Hosted by Carlos L Chacon, the SQL Data Partners Podcast focuses on Microsoft data platform related topics mixed with a sprinkling of professional development. Carlos and guests discuss new and familiar features and ideas and how you might apply them in your environments. Visit our website for episode show notes at marathonus.com/podcast and leave a comment if you have a topic you think we should discuss. We’ll see YOU on the SQL Trail.
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Migration Trail Podcast
Migration Trail: the project that uses maps, data and audio to join the dots of a story spread across Europe and beyond. http://www.migrationtrail.com
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Discover what makes us human with Blazing the Trail, a five-episode podcast that takes you on an epic journey investigating our shared story of human evolution. From our earliest ancestors in Africa to the global spread of Homo sapiens, each episode dives into the complex interplay of biological, environmental, and social factors that have shaped our species. This series interviews a range of internationally renowned archaeologists, paleo-anthropologists, linguists, and other specialists. Ho ...
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More than 13 million Americans may be displaced due to climate change by the end of this century. Where will they move, and who will decide how it happens? "Leaving The Island," a new investigative podcast series, reports from the frontlines of the Great Climate Migration, featuring the voices of historically marginalized communities, concerned scientists and the officials tasked to carry it out. Season One focuses on the 2022 resettlement of the primarily Native American community on Isle d ...
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Companeros, all good things must come to an end. While the details of what is next is uncertain, my time with the podcast is coming to an end. A quick thank you and a glimpse of what is next.
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Episode 286: Data Governance and Security In Microsoft Fabric
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33:24In this episode of the SQL Data Partners Podcast, host Carlos L. Chacón is joined by Kevin Feasel and Eugene Meidinger for a deep dive into data governance and security within Microsoft Fabric. As part of Season 8’s focus on Fabric, the trio explores how governance tools and practices are evolving with Microsoft’s platform, including the use of dom…
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Episode 285: Who Is Using Microsoft Fabric
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34:05
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34:05Fabric personas were originally designed to break down the various functional roles within Microsoft Fabric—such as Power BI, Data Factory, Data Activator, Data Engineering, Data Science, Data Warehouse, and Real-time Analytics—into more manageable, bite-sized sections. The goal was to prevent users from feeling overwhelmed by the platform’s breadt…
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In August 2022, a year after Hurricane Ida had devastated Isle de Jean Charles, the first families moved to the resettlement site, The New Isle. As challenges over construction issues and affordability threaten the sustainability of the new settlement, a new state agency takes over management of the subdivision, bringing its own vision of what succ…
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Upon the receipt of the $48.3 million award, the state agency administering the grant, Louisiana’s Office of Community Development (OCD), learned that members of the Jean Charles Choctaw Nation were not the only people who called the disappearing Isle home — a fact that forced the OCD to change the resettlement plans. The Jean Charles Choctaw Natio…
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It took Albert Naquin, the Chief of the Jean Charles Choctaw Nation, over 20 years and two failed attempts to move his tribe from Isle de Jean Charles, a tiny barrier island at the tip of Louisiana’s Terrebonne Parish. Since the 1950s, the Isle has lost 98% of its landmass. And with a federal grant of over $48 million awarded to the state of Louisi…
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"Leaving The Island" investigates the first-ever resettlement of an entire community by the U.S. government due to climate change.By Audiation, Inc.
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Episode 284: The Four-Letter Word ETL - Data Movement
58:57
58:57
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58:57Once you have your data stored in OneLake, you'll be ready to start transforming it to improve it's usability, accuracy, and efficiency. In this episode of the podcast, Belinda Allen takes us on a delightful journey through Data Flows, Power Query, Azure Data Factory (Pipelines), and discusses the merits of shortcuts. We also learn about a handy wa…
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Episode 283: Data Lakehouse vs Data Warehouse vs My House
48:59
48:59
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48:59Microsoft Fabric offers two enterprise-scale, open-standard format workloads for data storage: Warehouse and Lakehouse. Which service should you choose? In this episode, we dive into the technical components of OneLake, along with some of the decisions you’ll be asked to make as you start to build out your data infrastructure. These are two good ar…
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In this episode of Blazing the Trail, host Dr. Amy Mosig Way explores the early migrations of Homo sapiens out of Africa with special guests Assoc. Prof. Patrick Faulkner, Dr. Oshan Wedage, and Dr. Shimona Kealy. They discuss how early humans utilised coastlines as highways for migration, relying on familiar marine resources to navigate unfamiliar …
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In this episode of Blazing the Trail, join host Dr. Amy Mosig Way and special guests Assoc. Prof. Mark Harvey, Prof. Maggie Tallerman, and Prof. Rob Mailhammer as they deliberate the origins and evolution of human language, a defining feature that separates us from other animals. Together, they discuss how language likely evolved gradually, progres…
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In this episode of Blazing the Trail, host Dr. Amy Mosig Way is joined by Prof. John Gowlett, Prof. Polly Wiessner, and First Nations Gamilaraay man Wayne Brennan to explore the profound impact of fire on human evolution. The control of fire marked a pivotal moment in our history, offering more than warmth, protection, and a way to cook food— it sh…
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In this episode of Blazing the Trail, host Dr. Amy Mosig Way explores the lives of our extinct human cousins, the Neanderthals and Denisovans, with special guests Dr. Rebecca Wragg-Sykes, Dr. Vivian Slon, and Prof. Andrzej Wiśniewski. Together, they unpack common myths about Neanderthals, revealing their adaptability to diverse climates, their vari…
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In this first episode of Blazing the Trail, join host Dr. Amy Mosig-Way and special guests Dr. Emma Mbua, Prof. Chris Stringer, Dr. Kathryn Ranhorn, and Dr. Keneiloe Molopyane in a discussion of the origins of Homo sapiens in Africa and the traits that make our species unique. The story of human evolution was not a linear progression when we first …
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In Episode 281, we introduced Microsoft OneLake with a high-level overview. Now we're going deeper with a discussion on the Parquet format, why Microsoft went with the Delta Lake variation, and what Delta Lake format brings to the table (no pun intended). We'll also examine some "behind the scenes" aspects of file management, and why you'll still b…
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Episode 281: OneLake - The OneDrive for Data
31:39
31:39
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31:39As you start using Fabric, having a central location for your data is crucial. OneLake acts as this unified destination, offering a single, consolidated repository for all your data. In this podcast episode, we explore the core features of OneLake and its benefits with our guest, Mariano Kovo, and discuss how it efficiently handles large amounts of…
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At the Microsoft Build Conference in May 2023, Microsoft announced the new Fabric, where you could slice and dice all your data harmoniously within the environment. A few months later, Kevin, Eugene, and I discussed this evolution of the Azure Data platform in episode 267, and our thoughts on the vision for it's future, our expectations, and predic…
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Episode 279: SQL Server Migrations Demystified
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1:03:07
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1:03:07If you use SQL Server, you will eventually have to migrate that instance somewhere – to a new version, a new server, the cloud . . . somewhere. Or perhaps you'll find yourself migrating from another database into SQL Server. No matter which way you slice it, SQL Server migrations can be daunting, not to mention complex and time-consuming. While we …
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Episode 278: Running SQL Server on Azure VMs
1:04:29
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1:04:29Can you run SQL Server on Azure VM? Which VM is best? Is running SQL Server on a VM in Azure the right choice? Find out in this insightful episode with Anders Pedersen! With over 10 different SQL Server services now offered in Microsoft Azure, it can be difficult to know how you want to run your environment. Sometimes, the old ways are the best way…
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Episode 277: PostgreSQL for the SQL Server Crowd
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1:02:29Is testing out pgAdmin on your to-do list? In this episode of the podcast, we chat with Ryan Booz, a PostgreSQL advocate at Redgate, about how a SQL Server professional might begin a dive into PostgreSQL, one of the most popular open source databases in the world. Ryan came from a career background in SQL Server, but after experiencing his accident…
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Episode 276: Dynamic SQL and Testing in Isolation
41:46
41:46
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41:46Listener beware! This episode is full of danger as we tackle an interesting use case for Dynamic SQL. Dynamic SQL generally has a bad reputation in SQL Server circles, and with good reason. Dynamic SQL can open the door to many undesirable results - SQL Injection attacks being the most frightening of these. It can also be difficult to read, making …
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Episode 275: Machine Learning and Power BI
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44:42
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44:42What kinds of problems are organizations solving with Machine Learning? In this episode, we explore a situation where a public works department was looking for more accurate information to predict future water levels based on rainfall to maintain water tank storage for balancing pressure and to prevent overflow flooding. Marathon data solutions con…
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After discussing the Capabilities Maturity Model in our last episode, it was fate when Andy Levy reached out and suggested a topic which sounds like a case study about his experience with CMM. As the only data professional in his organization at the time of his hiring, Andy went from fixing problems to slowing increasing his role in the organizatio…
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Episode 273: The Capability Maturity Model for Data Professionals
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55:27
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55:27Have you ever felt stuck in a rut, repeating the same tasks, while knowing there is room for improvement? The Capability Maturity Model may be a way for you to start contributing to those improvements. In this podcast episode, Kevin Kline from SolarWinds walks us through how we might go from simply dealing with issues as they come, to being a contr…
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Do you find yourself repeating the same actions when pulling SQL Server performance metrics? Performance tuning a troublesome SQL Server can be a challenge. Luckily the community continues to produce wonderful folks like Erik Darling who contribute their knowledge to make your life a bit easier. In this episode of the SQL Data Partners podcast, we …
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This past November, Eugene and I attended the 2023 PASS Data Community Summit (aka PASS Summit) in Seattle, while Kevin headed down to Orlando for the Microsoft Live! 360 event in Orlando. Having no remote option this year was fine for us, as it was great to reconnect with our friends and colleagues in the data community, as well as get updates liv…
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Moving up the ranks in the holy technology wars is the medallion architecture, and boy are we interested in getting your thoughts. Not since the 2008 Olympics and Michael Phelps' tenth of a second win over Milorad Cavic has there been so much controversy around bronze, silver, and gold. This episode of the podcast has a genesis with Databricks and …
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Episode 269: Why Do I Need a Managed Service Provider?
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16:31In this Episode, Carlos talks about managed services and shares some of the benefits of working with an MSP, as well as potential cons. The term manage services refers to the practice of outsourcing business administration or management responsibilities to the third party. Why would you ever want to outsource these pieces? Listen in to learn more a…
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Episode 268: AI and the Future of the Database
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53:41We love hearing from our listeners!!! In this episode, a long-time listener asked about the future of AI in the data platform space. We thought this was a very interesting topic as Microsoft has been including Artificial Intelligence or AI in more and more of its marketing material. In this episode we'll dive into the definition of AI, what feature…
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All your data, all your teams—in one place. What am I? If you said Microsoft Fabric, you win! When I interned with Cisco Systems in 2000, I supported a platform called Unified Messaging. At that time, we were talking about getting your email, voice mail, and faxes all in one place. My, how the times have changed. To a certain extent, the Microsoft …
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We're kicking off Season 7 with containers! Spinning up a VM may not be such a big deal anymore; however, most of us still have to request from another group one and wait. Even waiting on an Azure VM can be somewhat painful. Wouldn't it be nice to forget about setting up another development environment just to test something that isn't going to sti…
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Compañeros! In May, SQL Data Partners was acquired by Marathon Consulting. There were many moving parts to get this done and we are excited to finally bring this news to the podcast. In this episode we introduce the principles of Marathon Consulting, and we discuss the future of the podcast. Make sure your speakers are adjusted properly when you li…
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A backup is only helpful when you can restore the backup. This should not prove to be overly shocking; however, normally we get the satisfaction of taking a backup and feel like all is well. Ideally, we should be testing our backups on some cadence—and it should be more frequent than the annual disaster recovery test. In this episode of the SQL Dat…
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When we couldn’t confirm a guest speaker by recording time, Eugene, Kevin, Amanda, and I decided the show must go on, so we went into the ideas vault and pulled out a couple of listener questions we hadn’t answered. In this episode, we talk about how to create your own documentation, SSMS installs, SOS_Scheduler_Yield and Eugene gives us an update …
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Learning new technology can be difficult—especially when it’s a technology in an area you are not familiar with. In this episode, Eugene walks us through some of the challenges he has faced getting started with Azure Synapse. We hope that this episode might be helpful to those trying to learn new features. The show notes and video for today's episo…
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It would appear Microsoft has run out of words to use for new features/products, so they are just going to recycle existing words for a bit of fun at our expense. In this episode we explore the Azure Data Lakehouse—which is not a data lake, nor a traditional data warehouse and Books Online (BOL) refers to it as Databricks Lakehouse. Luke Moloney wa…
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Episode 260: Contained Availability Groups
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36:25We’re back with another SQL Server 2022 feature—Contained Availability Groups. Have you ever failed over to a secondary node and then found a job or login missing? This new Enterprise-only feature aims to solve this problem by ‘containing’ all the objects—master, msdb, AND the availability database all in one group so you can manage everything you …
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We kick off the new year discussing a new feature in SQL Server 2022 called Transact-SQL snapshot backups. Good luck with the Google search on this feature--we know we had fun. 😊 These are not the snapshot backups you were frustrated with in 2005. We talk a little bit about who will be interested in this feature and what scenarios it will come in h…
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As we close out the year, we take a look back and think about all those SQL Server 2022 episodes we didn’t record this year—and then make the goal to increase this count in the new year. 😊 We discuss some of the Cardinality Estimation changes in this version and the scenarios in which this may affect other features. I ask Kevin and Eugene what tech…
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Episode 257: The Business of Working for Yourself
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39:36Have you ever thought about working for yourself? It can be very enticing for some, and in this episode, we talk with John Sterrett about the pros and cons of running your own organization. We tackle some of the reasons you might get started and we share some of our experiences of working in our own organizations. Each person’s journey is going to …
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Seven years ago, I started the SQL Data Partners Podcast. We have now arrived at Episode 256, and we dedicate this episode to you, the community. Thanks to everyone who has joined us along the way, and we hope to continue providing content you can enjoy on the go while still connecting with your SQL Server community. While we originally thought we …
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Episode 255: Automate Complex CRUD with sp_CRUDGen
28:43
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28:43One of the biggest challenges with developers using object-relational mapping (ORM) tools is the bad queries or procedures they create. Sure, most tools can create CRUD (Create, Read, Update, Delete, Upsert) procedures, but what about the extremely advanced safe dynamic Search stored procedures? My bet is they are super inefficient and could be imp…
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Episode 254: Code Smell Checks with sp_Develop
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29:56
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29:56Would you be interested in a tool to help you do code review checks and provide developers guidance on best practices? In this episode of the SQL Data Partners Podcast, we talk with Kevin Martin, the creator of sp_Develop, about how his procedure can help you review naming conventions, table conventions, data type conventions, SQL code conventions,…
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In this episode, we dive into the Power Apps offering and discuss the pros and cons of using this latest Microsoft offering. Some definitions are given and hopefully this episode can orient folks on how to position Power Apps in their organizations. The show notes and video for today's episode can be found at https://sqldatapartners.com/2022/09/07/…
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Episode 252: The Cumulative Update Dilemma
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29:40Knowing your SQL Server is patched when an issue occurs is worth the effort of keeping it patched. While I don’t suggest a zero-day install for most folks, setting up a regular cadence to check is a reasonable ask if you have to manage a system. In this episode of the SQL Data Partners Podcast, we discuss the need for patching and how you might go …
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How can you begin to integrate AI models into your environment without spending months building everything out? As we continue our march to Episode 256, we bring back our friend Sam Nasr to talk about Azure Cognitive Services. Sam walks us through a few examples of how he was able to leverage some pre-packaged voice recognition services to assist c…
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Episode 250: What happens before... “COMPANEROS!”
19:21
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19:21This episode we are doing a bit of a look back and are going to air some previously buried content. Some of the bloopers are pre-video and some of them have some physical comedy, which you’ll have to go to YouTube to see. While a few were cut out of the published episodes, they are mostly things you’ve never heard. The show notes and video for this…
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Data marts in Power BI have arrived and the words “data mart” mean something to data professionals. In this episode of the SQL Data Partners Podcast, we introduce the latest offering in Power BI and discuss the good, the bad, and the ugly for teams looking to arrive at self-service business intelligence. The show notes and video for this episode ca…
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Episode 248: Inventory Documentation
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1:01:00How do you keep records of your SQL Server environments? Patching levels, security accounts, configuration options, maintenance jobs and the like are some of the pieces we have to keep organized. Are you using something besides Excel to keep up with this? Sure, we can use the Content Management Server (CMS) to query across several instances, but we…
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Episode 247: Pushing the Boundaries or Pushing Your Luck
35:55
35:55
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35:55IT workers will generally claim they like learning new technology—it is almost a required attribute. Why then is bringing in new technology so hard? In this episode, we explore how new technologies make their way into organizations and how we might either embrace them or how this becomes a major challenge. There are so many new technologies now, it…
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