I love working with technology that makes databases go faster.
I help companies like StackOverflow and AllRecipes go fast. I really enjoy helping developers push SQL Server to its limits, and then figure out how to make it go even faster. Doing that requires coordination between programmers, sysadmins, SAN administrators, and project managers. It takes one guy who speaks all of those languages, and does it with tact and diplomacy to avoid throwing people under the bus. That’s what I do.
I’ve walked in your shoes. I know what it’s like to see a bunch of people pointing fingers at the database, the SAN, the hardware, the code, and nobody really having good proof. I’ve got over a decade of experience with these niche technologies. I’ve got a solid track record of finding the real underlying problem, explaining it in fun, easy-to-understand ways, and bringing the entire team together to deliver the solution. I know you don’t have weeks to play politics, and I help you get it done in a matter of hours.
I’ve been telecommuting and blogging for over a decade. I currently live in Chicago, Illinois with my girlfriend Erika and our adorable dog Ernie. You can find my status updates on Twitter, my photos on Flickr, and my bookmarks on Delicious.
My Specialties
I’ve worked with a lot of technologies, but I focus most of my work on these:
- Microsoft SQL Server – especially performance tuning
- VMware ESX/vSphere virtualization
- Storage and Storage Area Networks (SANs) including EMC, Fusion-IO, HP, IBM, NetApp
- Server hardware including Dell, HP, IBM, both blades and rack-mount servers
I’ve spoken at conferences around the world including the PASS Summit, SQLBits, Connections, TechEd, and more. My sessions have won awards for best-in-show and high attendee feedback scores, and I pride myself on the quality of my presentations.
My Background
I spent two years as a SQL Server expert for Quest Software, during which I became the fifth person in the US to become a Microsoft Certified Master on SQL Server 2008 (outside of Microsoft employees). Prior to Quest, I spent two years managing databases, storage area networks (SANs), and virtualization for Southern Wine & Spirits, a multi-billion-dollar distribution company in South Florida. As a DBA in Hurricane Alley, I didn’t just have to ensure that my databases ran fast – I also had to make sure we handled disaster recovery through several hurricanes and week-long power outages.
I coauthored the book Professional SQL Server 2008 Internals and Troubleshooting. The book is designed to give you everything you need to troubleshoot Microsoft SQL Server, start to finish – storage, memory, error logs, you name it – inside a single thick book.
For more detail on my sordid past, you can read my resume.
Contacting Me for Questions
If you’re running into SQL Server problems with performance, high availability, disaster recovery, or if you’re just not sure what the problem is, I can help. I offer a simple 3-day SQL Server health check-up where I work remotely with you to find your current bottlenecks, find better configurations, and tell you how to make things faster and more reliable. When you fill out this form, I’ll usually ask you a few followup questions to make sure we’re a good fit for each other, and then schedule a free 30-minute call to figure out the next steps.
