Presentations for SQL Server Beginners

For my final blog post in the #gettingstarted, #iwanttohelp series, I decided to curate a set of presentations from the PASS Virtual Chapters. This content is available online. It’s free. Most importantly for the person just getting started as a SQL Server data pro, it’s good. I’m going to marry each of the presentations with my eleven blog posts in this series.

1. The Importance of a Full Backup in SQL Server
   For this one I’m going to recommend Tim Radney’s session Understanding SQL Server Backup and Restore. I know Tim personally and guarantee this is a good session.
2. Why Is The Server Slow
   Jes Borland is a very close personal friend and an absolutely outstanding presenter (and person). She has a session all about getting you started on wait statistics Beyond CXPacket: Understanding Wait Statistics.
3. SQL Server Backups Are a Business Decision
   Paul Randal is, well, Paul Randal. If you’re not familiar with his work, you really should be. He presented a session called Building the Right Backup Strategy that should coincide nicely with my blog post.
4. A View Is Not A Table
   OK, I couldn’t find a single session talking about views, so I’m going to come at this from the side, just a little (and I might start working on a presentation on views & other structures). This session by Kenneth Ureña, who I’ve talked with several times, is about structures and performance. It should do the trick. Indexing Strategies and Good Physical Designs for Performance Tuning.
5. Use The Correct Data Type
   Silent Killers Lurking in Your Schema by (yes, a good friend) Mickey Steuwe is absolutely going to cover data types, among other things.
6. Choosing the Right SQL Server Edition
   John Martin (yeah, another friend, what can I say, I try to stay on the good side of smart & capable people) has a presentation that’s a bit more focused on SQL Server internals but will absolutely address the edition of SQL Server as part of the work. Get SQL Server Set Up Right! The First Time.
   I’m also going to add a session by Jes Borland, again, that introduces Azure, especially talking about Azure in a hybrid scenario. Azure and SQL Server. Plus, I just want to share more Azure links. If you’re just getting started with the Microsoft Data Platform, start with Azure.
7. Monitor Query Performance
   There are tons of choices here. I’m going with Kicking and Screaming: Replacing Profiler With Extended Events because I know that most people learn Profiler first. I also know that we need to get people to start using Extended Events instead. I will further add that Erin Stellato really knows here stuff on this topic, as well as many others. She is also a wonderful presenter (and a friend).
8. Azure SQL Database For Your First Database
   As I said, I really believe in Azure as an entry into the land of Data Platform. It’s easy. It’s inexpensive. It’s available almost anywhere. Tim Radney has a session called Azure SQL Database for the Production DBA that will help to get you started.
9. The Clustered Index is Vital To Your Database Design
   The clustered index is so important that everyone presents on it in one fashion or another. I’ve met Ayman El-Ghazali a few times. We’re not friends yet, but we get along (he’s very smart, see above). His session Indexing Fundamentals seems ideal for this slot.
10. Statistics Are Vital For Performance
    Erin Stellato has a session called Statistics Starters. It is so important to understand what statistics are within SQL Server, how to use them, how to maintain them, it’s hard to over-emphasize it.
11. PowerShell To Test a Query
    If you’re just getting going with Powershell, you’re going to need tons of help. Luckily it’s out there. I could have picked any number of excellent sessions by amazing people (many of them friends). I’m going with the PowerShell Tips and Tricks for SQL Server Administration by Mike Fal. Mike (a friend) recently helped me with some of my own PowerShell scripts, so he’s kind of top of mind at the moment.

Conclusion

For my final post I wanted to do three things. First, a recap of the last year’s worth of #getttingstarted blog posts. Believe it or not, I put a little work into each of these and it’s nice to see them all collected like this. Second, I wanted to illustrate the vast quantity of high quality learning that is available through PASS and the PASS Virtual Chapters. I pulled these sessions from a bunch of different chapters. There are alternatives I could have picked for every topic (except for views, something to work on). Which leads to my third, and final reason for doing my last post in the series like this, I wanted to keep helping. You now know a great resource to go to and search through for more information and learning.

Before we go, I want launch a small challenge of my own. If you’re a blogger, pick a topic (or a collection of topics like I did), and put together a blog post that curates the content using only PASS resources. Link back to this blog. Use the hash tag, #PASScurated. Let’s see what other information can be put together.