SQLBits 2014

Monitoring Windows Azure SQL Server VMs and SQL Databases

Once you've decided to move to Azure with any of your databases, you're going to need to know how they're performing, this session shows you.

Using a virtual machine divorces you from the underlying hardware and makes understanding what is happening on your systems more difficult. Take that same situation and move it into the cloud on Azure systems and the difficult can seem almost impossible. Understanding how you can monitor performance in the Azure environment, what works, what doesn't and what's a lie, will help you to better understand how your systems are performing. You'll better be able to identify and fix bottlenecks in order to ensure necessary performance of your systems that are hosted out on the cloud. We'll cover the different methods you have for SQL Server on a VM and for Windows Azure SQL Database so that you can begin monitoring your own cloud-based systems as soon as possible.

Grant Fritchey's other proposed sessions for 2026

Intelligent Query Processing: From Insight to Impact - 2026

dbRosetta, An AI Generated Application and Database - 2026

PostgreSQL For Those Who Know SQL Server - 2026

Query Performance Enhancements in SQL Server 2025 - 2026

Grant Fritchey's previous sessions

Managing the Challenge of Monitoring Growing, Multi-platform Database Estates

Our session will present best practices and real-world examples for monitoring in multi-platform environments.

The New Database Landscape - Revealing Shifts and Charting the Next Horizon

From personal journeys between database platforms, to insights from Redgate's customer base, and findings from our 2024 State of the Database Landscape report, in this session you'll hear a variety of viewpoints about the evolving world of databases.

Fundamentals of Git

Learn the fundamentals of how to work within Git in this 20 minute session.

Efficiency up, failed releases down; compliant production data for your test and dev environments

In this session, we’ll tackle the challenges that come with getting yours hands on quality data for test, QA, and CI practices.

Benefits of Using Version Control In Database Development

Version control provides benefits beyond DevOps automation.

Yes, You Should Monitor Azure SQL Database

Learn what is necessary to keep an eye on your Azure SQL Database in order to better tune it and reduce costs.

SQL Injection: How it Works, How to Stop It

Learn what SQL Injection is and all the mechanisms you should employ to help stop it.

Learn to Read Execution Plans

Learn how to understand and read execution plans.

Environment Provisioning: The Third Age

Step back through the ages and explore how database teams have approached creating environments for dev and test. Learn how, in the new age of provisioning, databases are delivered safer, faster, and more efficiently

DevOps and Data

Learn about data management and DevOps for the modern business.

Exploring Execution Plans

Learn the details behind how to read execution plans.

Statistics, Row Counts, Execution Plans, and Query Tuning

Row counts are the primary factor for choices made by the query optimizer. This session explores how row counts affects query performance.

Faster Provisioning with SQL Clone

Find out how the new SQL Clone enables self-service easy automation of database copies, near-instant at the time of need, using a fraction of the disk space, and allowing quick reversion to a baseline.

Automating Your Database Deployments

Deploying your database changes to production can be nerve-wracking. We'll discuss methods that take the stress out of the process by ensuring that you practise your deployments using continuous integration before you ever get near production

Getting Started Reading Execution Plans

Learn where to start reading execution plans and how to interpret them in order to understand how to tune poorly performing queries.

Monitoring Windows Azure SQL Server VMs and SQL Databases

Once you've decided to move to Azure with any of your databases, you're going to need to know how they're performing, this session shows you.

Query Tuning in the Clouds

Just because you're using an Azure SQL database does not mean you can avoid tuning queries. This session will introduce you to the tools you have available to identify poor performing queries, understand, and fix them. All in the cloud.