him be more efficient and have fewer support problems.  We discuss strategies for starting your automation techniques and he gives a few pie in the sky examples if you are running a large environment.  Compañeros, I hope you enjoy the program.

Be sure to check out the show notes at http://sqldatapartners.com/2015/09/17/episode-09-database-automation

Sep 9, 2015

I chat will Louis Davidson about database design and get his thoughts on some strategies about how to go about making your design and what tools are available to help you.  It may surprise you that, according to Louis, the data type is not the most important component of database design.  I hope you enjoy the show.

Be sure to check out http://sqldatapartners.com/2015/09/08/episode-08-database-design/for the show notes.

Sep 2, 2015

I chat with Microsoft MVP Chris Bell about database security and some seemingly cavelier attitudes some organziations have about keeping data safe.  We hit some of the methods SQL Server has to protect your data.  Chris also unveils his security analzyer you can use in your environment to see what areas might need to be addressed.

You can check the full show notes at http://sqldatapartners.com/2015/09/01/episode-07-sql-server

Aug 26, 2015

Steve Jones, the editor from SQL Server central and I talk about the need to build your own brand and we share a few ideas on how to do that.  We talk about Steve's brand and how he built that over time and some options available to allow you the most opportunities possible.  This episode is a must have for those looking to kick it up a notch on the opportunity meter.

Be sure to check out the show notes at http://sqldatapartners.com/2015/08/25/episode-06-build-your-personal-brand.

Aug 19, 2015

Robert Verell and I chat about good security practices and the principle of least privilege.  We discuss Robert's rule to never give anyone db_owner, other groups and Robert's home grown group to give instead of db_owner.

Be sure to check out http://sqldatapartners.com/2015/08/19/principleofleastprivilege/ for the show notes.

Aug 12, 2015

We finish up our conversation with MVP Tim Radney on backup options with discussions on encryption and Azure.  Tim also shares his favorite tools and his super hero power of choice.

Erik Véliz, the creator of SQL Server Booster is looking for folks to help with his lastest update.  Check out sqlserverbooster.com for more info.

Also be sure to check out http://sqldatapartners.com/2015/08/11/episode04 for the shownotes and a chance to win Tim's book.

Aug 5, 2015

I chat with MVP Tim Radney about Backup and Recovery options in SQL Server.  We chatted for quite awhile and I ended up making two episodes out of our conversation.  This episode focuses on why we backup and some core ideas.  Advanced features will be in episode 04.  You can register to win a copy of Tim's book on Backup and Recovery by visiting sqldatapatners.com/podcast.  Also be sure to check out the very cool offer from SQL Skills at the end of the session.

Be sure to check out http://sqldatapartners.com/2015/08/05/podcast-episode-03-backup-and-recovery/ for show notes

Aug 5, 2015

Today I am super happy to announce the launch of my podcast and I start with episode 00. In this episode I take some time to go through my journey in becoming a data professional and how I think the podcast will be of value to you. We talk about why I am making the podcast and what kind of person will find it useful. I also discuss how you I want to be your compañero on your journey as a data professional.

We discuss the following in today's episode.
SQL Cruise
ApexSQL Refactor

Aug 5, 2015

I was in Argentina for the SQLSaturday event in May of 2015 and made friends with Javier Villegas, a 20 year veteran in the DBA world.  While extended events have been around for some time, many are still getting used to this new feature and I talk with Javier about how he uses extended events and how we might get started.

 

Be sure to check out http://sqldatapartners.com/2015/08/05/podcast-episode-02-extended-events/ for show notes and links to content discussed in this episode.

1