PASS Data Community Summit 2024 Post-Event Recap

I had a fantastic experience, met a lot of new friends, and continued learning about the ever-changing database landscape. Thank you to everyone who helped make this a terrific event!

The data community is dynamic and helpful, and I’m eager to see where these connections will lead me!

Here’s to the future of data, as well as the further growth of friendships and collaborations! I’m excited to see what PASS 2025 has in store for us!

Want the video highlights of PASS Data Community Summit 2024? Take a look here.

PASS Data Community Summit 2024 Session Highlights

The summit kicked off with an inspiring Microsoft Keynote where Bob Ward and Anna Hoffman debated key new features, including vector search and multi-agent apps. They also announced SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) 21 and Copilot in SSMS, showcasing exciting advancements for data professionals.

Some of the best sessions included:

• Haripriya Naidu’s tempdb contention presentation was easily one of the top ten sessions I saw at PASS Summit.
• Understanding Database Statistics in Postgres by Anita and Raj from AWS provides insights into PostgreSQL statistics.
• A technical overview to unlock Seamless Logical Replication from Heterogeneous Databases (MySQL, Oracle, SQL Server, and More) to PostgreSQL by Cary Huang was really helpful in migrations to PostgreSQL.
• Leveraging Patroni’s synchronous replication feature to achieve high availability while running PostgreSQL on Kubernetes by Shree Vidya was a great start for the initial setup on Patroni.
• Practical Memory Tuning for PostgreSQL by Grant McAlister adds up how to tune memory parameters in PostgreSQL.
• Why PostgreSQL Isn’t Utilizing Indexes: Diagnosing and Solving Performance Issues by Chandra from AWS helps with practical solutions and best practices for diagnosing and rectifying performance issues and improving database performance.
• Mastering RDS Maintenance: Strategies for Patching and Version Upgrades by Krishna and Arnab helps understand the process of operating system and database patching.
• Query Optimizations and Where to Find Them: A Beginners Guide from Ryan Booz helped with primary settings, indexes, tools, features, SQL tips, explained analyze, and adhoc settings to improve database performance.

Datavail’s PASS Data Community Summit 2024 Presentations and Activities

Datavail was a silver sponsor of PASS Community Summit 2024, and we had plenty of activities and sessions throughout the conference.

PASS brought back Casino Night, and we were the proud sponsor of it! There were lots of games and prizes to be had, including Blackjack, Roulette, Craps, and Texas Hold’Em. It was a great way to connect with everyone ahead of the conference starting in force.

On Wednesday, we got the day started with two great presentations!

Microsoft Fabric Essentials and Modernization Pathways
Tobin Thankachen, Lead Architect – Data Management Services

Microsoft Fabric, the all-in-one analytics solution designed to streamline your enterprise’s data movement, data science, real-time analytics, and business intelligence, has many organizations reconsidering their current data estates. Get your questions answered about what Microsoft Fabric is, how it works, and the modernization pathways available for your existing data platform and analytics investments.

Importance of PostgreSQL Vacuum Tuning to Optimize Database Performance
Suyog Pagare, Lead Database Administrator – PostgreSQL Services

In PostgreSQL, Vacuuming is a routine maintenance procedure that improves database speed and frees up space. It leads to clearing out old or deleted rows from tables and indexes, as well as refreshing query planner statistics. By deleting records that are no longer required, PostgreSQL’s vacuum operation maintains the database’s speed and space efficiency. In PostgreSQL, autovacuum is enabled by default and can be customized using a number of settings in the postgresql.conf file. There are several vacuum-related PostgreSQL options that may be customized to manage how the vacuum process functions.

After that, we rolled into an especially exciting part of the day – our in-booth book signing! JP Chen, Senior Director and Practice Leader of SQL Server Services at Datavail recently published the book “Migrating to Azure SQL: A Practical Guide for Cloud Migration Success.” We were giving away copies and JP was hard at work chatting with attendees and signing books. We also did book follow-up book signings on Thursday and Friday.

During the Welcome Reception, we had Caricature Artists working their magic on everyone who stopped by. It was fun to watch as their likenesses came to life in a delightful caricature that they could cherish forever.

On Thursday and Friday, we had two more sessions!

Migrating to Azure SQL: A Practical Guide for Cloud Migration Success
JP Chen, Senior Director and Global Practice Leader – SQL Server Services

Cloud computing has become essential for modern IT infrastructure, offering scalability, flexibility, and efficiency. This session explores the fundamentals of cloud computing and Microsoft Azure’s role as a leading provider. In this session, you’ll learn about planning and executing your migration to Azure SQL. Get a comprehensive strategy, including discovery, assessment, migration, and optimization phases. The session will compare various migration methods and tools, with practical guidance on preparing your on-premises environment for testing.

Right-Sizing Amazon RDS for SQL Server
Santosh Bhosale, Senior Database Administration – SQL Server Services

Optimizing your Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS) for SQL Server is crucial for ensuring efficient performance, scalability, and cost-effectiveness. This session will guide you through the key steps to right-size your Amazon RDS environment.

These experiences, contacts, and knowledge are what make conferences like the PASS Data Community Summit so memorable. Want to continue the conversation or chat with myself or any of the other speakers? Get in touch today.