Interview With PASS Summit 2012 Speaker - Jeremiah Peschka

This is the second in a series of interviews with speakers leading up to the 2012 PASS Summit which will be held in Seattle from November 6th - 9th.  This interview is with SQL Server MVP Jeremiah Peschka.

Tell us about yourself

I've been working with SQL server for a little over a decade. I got my start in IT as a UNIX system administrator and rapidly automated myself out of a job. I knew that there was something exciting in the world of IT, so I moved between several different positions as a system administrator, developer, and finally a database developer/DBA.

Since founding Brent Ozar PLF last year, I've had the pleasure of working with Brent Ozar and Kendra Little solving interesting database problems. I also work with other databases in my free time. One of my hobbies is working on Corrugated Iron - it's a C# driver for Riak - a distributed key-value database.

Outside of SQL Server, my hobbies include going to Crossfit, hiking around the woods of Portland, interesting restaurants, and taking care of 2 cats and a dog.

Blog(s):

http://brentozar.com/ is where I currently blog, but a fair amount of content is also available at http://facility9.com/

Twitter: @peschkaj

Tell us your favorite thing about your PASS session(s)

My session comes from common mistakes that I've made while writing T-SQL. There are a lot of ways to run into terrible performance and many of them can be easily avoided. If I can save someone a lot of the pain that I went through, I'll consider this a success.

Tell us about your first time at PASS Summit

I first attended the PASS Summit four years ago and I hardly knew anyone. I met up with Brent Ozar (now my business partner) during a break in the pre-conference sessions and he introduced me to a lot of people. Throughout the week I introduced myself to as many people as I could and went to as many social events as I could find. It was tough to break out of my shell and talk to people, but the people I met were so friendly that it became easy very quickly.

What advice do you have for PASS Summit First Timers?

Meet new people. There are 3,000 attendees at the PASS Summit with many of the same interests as you - they've come to Seattle in November to learn more about SQL Server. They're also nervous about being in the same building as 3,000 other people they don't know. Just say "Hello" and start making new friends.

What are your can't-miss PASS sessions?

My interests are almost entirely in making SQL Server go faster or in getting around some of SQL Server's own limitations, so these might not fit for everyone ;)

I'm excited about Paul White's sessions (Understanding Parallel Query Execution and Query Optimizer Deep Dive). Jes Borland's “The What, Why, and How of Filegroups” is such a fun talk about a subject most DBAs take for granted. And Kendra Little's “First Responder Kit” is a must attend session if you're a production DBA - there's a lot in here that I use every day. Lynn Langit's “NoSQL for the SQL Server Professional” should be a good talk for DBAs interested in getting a handle on what's new in the world of databases. For people interested in scaling out SQL Server, I recommend Brent Ozar's “Real-Life SQL 2012 Availability Group Lessons Learned” session.

Besides sessions, what's on your must-do list at Summit?

Meet new people. That's a big thing to do.

I really enjoy coffee and one of my favorite coffee roasting companies is in Seattle, so I'll be making a trip out to pick up some coffee beans.

How can attendees become involved in the SQL Server Community and continue their learning throughout the year?

Just get involved. We aren't all writers or presenters. Some people do a fantastic job of running a local chapter, others do a great job with virtual chapters or taking on responsibilities within PASS.

If volunteering isn't your thing, there are plenty of local and virtual chapter meetings. I originally got involved with PASS by starting a local chapter. My involvement only grew from there.