All About Data Retention: Tactics for optimizing computing resources
Topic: All About Data Retention: Tactics for optimizing computing resources Abstract: How long should data be kept for? How should it be handled as it moves from actively used hot data to seldom used cool data? What tactics can be used to optimize computing resources when handling data of different types, from different systems, and of different ages. Retention is a seldom-discussed topic, but one that can be used to reduce cloud hosting bills, improve performance, improve predictability, and ensure that an application remains in compliance with legal and contractual obligations, This session dives into data retention from all angles and provides a wide variety of tactics for creating retention policies and implementing technical solutions. Speaker: Edward Pollack, Data Architect & Microsoft Data Platform MVP Speaker Profile: Ed Pollack is a Microsoft Data Platform MVP with a passion for learning how Data Platforms work and sharing that knowledge with the community. His experiences in data architecture, database design, performance optimization, and data security are motivation for public speaking, writing, coding, and other community activities. Ed has spoken at SQL Saturday events, SQL Bits, PASS Summit, EightKB, and many other regional and international events. Ed is the organizer of the Capital Area SQL Server Group and SQL Saturday Albany, as well as a co-organizer of SQL Saturday New York City, and Future Data Driven. He has published a number of books, including "Dynamic SQL: Applications, Performance, and Security in Microsoft SQL Server", "Expert Performance Indexing in Azure SQL and SQL Server 2022", and "Analytics Optimization with Columnstore Indexes in Microsoft SQL Server: Optimizing OLAP Workloads". Ed is also an active contributor of content to SimpleTalk. In his free time, Ed enjoys video games, traveling, cooking exceptionally spicy foods, and hanging out with his amazing wife and sons.Maximize SQL Server Performance with Read Committed Snapshot Isolation
Data Engineers in Toronto May 2026 Semimonthly Meeting Topic: Maximize SQL Server Performance with Read Committed Snapshot Isolation Abstract: Are your read operations frequently blocked by write operations? Do you want to retrieve data without relying on NOLOCK? Then it's time to switch to Read Committed Snapshot Isolation (RCSI). In this session, I’ll explain what RCSI is, how it works, and how it differs from the default Read Committed Isolation level. I’ll demonstrate how version store comes into play with this isolation level and when it can overwhelm TempDB if not managed properly. Finally, I’ll discuss how to manage the implications of enabling RCSI. By the end of this session, you'll have a clear understanding of RCSI and when to implement it in your environment for improved concurrency and performance. Speaker: Haripriya Naidu, Lead SQL Server Database Administrator Speaker Profile: Haripriya Naidu has been working as a SQL Server Database Administrator for 11 years in Boston, MA. She is passionate about databases and enjoys diving into SQL Server engine internals and optimizing performance. She is an AWS Certified Solutions Associate and won "Rookie of the Year" Award at work in 2024 for outstanding performance and "Bookworm of the Year" Award at work in 2025 for continuously learning and sharing knowledge with the team. She recently started her speaking journey with New Stars of Data and spoke at SQL Saturdays Boston, Albany and San Diego and PASS Summit 2024. The meeting is over Microsoft Teams, and the joining link is https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_NzZkYWIyOTAtODk1MC00MjVmLWJlNjUtNTRiODZmODA2Zjdh%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%22bd9727e8-f539-4c76-983c-6c30130c0bee%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%229e8d5a64-e773-4ca2-90f6-9a266129171e%22%7d See you at the meeting!Building Scalable SCD Type 2 Pipelines in MS Fabric DW Using T-SQL
Data Engineers in Toronto June 2026 Semimonthly Meeting Topic: Building Scalable SCD Type 2 Pipelines in MS Fabric DW Using T-SQL Abstract: Implementing Slowly Changing Dimension (Type 2) at scale is critical for maintaining historical accuracy in analytics, but doing so efficiently across billions of rows in Microsoft Fabric Data Warehouse requires leveraging its modern ingestion and optimization capabilities. In this session, we’ll build a Fabric-optimized SCD Type 2 pipeline using pure T-SQL patterns. We’ll start by comparing ingestion strategies like OPENROWSET for schema-on-read exploration and COPY INTO for high-throughput, parallelized loading—and explain why COPY INTO is the preferred method for large-scale ingestion in Fabric Warehouses. Next, we’ll implement incremental load logic without MERGE (since Fabric does not currently support the MERGE statement) by using UPDATE + INSERT patterns combined with hash-based change detection and filtered indexes for current-row lookups. We’ll also cover performance accelerators like batching, minimal logging, and distribution strategies to maximize query performance. Finally, we’ll demonstrate a full end-to-end pipeline: - Discover external Parquet/CSV files with OPENROWSET - Ingest into Fabric Warehouse using COPY INTO - Apply SCD Type 2 logic using merge-like T-SQL patterns for historical tracking You’ll leave with a production-ready template and a Fabric-specific performance playbook for handling incremental loads at scale with minimal friction. Speaker: Jean Joseph, Principal Data & AI Engineer Tech-Insight-Group LLC Speaker Profile: Jean Joseph is a seasoned consultant and senior technical trainer specializing in data engineering and artificial intelligence. With a strong background in database design, administration, and cutting-edge data technologies including machine learning and generative AI. He helps organizations build secure, scalable solutions across both legacy systems and modern cloud platforms. Formerly recognized as a Microsoft MVP and senior technical trainer at Microsoft, Jean brings deep technical insight and a passion for teaching. He’s also a dynamic speaker, mentor, and the founder of the Cloud Data Driven User Group and the Future Data Driven Summit, where he champions innovation and promotes responsible use of emerging tech within the data community. The meeting is over Microsoft Teams, and the joining link is https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_NzZkYWIyOTAtODk1MC00MjVmLWJlNjUtNTRiODZmODA2Zjdh%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%22bd9727e8-f539-4c76-983c-6c30130c0bee%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%229e8d5a64-e773-4ca2-90f6-9a266129171e%22%7d See you at the meeting!Stop Guessing: Solve SQL Performance Problems with Query Store
Data Engineers in Toronto July 2026 Semimonthly Meeting Topic: Stop Guessing: Solve SQL Performance Problems with Query Store Abstract: When query performance suddenly changes, finding the root cause isn't always easy. Execution plans can change over time, and the plan cache often provides only a limited view of what happened. Query Store helps by capturing query history, execution plans, and runtime statistics, giving you the visibility needed to identify regressions, compare plans, and maintain consistent performance. In this session, you'll learn how to use Query Store to monitor query behavior, investigate performance issues, manage execution plans, and leverage built-in tuning capabilities in SQL Server and Azure SQL Database. Key topics: Query Store fundamentals Query and plan history analysis Performance regression detection Query Store reports and insights Plan forcing and plan management Automatic tuning and best practices Through live demos, you'll see how Query Store makes performance troubleshooting faster, simpler, and more reliable. Speaker: Deepthi Goguri, SQL Database Administrator Speaker Profile: Deepthi is a SQL Server Database Administrator with several years of experience in Administering SQL Servers. She is a Microsoft Data Platform MVP, Microsoft certified trainer and Microsoft certified professional with an Associate and Expert level Certification in Data Management and Analytics. Deepthi blogs for DBANuggets.com. Deepthi is a Co-Organizer for Microsoft Data and AI South Florida user group, Data TGIF, Cloud Data Driven User Group, Future Data Driven Summit, Databash Conference and Data Platform Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Virtual Group. She is also DEI Steering Committee member for PASS Data Community Summit. She is a Redgate Community Ambassador. Along with this, Deepthi loves arts and crafts. You can contact her on Twitter @dbanuggets.
