The DBA in a hybrid environment

The role of a DBA is evolving in today's hybrid computing landscape, where applications are deployed on both on-premises and cloud platforms. This training day is specifically designed for DBAs who are required to work in a hybrid environment, where some applications use Platform as a Service databases while others are supported on-premises or on Azure VMs.

We will provide you with a hands-on experience in using automation tooling including PowerShell and community-developed modules such as dbatools, dbachecks, and ImportExcel, to automate many everyday tasks in your estate, whether it is totally on-prem, hybrid, or 100% cloud. You will learn from Jess Pomfret and Rob Sewell, two of the dbatools in a Month of Lunches authors, how to take your Data Platform skills to the next level.

We will also cover the basic concept of infrastructure as code. You will learn how to manage your infrastructure through code, allowing you to automate the provisioning, configuration, and management of your SQL Server instances and PaaS services. You will also see how this approach can improve the reliability and consistency of your environment, reduce errors, and increase the efficiency of your operations.

Finally, we will touch on how you can use GitHub Actions or Azure Functions to automate your workflows and integrate with other tools in your environment. You will learn how to create workflows that trigger when specific events occur, such as a new pull request or a database schema change and automate the execution of scripts or the deployment of changes to your SQL Server instances. This approach will help you streamline your operations, reduce manual intervention, and improve the overall quality of your work.

Overall, this training day will provide you with a comprehensive set of skills to manage your hybrid SQL Server estate. There are many tools for you to add to your toolbox and we’ll show you how to get the most out of your available time and effort by utilising PowerShell, a collection of community-written modules with some CI\CD tools mixed in.

Whether you are a senior or junior DBA, a developer who interacts with SQL Server, an accidental DBA, or someone with DevOps in your job title, this training is for you. You will improve your PowerShell skills for SQL Server and reduce the time you and your team spend administering SQL Server. You do not need any specific equipment or tools for this training, but we recommend bringing something to take notes with. All scripts and slides will be provided to you, and you will have the opportunity to follow along with most of the demos on a machine that can run Docker or with PowerShell v5 or above and a SQL Server 2012 or above instance.

Join us for a wonderful day of PowerShell and SQL, full of demos and useful solutions that you will be able to take back to your workplace.

Biography

Jess Pomfret

Jess Pomfret is a Data Platform Architect and a Microsoft MVP. She started working with SQL Server in 2011, and enjoys the problem-solving aspects of performance tuning and automating processes with PowerShell.

She also enjoys contributing to dbatools and dbachecks, two open source PowerShell modules that aid DBAs with automating the management of SQL Server instances. She has also contributed to the SqlServerDsc module, adding several new resources to use when configuring your SQL Servers.

She grew up in the South West of England and outside of her DBA life enjoys Crossfit, cycling and watching proper football.

Rob Sewell

Rob was a SQL Server DBA with a passion for PowerShell, Azure, Automation, and SQL (PaaS geddit?). Now he just helps people make things. He is a Cloud and Data Center MVP and a Data Platform MVP, SQLBits committee member, PSConf EU organiser, and co-leader of Data South West UK User Group. H has spoken at and volunteered at many Data and PowerShell events all over the world. He is a proud supporter of the Data and PowerShell communities.

He relishes sharing and learning and can be found doing both via Twitter and his blog. He spends most of his time looking at a screen and loves to solve problems. He knows that looking at a screen so much is bad for him because his wife tells him so. Thus, he is often out riding his bike as his eyes are not good enough to play cricket any more.

He has a fabulous beard