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You may have heard about SQLCAT, Microsoft’s prestigious SQL Server Customer Advisory Team.  SQLCAT member Burzin Patel lives here in the Bay Area and is a favorite speaker at the San Francisco SQL Server User Group.  He’s also an author of the SQL Server 2005 Administrator’s Companion.  Recently I sat down with Burzin to learn more about what those cats at SQLCAT are up to.

MG: You’re a member of the SQLCAT team.  What can you tell us about the team’s mission, and your role?

BP:  The SQL Customer Advisory Team works on some of the largest SQL Server projects across the world targeting the most challenging and innovative applications deployed on SQL Server and providing a unique value-add from a technical & project experience perspective.  We also conduct architecture and design reviews covering performance, operation, scalability and availability aspects of a deployment, and formulate case-studies/reports on the projects we work on.

Burzin Patel, SQLCAT whiz

MG:  What do you think is the most compelling reason for an organization to upgrade to SQL Server 2008?

BP:  SQL Server 2008 offers many new and improved features and functionalities which are particularly well suited for large enterprise customers.  Features like transparent data encryption, auditing, back and data compression, enhanced performance monitoring using the new Data Collector and Management Data Warehouse features make upgrading to SQL Server 2008 too compelling a proposition to pass on.  In addition, there are also a slew of new offerings in Business Intelligence.

MG:  You co-authored SQL Server 2005 Administrator’s Companion.  Are you working on another book?

BP:  Ironically, I was and was half way through my chapters for the SQL Server 2008 Administrator’s Companion book when the publisher was forced to cancel it due to the downturn in the economy.

MG:  Your main expertise revolves around SQL Server.  Do you spend much time digging into other key Microsoft technologies (.NET, SharePoint, Silverlight, etc.)?

BP:  You’re right, my main focus is certainly SQL Server, but coming from a development background I have a strong passion for application development and often spend time developing .NET apps.

MG:  What’s the most difficult technical problem you’ve ever had to solve?

BP:  I’d say the most challenging technical problem was designing and implementing an end to end benchmark test to measure the performance of an eCommerce site.  This project included starting from scratch and installing, configuring, tuning the web, apps and database servers which were scaled out across 30+ servers.  The project took more than two months to complete and by virtue of it never been done before, involved some of the most challenging design problems.

MG:  Thanks Burzin!

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Brad McGehee and me in Mountain View

On St. Paddy’s Day we were fortunate to have Microsoft MVP and well-known author Brad McGehee speak to the Silicon Valley SQL Server User Group.  Not only did Brad “the Hawaiian Irishman” wear a green shirt to the meeting at the Microsoft campus, but he left the crowd of almost 60 fans with a lot of good tips about advancing their careers.

Brad, as the Director of DBA Education for Red Gate Software, flies all around the world speaking at events such as SQL PASS, European PASS, SQL Connections, SQLTeach, SQLBits, SQL Saturdays, TechFests, and Code Camps.

Why would anyone want to become a DBA? There are at least three good reasons.

• DBAs earn more than developers, on average
• DBA jobs are expected to grow much faster than average compared to all other jobs
• According to eWeek, DBAs are the second hardest job to fill after Enterprise Architect

Click here to see Brad’s presentation “How to Become an Exceptional DBA“.

[tags]DBA, Brad McGehee, Red Gate, Microsoft MVP, database administrator[/tags]

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My blog is back in action (Ginneblog 2.0, that is).  I hope you’ll like the new look and I promise to stay in touch.

My goal is to talk to leaders in the world of technology and business about the latest trends and, most importantly, what’s working to make their businesses successful. I’ll also offer some thoughts of my own and interview experts in SQL Server, SharePoint, and Business Intelligence. Thanks for stopping by and stay tuned…

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