Great Indian Developers Summit 2014: Four Sessions

I presented four sessions at the Great Indian Developers Summit (GIDS) 2014 in Bangalore. GIDS is one of the most popular annual events held in Bangalore. It was scheduled for April 22 to 25. Each of my sessions was different from the others. Thank you to everyone who filled the rooms.

A Great Event

This was a great event, and I had fantastic fun presenting here. I was excited that many of my friends presented at the event too. I want to thank everyone who attended my sessions and made it standing room every single time. I already sent the resources in my newsletter.

Pinal at GIDS

I was amazed by the crowd in the sessions at GIDS. There was great interest in SQL Server and performance tuning.

Audience at GIDS

I believe an event like this provides a great platform to meet and share knowledge.

Pinal at GIDS

The Four Sessions

Here are the abstracts of the four sessions I presented. The sessions were recorded.

Indexes, the Unsung Hero

Slow running queries are the most common problem developers face while working with SQL Server. It is easy to blame SQL Server for unsatisfactory performance. The cause can lie in how the queries are written and how the indexes are set up. The session focused on finding the problems that slow down SQL Server, and on indexing tricks to fix them.

Indexes are the most crucial objects of a database. They are the first stop for any DBA and developer who tunes performance. Indexes have a good side and an evil side. We covered duplicate indexes, redundant indexes, missing indexes and the best practices around them. Developers walked out with scripts and knowledge to apply to their servers right after the session.

Indexing is an Art

SQL Server Performance Troubleshooting: Ancient Problems and Modern Solutions

Many believe performance tuning and troubleshooting is an art lost in time. The truth is that the art has evolved. There are more tools and techniques to overcome the ancient, troublesome scenarios. Three major resources create performance problems when they are bottlenecked: CPU, IO and Memory. This session focused on detecting and resolving high CPU scenarios.

The goal was that attendees would leave with a clear idea and action items for resource intensive scenarios. We discussed performance tuning with the help of demos. Time allowing, the session also covered other performance tips and tricks.

Pinal Dave at GIDS

MySQL Performance Tuning: Unexplored Territory

Performance is one of the most essential aspects of any application. Everyone wants a server that performs at its best efficiency. Not many people talk about MySQL performance tuning, because it is an extremely unexplored territory. This session covered how to tune MySQL performance, along with other performance tips and tricks.

The goal was that attendees would carry home a clear idea, action items and scripts to apply to their servers. The session also had some impressive performance tuning demos.

Hidden Secrets and Gems of SQL Server We Bet You Never Knew

It amazes us every time someone says SQL Server is an easy tool to handle. Microsoft has done amazing work in making a complex relational database a breeze for developers and administrators. It looks like child’s play to some, but the reality is far from that notion.

The basics are simple and uniform across databases. Understanding the nuts and bolts of SQL Server is something we need to master over a period of time. The speakers together had more than 30 years of experience with databases.

SQL Trio Session!

We took a unique tour of SQL Server and shared the life lessons we learned from working with it. We shared trade secrets of performance, configuration, new features and tuning. We also covered T-SQL practices, common pitfalls, behaviors and productivity tips on tools. It was a session full of demos, for practical use by SQL Server developers and administrators.

I personally attended the sessions of Vinod Kumar, Balmukund Lakhani, Abhishek Kumar and my favorite, Govind Kanshi.

A summit is not four sessions, it is four chances to share what we have learned.

Published by Pinal Dave on SQLAuthority. More of my work at pinaldave.com.