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I love continuing my education in SQL Server.

Recently I was fortunate enough to take Brent Ozar's 3-day live online Master Index Tuning training class.

Since I had never taken an online class before, I thought it'd be fun to write a mini-review of what I thought about the class as well as what lesson from the course had the biggest impact on me.

As excited as I was to take the class, I was a little concerned about a couple of aspects about it. My main concerns before taking the online class were:

• Would I have difficulty focusing in an online class?  YouTube, Facebook, and other distractions are only a few clicks away.
• Will it feel like a 1-way dialogue since I wouldn't be there in person to ask questions, participate in discussion, and interact with other student?

My first concern was immediately invalidated when we started working on our labs. During the 3 days, Brent does the traditional training of explaining problems, techniques, and solutions (in his own humorous way of course) BUT THEN instead of moving on to the next topic he gives the students time to work through problems on their own in labs he set up.

This was huge. Every student gets an 8 core, 64TB Azure VM running simulated workloads that provide a great real-world representation of an under performing SQL Server.

Instead of taking notes for 3 days and hoping that I would remember to try them out when I returned to work, the labs allowed me to apply those new concepts immediately. I think working through these problems in a real-world scenario is not only practical, but probably the best way of retaining the information you learn. I'm not sure how much work it was for Brent to set up these labs (guess: a ton), but they really payoff as a student.

As for my concern about the course not being interactive, that turned out to not be a problem either. During the duration of the class (as well as for a couple hours before and after the class each day) there was a Slack chatroom where Brent and the students could interact.

The Slack chat had two huge advantages:

1. Questions were typed out and written down, making it easy to know who asked what and what question Brent was responding to.  It also made it easy to copy and paste the chat for my notes.  It was also nice to have the ability to type a question overnight and get an answer the next morning.
2. We were asked to post all of our lab queries into the chat when we think we had found a solution to the performance problems. This was AWESOME because not only did I get 1-on-1 code review and advice from Brent, I got to see what everyone else was submitting as an answer.
   Each lab scenario could usually be solved a few different ways, so this meant other students were submitting completely different solutions than what I came up with.  Seeing other people's approach to problem solving was really cool. Even better, I could try out their solutions in my own lab by copying and pasting the queries from Slack into my lab VM, seeing how those different solutions compared to my own.

So while I had some concerns before the class started, it turns out they weren't problems at all and the class was great.

My Favorite Lesson: Prioritizing Performance Solutions

The Master Index Tuning training covered everything needed to practically troubleshoot and solve index performance issues.  While Brent taught many techniques, from everyday solutions to advanced once-in-a-while techniques for certain edge cases, my biggest takeaway was how Brent taught us to prioritize the low-hanging-index-tuning-fruit first.

I'm a query tuner by nature.  Before taking this training, my go-to solution for fixing a performance problem was to start refactoring a query or correcting the indexes for that one particular query.

Instead, Brent recommended that we focus on the actions with the largest performance returns first: at a database or instance level, clean up duplicate (or near duplicate) indexes, drop unused indexes, add missing indexes, etc...

Many individual query performance issues can be fixed by changing indexes alone, without ever needing to touch the queries themselves.  Fixing poorly created indexes on your server has the additional advantage that it can improve performance of MULTIPLE queries running on your server simultaneously.

The takeaway here is that unless your server is already in tip-top shape, you'll probably get more bang for your buck fixing duplicate, inadequate, and missing index issues than you will by tuning individual queries.  This may sound obvious, but from my "every problem is a query tuning problem" standpoint this was a nice reminder that sometimes looking at the bigger picture will produce larger returns than focusing only on the details.

Final Verdict: Is It Worth It?

Yes.  Especially if you are the kind of person who learns best by doing and wants real-world index tuning advice.  By the end of the class I felt confident enough to immediately go back to work and start applying what I had learned from Brent and practiced in the labs.

This post is a response to this month's T-SQL Tuesday #101 prompt by Jens Vestergaard. T-SQL Tuesday is a way for SQL Server bloggers to share ideas about different database and professional topics every month.

This month's topic is about what essential SQL Server related tools you use on a regular basis.

SQL Server Management Studio is an excellent tool for my day to day SQL Server developing needs.

However, sometimes I need to do things besides writing queries and managing server objects.  Below is a list of my three most used tools I use on a regular basis when working with SQL Server.

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1. WinMerge

Often I need to compare the bodies of two stored procedures, table definitions, etc... to find differences.

While there are some built-in tools for doing difference comparisons in Visual Studio and SSMS source control plugins, I prefer using the third-party open-source tool WinMerge:

The tool is a pretty straightforward difference checking tool, highlighting lines where the data between two files is different.

It has some other merge functions available in it, but honestly I keep it simple and use it to just look for differences between two pieces of text.

2. OnTopReplica

When on a single display, screen real estate is at a premium.  This is especially true if you are forced to use a projector that's limited to 1024x768 resolution...

OnTopReplica to the rescue!  This nifty open-source tool allows you to select a window and keep it open on top of all other windows.

This is great for when I want to reference some piece of code or text on screen while working in another window:

In addition to forcing a window open to stay on top, it allows you to crop and resize that window so only the relevant parts are visible.

The OnTopReplica view is live too - that means it's great to use as a magnifier on your SSMS result sets when presenting (instead of constantly having to zoom in and out with ZoomIt):

Look at those beautifully zoomed in results!

3. ScreenToGif

Sometimes explaining concepts with pictures is hard.  For example, wouldn't that last screenshot be way better if it was animated?

ScreenToGif is an open-source screen capture tool that does an excellent job compressing your recorded videos into gif animations.  It also allows editing individual frames, allowing the addition of text, graphics, and keyboard shortcuts.

Photo by rawpixel.com on Unsplash

Here's a word for word transcription of a conversation I've had a hundred times over:

"Hi I'm Bert.  What do you do?"

"I'm ____ and I'm a SQL developer."

"That's cool, me too."

*crickets*

*I look down at phone because I don't know what to talk about*

Sound familiar?

In the next few weeks, you might find yourself at a conference like PASS Summit or SQLintersection.  If not a conference, then maybe a local user group, meetup, or SQL Saturday.

Inevitably you will find yourself surrounded by strangers.  Strangers who you know share common interests with you (SQL, duh!).

But if you are like me, starting a meaningful conversation with those strangers can be uncomfortable.  Most people have interesting stories to share, the challenge is to get them to talk about them.

The good news is that I've developed an easy way to get a conversation started with the people you just met:

Come prepared with interesting open-ended questions.

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I keep a memorized list of open-ended questions that I can ask whenever I don't know how to keep the conversation going.  Try asking any of these questions the next time you don't know what to say (and reciprocate by sharing your own fun story); I guarantee these will spark some interesting conversations.

1. "What's your best SQL Server war story?"

We've all been in the trenches and have had to play the hero.

2. "What are your thoughts on EntityFramework/ORMs?"

If you ever want to get a table full of SQL DBAs going, this will do it.

3. "What's the oldest version of SQL Server you are still stuck supporting?"

Although this one elicits a one-word response, the next easy follow-up is "why/how!?"

4. "What was your biggest "oops" moment?"

Backups were corrupt?  Yeahhhhh....

5. "What's the most recent feature you started using in SQL Server 2014/2016/2017? How is it?"

I love hearing people's answers to this because it's a good way to figure out what new features really add value and which ones are over-hyped/limited in functionality.

6. "Are you using ?  How is it?"

Similar to #5, this is a great way to get real-world feedback about certain features.

7. "What's your favorite session from today/this week?  What did you like most about it?"

I love finding out what sessions other people found useful - once again, real world reviews on what I should check out in the future.

8. "Have you been to before? Do you have any recommendations for what I should do/see/eat?"

Great way to get to know the surrounding area without having to read reviews online.

9. "Do you use PowerShell or any other software to automate/do dev ops?"

PowerShell is the future.  Start learning how others are incorporating it into their environments, what struggles they've had implementing automated processes, etc...

10. "Are there any other events going on tonight?"

Especially great if talking to people who have attended the event before.  Find out what's worth going to, if it's better to show up early or late, is there a "best seat" in the house, etc...

I hope this list of questions encourages you to become better acquainted with your fellow conference goers.  And if I see you at PASS Summit...don't be surprised if you hear me ask you one of these questions!

Last week I presented my session "DBAs vs Developers: JSON in SQL Server 2016" at the online GroupBy Conference.

As I prepared for the event, I thought about all of the things that were different about getting ready for an online versus an in-person event.

Thinking that others might be interested in seeing what I do to get ready for an online talk, I filmed myself as I prepared for presentation day and put together this "behind the scenes" video.

Check it out, along with my actual talk on JSON in SQL Server 2016, in the videos below!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDYCSym6Lko

Slides and demo code from the presentation is available at https://bertwagner.com/presentations/

And the presentation video itself:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJpUGHWUMoc

And slide deck:

https://www.slideshare.net/BertWagner/dbas-vs-developers-json-in-sql-server-2016

This post is a response to this month's T-SQL Tuesday prompt. T-SQL Tuesday was created by Adam Machanic and is a way for SQL users to share ideas about interesting topics. This month's topic is The Times They Are A-Changing.

I think everyone's had the same fear at some point in their career: "Am I going to lose my job because of X?" X can be a variety of things — company reorganizations, positions being outsourced, robotic automation, new software advancements, etc…

I think the answer to this question depends 100% on the type of individual you are and nothing to do with what your job actually is (was).

Being a Linchpin

Seth Godin discusses the concept of a Linchpin in his same-titled book. A Linchpin is someone who is so good at what they do that they become indispensable to their organization. Linchpins are the kind of people who are self-motivated and are able to consistently deliver quality work. They are integral to the operation of a business, even if they don't get all of the glamour of having VP or Director in their title.

And why are Linchpins always guaranteed jobs? In one scenario, Linchpins will outgrow their role and be promoted or find a better job. They are always learning and growing in addition to delivering, and so this is the natural procession. In the alternate scenario, if the Linchpin has to lose his or her current job (ie. think company buyouts where entire departments close), they will either 1) become promoted to elsewhere in the company because management recognizes their great skills or 2) they will have no problem finding work elsewhere, especially with great recommendations from their former employer.

The Cloud, SaaS, PaaS, and other technologies

The past few years have seen many new technologies come into the SQL professional's workspace. Administrators now have the ability to manage their server instances online in the cloud and use new features and functionality that weren't previously available in local-network only instances. Developers also have new tools to interact with cloud instance, but also have totally new functionality available to them from a variety of online services.

As of now, I think most of these new advancements augment our current technology instead of replace it. I think this means that some professionals will choose to not learn about them or how to use them. And it's really easy to justify not learning them — it can be hard for some to find the time to learn something that they can't immediately use.

However, some professionals will be excited and will learn about these new technologies. Even if their environments don't need to use cloud platforms and other new features, they will find small areas in their environment that can use these technologies so they start getting experience using them. Worst case, even if it's not possible to modify something existing with these new tools, these professionals will create sandboxes for themselves and learn to use some of these technologies anyway. By doing this, they will be more confident in using these tools when the time necessitates that they be used.

When it's time to be promoted or to switch jobs, which of the two professionals is more likely to get hired — the one who knows only his or her old technology really well, or the professional who has taken the time to learn these new features even if they didn't have to use them in their old environment?

Is my role of business intelligence developer going to disappear?

I'm a professional learner. Officially I'm a business intelligence developer, but unofficially I also am a web developer, manager, DBA, and electrical engineer. I don't pretend that I am an expert in all of those unofficial capacities (or even the official one!), but I do continually try to improve myself in all of those roles.

Do I worry about having new technologies replace my current job role? No. I do think the tools I use today will be outdated and replaced at some point in the future though.

I imagine some future version of SSRS will be able to generate the majority of the reporting needed for my database based off metadata. Data will continue to evolve and live in environments other than just SQL Server, making my need for SSIS less important — I'll have to learn other ways to transform data, whether through C#, Python, some cloud querying tool, or all of the above. I'll have to get used to not only using data from databases and flat files, but also mixing in data from APIs and cloud storage. Some of this data will be relational but a lot of it will not.

And all of that sounds exciting! Learning new ways of working with data is a thrill because it means I won't get bored working on the same thing year after year. Sure, 10 years from now new technologies will replace my current job — fortunately for me though, by that point I'll be working with those new technologies.