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Event Location:
Grand Canyon University
3300 West Camelback Road
Phoenix, Arizona
Abstract:
Troubleshooting can be easy when the cause of an issue is obvious - except sometimes it isn't because it's not. In those cases, how do you find the cause - especially when it's something you don't directly control? You're having issues with your storage, but is it a result of RAID being setting up improperly or a constraint on the fiber channel switch? Can you tell the difference between a blockage of firewall ports and a network switch that's nearing capacity? You're not a SAN admin or a firewall engineer, but you don't need to be to understand enough to identify whether these systems are involved. In this session, we'll talk about troubleshooting as a process - how you can identify issues beyond what you can see and may not understand. While we may discuss some specific situations or hard-to-identify causes in the examples, the session will be focused on understanding the impact of different issues, and how you can better identify the cause of an issue when it's outside your system.
Speaker(s): Ryan McCauley,
Abstract:
This session is a continuation of my in-memory table presentation (Part 1) given at 8 SQL Saturdays in 2016 only now concentrating on in-memory indexes. This session will do an in-depth dive into hash, range, and columnstore indexes in the in-memory environment. It will be about 30% presentation and 70% demos with emphasis on when and how to apply in-memory indexes for stated environments/scenarios. After this session you will 1. Understand the three in-memory index types, how to create, and when to apply them for selected scenarios 2. Be able to identify performance gains over equivalent disk back tables/indexes 3. Comprehend the new data monitoring needed for in-memory tables/indexes
Speaker(s): Mike Byrd,
Abstract:
Join me in a presentation on how to create your Azure environment for Data and Analytics. - creating Azure resources - population of data for POC - creating a template to make POC a possibility (how to recreate on demand) - real world situations and lessons learned in Azure situations - consumption of that data through Power BI Embedded This presentation will include creation of an Hybrid solution for Operational Analytics in Azure using Azure SQL DB, an historical Azure SQL DW and using Azure Analysis Services to create the ultimate Data and Analytics experience in the cloud. Make the move from on prem BI solutions to an Azure Data and Analytics solution.
 In this session, we'll launch a probe into a JSON data file containing profiles of NASA astronauts using new JSON T-SQL functions in SQL Server. With each astronaut we meet, we'll learn to validate, read, and manipulate "unstructured" JSON data. We'll get The Right Stuff to start developing, no previous JSON experience required. Let's go where NoSQL has gone before! Prerequisites: You should have experience writing queries in T-SQL. No previous knowledge of JSON is needed. Goals: Learn about JSON, and its basic data types Discover how SQL Server 2016 can handle JSON data Be amazed at the cool people NASA sends into space!
Speaker(s): Peter Kral,
Abstract:
Massively Parallel Processing (MPP) architectures allow the use of large numbers of processors (or computers) to perform a set of coordinated computations simultaneously. MPP architectures can help with the processing and aggregation of large volumes of data with varying shapes, but can be complicated and costly to deploy and maintain. We'll explore using the Microsoft Azure cloud as a platform for quickly creating cost-effective MPP solutions. We will use Microsoft Azure to deploy and process data with a Hadoop based MMP architecture (using HDInsight). The pros and cons of Hadoop based MPP, as well as when a company might choose a Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) offering over an Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) solution. This talk will be packed full of demos and real-world learnings.
Speaker(s): Josh Sivey,
Abstract:
"As is commonly the case, all good things come to an end. And now is as good a time as any for the use of SQL Trace and Profiler to come to an end. Let’s face it, Trace was a good tool and had some wonderful uses. Profiler for that matter was a good tool and was useful at times. It is time to let those old tools retire gracefully and move into the world of XE. This full day workshop will provide you the means to let Profiler and Trace be retired from your toolset as you discover all that XE has to offer. This full day session on Extended Events will help prepare you to put this tool to immediate use as you walk back to your daily duties. This workshop will teach you about Extended Events starting with the basics and moving through how to create XE sessions that will get the right data for you, while doing so with minimal impact. You will be exposed to advanced troubleshooting techniques as we work through complex issues that are made easier through the use of XE. Take advantage
Speaker(s): Jason Brimhall,
Abstract:
TSQL is one of the most valuable tools any SQL Server professional can add to their tool-set. More aptly, TSQL is a whole chest of tools for the SQL Server professional. One of the most important tools in that TSQL chest is a good understanding of the SELECT statement. When was the last time you sat down to evaluate a SELECT statement? What actually goes into the processing of that teeny little word? There might be a fair bit more to this simple term than just fetching data from the database. This session covers the simplicity of the select. Then we take it a step further to dive into some of the complexities tied directly to this particular statement. This session will help the attendee better understand the Select statement. With a more solid understanding of this statement, the attendee can return and implement some of this new knowledge to help improve processing and query response times in their own environments.
Speaker(s): Jason Brimhall,
Abstract:
When the SQL Server optimizer evaluates a query to determine how best to execute it, the statistics are quite possibly the most important tool at its disposal. But SQL Server statistics objects aren’t perfect because they only contain summary information. In this session, we’ll start with an overview of what the statistics objects are, how the optimizer uses them, and some general guidelines for their maintenance. Then we’ll look at some of the issues – and solutions – that can arise due to their imperfection: ascending keys, correlated predicates, skewed distribution, or downright bad summary information.
Speaker(s): Vern Rabe,
Abstract:
Microsoft’s PowerBI is the new hotness. In this session, you will get your hands dirty and dive into PowerBI and create an actual report, with actual data. You will get to learn from examples from what a DBA has done to implement PowerBI in his shop and make his data accessible. As a DBA, we often need to collect and display data in a friendly and interactive fashion. We will play with some PowerShell to collect data from several systems, store this data in an Azure DB in the Cloud, then point PowerBI at this data to display and interact with said data. You will learn a little about PowerShell, Azure SQL DB, PowerBI, and how to make these work for you. You will be given permissions to an Azure DB, and get connected to this source. You will also need to have PowerBI desktop downloaded and installed. We will be using this to create the report during the session. So please come prepared to interact with the internet, with a cloud-based database you will be provided, and PowerBI Desk
Speaker(s): TJay Belt,
Abstract:
One of the most common problems I have encountered as a DBA is the complaints from users that a particular query is slow, just one query. Many times one that used to run in acceptable time, but that over time has slowed down substantially. In this session we will show some of the causes for this, with emphasis on I/O requests being too high for the query. First part of the session will explain how to find these numbers, looking at a few queries with some major performance issues, including explaining why they have a problem. The second part will focus on how to reduce I/O requests. All of this can be done without the need for any 3rd party tools, all within the scope of what is available to SQL Server, all versions, all editions, including Azure.
Speaker(s): Anders Pedersen,
Abstract:
Database provisioning requests are the bane of many DBA’s working lives. Developers want to work with realistic data, DBAs want to protect Production and secure data. But copying databases for development and test is a job that gets 'delegated up'; DBAs, IT Managers, those with the keys to Production find themselves performing the task, and the development team is often blocked while it takes place. The same people are often responsible for ensuring the copy is appropriate for the environment (permissions, configuration data, sensitive data), so have to perform semi-manual tasks and maintain brittle scripts to do so. In this session Redgate’s Grant Fritchey shows how new tool SQL Clone enables self-service or easy automation of database copies and is near-instant at the time of need, using a fraction of the disk space, and allowing quick reversion to a baseline or snapshotting of changes.
Speaker(s): Grant Fritchey,
Abstract:
This session focuses on Microsoft’s BI technologies and its abilities to make advanced easy to use, accessible, insightful, and actionable decisions, all while helping clients increase organizational performance. With the recent release of SQL Server, Microsoft dramatically enhanced the Microsoft BI platform. During this session you will explore the improvements to SQL Server reporting services and Power BI to show you how to create a blended value from your BI platform.
Speaker(s): Sayed Saeed,
Abstract:
The SSIS catalog is one of the best-evolved features in the SQL Server Integration Services ecosystem. With integrated package storage, Windows ACL-like security settings, built-in logging, and many other features, the SSIS catalog has become an anchor for many ETL architectures. With all this complexity, it is important to understand the inner workings of the SSIS catalog to keep it running smoothly. In this demo-heavy presentation, we will dive into the details of the SSIS catalog. We will start with a quick survey of catalog features, followed by an exploration of the moving parts (tables, views, and stored procedures) in the catalog database. We will also review the security capabilities in the catalog, and will discuss maintenance operations. Finally, we'll walk through the mechanics of deployment and execution, reviewing what happens under the covers during these operations.
Speaker(s): Tim Mitchell,
Abstract:
The traditional Enterprise Data Warehouse (EDW) has become common place in today's technology landscape and is a key enabler for analytics solutions. However, an EDW introduces certain limitations and is not the right tool for every situation. We'll talk about what these limitations are and how the LDW opens up a whole new realm of possibilities for modern Advanced Analytics solutions.
Speaker(s): Corey Kreun,
Abstract:
After Microsoft acquired Revolution Analytics, it has released Microsoft R Open (MRO, formerly Revolution R Open) and Microsoft R Server (MRS, formerly Revolution R Enterprise). While there is publicly available information on these, analytics community is still getting familiar with these. During the presentation, Divya will address these three questions – • What do R, MRO, and MRS have in common? • What’s new in MRO and MRS compared with R? • Why should I use MRO or MRS instead of R? In addition to this, she will also give a demo of how to get started with Microsoft R Open and Microsoft R Server. She will also demonstrate how to deploy an end to end application using SQL Server R Services and Power BI.
Speaker(s): Divya Saini,
Abstract:
To a beginner, indexes may seem like magic. The right index can drastically reduce query time. But, how do you know which indexes are the right ones? SQL Server will suggest helpful indexes in the graphical execution plan and with the Database Engine Tuning Advisor, but follow that advice with caution. This session will explain how indexes work and how to tune indexes so that your application has the best performance.
Speaker(s): Kathi Kellenberger,
Abstract:
Over the last few years Big data technologies like Hadoop gained increasing popularity for processing and storing both structured, unstructured and semi structured data in the order of Peta Bytes or Zeta Bytes. A big data use case can help you solve a specific business challenge by using patterns or examples of big data technology solutions. Cloudera is an open-source Apache Hadoop distribution, CDH (Cloudera Distribution Including Apache Hadoop), targets enterprise-class deployments of that technology leveraging Big Data Applications. In this session Surya will explain the a few Big Data use cases and implementation using Cloudera.
Speaker(s): Surya Vipparthy,
Abstract:
This session will use RevoScaleR packages in Microsoft R to showcase the common linear and classification for machine learning, such as linear regression, logistic regression, etc. The presentation will also include the parameters or methods to create a good model as well as data visualization using PowerBI.
Speaker(s): Venus Lin,
Abstract:
Query performance is what it is all about. SQL Server 2014/2016 now has the new in-memory functionality that takes a completely different approach to data access and manipulation. This session will consolidate the relevant information from all these sources so the production DBA/Developer will be able to understand, create, use, maintain, and trouble-shoot in-memory table functionality. This session will also examine several demo scripts showing performance gains using the in-memory tables with and without columnstore indexes over equivalent disk based tables. This session is all about when and how to apply in-memory tables in a production environment. After this session you will 1. Understand what in-memory tables are and how to create and maintain them including their limitations 2. Be able to identify performance gains over equivalent disk back tables 3. Comprehend the new data monitoring needed for in-memory table
Speaker(s): Mike Byrd,
Abstract:
Companies today are using sentiment analysis to improve customer experience by understanding the attitude of their customers based on tweets, facebook posts, and other social networking outlets. The ability to perceive a customer’s feelings benefits that company by advising them on what changes they can make to improve their customer’s experiences. A great way to do this is in open-source tools such as R. In R, we can classify the polarity as well as the emotion behind a comment from Twitter feeds. Rachael will show the basics of using a few R functions to do this, with visualizations as well.
Speaker(s): Rachael Phillips,
Abstract:
A SQL perspective on noSql document databases. What’s the difference between a SQL database and a document db? Why would you choose one over the other? What does the implementation look like? Are noSql databases taking over the world?
Speaker(s): Eric Peterson,
Abstract:
Are you sometimes plagued with the unfortunate event of your multidimensional SSAS cube refresh exceeding the scheduled maintenance window? Maybe you simply need to update recent data to reflect a critical change during business hours, but can’t afford several hours of downtime. I have a solution for you! In this session, we will focus on building an ETL framework while leveraging your cube’s logical partition design to dynamically process only the necessary data within your measure group. We will discuss audit logging, cube processing options, partition design and metadata access. These techniques and strategies will provide a faster data refresh process for your warehouse or data mart.
Speaker(s): Jeremy Frye,
Abstract:
One of the most exciting new features of SQL Server 2016 is the integration of the R statistical programming language into the platform with the brand-new SQL Server R Services. In this introductory session we'll briefly introduce the R language and then look at how to install and administer SQL Server R Services. We'll start to demonstrate the power of R by showing you how to create and run simple R scripts from within T-SQL. We'll then discuss some of the powerful open source packages that are available to aid your data analyses. Finally, we'll go through some examples of how to use R to integrate data analytical methods in real-world situations, and wow your customers with the power of statistics!
Speaker(s): Chris Hyde,
Abstract:
This session will review common challenges encountered when preparing new data sets for use in analytics and reporting. We will look at tools for exploring and modifying large CSV/TXT files and discuss design patterns for cleaning and repair.
Speaker(s): Phil Robinson,
Abstract:
When your SQL Server environment runs 24*7 and is *very sensitive* to interruptions, how one performs basic maintenance activities, supports development and deployment, and ensures proper backups requires a different mindeset for performing these tasks. Everything from how you implement SQL Server to how a table is designed requires a different thought process when the daily "overnight" or weekly "downtime" windows do not exist. Everything you do happens alongside and impacts user-facing activity. In this session I will present various high-level lessons learned along the path of user happiness in an always-in-use environment.
Speaker(s): Robert Miller,
Abstract:
Massively Parallel Processing (MPP) architectures allow the use of large numbers of processors (or computers) to perform a set of coordinated computations simultaneously. MPP architectures can help with the processing and aggregation of large volumes of data with varying shapes, but can be complicated and costly to deploy and maintain. We'll explore using the Microsoft Azure cloud as a platform for quickly creating cost-effective MPP solutions. We will use Microsoft Azure to deploy and process data with a SQL based MMP architecture (Azure SQL Data Warehouse). The pros and cons of SQL based MPP will be discussed, as well as when a company might choose a Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) offering over an Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) solution. This talk will be packed full of demos and real-world learnings.
Speaker(s): Josh Sivey,
Abstract:
Everyone knows that Azure SQL Database only supports a small subset of SQL Server functionality, small databases, and has really bad performance. Except, everyone is wrong. In fact, Azure SQL Server Database is ready to support many, if not most, databases within your enterprise. This session reintroduces Azure SQL Database and shows the high degree of functionality and improved performance that is now available. We'll cover topics from monitoring, to high availability to disaster recovery, all within Azure SQL Database. You’ll leave this session with a more thorough understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of Azure SQL Database so that you can make a more informed choice over when, or if, you should use it within your environment.
Speaker(s): Grant Fritchey,
Abstract:
SQL Server 2005 and later versions introduced several T-SQL features that are like power tools in the hands of T-SQL developers. If you aren’t using these features, you’re probably writing code that doesn’t perform as well as it could. This session will teach you how to avoid cursor solutions, and create simpler code by using the window functions that have been introduced between 2005 and 2012. You'll learn how to use the new functions and how to apply them to several design patterns that are commonly found in the real world.
Speaker(s): Kathi Kellenberger,
Abstract:
By leveraging advancements in statistical computing and the large volumes of data generated by businesses today, Advanced Analytics empowers business users to make more strategic decisions that can help to reduce costs or increase profit. By utilizing relationships in historical data, predictive analytics and other machine learning algorithms can model future predictions and enable the business user to more accurately prescribe solutions. In this session, Karla will demonstrate a step-by-step process needed to implement an Advanced Analytics solution into a current data strategy. This includes statistical modeling methodology and techniques, but will also take a deeper dive into a few use cases and the data surrounding these models.
Speaker(s): Karla Benefiel,
Abstract:
This session is an introduction to the spatial features in SQL Server. In this session, you will learn how to create, procure and leverage spatial data. You will be made aware of tools you can use to integrate your own spatial data with a variety of public data sources such as the Census Bureau, National Weather Service, etc. Functions and T-SQL commands related to spatial data analysis will be demonstrated. We will end the session by using the geometry data type to actually mimic a bitmapped picture using SQL (that's the fun part!).
Speaker(s): Mindy Curnutt,
Abstract:
Change Data Capture (CDC) was released with SQL Server 2008 and has been enhanced in several subsequent releases of SQL Server. Sever Stored Procedures were first provided to aid in using CDC with ETL and/or other CDC related processes. SQL Server 2012 included the release of the CDC Source and several other SSIS Task that greatly simplified the process of using CDC in your ETL. In this session, I want to share some of the creative uses I have seen involving CDC and hear about some of the things you have seen and or done with it.
Speaker(s): Paul Graham,
Abstract:
Without temporal tables (AKA history tables), we can only see the current version of data. We can’t see rows that have been deleted or rows as they existed before the latest update. The temporal table support in SQL Server 2016 gives us the ability to create system maintained “history” tables to track all changes to the table data. In this session we’ll discuss how you can benefit from temporal support in your tables, how to implement temporal tables in SQL Server 2016, and how to write “time travel queries” using the new FOR SYSTEM_TIME clause in a SELECT statement to easily query historical information.
Speaker(s): Vern Rabe,
Abstract:
Change detection is a critical component of any system that moves data from one structure to another. Most data movement mechanisms are designed to move a subset of the data – only that which is new or changed since the last load. For that to work properly, there must be a reliable system for detecting delta data touched since the most recent load. In this session, we will review the tools and design patterns available in SQL Server for performing change detection. From source detection methods including change tracking and change data capture, to in-flight comparisons using hashed values, and even brute-force methods as a last resort, we’ll cover the spectrum of change detection tools in SQL Server.
Speaker(s): Tim Mitchell,
Abstract:
What's it like moving your SQL based application to the Cloud? There is a lot to consider before you make the leap. Azure VM (IaaS) or Service (PaaS)? Resource Manager or Classic Deployment, Authentication, Application Architecture, Networking, Backups, Migration Planning, Performance, Cost Estimating and Monitoring are issues that you will need to address for a successful implementation. During this session I will cover how these issues were addressed from planning stage one year ago to a production SQL server in Azure. Pickup tips and scripts. Learn from our mistakes and assumptions and avoid blind alleys.
Speaker(s): Sergio Pacheco,
Abstract:
The goal of self-service BI is to give users the means to interact and understand their data quickly. There are a plethora of tools in the Market. For many years Tableau was the undisputed leader in this rapidly evolving space. Post 2015 a new tool from Microsoft emerged – Power BI. It was and is still considered a disruptor in the Data visualization space. Faced with a tool that has been in the market for over 10 years and a rapidly evolving product that has the backing of a Software giant from Redmond , how does an individual or an organization go about choosing the right product. Let’s dive deeper. In this demonstration rich session we’ll look at how the tools compare against different functional scenarios. We’ll see how each tool can handle- - Represent Data using Maps - Drill downs and Hierarchies - Trending and Forecasting - Grouping and Organizing data - Combing data from different sources and source type - Community support And much more..!
Speaker(s): Jude Dcosta,
Abstract:
With the introduction of in-memory based tables in SQL Server 2014, it’s natural to expect significant increases in query performance. But what do we do when queries which utilize in-memory tables actually start to perform same or, in some cases, even worse than their equivalent disk based table predecessors? In this session, we are going to take a look at the changes to the indexing design for in-memory based objects and how it differs from existing disk based table indexing. Also, we are going to cover how to choose the appropriate indexes for your in-memory object to give you the performance boost that you have been expecting.
Speaker(s): Konstantin Melamud,
Abstract:
We've all installed SQL Server and, most of the times, the default settings work just fine. This is a beginner session that will help you to understand what those settings mean along with why there might be times that you want to use something other than the defaults and how that might impact your server. We'll also go through unattended installs, both with and without a config file. This can really help to standardize your SQL Server installations and save you some precious keystrokes.
Speaker(s): Lori Edwards,
Abstract:
You are a Developer (.NET, SQL or otherwise) but you have been doing some DBA work and have now decided that is all you want to do - how do you make the transition? What do you need to know? This session will cover this topic from first-hand experience.
Speaker(s): Amy Herold,
Abstract:
For years XML was the generic data format for the masses. With the advent of JSON, there is a much easier, readable format for storing data that is platform agnostic. In this presentation we will explore what JSON is and how its different from XML as well as how to read an write JSON files using new functions available in SQL Server 2016
Speaker(s): Stan Geiger,
Abstract:
Abstract - Logical Data Warehousing with Tableau 10 Logical Data Warehousing has become a trending BI topic. The purpose of an LDW is to extend a traditional Data Warehouse with supplemental information, and is even being used to reduce development time by supplanting the traditional data warehouse altogether. Many tools are now available that will help in the creation of an LDW. The latest version of Tableau provides tools for combining data from disparate sources into a unified data source that is consumable by end users. Learn about LDW, and learn how Tableau 10 can help provide value to your client in less time than with a classic data warehouse solution.
Speaker(s): Frank Cegelski,
Abstract:
Apache Kafka is a distributed publish-subscribe messaging system which can scale out to handle millions of messages per second. In this talk, we will cover the basics of this powerful system, including general architectural and design principles. We will also build a .NET project which uses Kafka to produce and consume messages quickly and efficiently.
Speaker(s): Kevin Feasel,
Abstract:
If you work with SQL Server at all, you need to know Transact-SQL, the SQL Server programming language. During this session, we’ll design and create our own table to demonstrate key concepts, query syntax, and more. If you’ve been meaning to learn T-SQL, here’s your chance!
Speaker(s): Jennifer McCown,
Abstract:
SQL Server offers several isolation levels beyond the default "READ COMMITTED". But understanding when to use each one can be daunting. Whether you are a developer who needs to understand how isolation works and and why NOLOCK is not an appropriate hint in most cases, or a seasoned DBA who needs to understand the less commonly used isolation methods, this session is for you. We will look at each level, how it impacts the engine, and examine appropriate (and inapproriate) use cases for each.
Speaker(s): Randy Knight,
Abstract:
With the increasing popularity of Power BI and the future inclusion of Power Query in SSIS, Power Query (or the M language) will undoubtedly play a significant role in our lives as BI professionals. In this session we will cover the basics of Power Query, and show you the benefits of knowing this powerful new language.
Speaker(s): Martin Schoombee,
Abstract:
Powershell has become the defacto standard for scripting Microsoft products. However, putting data in text files doesn’t scale. Here I’m going to show you the ins and outs of loading data into SQL Server using Powershell for the purpose of centralizing collections. We’re going to cover RBAR as well as bulk operations and the types of things you need to take into consideration in an enterprise setting. This is a no holds barred session taught by an enterprise SQL Server scripting expert.
Speaker(s): Sean McCown,
Abstract:
While blocking and deadlocks are part of the territory for a DBA, dealing with them can be another story. In this session we will break down locking types, capturing and identifying deadlocks and the code behind them, and things you can do to resolve and prevent blocking and deadlocks. If you are frequently dealing with deadlocks in your databases this session is for you.
Speaker(s): Amy Herold,
Abstract:
"With the release of SQL Server 2016, Microsoft has included two features that could fundamentally change the way we look at Data Warehousing. The addition of Polybase for connecting to external data sources such as Hadoop and Azure Blob for native TSQL queries extends the reach of the DW. In this session we will discuss how to configure Polybase, best use cases, as well as live demos of the technology.
Speaker(s): Stan Geiger,
Abstract:
This is a deep dive into the data compression features in SQL Server and how it affects the performance of your database. After attending this session, you will be able to recognize situations in which enabling compression will help, how to configure it, and how to deploy it in your production systems.
Speaker(s): Jay Robinson,
Abstract:
With the possibility to visualize data with different tools it has become difficult to choose or determine which one is better or when to use one over another. In this session, I'll be using three of the most popular tools to visualize data from outlook REST API. This session will also provide a high level understanding on how these tools can be used for this scenario and other possible cases, as well as their similarities and differences.
Speaker(s): Cristian Vasconez,
Abstract:
Microsoft introduced the APPLY operator in SQL Server 2005. This under-used, non-standard operator can help us solve a number of common (and not-so-common) problems with elegant code which performs well. We will look several problem spaces in which the APPLY operator shines, such as joining to table-valued functions, getting the top N child records for each parent record, string splitting, and word matching. With the use of these examples, we will gain a deeper understanding of when to use the APPLY operator.
Speaker(s): Kevin Feasel,
Abstract:
You're looking for a way to speed up the creation of your SSIS packages. BIML intrigues you but you are no .NET developer. You'd like to enhance your BIML with some basic C#, but where do you start? In this session, we'll go over some C# constructs that can be quickly learned and applied within your BIML. We will also cover the basics of working with BIML in general.
Speaker(s): Cyndi Johnson,
Abstract:
Partitioned tables are an ideal solution for improving write performance in certain situations. But they present unique challenges for the developer who simply needs to query the data. In this session, you will learn how the optimizer takes partitioned tables into account when producing query plans, recognize common query plan issues, and learn tactics for improving performance when querying partitioned data.
Speaker(s): Jay Robinson,
Abstract:
As an unsupervised learning algorithm, market basket analysis/association rule mining has its advantages over other predictive analytics techniques. As a deeper dive into the algorithms, models, and tools used in machine learning tasks and how they change today’s business world, in this session, Ying will explore several business scenarios where market basket analysis can make a huge impact and present demos built with R, Azure ML, Tableau, and Power BI.
Speaker(s): Yueying Li,
Abstract:
In this session we will take a look at the basics of execution plans. We will discuss what they are, how they are made, and how they are used. We will explore some of the common operators seen in execution plans and their functions. Next we will look at the differences between estimated and actual execution plans. Throughout, you will be getting insight on how to read execution plans to help tune your queries.
Speaker(s): Lance Tidwell,
Abstract:
Master Data Services can replace some ETL practices. This session shows how Excel can be used to directly modify data in SQL Server.
Speaker(s): Connie Fowler,
Abstract:
This is a deep dive session full of demos about SQL 2016 stretched databases feature. It will go from pre-reqs and blocking factor through deployment and disaster recovery. Everything you need to know and when to use this new cloud-based exciting capability.
Speaker(s): Armando Lacerda,
Abstract:
The SQL Server transaction log is one of the most misunderstood components of the database engine. What makes it grow? How does it get truncated? Should I shrink it? What is a VLF? In this session we will answer these questions and more.
Speaker(s): Randy Knight,
Abstract:
There are a few "gotcha's" that can make you spend more time than necessary when creating or deploying your Power BI solution. During this demonstration based session you will see those traps and how to avoid them. You will save time on your Power BI projects when you use these tips.
Speaker(s): Rachael Martino,
Abstract:
Congratulations, you’re now our DBA! A new SQL instance is like a blank canvas, you stare at it and wonder where to start. As an accidental dba, this session will help you learn how to survive in your new role. In this session, you will be supplied with the beginning brush strokes to make your server a master piece. To do so, we will review best practices for standard configurations, backups, maintenance, and disaster recovery. By the end of this session, you will have developed a pallet of tools to help you create your SQL Server Masterpiece and be able to use it as a print for others.
Speaker(s): Jim Donahoe,
Abstract:
This session introduces attendees to U-SQL, the new language created to combine the strengths of both SQL and C#. This powerful language can be used to query data which is stored in many different formats, including tab delimited , comma delimited files and JSON format. Demonstrations will show how to write code using Visual Studio and query information stored in an Azure Data Lake.
Speaker(s): Ginger Grant,
This is a list of speakers from the XML Guidebook records. The details and URLs were valid at the time of the event.
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/vern-rabe/a/ba3/980
Contact: http://www.rabedata.com
Vern Rabe is an independent SQL Server consultant and contract trainer in Portland, OR, and leader of the Oregon Data Community user group, formerly OregonSQL. He has attained MCSE, MCITP (both Administration and Development), and MCT certifications, among others. Vern has been passionate about databases since 1992 and has worked with SQL Server since version 4.21a. He provides broad technical SQL Server knowledge gained from the mixture of academic and practical experiences acquired from his classroom instructing and varied consulting contracts. Vern regularly presents technical sessions at SQL Server user group meetings, SQLSaturdays, and PASS Summit.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timmitchell/
Contact: http://www.TimMitchell.net
Tim Mitchell is a business intelligence architect, author, and trainer. He has worked with SQL Server for over a decade, specializing in data warehousing, ETL/SSIS, and reporting. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science from Texas AM at Commerce, and is recognized as a Microsoft Data Platform MVP. Tim is a business intelligence consultant and principal at Tyleris Data Solutions. Tim is an active community speaker and volunteer, having spoken at over 100 events including the PASS Summit, SQLBits, Dev Connections, SQL Intersection, and scores of SQL Saturdays. He blogs at TimMitchell.net, and tweets at @Tim_Mitchell.
LinkedIn: ?https://www.linkedin.com/in/sayed-saeed-68079a18?
Contact: http://www.plusconsulting.com/blog/
Sayed Saeed is the Business Intelligence Practice Director at Plus Consulting. He is highly proficient in developing targeted BI solutions for clients and offers solid knowledge and experience in BI products that help organizations better leverage information to effectively manage business. He is a Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert in Business Intelligence as well as Oracle Certified Professional.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timmitchell/
Contact: http://www.TimMitchell.net
Tim Mitchell is a business intelligence architect, author, and trainer. He has worked with SQL Server for over a decade, specializing in data warehousing, ETL/SSIS, and reporting. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science from Texas AM at Commerce, and is recognized as a Microsoft Data Platform MVP. Tim is a business intelligence consultant and principal at Tyleris Data Solutions. Tim is an active community speaker and volunteer, having spoken at over 100 events including the PASS Summit, SQLBits, Dev Connections, SQL Intersection, and scores of SQL Saturdays. He blogs at TimMitchell.net, and tweets at @Tim_Mitchell.
Data Architect and BI Architect. Experience building Data Warehouse and ETL platforms, BI Analytics and OLTP systems. He is currently a Director of Product Manager at Idera, responsible for the development of the multi-platform tools.
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/aherold
Contact: http://www.sqlkitten.com/
Amy Herold is currently a Premier Field Engineer with Microsoft, specializing in APS. Prior to this, she was a Sr. Database Administrator, focusing on PowerShell and automation. She is also currently the Director of Programs for the North Texas SQL Server User Group (NTSSUG). She frequently speaks at SQL Saturday and user group events across the United States and has also participated in numerous Women in Technology sessions as a panelist. Amy currently blogs at sqlkitten.com.
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/vern-rabe/a/ba3/980
Contact: http://www.rabedata.com
Vern Rabe is an independent SQL Server consultant and contract trainer in Portland, OR, and leader of the Oregon Data Community user group, formerly OregonSQL. He has attained MCSE, MCITP (both Administration and Development), and MCT certifications, among others. Vern has been passionate about databases since 1992 and has worked with SQL Server since version 4.21a. He provides broad technical SQL Server knowledge gained from the mixture of academic and practical experiences acquired from his classroom instructing and varied consulting contracts. Vern regularly presents technical sessions at SQL Server user group meetings, SQLSaturdays, and PASS Summit.
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/martinschoombee
Contact: http://www.martinschoombee.com
Martin is an independent Business Intelligence Analytics consultant, helping customers make sense of their data for more than 15 years.
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/scarydba
Contact: http://scarydba.com
Grant Fritchey is a Data Platform MVP with over 20 years’ experience in IT, including time spent in support and development. He has worked with SQL Server since 6.0 back in 1995. He has also developed in VB, VB.NET, C#, and Java. Grant has written books for Apress and Simple-Talk. Grant presents at conferences and user groups, large and small, all over the world. He joined Redgate Software as a product evangelist in January 2011.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sqlda/
Contact: http://sqlda.com
An eight year Microsoft SQL Server Specialist in SQL Server 2005-2016, Azure SQL DB, he has held many development positions, including SQL query tuner, SSIS and SSRS . Joseph's early focus as an SQL tuning professional, fixing long running queries by techniques; join order,use of temporary object, also implementing Index optimization, maintenance and design to fix slowness. Joseph has focused on ETL solutions using SSIS for the last 4 years, data warehousing and cloud architecture using Azure. Currently working on a Modern Data Warehouse project involving Azure Data Lake and Azure SQL DW using external tables. MCSE Data Management and Analytics 2016 MCSA: SQL Server 2012 Co-found CASSUG Albany NY 2 yrs AZSSUG Chapter Leader 3 yrs
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/loriedwards/
Contact: http://www.sqlservertimes2.com
Lori Edwards currently holds the position of Solutions Engineer for SentryOne. Prior to working with SQLSentry, she spent 11 years working as a production DBA. She also has volunteered for PASS since 2009 on the Program Committee, ERC, Nomination Committee and speaking at SQL Saturdays.
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/scarydba
Contact: http://scarydba.com
Grant Fritchey is a Data Platform MVP with over 20 years’ experience in IT, including time spent in support and development. He has worked with SQL Server since 6.0 back in 1995. He has also developed in VB, VB.NET, C#, and Java. Grant has written books for Apress and Simple-Talk. Grant presents at conferences and user groups, large and small, all over the world. He joined Redgate Software as a product evangelist in January 2011.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshuasivey/
Josh Sivey is a Microsoft Certified Professional with over fifteen years of experience delivering solutions using Microsoft technologies. He enjoys helping empower users to unlock the power of corporate data using the Microsoft BI stack. Josh is a Technology Solutions Professional with Microsoft.
I have always loved to spend my Saturdays coding and developing projects that I want to build. So, speaking at SQL Saturday is a natural for me. It is the same thing I would normally be doing, just with hundreds of other people who love to do the same.
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/kathikellenberger
Contact: http://auntkathisql.com
Kathi Kellenberger is the editor of Simple Talk at Redgate and a Data Platform MVP. She has worked with SQL Server for over 20 years and has authored, co-authored, or tech edited over a dozen technical books. Kathi is the co-leader of the PASS Women in Technology Virtual Group and a volunteer at LaunchCode. When Kathi isn’t working, she enjoys spending time with family and friends, cycling, singing, and climbing the stairs of tall buildings. Be sure to check out her courses on Pluralsight.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/surya-vipparthy-36174133
Surya Vipparthy, is the Senior Consultant for Data and Analytics Platform at Neudesic . Surya brings extensive experience in implementing Business Intelligence , advanced analytics and big data technology solutions in various industries. He is currently working as Lead Architect for a Neudesic Client. Neudesic has been providing innovative technologies, services and software products for more than a decade to help organizations gain a competitive advantage and position them for success.
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/randyknight
Contact: http://www.sqlsolutionsgroup.com/blog
Randy Knight is a data professional who has worked with Microsoft technology for over 25 years, focusing on SQL Server since 1997. He has worked in a variety of settings, including 6 years as a database architect for match.com. In 2010, he founded SQL Server Solutions Group LLC, a boutique SQL Server consultancy. A Microsoft Certified Master (MCM) in SQL Server, he speaks often at events all over the country including the PASS Summit, SQLIntersections, and numerous SQL Saturday and User Groups.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/pub/sergio-pacheco/6/34a/447
Contact: https://sergessqlnotes.wordpress.com/
Sergio Pacheco is Cloud and Data Platfom Admin for Mesilla Valley Transportation in Las Cruces, NM. He began his SQL Server career as an "Accidental DBA" in 2005 and is currently the Chapter Leader for the Las Cruces - El Paso SQL Server User Group. He enjoys problem solving, learning, implementing database solutions and working with great people. When he's not working, he loves to share what he has learned and recharges by swimming competitively, mountain biking, trail running and making a mean Cochinita Pibil
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/judedcosta/
I've been working in Technology Development for 8+ years .My experience includes roles in Data warehousing, Database Administration, Database Analysis Development, Business Intelligence and Software Development. I have a Microsoft certification in Business Intelligence design. While not immersed in the field of BI and Data Analytics , I enjoy reading , hiking and travelling. I'm also the President of my local Toastmasters Club
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/tjaybelt/
Contact: http://tjaybelt.blogspot.com
TJay Belt is an outdoorsman at heart who enjoys riding dirtbikes, waterskiing, boating, playing racquetball and spending time with his family. When he can't be out playing, TJay loves to tinker with databases. TJay has been an IT professional for over a decade and a half. Currently serving as a Senior Database Administrator with Imagine Learning. TJay has progressed through several roles in his database career including developer, data guy, database developer, database analyst and DBA.
In progress
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dbajbrimhall/
Contact: http://jasonbrimhall.info
Jason Brimhall has more than 20 years of experience and has worked with SQL Server 6.5 through SQL Server 2019. He has experience in performance tuning, high transaction environments, and large environments. He is currently a consultant specializing in performance tuning, server analysis, and problem resolution. Jason is a Microsoft Certified Master (MCM) and a Data Platform MVP.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/venus-lin-265284a9
Master in Information System Management and expected to graduate in 2017
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/mike-byrd/1/aa0/bbb
Contact: http://logicalread.solarwinds.com/?s=byrd, www.TSQLMentoring.com and SQLServerCentral.com
Former rocket scientist and USAF Fighter Pilot -- now a SQL Server geek (24 years)! Past opportunities include free-lance technical writer for PC Magazine, Senior Software Manager for government sponsored munitions effectiveness committee, and insurance company CTO. Currently senior database engineer consultant for several Austin companies. Presenter at many SQL Saturdays over last 6 years in United States, Europe, and Australia. Specialize in SQL Server performance tuning; database (OLTP OLAP) architecture; trouble-shooting; teaching TSQL (Basic through Advanced). Video presentations (for local SQL Server user groups or SQL Saturdays) can be found at http://usergroup.tv/videos/category/speaker/mike-byrd
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cristian-vasconez-a7791586
Business Intelligence, Cloud computing, Data Warehousing and Big Data development using Microsoft SQL Server application stack, Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services and other tools.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/pub/kevin-feasel/7/716/504
Contact: http://www.catallaxyservices.com
Kevin Feasel is a Microsoft Data Platform MVP and CTO at Envizage, where he specializes in data analytics with T-SQL and R, forcing Spark clusters to do his bidding, fighting with Kafka, and pulling rabbits out of hats on demand. He is the lead contributor to Curated SQL (https://curatedsql.com), president of the Triangle Area SQL Server Users Group (https://www.meetup.com/tripass), and author of PolyBase Revealed (https://www.apress.com/us/book/9781484254608). A resident of Durham, North Carolina, he can be found cycling the trails along the triangle whenever the weather's nice enough.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ginger-grant-3a177b157/
Contact: http://www.DesertIsleSQL.com
Ginger Grant manages the consultancy Desert Isle Group and shares what she has learned while working with data technology to people around the world. As a Microsoft MVP in Data Platform, Microsoft Certified Trainer and an instructor on DataCamp, she focuses on guiding clients to create solutions using the entire Microsoft Data Stack, which includes SQL Server, Power BI, and Azure Data Cloud components. When not working, she protypes the latest pre-release data technologies, maintains her blog http://www.desertislesql.com, and spends time on twitter @desertislesql.
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/aherold
Contact: http://www.sqlkitten.com/
Amy Herold is currently a Premier Field Engineer with Microsoft, specializing in APS. Prior to this, she was a Sr. Database Administrator, focusing on PowerShell and automation. She is also currently the Director of Programs for the North Texas SQL Server User Group (NTSSUG). She frequently speaks at SQL Saturday and user group events across the United States and has also participated in numerous Women in Technology sessions as a panelist. Amy currently blogs at sqlkitten.com.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremyilfrye
Contact: https://jeremyfrye.net
Jeremy Frye is the manager of the Business Intelligence and data warehousing team at RDX. He is a Business Intelligence architect and developer with a background in database administration as well. Jeremy has over 9 years of experience in SQL Server. He has spoken on BI topics at many SQLSaturday's throughout the country, webinars, and local and remote SQL user groups. In his spare time, Jeremy often spends time trying to bridge the gap between keyboard strokes and workout reps.
Contact: http://www.sqlflipflopsdba.com
Jim is a Premier Field Engineer for Microsoft in the Data/AI space. He lives in Pittsburgh in a small suburb. He loves working with all things Azure(ARM templates, DBaaS, SQL on IaaS). He is an avid collector of retro video games! He is a member of the Idera ACE program for 2018.
Contact: http://lancetidwell.com
Lance Tidwell, from the Austin, TX, area, has worked as a SQL Server DBA for the last 11 years. During his time as a DBA he has found his passion for all things SQL, but specifically for performance tuning. He has a life-long quest to always be learning new things; currently this quest has lead him to explore more about the Data Analytics/ Data Science areas.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/pub/kevin-feasel/7/716/504
Contact: http://www.catallaxyservices.com
Kevin Feasel is a Microsoft Data Platform MVP and CTO at Envizage, where he specializes in data analytics with T-SQL and R, forcing Spark clusters to do his bidding, fighting with Kafka, and pulling rabbits out of hats on demand. He is the lead contributor to Curated SQL (https://curatedsql.com), president of the Triangle Area SQL Server Users Group (https://www.meetup.com/tripass), and author of PolyBase Revealed (https://www.apress.com/us/book/9781484254608). A resident of Durham, North Carolina, he can be found cycling the trails along the triangle whenever the weather's nice enough.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peterkral
Peter Kral is a Premier Field Engineer (Data AI) at Microsoft. He holds SQL Server MCSA 2012/2014/2016 and Data Platform MCSE certifications, and was the winner of the Speaker Idol Award at PASS Summit 2016. Peter lives in the San Diego area where he is an active member of the local PASS chapter. He has spoken at many SQLSaturdays, SoCal Code Camps, and at PASS Summit 2017 and 2018.
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/armando-lacerda
Over 30 years in the computing field as a developer and system integrator; over 20 years working with SQL Server since version 6; cross platform experience with Oracle and IBM SQL/DS and DB2; Microsoft Certified Trainer for over 20 years.
Data Architect and BI Architect. Experience building Data Warehouse and ETL platforms, BI Analytics and OLTP systems. He is currently a Director of Product Manager at Idera, responsible for the development of the multi-platform tools.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-hyde-3803706
Chris Hyde is a Microsoft Data Platform MVP and Microsoft Certified Trainer based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He works as an independent SQL Server BI and DBA consultant, and is the leader of the Albuquerque PASS local user group. He is also part of the Friends of Redgate program and was a member of the Idera ACE class of 2018. He loves loud music and cricket, but usually not at the same time.
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/kathikellenberger
Contact: http://auntkathisql.com
Kathi Kellenberger is the editor of Simple Talk at Redgate and a Data Platform MVP. She has worked with SQL Server for over 20 years and has authored, co-authored, or tech edited over a dozen technical books. Kathi is the co-leader of the PASS Women in Technology Virtual Group and a volunteer at LaunchCode. When Kathi isn’t working, she enjoys spending time with family and friends, cycling, singing, and climbing the stairs of tall buildings. Be sure to check out her courses on Pluralsight.
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/randyknight
Contact: http://www.sqlsolutionsgroup.com/blog
Randy Knight is a data professional who has worked with Microsoft technology for over 25 years, focusing on SQL Server since 1997. He has worked in a variety of settings, including 6 years as a database architect for match.com. In 2010, he founded SQL Server Solutions Group LLC, a boutique SQL Server consultancy. A Microsoft Certified Master (MCM) in SQL Server, he speaks often at events all over the country including the PASS Summit, SQLIntersections, and numerous SQL Saturday and User Groups.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/profile/preview?locale=en_UStrk=prof-0-sb-preview-primary-button
My name is Rachael Phillips and I am a consultant at Neudesic! I have a bachelor's of science in applied mathematics and a master's of arts in mathematics! I currently use technologies such as Tableau, R, SQL Server, and Hadoop to help my client with some preventative maintenance for their transformer life cycle.
Eric Peterson is a consultant specializing in database architecture with experience in demanding Fortune 100 company environments. He has a Computer Science degree complemented with an MBA, which meshes well with his jobs integrating business information with the systems that process it. He has worked with SQL Server since its inception and was an instructor of SQL courses at a national technical training company. He also speaks are regional SQLSaturday events.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karlabenefiel
Karla Benefiel is a statistical analyst who thrives on the daily challenges of describing data in novel ways and turning them into meaningful metrics. Using visual data exploration techniques and R, Karla drives Advanced Analytics solutions in Big Data and BI for Neudesic. With a background in applied mathematics and predictive analytics, Karla provides clients with actionable insights by designing machine learning algorithms and predictive models.
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/frankcegelski
Graduated from Rutgers University in 1987. I have been working with Neudesic for over 10 years, and have been doing BI work for most of that time.
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/mike-byrd/1/aa0/bbb
Contact: http://logicalread.solarwinds.com/?s=byrd, www.TSQLMentoring.com and SQLServerCentral.com
Former rocket scientist and USAF Fighter Pilot -- now a SQL Server geek (24 years)! Past opportunities include free-lance technical writer for PC Magazine, Senior Software Manager for government sponsored munitions effectiveness committee, and insurance company CTO. Currently senior database engineer consultant for several Austin companies. Presenter at many SQL Saturdays over last 6 years in United States, Europe, and Australia. Specialize in SQL Server performance tuning; database (OLTP OLAP) architecture; trouble-shooting; teaching TSQL (Basic through Advanced). Video presentations (for local SQL Server user groups or SQL Saturdays) can be found at http://usergroup.tv/videos/category/speaker/mike-byrd
Phil Robinson is an independent consultant focused on developing Business Intelligence solutions using Microsoft Reporting Services and Power BI. He is founder of the San Diego SQL Business Intelligence Group and co-founder of SQL Saturday – San Diego.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/millerrobert
Contact: http://sqlhuman.com
Robert Miller has managed Microsoft SQL Server implementations for the past twenty years. Additional, he is an accomplished architect, application developer, SAN and Systems administrator. In addition to Microsoft SQL Server, he has experience with Oracle and VMS/Rdb database environments. Robert#39;s specialty is working in and architecting high-performance, high-availability environments.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dbajbrimhall/
Contact: http://jasonbrimhall.info
Jason Brimhall has more than 20 years of experience and has worked with SQL Server 6.5 through SQL Server 2019. He has experience in performance tuning, high transaction environments, and large environments. He is currently a consultant specializing in performance tuning, server analysis, and problem resolution. Jason is a Microsoft Certified Master (MCM) and a Data Platform MVP.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/coreykreun
I am a hands on technology leader with 20 years of experience working for Fortune 500 homebuilding, utilitiies, healthcare, consulting companies and municipal government. I’ve worked extensively with many business domains to include CRM, financial, loan, HR, marketing and website systems and business processes and have a broad knowledge across key architectural domains such as Big Data, Business Intelligence, Data, Integration/Middleware and Application. My passion is bringing teams together to create excellent software solutions and I have had great success and fulfillment inspiring peers and direct-reports as we work together in the art and science of technology application.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshuasivey/
Josh Sivey is a Microsoft Certified Professional with over fifteen years of experience delivering solutions using Microsoft technologies. He enjoys helping empower users to unlock the power of corporate data using the Microsoft BI stack. Josh is a Technology Solutions Professional with Microsoft.
LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/cjdatawhisperer
Contact: https://cyndijohnson.net
Cyndi's been in tech for over 13 years. She earned her bachelor's degree in Secondary Education-Mathematics from University of Nevada Reno, but has never "taught". She worked as an application developer for a small tech company in Boise for 6 years, before focusing purely on SQL Server database development. She currently works full time for a tech company in Utah while doing some freelance work on the side. She enjoys sharing her technical knowledge, learning new things, reading, yoga, and weight lifting.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=13788580
Contact: https://downshiftdata.wordpress.com/
I write C# and T-SQL code that scales well. I teach others to do it. DBAs like me.
Contact: http://www.midnightdba.com/dbarant
Sean McCown is a Certified Master with 23 years of experience in databases. He is also founder and co-owner of the MidnightDBA.com website, where he records free SQL Server training videos. He also writes the popular Minion Maintenance suite, the most configurable maintenance solution on the planet.
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifermccown
Contact: http://www.MidnightDBA.com/Jen
Jen McCown is CEO of MinionWare, LLC; a Microsoft Certified Master for SQL Server; and an independent consultant. She is Senior Editor at MidnightDBA.com, where she creates training videos, the DBAs at Midnight webshow, blogs, reviews, and podcasts. Jen is a member, volunteer, and speaker in PASS, and the PASS Women in Technology Virtual Group.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/disaini
Advanced Analytics consultant with 4 years of experience who specializes in machine learning, data mining, data manipulation and data visualization. Successfully designed and built machine learning solutions for clients including employee churn predictive model, text mining and text classification model, recommendation systems, sales forecasting model, market basket analysis, clustering model, anomaly detection model and sentiment analysis model. Adept at deploying these models in cloud based environments like Azure ML or on premise solution using CRAN R, Microsoft R Open or in a distributed environment using Microsoft R Server and HD Insight Clusters. Experienced in building Power BI and Tableau dashboards.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anders-pedersen-993676
Contact: http://blog.AndersOnSQL.com
20+ years of experience with SQL Server, from version 6.0 to 2017. Funnily enough, the only certification I have is on SQL 2012, the one version I have never used. Mostly worked at medium sized companies, by choice. Was a consultant for 6+ years, working on anything from facility security systems, background checks, retail PoS systems, to major financial systems. Passion for performance, and teaching people easy ways to better SQL performance.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanmccauley
Contact: http://www.TryCatchFinally.net
Ryan McCauley has been in IT for 15 years, and has filled roles from .NET developer to MSSQL DBA, but is currently an IT Manager at a mid-size Cable/HSD company. In each role, Ryan is always looking for ways to solve new and unique challenges. In additional to solving technical problems and managing a team of DBAs and Report Developers, Ryan likes to get to the bottom of problems and help everybody clearly define a shared solution. Ryan is an MCP and frequently helps out others on StackOverflow, Experts-Exchange, and under the #sqlhelp tag on Twitter.
Konstantin has over 15 years of SQL Server experience and demonstrates his expertise and commitment to helping SQL Server DBAs succeed through his position as Director of Service Delivery at RDX. In his role, Konstantin is responsible for designing and implementing RDX’s service delivery strategies, including those for SQL Server. Since joining RDX in 2009, Konstantin has proven to be a strong leader and expert in SQL Server database administration, architecture, performance tuning, and business intelligence. He is also a very active member of the SQL Server community and frequently presents at SQL Saturdays and user groups throughout the year. In addition, Konstantin presented during 24 Hours of PASS and at the PASS Summits.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mindycurnutt
Contact: http://www.mindycurnutt.com
Mindy Curnutt is a 5X Microsoft Data Platform MVP, Business Owner and Entrepreneur. Her specialties include SQL Server hardware, configuration, migrations, scalability, performance tuning. She has been actively involved in the SQL Server Community for over two decades and has become a well known speaker within the SQL and Transportation Management communities. She is a two-time PASS Volunteer of the Month, has presented at 6 SQLPASS Summits, Live360, DevConnections, MVPMix and too many SQL Saturdays to count. She is currently the President of the North Texas SQL Server User Group out of Dallas/Fort Worth, TX.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachaelmartino
Rachael has been both an IT Executive and a Consultant. Systems training, data based application development experience and leadership training have prepared her to build stable. maintainable and successful solutions. Rachael has been in the industry working with SQL Server since SQL 2000. She started out her IT life as an application developer and lead a team of developers, creating data centric applications using SQL Server and Oracle. She has worked in the Business Intelligence field using SSAS, multi-dimensional and Tabular, SSRS, SSIS, and PowerBI. She has two Masters degrees from MIT, Systems Design and Management amp; Civil Engineering Information Technology. Her interests surround the Big Data and Data Science areas.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yueying-li-21bb44a8
Advanced analytics consultant at Neudesic with 4+ years of experience modeling and analyzing data in various fields. Experienced in creating machine learning, data mining, and BI solutions including analyzing online marketing campaigns, predicting churning/fraudulence customers, leading ETL implementation of large retail data, developing Tableau and Power BI dashboards and a data warehouse, crawling data from websites, creating data visualizations, building econometric models, and utilizing Hadoop ecosystem tools.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=13788580
Contact: https://downshiftdata.wordpress.com/
I write C# and T-SQL code that scales well. I teach others to do it. DBAs like me.
The following is a list of sponsors that helped fund the event.


The top and uptime utilities can be used to monitor the system CPU load:
top ... uptime ...
The top and iostat utilities can be used to monitor the system I/O load:
top ... iostat ...
If yourLDM is a node on the IDD and is a gateway LDM, then the most convenient way to monitor data-product latency is to go to the IDD rtstats webpages, select your computer, find the feedtype in which you're interested, and then select the latency plot.
The ldmadmin utility can be used to monitor the data-product latency of incoming data:
ldmadmin watch (Type ^D or ^C when finished) ...
The output is in the form
MMM DD hh:mm:ss pqutil: nbytes YYYYMMDDhhmmss.sss ft seqno pid
where:
By comparing the two timestamp fields, one can get an idea of the data-product latency.
The pqmon utility can be used to monitor the product-queue.For example
pqmon Oct 27 16:48:28 pqmon: Starting Up (19969) Oct 27 16:48:28 pqmon: nprods nfree nempty nbytes maxprods maxfree minempty maxext age Oct 27 16:48:28 pqmon: 70301 12<PHONE_NUMBER>781144<PHONE_NUMBER><PHONE_NUMBER>0 2867 Oct 27 16:48:28 pqmon: Exiting
The above shows 70301 data-product slots that each refer to a data-product (nprods); 12 slots refer to gaps (i.e., contiguous empty space) in the product-queue(nfree); and 417968 slots that refer to nothing at all (nempty). The total number of slots is 488281 (nprods + nfree + nempty). The maximum number of slots that refer to data-products since the product-queue was created is 234870 (maxprods). Similarly, the maximum number of slots that reference a gap is 1293 (maxfree) and the minimum number of empty slots is 253410 (minempty). The size of the largest gap currently in the product-queue is 92040 bytes (maxext) and the age of the oldest data-product in the queue is 2867 seconds (age). Because this product-queue is known to have been active for quite some time (several months) the large number of empty slots means that it was created with an unnecessarily large parameter specifying the maximum number of data-products. The overhead of managing the queue could be slightly reduced by recreating the queue with a smaller number of slots (e.g., 250000).
The ldmping utility can be used to determine the availability of an upstream LDM. For example
ldmping -i 0 hostname MMM DD hh:mm:ss State Elapsed Port Remote_Host rpc_stat MMM DD hh:mm:ss state time port hostname rpcMsg
where:
If the state of the upstream LDM is anything other than RESPONDING, then an LDM on the computer on which the ldmping utility was executed will not be able to receive any data-products.
If an ldmping to the upstream LDM shows no problems, then the notifyme utility can be used to determine what an downstream LDM connecting to the upstream LDM should receive:
notifyme -vl- -h hostname
You can monitor a downstream LDM process that is executing on the local system by setting its logging-level to verbose, at which time it will print the data-product metadata of every data-product that it receives to the LDM logfile. The logging-level of a downstream LDM process can be changed by sending it a SIGUSR2 signal via the kill utility, e.g.
kill -s USR2 pid
where pid is the process-ID of the downstream LDM process, which can be discovered by searching the LDM logfiles for the relevant "Starting Up" message, e.g.,
cd $HOME/logs grep -Fi 'Starting Up' `ls -rt ldmd.log*` ...
You can monitor an upstream LDM process that is executing on the local system by setting its logging-level to debug, at which time it will print the data-product metadata of every data-product that it sends to the LDM logfile (along with other debugging information). The logging-level of an upstream LDM process can be changed by sending it a SIGUSR2 signal via the kill utility, e.g.,
kill -s USR2 pid
where pid is the process-ID of the upstream LDM process, which can be most easily discovered via the uldbutil utility:
uldbutil ...
or, less conveniently, by searching the LDM logfiles for the relevant "Starting Up" message:
cd $HOME/logs grep -Fi 'Starting Up' `ls -rt ldmd.log*` ...
The non-standard utility netstat(1) is, nevertheless, available on many UNIX platforms and can be used to show the state of network connections. For example, here is the output of a netstat(1) command on a computer at the Unidata Program Center that's running FreeBSD:
netstat -a -f inet -p tcp | awk 'NR<=2 || /ldm/' Active Internet connections (including servers) Proto Recv-Q Send-Q Local Address Foreign Address (state) tcp4 0 0 emo.4392 flip.ldm TIME_WAIT tcp4 0 0 emo.ldm storm.sjsu.edu.39415 TIME_WAIT tcp4 0 0 emo.ldm storm.sjsu.edu.39413 TIME_WAIT tcp4 0 33304 emo.ldm storm.sjsu.edu.36000 ESTABLISHED tcp4 0 33304 emo.ldm storm.sjsu.edu.35999 ESTABLISHED tcp4 0 44 emo.ldm storm.sjsu.edu.35998 ESTABLISHED tcp4 0 928 emo.ldm storm.sjsu.edu.35997 ESTABLISHED tcp4 0 33304 emo.ldm storm.sjsu.edu.35996 ESTABLISHED tcp4 0 33304 emo.ldm storm.sjsu.edu.35995 ESTABLISHED tcp4 0 33304 emo.ldm storm.sjsu.edu.34569 ESTABLISHED tcp4 0 5828 emo.ldm storm.sjsu.edu.34562 ESTABLISHED tcp4 0 44 emo.ldm storm.sjsu.edu.34560 ESTABLISHED tcp4 0 23900 emo.ldm storm.sjsu.edu.34561 ESTABLISHED tcp4 0 22240 emo.ldm solon.meteoro.uf.2861 ESTABLISHED tcp4 0 44 emo.ldm bigbird.tamhsc.e.50860 ESTABLISHED tcp4 0 0 emo.ldm bigbird.tamhsc.e.50858 ESTABLISHED tcp4 0 8640 emo.ldm bigbird.tamhsc.e.50857 ESTABLISHED tcp4 0 0 emo.ldm bigbird.tamhsc.e.50856 ESTABLISHED tcp4 0 44 emo.ldm bigbird.tamhsc.e.50855 ESTABLISHED tcp4 0 44 emo.ldm bigbird.tamhsc.e.50854 ESTABLISHED tcp4 0 0 emo.1066 desi.ldm ESTABLISHED tcp4 0 28 emo.1065 jackie.ldm ESTABLISHED tcp4 0 0 emo.1064 thelma.ucar.edu.ldm ESTABLISHED tcp4 0 0 emo.1063 thelma.ucar.edu.ldm ESTABLISHED tcp4 0 28 emo.1062 shemp.ldm ESTABLISHED tcp4 0 0 emo.1061 desi.ldm ESTABLISHED tcp4 0 0 emo.1060 jackie.ldm ESTABLISHED tcp4 0 0 *.ldm *.* LISTEN
This output assumes that the string "ldm" was associated with port 388 during the LDM Preinstallation Steps. You might have to adjust the above command to suit your operating system.
The last line of the output shows the top-level ldmd listening for TCP connections on port "ldm" (alias 388). The output also shows nineteen regular upstream LDMs (identified by having "emo.ldm" as the local address). The connections of two of these upstream LDMs are in TIME_WAIT and the associated processes should terminate soon. Seven active downstream LDMs are also shown near the end of the output. Lastly, the connection whose local address is "emo.4392" is special. This connection is due to the rtstats(1) process sending statistics to the Unidata Program Center computer "rtstats.unidata.ucar.edu" (alias "flip").
If your computer system has thetop, netstat, uptime, and vmstat utilities installed, and you have configured the /metrics parameters in the LDM registry correctly, then you can periodically accumulate LDM performance metrics in a file for subsequent display and analysis by executing the addmetrics command of the ldmadmin utility from a crontab entry. See Edit the LDM user's crontab(1) file.
Additionally, if your computer system has the gnuplot utility installed, then you can plot the LDM performance metrics by executing the plotmetrics command of the ldmadmin utility.
The LDM logfile is your friend. If you encounter a problem, then one of the first things you should do is to look at it. Problems can often be diagnosed by comparing corresponding logfile entries from the upstream LDM and the downstream LDM.


FROM: JAMES NGOLA. CONFIDENTIAL TEL: 233-27-587908<EMAIL_ADDRESS>DEAR RESPECTFUL, I BEG TO SOLICIT FOR YOUR URGENT AND MAXIMUM ASSISTANCE THIS MAIL, I KNOW THIS MAIL MAY EMBARRASS YOU OR SURPRISE YOU BY EMBARRASSMENT, I MEAN COMING FROM SOMEBODY YOU NEVER KNOW OR MET BEFORE, EVEN COMING FROM A COUNTRY PERHAPS YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW (GHANA) NOTED FOR DISHONEST AND FRUADULET PRACTICES.  LET ME ATART BY INTRODUCING MYSELF PROPERLY TO YOU, I AM MR. JAMES NGOLA, THE FIRST SON OF BRIDGR. GEN. THEOPHILUS NGOLA (LATE). FORMER CHIEF OF DEFENCE STAFF: NATIONAL REPUBLIC OF LIBERIA. BRIEFLY: MY FATHER, BRIDG. GEN. T. NGOLA BEFORE HIS DEATH DIVERTED THIS FUND (US$25M) TWENTY FIVE MILLION UNITED STATES DOLLARS. MEANT FOR PURCHASE OF AMMUNATION FOR MY COUNTRY "LIBERIA" DURING THE PERIOD OF THEETHNIC CIVIL WAR BETWEEN MY COUNTRY AND GUINEA REPUBLIC. AND NOW, THE WAR IS OVER BY THE INTERVENTION OF "ECOMOG"FORCES. FOUR MONTHS AFTER THE WAR ENDED, THE RADIO NATIONAL OF LIBERIA WENT ON AIR, ON A WILD BROADCAST, UNCINGAN UNSUCCESSFUL "COUPD'TAT" IN MY COUNTRY, ATTEPTED TO OVERTROW THE PRESENT GOVERNMENT IN MY COUNTRY HEADED BY "PRESIDENT CHARLES TAYLOR". THIS BROADCAST CONTINUED TO ANNOUNCE THE NAMES OF THOSE IN CONNECTION WITH THE ATTEMPT. BUT UNKNOWINGLY TO ME, MY FATHER WAS INCLUDED AMOUNG THESE GROUP OF MEN ARRESTED IN CONNECTION WITH THIS PLOT AS THE "MASTERMINDER" AND THE "FINANCIER" OF THIS UNDEMOCRATIC ACT. ALTHOUGH HE WAS EXECUTED ALONG SIDE WITH OTHERS. (MAY THEIR SOULS REST IN PERFECT PEACE) TWO WEEKS AFTER THEIR EXECUTION THE GOVERNMENT OF LIBERIA STIL WENT FURTHER TO PASS JURGEMENT TO CONFISTICATE MY FATHER'S ASSETS AND ALSO TO FREEZE HIS ACCOUNTS. SO WHEN THIS NEWS REACHED ME, I HURRIEDLY GATHERED SOME VALUABLES IN OUR FAMILY VILLA AND ESCAPED TO (ACCRA), CAPITAL OF GHANA FOR SAFETY, WHILE MY MOTHER AND MY BROTHERS, SISTERS ARE NOW IN COTE D'IVOIRE AS REFUGEES. THIS FILE, WHICH CONTAINING DOCUMENTS OF A CONSIGNMENT (1 METALIC TRUNK BOX) DEPOSITED BY MY LATE FATHER IN ONE OF THE PRIVATE SECURITY COMPANIES, WAS AMOUNG THE VALUBLE THINGS I ESCAPED WITH TO GHANA.    AND THE FUND ALSO BE TRANSFERED INTO YOUR PRIVATE FOREIGN BANK ACCOUNT FOR INVESTMENT PERHAPS IN YOUR COUNTRY FOR I CANNOT INVEST HERE DUE TO ITS NEARNESS. ONCE AGAIN, I AM PRESENTLY LIVING IN GHANA ALSO AS A REFUGEE TOO (ASYLUM SEEKER) FOR THE SAKE OF MY LIFE. BE INFORMED, THAT THE FINANCIAL LAW OF GHANA DOES NOT ALLOW A REFUGEE TO OPERATE AN ACCOUNT NOR INCORPORATE A COMPANY. WITH THIS, COUPLED WITH THE WAY IN WHICH THE MONEY WAS ACQUIRED, AND I DON'T WANT ANYBODY TO KNOW ABOUT THIS DEVELOPMENT THAT IS WHY I DECIDED NOT TO INVEST IN ANYWHERE IN AFRICA OR LIBERIA NOR EVEN GHANA WHERE I AM CURRENTLY RESIDING AS A REFUGEE AND THAT IS WHY I'M SOLICITING FOR YOUR SUPPORT.    FURTHER DETAILS WILL BE FORWARDED TO YOU UPON RECEIPT OF YOUR RESPONSE. THANKS AND WISHING THE BEST COOPERATION IN FUTURE. MR. JAMES NGOLA.  YOUR CONFIDENCE & TRUST IS OUR WATCHWORD AS WE ARE TO WORK TOGETHER TO THE REALIZATION OF THIS OBJECTIVE. I HEREBY INFORMING THAT I HAVE ALL THE NECESSARY DOCUMENTS AS REGARDS TO THIS CONSIGNMENT, SO BE REST ASSURED. WAITING FOR YOUR QUICK RESPONSE. THANK YOU. AND BEWARE OF IMPERSONATORS.


a) Money Play. Should Red redouble? If redoubled, should White take?
pips Red=99 White=99
(CorrectAnswer= 0/0, ErrorScore= 0)
b) If the cube were centred what would be the correct cube actions be?
Over the board I would have doubled this but the rollout shows that a double is premature. A fan by Red followed by a 4 for White happens often enough that Red should hold the cube, although it’s close. Note that after the sequence above White will have a redouble to 8 that Red can take unless White has made his 2-pt.
With the cube in the centre it’s a different story as Red needs to double to activate his gammons.
Over the board I would have doubled this but the rollout shows that a double is premature. A fan by Red followed by a 4 for White happens often enough that Red should hold the cube, although it’s close. Note that after the sequence above White will have a redouble to 8 that Red can take unless White has made his 2-pt.
With the cube in the centre it’s a different story as Red needs to double to activate his gammons.
1. Cubeful 2-ply 20/15 Eq.: +0.851 0.716 0.165 0.004 - 0.284 0.054 0.000 2. Cubeful 2-ply 5/1 2/1 Eq.: +0.698 (-0.153) 0.675 0.176 0.004 - 0.325 0.065 0.001 3. Cubeful 2-ply 15/14 6/2 Eq.: +0.697 (-0.154) 0.677 0.159 0.004 - 0.323 0.055 0.001 4. Cubeful 2-ply 15/14 5/1 Eq.: +0.694 (-0.157) 0.676 0.169 0.004 - 0.324 0.061 0.001 5. Cubeful 2-ply 6/1 Eq.: +0.683 (-0.168) 0.672 0.175 0.004 - 0.328 0.066 0.001


Project Athena was created to help female high school leavers & university graduates seek out and grab their dream job. Project Athena aims to guide and connect those who are in the same journey and make their dreams come true.
Aileen and Becca are two university students in UCL who feel there needs to be more opportunities for women in the workplace. We hope that this website will be a helpful starting point for many girls out there, whether at the high school level or the college level. Let us know what you think at projectathena@email.com


Simple application to demonstrate Polymer
, Play Framework
and Mongo
integration.
We use MongoDB
as a database and ReactiveMongo
to connect to it with asynchronous, non-blocking way.
To install database you can use this manual.
To connect to database we use Play-ReactiveMongo plugin. To make it work you must:
"org.reactivemongo" %% "play2-reactivemongo" % "<IP_ADDRESS>.akka23"
1100:play.modules.reactivemongo.ReactiveMongoPlugin
mongodb.uri = "mongodb://localhost:27017/people"
Backend is simple Play
application with one controller People.
This class extends Controller
and MongoController
which use Play-ReactiveMongo
plugin.
MongoController
provide db object to get specific database collection:
def collection = db.collection[JSONCollection]("people")
People controller has method init to fill database with sample data. You can use it from browser: http://localhost:9000/api/init.
To get data from database we use method list
. It looks like this:
def list = Action.async {implicit request =>
collection.find(Json.obj())
.cursor[JsObject]
.collect[List]()
.map(people => Ok(Json.toJson(people)))
}
Response is json with all people from database:
[
{
"uid": 1,
"text" : "Have you heard about the Web Components revolution?",
"username" : "Eric",
"avatar" : "../images/avatar-01.svg",
"favorite": false
},
{
"uid": 2,
"text" : "Loving this Polymer thing.",
"username" : "Rob",
"avatar" : "../images/avatar-02.svg",
"favorite": false
},
...
]
Second method is like
. It accept json body with favorite, boolean flag. Method save this flag in database:
def like(id: Int) = Action.async(BodyParsers.parse.json) { implicit request =>
val value = (request.body \ "favorite").as[Boolean]
collection.update(BSONDocument("uid" -> id), BSONDocument("$set" -> BSONDocument("favorite" -> value)))
.map(le => Ok(Json.obj("success" -> le.ok)))
}
To expose REST API in Play framework we must edit routes file:
GET /api/init controllers.People.init
GET /api/people controllers.People.list
PUT /api/person/:id/favor controllers.People.favor(id: Int)
Frontend is based on Polymer
which use Web Components
.
We use sample app available on Polymer website.
Copy all resources from sample app to public directory in Play application. Application is building from post-list element represents list of people. Single person is represented by post-card element.
Polymer element encapsulate template for view and script for behavior:
<polymer-element name="post-card">
<template>
...
</template>

</polymer-element>
We can use data binding do fill our template with data:

{{post.username}}

{{post.text}}

To call backend REST services from Polymer frontend we use core-ajax
component in post-service element:
<core-ajax id="ajax"
auto
url="/api/people"
on-core-response="{{postsLoaded}}"
handleAs="json">
</core-ajax>
Function postsLoaded
bind response to element attribute posts
:
postsLoaded: function() {
this.posts = this.$.ajax.response.slice(0);
},
Element attribute posts
is public and can be user by other elements:
<polymer-element name="post-service" attributes="posts">
To set favorite flag on person we must call second REST method. We specify HTTP method, utl, body and contentType and skip auto attribute (Polymer make automatic call on component creation):
<core-ajax id="likeCall"
method="PUT"
url="/api/person/{{id}}/like"
body='{"favorite":{{isFavorite}}}'
contentType="application/json"
handleAs="json">
</core-ajax>
To make call we bind our parameters and invoke go
method on core-ajax
component:
setFavorite: function(uid, isFavorite) {
this.id = uid;
this.isFavorite = isFavorite;
this.$.likeCall.go();
}
I think MongoDB
and Play Framework
is great for make backend web services.
In Mongo we can store data without specific schema and Play can very simple expose this data as REST API.
With frontend in new Polymer
library and Web components
it is very powerful technology stack.


Correct way to wear a poppy for Remembrance Day - and what it really symbolises
Bought a poppy to mark Armistice Day but wondering if you've got it on right? Well here's everything you need to know about the symbol of remembrance
by Courtney Pochin, https://www.facebook.com/courtneypochinmirror/?modal=admin_todo_tourOver the next few days, you'll see a number of people selling red poppies and a number of people pinning them onto coats, jackets and bags.
This is ahead of Remembrance Sunday on November 10 and Armistice Day on November 11.
Armistice Day is a memorial day which has been observed since the end of the First World War to honour those who have died in the line of duty.
As a way to show support for the Armed Forces community, many will wear a poppy in the run up to the 11th and on the day itself.
But is there a correct way to wear one?
You might have heard some people say that there is a specific place you should put the poppy, or a way in which the petals and single green leaf should be positioned.
But according to The Royal British Legion (RBL), this simply isn't the case.
Their website states that there is no "correct" way to wear a poppy.
They explain: "It's a matter of personal choice whether someone chooses to wear a poppy and how they choose to wear it."
Why do we wear a red poppy?
The red poppy is intended as "a symbol of both Remembrance and hope for a peaceful future", says the RBL.
They explain on their website: "Poppies are worn as a show of support for the Armed Forces community.
"The poppy is a well-known and well-established symbol, one that carries a wealth of history and meaning with it. Wearing a poppy is still a very personal choice, reflecting individual experiences and personal memories.
"It is never compulsory but is greatly appreciated by those who it is intended to support."
They go on to detail the history behind the symbol.
It all started back in Western Europe in World War One. The countryside where the fighting was taking place was repeatedly being blasted and bombed. The previously beautiful landscape had become muddy and bleak.
Nothing grew on the land, except for bright red Flanders poppies, which flourished in the middle of so much chaos and destruction.
In 1915, these flowers moved the Canadian doctor, Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae to write the now famous poem, 'In Flanders Fields'.
The poem later inspired American academic Moina Michael to adopt the poppy as a symbol of remembrance and she campaigned to make it an official symbol across the US, Canada, Australia and the UK.
She met with Earl Haig, the founder of RBL in 1921 and persuaded him to use the poppy as the Legion's emblem - and it remains the emblem today.
To find out more about Remembrance Day, the Royal British Legion or to buy a poppy, visit https://www.britishlegion.org.uk/