Most Active Speaker

Grant Fritchey

Grant Fritchey

Redgate Software

Sapulpa, Oklahoma, United States

Grant Fritchey is a Data Platform MVP and AWS Community Builder with over 30 years’ experience in IT, including time spent in support and development. Grant works with multiple data platforms including SQL Server and PostgreSQL as well as multiple cloud platforms. He has also developed in VB, VB.NET, C#, and Java. Grant writes 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 advocate in January 2011.

Awards

  • Most Active Speaker 2022

Area of Expertise

  • Information & Communications Technology

Topics

  • Azure Data Platform
  • sql server
  • devops
  • database lifecycle management
  • performance tuning
  • deployment
  • automation
  • powerhshell
  • AWS RDS
  • AWS Data
  • AWS Developer Tools
  • PostgreSQL
  • Postgres
  • Postgres community

Using Flyway To Automate Database Deployments

Whether you're working with data in AWS Aurora, Redshift, Azure Synapse, PostgreSQL or a myriad of other data platforms, automating database deployments alongside your applications is a challenge. This is precisely where the open source Flyway database deployment tool arrives to help. This session will explore the mechanisms that Flyway uses to automate your database deployments. We'll explore using Flyway from containers, with AWS Developer Tools, Azure DevOps and more. Flyway truly is a flexible solution that can help you integrate database deployments into your existing DevOps pipelines.

Using AWS DevOps to Automate Database Deployments

DevOps is all about a cultural change to how you manage your IT resources. However, the biggest challenge when implementing DevOps is learning all the necessary tooling in support of automation. The issue of automation is even more challenging when it comes to automating database deployments. This session will show you the tools and mechanisms needed to get your databases deploying through AWS. We’ll slowly add additional steps and tools within AWS to expand the complexity and functionality of the database deployment process. Understanding how to build out the bare bones of an AWS deployment process will make it easier to automate your database deployments. Integrating your database into the rest of the automation you're already using results in enhanced speed of delivery while also providing added protection to your production systems.

Flyway: An Evolution in Database Deployments

The core behavior of Flyway assures you of a mechanism to run the right scripts in order to safely deploy your databases. While that core behavior is key, you can get even more functionality in support of fast, safe, automated database deployments. Come and see the next steps in the evolution of Flyway. This session will walk you through these new functions, all to help you deploy your databases better.

Feedback link: https://sqlb.it/?7233

Why You Should Be Standing Here: Learning to Present a Session

You should know how to present a session. In fact, you should be standing up on the stage where I will be standing while presenting this session. It's not about becoming an industry expert, an MVP or an AWS Community Builder. No, it's about learning how to take an idea to your management team and convince them that you can help the business. It's about teaching new techniques to your peers. It's about expanding your own knowledge on a topic as you prepare a session, present it, and then answer questions. There are very good, career driven, reasons for you to learn to present.

This session will go over how to put together a session. From choosing meaningful titles to putting together abstracts, you'll get the information you need to get started. We'll discuss how to build the slides, demonstrations, and more. You'll learn about how to rehearse to get ready for your session. Finally, we'll cover actually giving the session, handling questions, hecklers and other points.

You should be standing at the front of the room, giving your own session. Please, come here, learn why, and learn how. It will help you in your career.

Common Backup Problems and How To Solve Them

One of the single most important things you can do for your SQL Server instances is to ensure that you have protected the data within them. One of the single most important ways you can provide that protection is through the use of backups. However, there are a number of problems that can regularly arise around backups. This session is intended to provide you with solutions to, and understanding of, those common backup problems. You'll come of out of this session with a better understanding how best to protect the data under your management within your organization. The lessons learned here can be put to work immediately.

Capturing Query Metrics in Azure SQL Database

While under the covers Azure SQL Database is just good old fashioned SQL Server, when it comes to capturing query metrics, it can present unique challenges. This session will demonstrate various methods for capturing query metrics in Azure. We'll explore the strengths and weaknesses of each approach. You'll go back to your own databases with enough knowledge to truly understand how your queries are performing on Azure SQL Database.

Benefits of Using Version Control In Database Development

Sure, fully automated DevOps deployments are great. However, is there any other benefit to using version control when it comes to databases? Yes. If you'd like more detail, come to the session where I lay out a number of benefits for using version control with your database development.

Automating Database Deployments Using Github Actions

Implementing DevOps or DevOps-style automation can be difficult, but when you start to deal with data, that difficulty increases rapidly. This session shows how to implement various techniques that allow you to safely automate database deployments using Github Actions. You'll learn how to successfully deploy to both on-premises and cloud-based databases in support of a complete DevOps approach.

Automating Database Deployments using Azure DevOps

Automation is a fundamental aspect when adopting a DevOps-style deployment process. Learn how you can use Azure DevOps tools to automate your database deployments successfully. Topics include the challenge of supporting more than one database system, deployments in Azure SQL Database, Postgres and Maria DB. We'll also show how you can use Azure DevOps to deploy to an on-premises database. All the databases you have under management can have their deployments automated. Come to this session to learn how.

3 Reasons to Include Data and Databases In Your CI Process

The difficulties inherent in dealing with data and databases frequently cause them to be left out of a CI process. However, when you’ve put together a successful Continuous Integration (CI) process, you’ll immediately see the benefits. This session will focus on these benefits gained by adding databases to your CI process. We’ll also cover a few ways to overcome the difficulties that databases present within a CI process. Adding data to your CI process will make it better than ever. Come to this session to learn why.

SQL Server Tools for Query Tuning

Query tuning within SQL Server can be a tough skill to master. The new tooling released with SQL Server 2016 and 2017 changes how you identify poorly performing queries, troubleshoot their behavior and tune the queries, all a little easier.
This workshop teaches new techniques for tuning queries using all the new tools introduced in SQL Server 2016 and 2017. You'll be able to put this knowledge to work immediately, not only in your 2016 or better instances but also in your Azure SQL Database databases. You will be tuning your queries faster and more accurately using the new tools available.

SQL Injection: How it Works, How to Stop It

This session will explain and demonstrate exactly how a SQL Injection attack occurs. While the core vulnerability is easy to understand, exactly how hackers exploit that vulnerability is not. I'll show you how a hacker explores your database through SQL Injection to find vulnerabilities and sensitive data. Better still, I'll show you the errors that this exploration generates as a mechanism for monitoring your systems to find SQL Injection attacks. Finally, I'll show you the steps you should be taking to properly secure your systems in order to completely avoid SQL Injection attacks.

Learn to Read Execution Plans

There's more to reading execution plans than just looking for scans. This session will show you how to understand the information inside an execution plan.

Learn to Effectively Use Extended Events

Too many people have looked at Extended Events, seen what looks like a horrible interface, heard about the XML, and have subsequently run away. This session is here to show you how to effectively use Extended Events to monitor your query performance, and more, in an efficient and useful way. The interface for Extended Events isn't bad, just grossly misunderstood. After you attend this session, you'll be able to easily do things that you've never been able to do with Trace. You need a more efficient query metrics tool, and it's waiting for you in Extended Events.

Exploring Execution Plans

Getting started reading execution plans is very straight forward. The real issue is understanding the plans as they grow in size and complexity. This session will show you how to explore the nooks and crannies of an execution plan in order to more easily find the necessary information needed to make what the plan is telling you crystal clear. The information presented here will better empower you to traverse the execution plans you’ll see on your own servers. That knowledge will make it possible to more efficiently and accurately tune and troubleshoot your queries.

DevOps for the DBA

Far too many people responsible for production data management systems are reluctant to embrace DevOps. The concepts behind DevOps can appear to be contrary to many of the established best practices for securing, maintaining and operating a reliable database. However, there is nothing inherent to a well-designed DevOps process that would preclude ensuring that the information stored within your data management system is completely protected. This session will examine the various methods and approaches available to the data professional to both embrace a DevOps approach to building, deploying, maintaining and managing their databases and protect those databases just as well as they ever have been. We will explore practices and plans that can be pursued using a variety of tooling and processes to provide DevOps methodologies to the systems under your control. You can embrace DevOps and protect your data.

Convince Your DBA to Support DevOps

You know that using DevOps methodologies successfully can lead to massive improvements in your ability to quickly and safely deliver more and better functionality to your business. However, you have an old-school DBA who refuses to get on board with automation and a shift-left mentality. This session is specifically designed to give you the tools and the language you need to talk to your DBA in a language they'll understand. You'll be able to convince them that not only is implementing DevOps good for the organization, it will lead to a safer database environment. Get your DBA into the modern age using the knowledge from this session.

Identify Poorly Performing Queries - Three Tools You Already Own

One of the first challenges you’ll face when you decide to address poor query performance is identifying which query you should focus on. While you can simply wait for the people using your application to complain, a more proactive approach will serve you better. This session will walk you through three different, built-in tools within SQL Server that can be used to identify poorly performing queries. We’ll focus on the ubiquitous Dynamic Management Views (DMVs) since you can use them anywhere. Then, we’ll talk about what’s possible in SQL Server 2012 and greater through the use of Extended Events. Finally, we’ll talk about how you can put Query Store to use if you’re working in SQL Server 2016 or greater. Between these three tools, you can better understand which queries you need to focus on to fix problems in your environment right away.

SQL Saturday Boston 2023 Upcoming

October 2023 Burlington, Massachusetts, United States

Data Relay 2023 Upcoming

October 2023

SQL Konferenz 2023

September 2023 Hanau am Main, Germany

SQL Saturday Columbus 2023

July 2023 Columbus, Ohio, United States

Data Saturday Rheinland 2023

June 2023 Sankt Augustin, Germany

Techorama 2023 Belgium

May 2023 Antwerpen, Belgium

dataMinds Connect 2022

October 2022 Mechelen, Belgium

Techorama 2022 BE

May 2022 Antwerpen, Belgium

Data Saturday Stockholm 2022

May 2022 Stockholm, Sweden

SQLDay 2022

May 2022 Wrocław, Poland

SQL & Azure SQL Conference Spring 2022

April 2022 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States

SQL & Azure SQL Conference Fall 2021

December 2021 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States

dataMinds Connect 2021

October 2021 Mechelen, Belgium

Future Data Driven

September 2021

Azure Summit

September 2021

Techorama 2021 Spring Edition

May 2021 Antwerpen, Belgium

Global Azure 2021

April 2021

DataGrillen 2020

May 2020 Lingen, Germany

Techorama Netherlands 2019

October 2019 Ede, Netherlands

Techorama Belgium 2019

May 2019 Antwerpen, Belgium

Techorama NL 2018

October 2018 Ede, Netherlands

SQLGrillen 2018

June 2018 Lingen, Germany

Grant Fritchey

Redgate Software

Sapulpa, Oklahoma, United States