July 13, 2022 Meeting

Event link at our Meetup page.

  • 5:30 pm Networking
  • 6:00 pm Meeting

Check Out My Tools!

Calm down, these are software tools and are probably all G Rated!

This is a quick and breezy introduction to the tools that I use regularly. It does not cover any of these tools in depth, it is intended as a glimpse into my toolbag to give you ideas, not a deep dive into using any or all of the tools I use regularly. This is a quicker, more light-hearted overview of a previous presentation titled Tips, Toys, and Tricks.

A few of these tools are purchased. A handful are services which vary in cost from free to OMG. The majority of the tools in this presentation are freeware or shareware (where you contribute if you like a product, especially if you want more features).

Depending on time, we may explore some tools in more depth after the presentation. If you have tools that interest you, feel free to ask about them in the Q&A.

Pat Phelan

Pat Phelan joined a user group (DECUS) in High School, and many more since then. Pat was paid for his first program before he got his driver’s license. After many jobs (with some great stories) in High School and College, Pat worked over twenty years for a major accounting firm. Pat started working for Involta in 2007 and is now the database mentor and a member of the Engineering team. Involta builds, owns and operates world class colocation datacenters and provides managed services and support staff to clients.


March 9, 2022 Meeting

Event link at our Meetup page.

  • 5:30 pm Networking
  • 6:00 pm Meeting

Introducing SQL Server 2022 (Pre-recorded session)

Bob Ward – Principal Architect, Microsoft


SQL Server 2022 is here! In this session, I’ll go over all the new capabilities in SQL Server 2022 including how to connect with Azure for disaster recovery, near real-time analytics, and security. I will show you innovations in the database engine for security, performance, and availability including SQL Server Ledger. You will learn about enhancements to Query Store and the next generation of Intelligent Query Processing allowing you to gain performance with no code changes. You will love the demo for this one! I’ll also show you new extensions for the T-SQL language including data virtualization object storage, JSON functions, and time-series. Experts from the SQL Server engineering team will join me live to answer all of your questions. This is the session you won’t want to miss at the PASS Data Community Summit to learn about SQL Server 2022.


February 9, 2022 Meeting

  • 5:30 pm Networking
  • 5:00 pm Meeting

So, you want to become a Cloud DBA?

You are a DBA and your company is planning to move all on-prem SQL Servers to Azure. You heard this plan from the management, got really excited but at the same time nervous about not knowing what will happen to your DBA job once moved to the cloud. Come join the session as you are going to learn how moving to the cloud will actually expand your responsibilities and career opportunities from an on-prem DBA to Cloud DBA. We will be having demos of how to create a Virtual Network, Virtual machine, Azure SQL database, different types of network securities available and how they differ from each other, and many more.

Deepthi Goguri

Deepthi is a SQL Server Database Administrator with several years of experience in Administering SQL Servers. She is a Microsoft certified trainer and Microsoft certified professional with an Associate and Expert level Certification on Data Management and Analytics. Deepthi blogs for DBANuggets.com. Deepthi is a Co-Organizer for Microsoft Data and AI South Florida user group and Data Platform Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Virtual Group. She is a Volunteer for Data platform Women in Technology user group. She is a Friend of Redgate. Along with this, Deepthi loves arts and crafts. You can contact her on Twitter @dbanuggets.


December 21, 2021 Meeting

Event link at our Meetup page.

  • 5:30 pm Networking
  • 6:00 pm Meeting

Virtualization Performance Tuning

Our featured Speaker, David Klee, will present the third of a three-part series that he is doing for the Iowa groups. Each presentation stands on its own, but also builds on the previous presentations in the series.

Series Overview:

12-13DSMData Platform
12-14I-380Infrastructure
12-15QCVirtualization Performance Tuning

David Klee

David Klee is a Microsoft MVP and VMware vExpert with a passion for the convergence of data, cloud, and infrastructure. David spends his days handling performance and HA/DR architecture of mission-critical SQL Servers as the Founder of Heraflux Technologies. His areas of expertise are virtualization and performance, datacenter architecture, and risk mitigation through high availability and disaster recovery. You can read his blog at davidklee.net, and reach him on Twitter at @kleegeek.

David speaks at a number of national and regional technology related events, including the PASS Summit, VMworld, IT/Dev Connections, SQL Saturday events, SQL Cruise, PASS virtual chapter webinars, and many SQL Server User Groups.


December 15, 2021 Meeting

Event link at our Meetup page.

  • 5:30 pm Networking
  • 6:00 pm Meeting

Virtualization Performance Tuning

Our featured Speaker, David Klee, will present the third of a three-part series that he is doing for the Iowa groups. Each presentation stands on its own, but also builds on the previous presentations in the series.

Series Overview:

12-13DSMData Platform
12-14I-380Infrastructure
12-15QCVirtualization Performance Tuning

David Klee

David Klee is a Microsoft MVP and VMware vExpert with a passion for the convergence of data, cloud, and infrastructure. David spends his days handling performance and HA/DR architecture of mission-critical SQL Servers as the Founder of Heraflux Technologies. His areas of expertise are virtualization and performance, datacenter architecture, and risk mitigation through high availability and disaster recovery. You can read his blog at davidklee.net, and reach him on Twitter at @kleegeek.

David speaks at a number of national and regional technology related events, including the PASS Summit, VMworld, IT/Dev Connections, SQL Saturday events, SQL Cruise, PASS virtual chapter webinars, and many SQL Server User Groups.


November 17, 2021 Meeting

Event link at our Meetup page.

  • 5:30 pm Networking
  • 6:00 pm Meeting

Backup Options in Azure

Database backups are the foundation of data protection in SQL Server. In Azure, backups for Azure SQL Database are managed, but there are options for both short- and long-term retention. Backups for SQL Server databases running on Azure VMs can be backed up using SQL Server Agent jobs. Alternately, these databases can be backed up using Azure Recovery Vault. Join me for this session to learn about these options, including demonstrations of set up and administration.

Frank Gill

Frank Gill is a Senior Data Engineer at Concurrency   With 19 years of IT experience, the first 8 as a mainframe programmer, he has developed a love of all things internal. When not administering databases or geeking out on internals, Frank volunteers at the Art Institute of Chicago and reads voraciously.


October 13, 2021 Meeting

Event link at our Meetup page.

  • 5:30 pm Networking
  • 6:00 pm Meeting

SQL Server Lockdown: Options for High Security Scenarios

We will cover options for high security scenarios in SQL Server.

Ed Leighton-Dick

Ed Leighton-Dick is a Microsoft MVP, SQL Server performance and architecture specialist, and Founder/Principal Consultant of Kingfisher Technologies. He is a frequent volunteer with PASS, including roles as regional mentor, chapter leader of I-380 PASS SQL Server User Group, and organizer of SQLSaturday Iowa City. He can often be found teaching sessions at local, regional, and national events, including user groups, SQLSaturday, and PASS Summit. 


September 15, 2021 Meeting

Event link at our Meetup page.

  • 5:30 pm Networking
  • 6:00 pm Meeting

Introduction to Azure Data Studio


As days go by Azure Data Studio is becoming more and more powerful. This session will provide a high level overview of Azure Data Studio and highlight some of the differences from SQL Server Management Studio. We will cover saved connections, how to get both the actual and estimated Execution plans, workspaces and one of my favorite features, Notebooks. We also go over what an extension is and why I would want to use them.


David Bland

Manager of Database Administrators, Stericycle

Over 20 years of SQL Server experience that includes being a DBA, BI development and Application development using VB.NET. Dave currently is the Manager of the DBA team at Stericycle. Dave is a Friend of Red-Gate for 2019. He is a frequent presenter at SQL Saturday events and user groups around the country. Has been teaching SQL Server since version 2000 and is the SQL Server instructor at Harper College in Palatine, IL. Current certifications include: Microsoft Certified Trainer; MCTS: SQL Server 2008, Implementation and Maintenance; MCTS: SQL Server 2008, BI Development and Maintenance; MCSA: SQL Server 2008; MCSA: SQL Server 2016; MCSE: SQL Server 2016 – BI; MCDBA: SQL Server 2000; MCSD; MCSE: Data Management and Analytics.teaching sessions at local, regional, and national events, including user groups, SQLSaturday, and PASS Summit. 


August 11, 2021 Meeting

Event link at our Meetup page.

  • 5:30 pm Networking
  • 6:00 pm Meeting

SQL and Authentication and Permissions, Oh My!

The fundamentals of SQL security can be confusing even for people who have used them for years. There are many combinations, but they are built on simple building blocks that fit together in concrete ways. Like DNA the combinations are almost endless, but the rules are few and easy to remember.

Pat Phelan

Pat Phelan joined a user group (DECUS) in High School, and many more since then. Pat was paid for his first program before he got his driver’s license. After many jobs (with some great stories) in High School and College, Pat worked over twenty years for a major accounting firm. Pat started working for Involta in 2007 and is now the database mentor and a member of the Engineering team.  Involta builds, owns and operates world class colocation datacenters and provides managed services and support staff to clients.


July 14, 2021 Meeting

Event link at our Meetup page.

  • 5:30 pm Networking
  • 6:00 pm Meeting

SQL Server on AWS RDS The Other Cloud Alternative

SQL Server on Amazon Web Services (AWS) Relational Database Services (RDS) is Amazon’s PaaS offering for SQL Server. In this session you will learn how to create an SQL Server Instance, know the difference between running SQL Server on RDS versus SQL Server on Premise.

H. Ross Reed

H. Ross Reed is a Lead Database Administrator for the Options Clearing Corp. He has been a database administrator for over 20 years. He’s Co-Organizer of the Chicago Data Professionals User Group, and a frequent presenter.