Here is a list of the technical presentations I’ve given at regional and international events. If you would like me to present one of them at your event, you can contact me here.


Managing SQL Server on AWS Relational Database Service (RDS) (download)
Relational Database Service (RDS) for SQL Server is the cloud-hosted “fully managed SQL Server as a Service” option from Amazon Web Services (AWS). There are many benefits to the service, including:

  • scalable hardware with support for infrastructure-as-code (Terraform)
  • geo-replicated high availability
  • monitoring & email/SMS notification
  • management tasks (server configuration, patching & backups)
With the benefits of this managed SQL instance come new challenges and considerations. Some things just don’t work the same as they do on a self-managed (on-prem) server. In this session, we’ll look at how to configure some of the managed SQL features and make them conform to the same configuration standards & policies as an on-prem server.
Year Event Location Notes
2023 Richmond SQL Server Users Group Richmond, VA


Using SQL containers with Azure Data Studio (download)
SQL Server containers are gaining popularity as a way of enhancing and standardizing development environments for Windows & Linux hosts. One of the challenges to creating a customized (ie fully configured) SQL image is the need to make configuration changes to the host, the container, and the SQL Server image (inside the container). In this session, we will use Azure Data Studio notebooks (for both PowerShell & SQL) to manage Windows containers and document & deploy a customized SQL Server image.

Year Event Location Notes
2020 Triad SQL Users Group online


Automated SQL Server Installation and Configuration using PowerShell (download)
Using the SQL setup wizard and management studio (SSMS) to install and configure a new SQL server is a time-intensive process. PowerShell scripts can greatly reduce the time required to complete the process. They can also ensure build standardization throughout your SQL environment. In this session, we will look at PowerShell scripting, including the basic syntax and commandlets needed to automate the installation and post-install configuration of SQL Server.

Year Event Location Notes
2019 SQLSaturday 846
SQLSaturday 839
Richmond, Virginia
Virginia Beach, Virginia
Session Info
2018 SQLSaturday 721 Raleigh, North Carolina Session Info
2017 SQLSaturday 693
SQLSaturday 610
Hampton Roads SQL Server User Group
Washington, D.C.
Richmond, Virginia
Virginia Beach, Virginia
Session Info
Session Info
Meeting Info
2016 SQLSaturday 574
NOVASQL
Washington, D.C.
Reston, Virginia
Session Info
Meeting Info
2015 SQLSaturday 470
Lynchburg SQL Server User Group
SQLSaturday 445
SQLSaturday 395
SQLSaturday 381
Hampton Roads SQL Server User Group
Washington, D.C.
Lynchburg, Virginia
Raleigh, North Carolina
Baltimore, Maryland
Richmond, Virginia
Virginia Beach, Virginia
Session Info
Meeting Info
Session Info
Session Info
Session Info
Meeting Info
2014 Richmond SQL Server Users Group Richmond, Virginia Meeting Info


SQL Restore: Optimizing your data recovery (download)
When disaster strikes, everyone’s immediate question becomes: How long until the system is back online? Whether it’s a single database or the whole SQL environment, time is essential… As everyone waits for the restore to complete. How long will the restoration process take? Can it run faster? In this session, we’ll answer these questions by looking at the Disaster Recovery process and the options available for performance tuning database restores.

Year Event Location Notes
2019 SQLSaturday 846
SQLSaturday 863
Richmond, Virginia
Raleigh, North Carolina
Session Info
Session Info
2018 SQLSaturday 814
SQLSaturday 806
NOVASQL
Hampton Roads SQL Server User Group
SQLSaturday 705
PASSDC
Washington, D.C.
Charlotte, North Carolina
Reston, Virginia
Virginia Beach
Richmond, Virginia
Washington, D.C.
Session Info
Session Info
Meeting Info
Meeting Info
Session Info
Meeting Info
2017 Queensland SQL Server User Group
Richmond SQL Server Users Group
Brisbane, Queensland
Richmond, Virginia
Meeting Info
Meeting Info

Integrating On-Prem Data with Azure Apps (download)
Azure applications (PowerBI, Power Apps, AI & Machine Learning, etc) can greatly enhance business processes. Most organizations, however, have already invested in on-premises infrastructure for storing their data (database & file servers). The problem therefore is: How can you use on-prem data sources with cloud-based (Azure) applications?

In this session we will look at using an Azure On-Premises Data Gateway to integrate local (on-prem) data sources with Azure-based applications.

Year Event Location Notes
2019 PASSDC Washington DC Meeting Info

SQL Backups: Choosing the right solution for your environment
Backing up databases is (arguably) the most important maintenance task for any database administrator. But the question is: Which solution should you choose for creating and managing your backups? In this session we’ll discuss the options available and demonstrate 2 of the solutions in action (Ola Hallengren’s DatabaseBackup and Minionware’s Minion Backup).

Year Event Location Notes
2016 Hampton Roads SQL Server User Group
SQLSaturday 592
SQLSaturday 486
Virginia Beach, Virginia
Raleigh, North Carolina
Richmond, Virginia
Meeting Info
Session Info
Session Info