SSWUG.org Business Intelligence Virtual Conference

Session Abstracts

Abstracts
Session/Speaker	Description
Deep Dive: Extending SSIS with .NET Development Anthony D'Angelo	After going through the basics this session will go through some helpful techniques during the development process. Specifically, take advantage of custom data adapters, component UI, and code integration with SSIS Events. We will review a custom logging solution that utilizes .NET code, Microsoft Best Practices, and the SSIS Events.
Keeping it Simple: Using AMO to manage SSAS Anthony D'Angelo	As a developer using the Microsoft Analysis Service, library is as easy as pie. But for a SQL Server DBA using any .NET, library can be a daunting task. This session will shed some light on using this library in performing clean-up routines, processing objects, and setting security. A high-level overview of the Object Model will be provided as well as reviewing code samples that can be used in any SSAS environment.
Maiden Voyage: Exploring XMLA in Analysis Services Anthony D'Angelo	So you are in Management Studio and you go to script one of your cubes. Your screen shows a long string of weird characters as opposed to a nice Create Cube statement…what gives. This gibberish (XML) is really a flavor of the XMLA standard, which is used to define the objects that make up your cube. In this session we will review the main elements and namespaces that make up this structure. We will also make minor modifications to demonstrate the ease of changing data sources and processing objects without having to go into BIDS.
Log Shipping Basics Brent Ozar	The boss wants you to plan for disaster, and wants to know the business will be protected if the production SQL Server goes down. Be armed with answers about log shipping with this presentation, which will cover the basic concepts and how to implement it.
Dynamically Configuring SSIS packages Brian Knight	In this session, you'll learn how to dynamically configure your SSIS packages at runtime, whether through configuration files, tables or other home grown techniques. You'll learn how to encrypt connection strings no matter the location of storage and reading that data in SSIS. You'll also learn how to pass in configuration data at runtime into SSIS.
Introduction to SQL Server Analysis Services Brian Knight	Is your customer looking for drag and drop reports or capabilities inside of Excel. SQL Server Analysis Services (SSAS) is the answer for you then. You’ll be amazed how quickly you can develop sophisticated reports after watching the basics of this session.
Introduction to SQL Server Integration Services Brian Knight	This session will get you past the learning curve of SSIS. Brian covers creating an end to end package that covers many of the concepts in SSIS. He covers, looping over a set of files, processing each file and then archiving. You won't want to miss this if you're new to SSIS.
Loading a Data Warehouse in SSIS Brian Knight	In this session, you'll learn how to load a typical data warehouse in SSIS efficiently. You'll start by seeing some of the strenghs and weaknesses of the Slowly Changing Dimension (SCD) Wizard in SSIS and how you can get around some of the weaknesses including your own home-brewed solution. You'll then see how to load a fact table using SSIS and how to make the common components scale.
Performance Tuning SSIS 2005 and 2008 Brian Knight	In this demo-rich presentation, Brian shows you some of the common and not so common ways to tune SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS). Learn how to tune the data flow using some of the advanced SSIS options and how to avoid common SSIS mistakes. See how to measure performance and how to keep SSIS from monopolizing your server's resourcing. Lastly, discover SQL Server 2008 features that will make SSIS more efficient.
Integrating SQL Server Reporting Services with Sharepoint Chris Randall	This session is designed for business intelligence developers and administrators who want to take advantage of SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) ability to integrate itself and its content with a SharePoint environment. Beginning in SQL Server 2005 SP2 and extending into the current 2008 release, SSRS goes beyond its initial steps using Sharepoint web parts, into fully integrated management and content delivery hosted seamlessly in Sharepoint. We’ll look at what we need to do on the SSRS installation and configuration side, what we need to do and where we need to go inside Sharepoint to build an integrated BI solution.
Introduction to SQL Server Reporting Services Chris Randall	This session is designed for business intelligence developers and report writers from other environments who want to learn how to design, deploy and manage reports in a SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) environment. We’ll look at the lifecycle of an SSRS project, the tools used, and how to take full advantage of the capabilities of SSRS to provide online interactivity, offline delivery and rich content in your reports, no matter what the data source happens to be. This session will walk you through the process of starting an SSRS project, connecting to data, designing report layouts for various output formats and interactivity scenarios, through to deploying, managing and securing your reports on the server.
The Accidental SQL Business Intelligence Administrator Chris Randall	This session is designed for SQL Server DBAs who find themselves having to support SQL Server Business Intelligence projects using Reporting Services, Integration Services or Analysis Services. We’ll talk about the lifecycle of projects using these tools, how they impact your SQL Server infrastructure, and what adaptations you might need to make as a production DBA in order to maintain and secure them. Along the way, you might just learn what all those “other” services do that are listed in the SQL Server Configuration Manager.
Analysis Services 2008 End-to-End Craig Utley	Are you interested in designing, building, and deploying an Analysis Services database that follows best practices and best delivers value to your organization? This session goes through the process of optimizing cube creation through the proper design of dimensions, measure groups, aggregations, calculations, perspectives, security, and more. The areas of source code control, deployment, promotion from test to production, processing efficiency, and other areas will be discussed. Craig Utley has experience designing, implementing, and troubleshooting Analysis Services databases at dozens of companies worldwide through his more than 11 years of experience with the Microsoft BI stack. Far from a theoretical discussion, this seminar will present real-world lessons learned about what works in production environments. By attending this session, you will learn the proper design and implementation of your Analysis Services databases, allowing you to avoid common pitfalls while delivering the maximum value to your clients.
Avoid Slow SSAS Queries: MDX Query Troubleshooting Craig Utley	Do you have SSAS queries that you feel should be faster? Multidimensional Expressions, or MDX, is the language used to work with Analysis Services. Similar to SQL for the relational engine, MDX is a language for queries and DDL statements on multidimensional cubes in Analysis Services. Troubleshooting slow MDX queries is often challenging because the level of support provided by the tools and the Analysis Services engine is not as mature as that found in the relational engine. This session covers the methods for examining slow queries using the SQL Profiler and Performance Monitor to determine the need for aggregations, caching problems, memory constraints, and so forth. Best practices for optimizing MDX will be examined, and various server properties will be discussed as necessary to help correct query issues. Attendees will leave armed with a practical approach to locating bottlenecks and strategies for speeding up queries.
Do It Right: Best Practices for Analysis Services 2005 and 2008 Craig Utley	Are you seeking practical, in-depth technical advice for building a BI solution using SSAS? Analysis Services changed tremendously with the advent of SQL Server 2005. It introduced a new way of building dimensions and cubes that required a new way of modeling the solution. This session examines the best practices for properly designing cubes for performance and usability. It discusses some high-level topics but also looks at advanced topics such as alternative approaches to many-to-many dimensions, SCOPE statements, aggregation design, scalability issues, processing techniques, server properties, and more. Craig Utley has been working with Microsoft’s BI products for 11 years and is a former Program Manager with the SQL Server Customer Advisory Team (SQLCAT), where he worked with some of the largest Analysis Services installations worldwide. In this session he brings his real-world experience with large, complex SSAS projects and presents best practices uncovered as companies deploy and use Analysis Services.
Best practices for Analysis Services administration Donald Farmer	This session takes you on a end-to-end tour of management features for Analysis Services. Along the way, you’ll learn important best practices direct from the product team about how to configure, optimize and manage your Analysis Server. We expect this to be an essential session for new and experienced Analysis Services administrators alike.
Get the maximum value from Excel and SQL Server Business Intelligence Donald Farmer	Got SQL Server? Got Excel? Good – you already have one the most compelling platform and client combination in the world of Business Intelligence. In this session we will show you how to maximize that value. We will cover the new BI features in Excel including new PivotTables, CUBE functions, Tables and conditional formatting and the new charting engine. We will show how to extend this to the Web with Excel Services. Last, but not least, we’ll show how to leverage exciting Data Mining features with the free SQL Server Data Mining Add-in for Excel.
Integrating Predictive Analytics Throughout the Data Lifecycle Donald Farmer	For many people predictive analysis and data mining is a special activity taking place outside the scope of their common applications and workflows. However, the true value of these technologies – the discovery and reuse of patterns and relationships in data – really only becomes clear when used seamlessly as part of your data lifecycle. This session will show how predictive analysis can be used and embedded throughout the lifecycle of your data, from integration through data analysis to reporting and performance monitoring.
Dimension Table Design 101 Erik Veerman	Dimension Tables care one of the core components in a dimensional design and it is critical to design your dimension tables correctly in order to lay a solid foundation to a Business Intelligence system. This session dives into the dimension design techniques and considers the core components of a dimension table, surrogate keys, attributes, and hierarchies. In addition, we will consider advanced hierarchy types such as parent-child hierarchies, snowflake designs and unbalanced hierarchies. Finally, we will consider the best practices in tracking changes historically.
Dimensional Modeling 101 Erik Veerman	This session focuses on the basic design patterns for building relational database structures for Business Intelligence applications on SQL Server. By laying the foundation to dimensional modeling, this session provides an overview of dimension modeling theory and the justification of dimension modeling by reviewing the core structures involved in data marts and data warehouses and contrasting these design techniques to other types of systems. If you are new to Business Intelligence or feel you need a refresher on dimensional modeling, this session is for you.
Fact Table Design 101 Erik Veerman	In a Business Intelligence solution, the fact tables hold the core data that you are analyzing - facts (also called measures). Therefore, fact tables are a critical component to get right the first time. Poor fact table design will lead to poor performance and difficult calculations. This session dives into fact table and considers the basic column types, measure aggregation types, fact table types, and volume considerations.
Exhibit Hall Exhibit Hall	Exhibit Hall -- Please take a few minutes to visit our Sponsors
Exhibit Hall Exhibit Hall	Exhibit Hall -- Please take a few minutes to visit our Sponsors
Exhibit Hall Exhibit Hall	Exhibit Hall -- Please take a few minutes to visit our Sponsors
Do Certifications Really Matter? Jason Strate	In this session, see the tracks for SQL Server certifications and discover what you need to know about the exams. Which track will be right for you? What steps should you take? How do I get going? Does anyone take them seriously?
SQL 101 -- The Essentials Jeremy Lowell	If you are new to SQL or a DBA interested in learning the t-sql language, this is a great place to start. We will cover the basics, as time allows for. Topics to include DML statements (select, insert, update, and delete).
SQL 102 – The Essentials – Beyond the basics: Jeremy Lowell	A great follow-up to SQL 101 or a refresher if it’s been a while since you’ve written a join statement that looks like this: “Where a.id *= b.id” We will also begin to explore Stored Procedures, CTE’s and some built in functions like Sum, GetDate, Group by and order by.
SQL 103 – The Essentials – DMV’s & t-sql for internals. Jeremy Lowell	If you have ever wondered what some of those 286 system views are in your user database, this is for you! We will cover a handful of these views, also known as DMV’s. They contain data that every DBA should smile about and be able to understand. We will also look at some t-sql that will provide you with information about what’s going on with your SQL Server.
Doing More (ETL) with Less (Effort) by Automating SSIS John Welch	SSIS is a great tool for transferring data from one data source to another, and for implementing complex ETL processes. However, for simple, straightforward data transfer tasks, creating SSIS packages by hand can be time-consuming and repetitious. By attending this session, you'll learn how to automate data transfers from a source to a target using SSIS. You’ll see the steps necessary to create both the control flow and the data flow portions of an SSIS package using the API and C# code. You’ll also learn about altering existing packages programmatically. Specific attention will be given to the generation of data flows with the proper source and destination components. We’ll take a look at some of the open source solutions available for this, plus some “roll your own” options.
Processing Flat Files with SSIS John Welch	When doing data integration, a common requirement is to work with flat files, whether for importing data into a system from an external source, or to export it to provide to other systems. SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS) supports flat files, but there can be a number of challenges when working with them. This is particularly true if your flat files have multiple data formats contained in a single file, the data has complex formatting, or the files have inconsistent formatting. This session will help you to be more efficient when working with these types of files. You’ll learn to handle missing delimiters in the files, and parsing files that have multiple data formats. You’ll also see how to produce complex output formats, like headers and footers that contain summary information.
SQL Data Services 101 John Welch	SQL Data Services (SDS) is one of the options for data storage in the Azure platform. This new service offers a distributed database in the cloud, and offers a flexible way to develop and scale applications with costs based on the actual usage. It is based on SQL Server, but has a number of differences. If you are interested in moving your applications to the cloud, then this session will cover the essentials of using SDS to host your data. This session will provide an overview of the capabilities of the new service. You’ll learn what features you can use with it, and how to interact with it from your applications. You’ll also learn how using SDS differs from working directly with SQL Server, and what constraints you need to be aware of when working with it.
Deploying OLAP Solutions with Visual Studio 2008 Josh Jones	Just like any other application, OLAP solutions designed and built in VIsual Studio 2008 for SQL Server Analysis Service 2008 must be managed from source code to server. In this session, learn different methods for managing your OLAP solutions. We'll cover TFS and VSS storage, manual deployment methods using the Visual Studio GUI, as well as command line build automation methods specific to SQL Server Analysis Services project deployments.
Performance Tuning for Analysis Services Josh Jones	SQL Server 2008 Analysis Services contains a number of mechanisms to optimize performance of both queries and data processing. In this session, com learn how to apply these built in mechnisms, as well as how to optimize your cube, dimension, and query design to acheive optimal performance.
Securing Your Analysis Services Data Josh Jones	Many implementations of SQL Server Analysis Services use the "whatever works" based approach to security. However, many of today's industries require strict security rules to be implemented. In this session, learn how to secure both multidimensional data as well as data mining models, from server level access for developers to dimension and cell level security for users and applications.
How to Avoid Common Pitfalls with SSIS Matt Masson	Starting up a new project with SQL Server Integration Services? Save time and money by learning about how to avoid common issues that users hit when implementing their ETL solutions. Drawing on the most frequently asked questions in the MSDN Integration Services forum and some of the more interesting packages we've seen over the years, we'll highlight common mistakes, clear up some misconceptions, and provide best practices to help you efficiently and effectively use Integration Services.
Incremental Data Warehouse Loads with MERGE and Change Data Capture Matt Masson	This talk describes the new MERGE statement and Change Data Capture (CDC) feature introduced in SQL Server 2008, and how to take advantage of them in SQL Server Integration Services. We'll cover the traditional ways of doing incremental data loads, and see how these new key features make the process a whole lot easier. If you're interested in learning best practices for this new SQL Server 2008 functionality, you won't want to miss this session!
New Connectivity Options in SSIS 2008 Matt Masson	Figuring out the best way to connect to your data sources can be tricky. SQL Server Integration Services 2008 has made it easier with the addition of new high performance connectors for Oracle, Teradata, and SAP BI. This talk will walk through their features, and take a look at how they can drastically improve the performance of your data loads.
How SSWUGVC is made and Future Planning Stephen Wynkoop	We'll show you our studio and how we deliver the conference to you.
Keynote Day 1 Stephen Wynkoop	Keynote for today.
Keynote Day 2 Stephen Wynkoop	Keynote for today.
Keynote Day 3 Stephen Wynkoop	Keynote for today.
Agile Business Intelligence - Proven Techniques that move BI Development into the Agile World Ted Malone	As more and more organizations embrace agile development methodologies, tools and agile processes are becoming more mainstream and almost transparent to the developer; however, the problem of embracing agile development is still an issue for those working on Business Intelligence projects. This problem is exacerbated by the fact that tools for BI development haven’t quite caught up to the unique problems presented by Business Intelligence development. This session will discuss Agile techniques as they relate to Business Intelligence Projects, with a particular focus on Microsoft SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS) and Microsoft SQL Server Analysis Services (SSAS) development. Attendees will learn how to adapt the Microsoft Solutions Framework (MSF) for Agile process template for Business Intelligence, and will show how to integrate Visual Studio Team System and Team Foundation Server into your agile BI projects. Attendees will leave this session with a good understanding of how agile can apply to the BI world.
SQL Server Analysis Services – An introduction to installation and configuration Ted Malone	One of the problems that presents those new to Business Intelligence development is how to configure the development and production environments for maximum efficiency. This session will cover the installation and configuration of SSAS for both development and production environments. Attendees will leave this session with a good understanding of the options available and the specific needs in an SSAS environment.
SQL Server Reporting Services – Advanced Configuration with SharePoint Integration Ted Malone	With the release of Microsoft Office SharePoint Server (MOSS) 2007, Microsoft delivered a powerful content management solution. This session will show how to embrace MOSS as part of your overall Reporting Services solution and take advantage of all the MOSS features available to you. This session will walk through configuring MOSS and Reporting Services integration and will discuss several use cases that highlight these features. Attendees will leave this session with a good understanding of how SSRS and MOSS can be leveraged to provide a tightly integrated Content Management Solution.
Maintenance Plans Thomas LaRock	In SQL 2008, Maintenance Plans create a workflow of tasks to ensure your database is optimized and backed up on a regular schedule. The Maintenance Plan will create an SSIS package that will be scheduled and run with SQL Agent. Attend this session and learn how Maintenance Plans will ease your administrative overhead.
Best Practices TJ Belt	Having worked with databases for some time now, I felt it important to get some best practices documented. This presentation will touch on the simple things that we often take for granted while using our favorite database systems. From naming conventions, to cursors, to temporary, derived and variable tables, to the use of dynamic sql. We’ll touch on a great many different ideas and hopefully further cement your own best practices, making you a more exceptional DBA or Database Developer.