In this episode of the SQL Data Partners podcast I sit with Patrick LeBlanc during SQL Saturday RVA. We chat about Microsoft PowerBI. PowerBI is a business intelligence tool that easily connects disparate data sources to create dashboards and I was interested to get his thoughts on how this would affect the data professional. Patrick answers my questions about the application and also explains why he thinks that PowerBI has grown in popularity so quickly.

The shownotes for today's episode are found at http://sqldatapartners.com/2016/03/29/powerbi/

You can host SQL Server on Azure Virtual Machines in a variety of configurations, ranging from a single database server to a multi-machine configuration.  In this episode of the SQL Data Partners Podcast I chat with Luis Vargas, program manager for virtual machines, about why organization might consider a virtual machine with SQL Server already provisioned and other virtual machine considerations.

The show notes are available at http://sqldatapartners.com/2016/03/23/virtualservers/

On Episode 35 of The SQL Data Partners Podcast, I talk with Philip Morgan of The Positioning Manual for Technical Firms. Philip’s book has influenced my work at SQL Data Partners, so I wanted to bring him on and share his insights with the rest of you on the SQL Trail.  Philip and I talk about positioning as a tool to create more value through a narrowed focus. Philip discusses how to apply positioning to your SQL Career, even if you’re a W2 employee. Philip and I go over three ways to narrow your focus and how it affects the direction of your career. I also ask him about how to turn unwanted work assignments to your advantage using the leverage grained from positioning.

Get the shownotes at http://sqldatapartners.com/2016/03/14/positionyourself/ and I'll see you on the SQL trail.

Hello, compañeros! You’ve heard of Hekaton and in-memory tables before, but what does in memory really mean for your database? Perhaps you have questions like I did, like how does in memory OLTP differ from disk-based tables? What data types aren’t allowed in in-memory tables? Is in-memory only an “on premises” feature or does Hekaton work in Azure too? Is there a minimum amount of memory required for in-memory tables?

In Episode 34 of the SQL Data Partners Podcast, we’re going to talk about in-memory OLTP and in-memory tables with Jos De Bruijn. Jos is a Program Manager at Microsoft for SQL Server In-memory OLTP. We sit with Jos and we explore how in-memory tables work and why they’re just as durable as traditional disk-bound tables. He lays out the whole process. Jos also answers common DBA concerns about them and discusses how to make them efficient. Jos reveals the SQL Server 2016 features that affect in-memory OLTP.

As always, you can catch the show notes for today's episode at http://sqldatapartners.com/2016/03/08/inmemorytables/

Many developers will make the transition to the DBA role and in this episode I chat with Amy Herold about making that very move.  Amy started as a C#/.NET developer and moved into the database world as an “accidental” DBA.

Amy shares her tips and stories from the trenches, including:

• The move from row-based thinking to set-based thinking
• How to manage developer access in production
• The database performance activities new DBAs need to master
• The importance of getting code reviews outside the developer team
• The tool Amy relies on as a DBA, and the one event you shouldn’t miss
• Why Amy believes that moving around frequently can be good for your career

You can get the links and show notes at http://sqldatapartners.com/2016/03/01/developer2dba/.  Have fun on the SQL trail.