Monday, February 27, 2012

I’m Going to SQL RALLY!




Hello Dear Reader, I’ve just received great news I’M HEADED TO SQL RALLY 2012! But I didn’t get here on my own, I have you to Thank.  And I would like to do just that.  Thank You to everyone who voted for me as part of the recent Community vote!  I really appreciate it.  It is always an honor to be picked to participate in a SQL event, but it means a lot when your peers vote you in.

I promise that you will not be let down, I’ve got not one, but TWO amazing sessions that made it through the voting.

“So Balls,” you say, “What are you presenting on?”

Great question Dear Reader, and away we go!


Transparent Data Encryption Inside and Out in SQL 2012

Security is a very important part of your job and in how data is utilized.  We have many tools to make data more secure, and starting in SQL 2008 we were able to add Transparent Data Encryption to that list.  Find out What it does and What it doesn’t do, How it effects Read-Only Filegroups, Performance, Compression (Backup and Row/Page), What the X.509 Encryption Standard is and Why you should be careful of what you store and where, and other Advance Features as well as some tips on how to manage it.


I’ve had a lot of fun presenting on this topic in the past.  Transparent Data Encryption is a wonderful technology that we were able to start using in SQL 2008.  I was lucky very early on that as soon as I started working with 2008 I was working with TDE. 

When you use TDE there are some very important things to know and consider the first is what TDE does and doesn’t do, the second what physical changes actually occur within your database, and finally how you manage certificates and how they affect your recovery scenarios for your databases.

I’ve done a Lightening round version of this presentation for OPASS, the Orlando SQL Server User Group, my friends at Publix, and for SQL Saturday 79 South Florida this past year.  This year I start off the year with a Bang presenting on this topic at SQL Connections in Las Vegas, and now I’ll get to present on this at SQL Rally 2012 as well!


SQL Internals, Recovery Models, and Backups! OH MY!

The more you know about SQL Server the more you understand how it works.  SQL Server is a product we use every day, and most of us know the big concepts.  At the 10,000 foot view we know what  Databases, Tables, and Columns are.   But what makes up those Databases, Tables, and Columns.  What are Records, Pages, Extents, and Allocation Units?  What are Full, Simple, and Bulk-Logged Recovery?  What are the differences between  Full, Transaction Log, Differential, or Filegroup backups?  What is a Piecemeal Restore?  This is an introduction to these concepts using SQL 2012.  In this session you will learn about the internal Structure, Recovery Models, and Backups and be better prepared to for Future Learning and Managing SQL!


When I first put together this presentation it was meant to be a leap frog session. 

“So Balls,” you say “I’m not playing leap frog with you.”

No worries Dear Reader, I’m not playing a game, but what I mean by leap frog is I want you to leap ahead.  As I’ve studied SQL Server I’ve noticed that there are some fundamental concepts that you encounter over and over again.

The reason because they are all interrelated.  A.C.I.D., Transaction Isolation Levels, the internal components of SQL Server’s Relation & Storage Engine, B-Tree Structures, Pages, Allocation Units, Transaction Log management, Recovery Model’s, and Backups (that’s a mouth full OH MY!).  I’m not going to make you an expert, but I’m going to arm you with knowledge and concepts to allow you to go forth and be better prepared for future learning. 

But what we cover will apply directly to how you would choose the type of backups that are appropriate for the database systems that you manage.

THANK YOU

Once again Dear Reader and Dear SQL Community, I would just like to say Thank You.  I hope to see you and I hope to see you at SQL Rally 2012!

Thanks,

Brad

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