Sql Data Partners Podcast

​You've seen the visualizations and want to dive in--perhaps you were assigned the task. However you started with Power BI, chances are you might get stuck at some point. In this episode, we chat about strategies you can employee to help ensure success. Have a take on this? Hit us up on social media. We'd love to hear from you. The show notes for today's episode can be found at http://sqldatapartners.com/2019/12/11/episode-184-where-do-people-get-stuck-with-power-bi. Have fun on the SQL Trail.

SQL Server 2019 is out and one of the most interesting additions is SQL Server 2019 Big Data Clusters. In this episode, Kevin Feasel covers the marriage of SQL Server and Apache Spark. We discuss what Big Data Clusters are (and how it's not a SQL Server feature or an edition of SQL Server, but a thing in itself), cover some of the architecture behind the solution, and explain how we can use them. The show notes for today's episode can be found at http://sqldatapartners.com/2019/12/04/episode-183-sql-server-big-data-clusters. Have fun on the SQL Trail!

The very first podcast episode I recorded was about Extended Events. We've had several new versions of SQL Server since that time, so I thought it was time to bring up the subject again. We are joined by MVP Jason Brimhall and he shares his insights on Extended Events, what has changed, and how to get started.

In the second quarter of 2019, it was announced that Power BI would support paginated reports--at first this was assumed to be connected to an announcement that Power BI would support the RDL files from Reporting Services. The guidance however, was to continue building paginated reports in Power BI. In the fourth quarter of 2019, more information emerged about paginated reports and in this episode we drill into the offering of paginated reports in Power BI and...shhh...we won't spoil it, but an old friend just might play a role in this 'new' offering. The show notes for today's episode can be found at http://sqldatapartners.com/2019/11/13/episode-181-paginated-reports-in-power-bi. Have fun on the SQL Trail!

This week we heard the news of the release for SQL Server 2019 and a major focus of this release is data virtualization. In this episode, we discuss PolyBase--a topic we covered in Episode 95; however it has really come of age with SQL Server 2019. Our very own Kevin Feasel talks about some of the improvements of the feature and we discuss some of the use cases of when it will be useful and some of the pitfalls you might run into as you implement it. We discuss how PolyBase can help you reduce storage and other costs by avoiding the need for ETL processes that duplicate data in order to make it accessible from one source. Kevin is putting the final touches on his book PolyBase Revealed, and if you are looking for a deep dive into the subject, we invite you to check out his book.   The show notes for today's episode can be found at http://sqldatapartners.com/2019/11/06/episode-180-polybase-in-sql-server-2019. Have fun on the SQL Trail!

SQL Trail continues to be an experiment in the making and year three proved no different. Eugene joined us this year and we discuss some of the changes, how the vision has changed for the conference and what the future will hold for our event. While there is plenty to be excited about with our event, we couldn't help ourselves and get into a discussion about Power BI and purchasing options.   The show notes for today's episode can be found at http://sqldatapartners.com/2019/10/24/episode-179-sql-trail-recap-buying-power-bi. Have fun on the SQL Trail!

After 170 episodes, we bring back Louis Davidson to talk about database design and get his thoughts on how we can get better at planning for our data. The show notes for today's episode can be found at http://sqldatapartners.com/2019/10/16/episode-178-database-design. Have fun on the SQL Trail!

The Lock Pages in Memory policy came up in our internal discussions. I wanted to chat about it a bit more and I couldn't think of a better person than Rick Lowe. After our recent SQL Trail, we sit down to discuss this policy option.   The show notes for today's episode can be found at http://sqldatapartners.com/2019/10/09/episode-177-lock-pages-in-memory. Have fun on the SQL Trail!

Creating reports in Power BI is awesome, but once you are ready to publish the reports--where are you going to store all the data? In this episode, we discuss storage options for Power BI and discuss how the version of Power BI can affect storage.   The show notes for today's episode can be found at http://sqldatapartners.com/2019/09/25/episode-176-power-bi-storage-options/. Have fun on the SQL Trail!

Are you in the cloud? Lots of folks are talking about moving to the cloud; however, as we find in today's episode this can be tricky to quantify what people mean by being "in the cloud". We are happy to welcome Rick Lowe to the show and he gives his take on working with AWS. We explore what it means to move to the cloud, our experience helping companies get there, why companies would want to consider cloud options, and how you can keep up with all the craziness of new technologies in the cloud.   The show notes for today's episode can be found at http://sqldatapartners.com/2019/09/19/episode-175-migrating-to-the-cloud. Have fun on the SQL Trail!

What do you do when you want to use the Visualizations of Power BI but management doesn't want to send company data to the cloud? Well, you can implement Power BI Report Server! In this episode we discuss the differences in architecture with the on-premises version of Power BI along with the limitations and options this version brings.   The show notes for today's episode can be found at http://sqldatapartners.com/2019/06/26/episode-174-power-bi-report-server. Have fun on the SQL Trail!

As the data platform continues to evolve, so do certifications. In this episode we chat with Rick Heiges about the new role-based certifications and how they fit into Microsoft's cloud platform. We revisit how certifications still play a role in career development and how certifications have changed. Also, Kevin gives us his experience with taking an exam at home. The show notes for today's episode can be found at http://sqldatapartners.com/2019/06/12/episode-173-new-data-certifications. Have fun on the SQL Trail!

From a SQL Server perspective we have many ways to identify problem areas. In this episode, we discuss ways to diagnose performance issues in Power BI. They are certainly making many strides; however, the tools won't feel as mature as they do in SQL Server. We review usage metrics, audit logs, the new Data Gateway monitoring tool and monitoring options in Power BI Premium. The Performance Analyzer had just been released and while we don't go into great detail, we'll be sure to include it in the show notes. The show notes for today's episode can be found at http://sqldatapartners.com/2019/06/05/episode-172-power-bi-monitoring/. Have fun on the SQL Trail!

You’ve got first name, last name, full name, birth date, address, email, phone, tax ID or Social Security Number, driver’s license number, medical evaluation notes, MAC address, and IP address columns in a table. So, what would you encrypt in this table? In this episode, our guest, Tom Norman discusses various encryption options and how he goes about choosing what to encrypt. As there are more and more security breaches, the ability to encrypt data is as important as ever. The show notes for today's episode can be found at http://sqldatapartners.com/2019/05/22/episode-171-sql-server-encryption. Have fun on the SQL Trail!

Two years ago blogger Jay Killeen observed, "And with modern languages and modern applications such as PowerBI and Power Query you should be safe to assume there would be modern tooling. You would be wrong." In this episode, Eugene and I explore the challenges with Devops in Power BI and some ways we and others have implemented to help us deal with versions and team development of reports. Companeros, you can also win a SQL Data Partners T-shirt if you post on social media using the hashtag #sqltrail. The show notes for today's episode can be found at http://sqldatapartners.com/2019/05/15/episode-170-devops-with-power-bi/. Have fun on the SQL Trail!

These are dark times. Drastic measures must be taken. In this episode, we talk about--coding. *Queue scary music* Last year I bumped into Sean McCown and found out he had coded himself a GUI for his MinionWare product. This left me both impressed and stumped. We talk with Sean, Eugene, and Kevin about why they decided to learn a coding language and I give some of my hesitations for not picking up a coding book.   The show notes can be found at http://sqldatapartners.com/2019/05/08/episode-169-should-you-learn-to-code. Have fun on the SQL Trail!

One of the great abilities we have with Power BI is connecting to multiple data sources. Authors can actually publish data sources for others to use in their reports. Developers then get to mix and match our reports with all that data; however, there will be times we don't want everyone to see all the data sources. In today's episode, we discuss Power BI privacy levels, what they are and what they can--and can't do for you. The show notes for today's episode can be found at http://sqldatapartners.com/2019/05/01/episode-168-data-privacy-settings. Have fun on the SQL Trail!

Azure SQL Data Sync has been generally available for almost a year now. Have you heard of it? Are you using it? Microsoft's page tell us that "Data Sync is useful in cases where data needs to be kept up-to-date across several Azure SQL databases or SQL Server databases." When you want to learn about a new product or feature, who better to ask than the Senior Project Manager in charge of it? Today we chat about Azure SQL Data Sync with Xiaochen Wu from Microsoft. He explains how it works, why you might want to use it, it's current limitations and what's in the pipeline in the way of improvements. It's an exciting time to be in technology and a great conversation! The show notes for today's episode can be found at http://sqldatapartners.com/2019/04/24/episode-167-azure-sql-data-sync. Have fun on the SQL Trail!

The number one reason organizations choose Power BI is the ability to visualize data; however, even with all the immediate choices, many report developers desire to create custom visualizations. In this episode, we chat about custom visualizations for Power BI: how to get them, how to pick them, and when (if ever) you would consider building your own. Have a favorite custom visualization you have used? Let us know! The show notes for today's episode can be found at http://sqldatapartners.com/2019/04/17/episode-166-custom-visuals. Have fun on the SQL Trail!