May Monthly CASSUG Meeting @CASSUG_Albany #SQLFamily

Greetings, data enthusiasts!

Our May meeting is scheduled for Monday, May 8, at 5:30 pm! We will meet in person at Rensselaer Chamber of Commerce, 90 4th Street, Troy, NY.

For more information and to RSVP, go to our Meetup event page at https://www.meetup.com/capital-area-sql-server-user-group/events/290678891

Our meeting schedule is usually as follows:

5:30 PM: Food, soft drinks, and networking
6:15 PM: Chapter news and announcements
6:30 PM: Presentation
We usually wrap up between 7:30 PM and 8:00 PM.

Thanks to Datto for sponsoring our event!

Our guest speaker for the month is Deexith Reddy!

Topic: Automating Visualizations with Azure Data Factory, SQL Server, and Power BI: Data to Insights

Introduction to Azure Data Factory, SQL Server, and Power BI: Gain an understanding of these three powerful Microsoft technologies and their roles in automating data visualizations.

Data Integration and Transformation: Learn how to leverage Azure Data Factory to ingest and transform data from various sources, then store the processed data in SQL Server for further analysis.

Creating and Automating Power BI Reports: Discover how to create interactive Power BI reports and dashboards using data from SQL Server, and automate the process of updating these visualizations.

Scheduling and Orchestration: Understand how to use Azure Data Factory’s scheduling and orchestration features to automate the entire data pipeline, from data ingestion to visualization updates.

Real-Time Data Processing and Visualization: Explore the possibilities of real-time data processing and visualization using Azure Data Factory, SQL Server, and Power BI, enabling you to monitor and react to changes in your data as they occur.

Security and Compliance: Learn about the built-in security features and best practices for protecting your data and maintaining compliance throughout the automation process.

Best Practices and Tips: Gain valuable insights into best practices for automating data visualizations, including performance optimization, error handling, and maintaining data quality.

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April Monthly CASSUG Meeting @CASSUG_Albany #SQLFamily

Greetings, data enthusiasts!

Our April meeting is scheduled for Monday, April 10, at 5:30 pm! We will meet in person at Rensselaer Chamber of Commerce, 90 4th Street, Troy, NY. Please note the change of location!!!

For more information and to RSVP, go to our Meetup event page at https://www.meetup.com/capital-area-sql-server-user-group/events/290678854/

Our meeting schedule is usually as follows:

• 5:30 PM: Food, soft drinks, and networking
• 6:15 PM: Chapter news and announcements
• 6:30 PM: Presentation

We usually wrap up between 7:30 PM and 8:00 PM.

We are doing something different for our April meeting! We will be doing lightning talks. And the guest speaker… could be YOU!

We are encouraging new and novice speakers to do a presentation! We encourage you to put together a lightning talk — between 10 and 20 minutes long — on any topic that you think would be of interest to data professionals!

As added incentive, new speakers who present on Monday will receive a gift card!

If you are interest in speaking at our April meeting, let us know, and let us know your topic!

If we do not get any new speakers to present, the CASSUG leadership team will do lightning talks as follows:

• Greg Moore: Using JSON files with PowerShell to configure User Permissions
• Ed Pollack: Topic TBD
• Ray Kim: Topic TBD, but it will likely be a professional development topic related to networking, mentoring, or getting started with speaking

March Monthly CASSUG Meeting

Greetings, data enthusiasts!

Our March meeting is scheduled for Monday, March 13, at 5:30 pm! We will meet in person at Datto, 33 Tech Valley Drive, East Greenbush, NY.

This will be a hybrid meeting!

• For those joining us in person, we will meet in person at Datto, 33 Tech Valley Drive, East Greenbush, NY.
• For those joining us online, use the Zoom link to join the meeting. We will send out the passcode as we get closer to the date. You MUST RSVP for the Zoom link to be visible!

For more information and to RSVP, go to our Meetup event page at https://www.meetup.com/capital-area-sql-server-user-group/events/290678782/

Our meeting schedule is usually as follows:

• 5:30 PM: Food, soft drinks, and networking
• 6:15 PM: Chapter news and announcements
• 6:30 PM: Presentation

We usually wrap up between 7:30 PM and 8:00 PM.

Thanks to Datto for sponsoring our event!

Our guest speaker for the month is Surbhi Pokhama!

Topic: Principles of architecting a cloud data migration

Is your company planning to move your on-prem, hosted application to cloud? Have you been asked to assess your on-prem data workload and design the new castle in the cloud?
Designing the new castle is an important aspect but also this is more important to live happily in that castle once you migrate to the cloud. That’s where the art of architecting the operationalization aspect comes into play.

In this demo centric session, we will understand the fundamental building blocks of migrating on-prem SQL server workload to cloud via lift and shift or to Azure SQL/Managed Instance. We will build our hierarchy of needs checklist, a secured data migration plan and perform a sample migration to IaaS and PaaS Azure SQL databases keeping Data Security, Size, Performance, and Cost aspects in mind. By the end of this session, you will have a good idea on how to execute a secured and scalable cloud data migration solution.

February Monthly CASSUG Meeting

Greetings, data enthusiasts!

Our February meeting is scheduled for Monday, February 13, at 5:30 pm!

This will be a hybrid meeting!

• For those joining us in person, we will meet in person at Datto, 33 Tech Valley Drive, East Greenbush, NY.
• For those joining us online, use the Zoom link to join the meeting. We will send out the passcode as we get closer to the date. You MUST RSVP for the Zoom link to be visible!

For more information and to RSVP, go to our Meetup event page at https://www.meetup.com/capital-area-sql-server-user-group/events/290678755/

Our meeting schedule is usually as follows:

• 5:30 PM: Food, soft drinks, and networking
• 6:15 PM: Chapter news and announcements
• 6:30 PM: Presentation

We usually wrap up between 7:30 PM and 8:00 PM.

Thanks to Datto for sponsoring our event!

Our guest speaker for the month is John Morehouse!

Topic: Accelerated Database Recovery – A Deep Dive Behind the Magic
Hocus Pocus!

We have all heard the stories. Horror story after horror story being regaled from database administrators all over the world of waiting for hours or sometimes days for a rollback operation to complete. DBA’s hoping beyond hope that the rollback finishes soon before someone else gets the notion to reboot the server.

With the release of SQL Server 2019, a new talisman was conjured that will save us all from hearing about future horror stories. Accelerated Database Recovery or also known as “ADR”. This new mystical feature changes the way transaction rollback performs and will undoubtedly prove invaluable in your arsenals of magical tricks!

In this session, we’ll show you the secret behind it!

You will –

• Learn about new components of the transaction log
• Discover the magic behind ADR
• Determine when you wouldn’t want to implement it

Don’t be the protagonist in a rollback horror story! After all, the time you save might be your own!

January Monthly CASSUG Meeting — @CASSUG_Albany #SQLUserGroup #Networking

Greetings, data enthusiasts, and welcome to 2023!

Our January meeting is scheduled for Monday, January 9, at 5:30 pm! We will meet in person at Datto, 33 Tech Valley Drive, East Greenbush, NY.

For more information and to RSVP, go to our Meetup event page at https://www.meetup.com/capital-area-sql-server-user-group/events/290677447/

Our meeting schedule is usually as follows:

• 5:30 PM: Food, soft drinks, and networking
• 6:15 PM: Chapter news and announcements
• 6:30 PM: Presentation

We usually wrap up between 7:30 PM and 8:00 PM.

Thanks to Datto for sponsoring our event!

Our guest speaker for the month is Taiob Ali!

Topic: What the heck is a checkpoint, and why should I care?
An 8K page is the fundamental unit of data storage in SQL Server. SQL Server performs every data modification operation in memory (buffer pool) for performance reasons and does not immediately write it back to disk.

This is where checkpoint comes into play. The Database Engine periodically issues a checkpoint on each database. A checkpoint writes the current in-memory modified pages (known as dirty pages) and transaction log information from memory to disk. It also records this information in the transaction log.

This session will explain why you should care and know about the checkpoint process and the different checkpoints that SQL Server does. I will show you exactly what happens during a checkpoint, how you can influence the interval of checkpoints, and changes made with checkpoint settings in SQL 2014 and SQL 2016+.

Taiob Ali

Taiob Ali, Microsoft Data Platform MVP, is an accomplished technical leader with a proven record of success. During his last 17 years, he has worked with the Microsoft Data Platform and MongoDB, both on-premises and cloud. His experience includes all three major business sectors: finance, e-commerce, and healthcare.

Taiob is currently working at “GMO LLC” as a Database Solutions Manager, focusing on cloud migration, automation, improving, and streamlining operational workflow. He is a regular speaker at local and virtual chapters, Data Saturdays, and Azure conferences. He is a board member of the New England SQL Server User Group, founder of ‘Database Professionals Virtual Meetup Group’, and organizer of Boston SQL Saturday.

Less than two weeks until #PASSDataCommunitySummit! #PASSSummit #SQLFamily #Networking

November arrived yesterday (where did this year go???), and it only recently occurred to me that I will be in Seattle in less than two weeks, speaking for the fourth time at PASS Data Community Summit (or it’s equivalent)! On Wednesday morning, among the first sessions of Summit, I will be giving one of my favorite presentations: the one on networking. Come check it out!

It still amazes me that I will be going back to speak at this awesome event for the fourth straight year. Whenever I look through the list of speakers — several of whom have become very good friends through my association with events such as SQL Saturday — I continue to be in awe of the fact that my name and face is associated with this amazing group of data professional rock stars. I started speaking on the SQL Saturday circuit in 2015, and if you’d told me back then that I would be speaking at PASS Summit for four straight years, I likely would’ve asked what you were smoking.

And yet, here I am. I don’t consider myself a SQL Server expert — heck, none of my presentations even have anything to do with SQL Server — but nevertheless, I am still contributing to the SQL Server, as well as other technical, communities. I sometimes ask myself if I really belong in this same group of talented data professionals; indeed, I was even once asked how I’m associated with this group. I think that’s a very valid question, and I sometimes ask myself that same question.

But one doesn’t get to speak at PASS Summit four straight years unless you’ve got the goods. I once described PASS Summit as being the SQL Saturday All-Star Game. If you’re picked once, it’s a great honor. If you’re picked more than once, you’re a solid player. Four straight years? Now we’re starting to get into Derek Jeter territory.

Okay, I don’t consider myself the same caliber as Jeter. I’d consider myself more like, say, Ozzie Smith: someone with a long and distinguished career who didn’t hit for a high batting average. He stayed steady and just did his thing. And that’s pretty much what I try to do.

Hope to see you in Seattle in two weeks!

May Monthly CASSUG Meeting, May 9

Greetings, data enthusiasts!

Our May meeting will be a hybrid event! We will meet in person at the Rensselaer Chamber of Commerce, 90 4th Street, Troy, and online (the Zoom link can be found on our Meetup event link at https://www.meetup.com/Capital-Area-SQL-Server-User-Group/events/285622042 )!

Our May speaker is Monica Rathbun!

Topic: Always Encrypted for Beginners
One of the biggest challenges to successful implementation of data encryption has been the back and forth between the application and the database. You have to overcome the obstacle of the application decrypting the data it needs. Microsoft tried to simplify this process when it introduced Always Encrypted (AE) into SQL Server 2016 and Azure SQL Database. In this demo intense session, you will learn about what Always Encrypted is, how it works, and the implications for your environment. By the end you will know how to now easily encrypt columns of data and just as importantly how to unencrypt. You will also learn about the current limitations of the feature and what your options are to work around them.

For more information and to RSVP, use our Meetup link above! Hope to see you there!

Thanks to Datto for sponsoring our event!

April Monthly CASSUG Meeting #SQLFamily #Azure #SQLAzure @CASSUG_Albany

Greetings, data enthusiasts!

Our April meeting will again be online. NOTE: you MUST RSVP to this Meetup at https://www.meetup.com/Capital-Area-SQL-Server-User-Group/events/285058597/ to view the Zoom URL!

Our April speaker is Rie Merritt!

Topic: Transitioning your On-Prem Database Skills to Azure SQL

Adoption of Cloud is at an all time high, with no end in sight. Managing a small fleet of databases on-premises was something you long ago mastered. In this session, we’ll cover the most common tasks a DBA needs to learn to manage in Azure SQL as well as they currently manage their On Premises installs. One of the great things about Azure SQL is that the skill set your team has developed over the years translates well. The tools and technologies you’re familiar with are all there. Let’s modernize those existing skills to make you a cloud DBA.

About Rie:
Rie Merritt has been working with SQL Server since 1999, when she started as a data analyst for a non-profit. She’s worked in many industries over the years including pharmaceutical, e-commerce, legal, financial, education and both federal & state government. Most recently, she was director of database management, Integrated Payments for WorldPay, Inc. She is currently Senior Program Manager with Microsoft Azure Data, serving as the MVP PG lead and as liaison between the product group and the data community. She is based out of Redmond, but works remotely from her home near Atlanta.

Over the years, Rie has done extensive work with the SQL Community. She was an MVP in the Data Platform for three years, speaking frequently at conferences across the US and moderating webinars, WIT panels and career panels. She has also served co-leader of the PASS Women in Technology Virtual Group and Executive Director of SQL Saturday Atlanta. Most recently, Rie helps run the Atlanta Azure Data User Group heading up Microsoft’s efforts for the Azure Data Community.

Our online meeting schedule is as follows:

• 6:00: General chat, discussion, and announcements
• 6:30: Presentation

We usually wrap up between 7:30 PM and 8:00 PM.

Please RSVP to this Meetup, then use the online event URL to join (note: you MUST RSVP for the URL to be visible). We will send out a meeting password as we get closer to the event.

Thanks to our sponsor, Datto, for making this event possible!

March Monthly CASSUG Meeting

Our March meeting will again be online. NOTE: you MUST RSVP to this Meetup at https://www.meetup.com/Capital-Area-SQL-Server-User-Group/events/284474830/ to view the Zoom URL!

Our March speaker is Taiob M Ali!

Topic: Options and considerations for migrating SQL Server databases to Azure

Many tools are available to migrate your on-premises database to an Azure SQL database. Are you familiar with all of those tools, and how do you choose the best tool for you? How do you analyze and identify what objects are not compatible with migrating to Azure? Answer: It depends (of course) on the type, size, and complexity of the database you will be relocating.

This session will explore considerations before migration, appropriate targets, migration tools available, and the pros and cons of each tool. I will demo four different tools that you can use to analyze/migrate your on-premises SQL Server Database to Azure SQL.

At the end of this session, you will be aware of the various techniques available to analyze and migrate SQL Database to Azure and choose the best fitting one for your database.

About Taiob:
Taiob Ali, Microsoft Data Platform MVP, is an accomplished technical leader with a proven record of success. During his last 16 years, he has worked with the Microsoft Data Platform and MongoDB, both on-premises and cloud. His experience includes all three major business sectors: finance, e-commerce, and healthcare.

Taiob is currently working at “GMO LLC” as Database Solutions Manager, focusing on cloud migration, automation, improving, and streamlining operational workflow. He is a regular speaker at local and virtual chapters, Data Saturdays, and Azure conferences. He is a board member of New England SQL Server User Group, founder of ‘Database Professionals Virtual Meetup Group’, and organizer of Boston SQL Saturday.

Our online meeting schedule is as follows:

• 6:00: General chat, discussion, and announcements
• 6:30: Presentation

We usually wrap up between 7:30 PM and 8:00 PM.

Please RSVP to this Meetup, then use the online event URL to join (note: you MUST RSVP for the URL to be visible). We will send out a meeting password as we get closer to the event.

Thanks to our sponsor, Datto, for making this event possible!

February Monthly CASSUG Meeting

Greetings, data enthusiasts!

Our February meeting will again be online. NOTE: you MUST RSVP to this Meetup at https://www.meetup.com/Capital-Area-SQL-Server-User-Group/events/283805310/ to view the Zoom URL!

Our February speaker is Heidi Hasting!

Topic: Power BI Building first report

You’ve heard about Power BI and now want to give it a go. In this session we will go through building our first report.

We start off with a quick intro into Power BI Desktop our tool of choice for Power BI report development.

Then we will go get some data and talk about basic transformation options to clean it up.

Once we have some clean data to work from we will add relationships and look at modelling.

From there we will create visuals to turn data into insights.

About Heidi:

Heidi Hasting is a Business Intelligence professional and former software developer with over seven years experience in Microsoft products. She is an ALM/DLM enthusiast and Azure DevOps fan and co-founder and organiser of the Adelaide Power BI User Group. Heidi is a regular attendee at tech events including Azure Bootcamps, DevOps days, SQLSaturdays, Difinity and PASS Summit.

Our online meeting schedule is as follows:

• 6:00: General chat, discussion, and announcements
• 6:30: Presentation

We usually wrap up between 7:30 PM and 8:00 PM.

Please RSVP to this Meetup, then use the online event URL to join (note: you MUST RSVP for the URL to be visible). We will send out a meeting password as we get closer to the event.

Thanks to our sponsor, Datto, for making this event possible!