Conferences in SQL Server summer 2016

It feels like I have just been back from the SQLBits XV in Liverpool, where I introduced the Security Features of the SQL Server 2016 (SQL Server 2016 – Security Obscurity and Encryption), and next thing I know, I am already in the middle of planning the next SQL Server Master-Class on High Availability with SQL Server (SHA) that is going to take place from 20-22 June near Frankfurt a.M.

Note: in the 2 weeks since activation of registration already 70% of the places have already been filled. If you want to secure a spot but don’t know how you’re your purchase department will make it, you are welcome to contact me directly.

Members of PASS Deutschland e.V. will once again receive a 15% Discount.

But before, the German SQLSaturday „Rheinland“ is taking place, like the previous two years. My company, Sarpedon Quality Lab®, will be a sponsor again like last year.

I will also be presenting. This time, it is going to be on the entirely classical topic of Performance Tracing. However, not with SQL Profiler as can be seen once in a while “in the wild,” but of course with current technologies such as Extended Events and even the new Query Store by SQL Server 2016:

Performance Analyzing SQL Server workloads with DMVs and XEvents

This session you will lead you through an example performance-analysis using mainly DMVs and Extended Events. You will see how a top-down analysis using built-in tools can be conducted. This will include wait statistics on different scopes to identify performance problems and bottlenecks up to identifying query plan changes – with & without using the Query Store of SQL Server 2016. If you are new to performance analyzing, this session will give you a practical insight into how to methodically approach performance troubleshooting.

  • Naturally, this session is “Profiler-free” 😉

Asia

In August, I will be traveling Asia again and attending the largest SQL Server Conference in Asia for the second time in a row: the SQL Server Geeks Summit in Bangalore, India.

This time, I will be giving a full-day Pre-Con. Topic: The In-Memory Storage Engine of SQL Server that have been extensively improved with SQL Server 2016. That is, it will be about ColumnStore, Memory Optimized Tables, Memory Optimized Indexes, and the combination possibilities with traditional Row-Store or also ColumnStore for Mixed OLAP as well as OLTP workloads.

It will definitely be super exciting and very technical. If you haven’t dealt with this yet: it is about time! The way of conceptualizing and designing databases is changing rapidly at the moment. I am sticking to my predictions that ColumnStore will soon be the standard for Datawarehousing, and In-Memory OLTP the standard for high performing OLTP scenarios.

At this Pre-Con, I will be demonstrating the technical background and feasibility.

___________________________________

Pre-Con Title:

The Present and Future: In-Memory in SQL Server – from 0 to Operational Analytics Master

Track:                  DBA/DEV

Pre-Con Abstract:

When the Columnstore Index technology, based on the xVelocity In-Memory engine, came with SQL Server 2012 in the form of Nonclustered Columnstore, and SQL Server 2014 brought us updatable Clustered Columnstore Indexes plus a completely new In-Memory OLTP Engine, “XTP”, for memory optimized table & indexes, those features were still new and because of their limitations used only rarely.

SQL Server 2016 takes both technology onto a whole new level:

Columnstore indexes among other things now support snapshot isolation and hence fully support readable secondaries. Batch execution is not exclusively for parallel threaded queries anymore. They can be combined with other B-tree indexes and even be filtered and support referential integrity with primary and foreign key constraints. Also so-called In-Memory Operational Analytics is supported by the ability to create Columnstore Indexes on memory optimized tables.

On the other hand the In-Memory engine has been extensively improved in terms of both scalability and T-SQL language support, taking away many of the relevant limitations for adaption of version 1 in a similar way than the Columnstore technology. For example altering of pre-compiled objects is now possible, bucket-counts can be adjusted, natively compiled stored procedures can be recompiled and foreign keys are supported as well as encryption with TDE.

All those improvements will make In-Memory technologies a viable option in many projects. For Datawarehouses many (including me) say, that Columnstore will become the default storage type for all objects. And it can be foreseen that over the years the same will happen for OLTP-tables that have to support highly concurrent workloads will be based on memory optimized tables.

It’s time to extend our skills to those technologies to be able implement and support the new types of storage that are coming to our databases to address the fact of ever more data being stored and queried and performance demands and (real time) analytic requirements going up.

At this full-day training day, Microsoft Certified Master for the Data Platform Andreas Wolter, familiar with SQL Servers In-Memory technologies from the early bits on, will give a complete picture on the current state of technology. Attendees will learn how and where to use either In-Memory OLTP or Columnstore or even both for efficient queries and data storing and the important bits both from developers and administrators perspective.

Modules/Topics Include:

  1. Columnstore Storage Engine and compression internals
  2. What is the benefit for OLAP performance
  3. When to use Clustered or Nonclustered Columnstore Indexes
  4. XTP Engine internals for In-Memory OLTP performance benefits
  5. Memory optimized Tables, indexes and Variables
  6. Natively compiled stored procedures & triggers
  7. Combination of Row-Store, Columnstore/xVelocity and XTP engine for operational analytics

Key Takeaways:

  1. How the new storage engines Columnstore & XTP work behind the covers
  2. What are the strengths and weaknesses of these alternate storage engines and how can they be played out best
  3. How to get a quick start with In-Memory optimized objects in almost any environment
  4. What are the typical performance patterns that these technologies address
  5. How to build highly performing Datawarehouse tables
  6. How to improve OLTP hotspot tables with In-Memory technologies
  7. How to enable real-time analytics of operational data
  8. What’s important from file management perspective for administrators
  9. How can Columnstore and In-Memory Hash- & Range-indexes be maintained
  10. What hotspots can you expect for those technologies – or is there any?

Demos:

  1. Performance-Improvements for OLAP workloads with Nonclustered Columnstore indexes …
  2. … Clustered Columnstore indexes
  3. Performance-Improvements for OLTP workloads with memory optimized tables, indexes and code
  4. Operational analytics on row store vs operational analytics on In-Memory
  5. … all under different workload-types
  6. How do Columnstore indexes handle updates to data under the covers
  7. How In-Memory optimized objects look like on disk

Attendee Pre-requisites:

  1. Basic T-SQL knowledge for code-reading
  2. clustered vs nonclustered indexes Basics

________________________________

Added to that I will give two more normal sessions at the main conference. The topics are not final yet.

I am looking forward to the enthusiastic audience in India again!

After India I will be presenting at SQLSaturday Singapore. This event will be held at Microsoft Singapore Operations Pte Ltd, One Marina Boulevard – right in the center of the most famous sights of Singapore.

Also here I might give a PreCon, but the planning is not finalized yet, so let’s see what it will be. I am very much looking forward to this event as well.

Cu in St. Augustin, Bangalore or Singapore – your turn to choose 😉

Andreas