Database teams have a lot to handle: keeping systems fast and reliable, managing costs, and adapting to constant changes. To help, we created a range of webinars on performance, automation, cost savings, career growth, and newer topics such as AI.
Many of these sessions focus on practical skills like database design, performance tuning, and automation. You don’t need to watch everything in order. Pick what you need:
- Improve performance: watch the performance-focused episodes and learn how to fix real issues.
- Reduce workload and alerts: focus on sessions about server setup, alerting, and automation.
- Stay current: explore content on evolving roles, cost strategies, and new technologies.
Each video is about 30–45 minutes, so you can watch one at a time or combine a few for deeper learning.
Start Here: SELECT Answers FROM DBA WHERE Users = ‘Frustrated’;
If your current reality is constant tickets and user complaints, this is the best place to start. In this session, Kevin Kline and Jeff Garbus from Soaring Eagle Data Solutions walk through practical ways to find bottlenecks and optimize queries, with a focus on what you can realistically do in a live production environment. You’ll see how to:
- identify high-impact queries and workloads
- use SolarWinds® Database Performance Analyzer (DPA) and SQL Sentry® to move from “it feels slow” to concrete evidence
- build a repeatable triage and tuning process instead of treating every incident as a one-off fire drill
If you want a single 30-minute session that frames how we approach database performance, start here.
Optimizing Database Performance – Episode 1: The Solid Foundations of Database Design
Performance problems often trace back to decisions made before anyone writes a line of SQL. This episode in the Optimizing Database Performance series focuses on getting the foundations right and shows how design decisions play out under load. Kevin breaks down:
- the design choices that drive scalability and stability, including tables, keys, and indexing strategies
- how relational databases use CPU, memory, and I/O during common workloads
- how poor design leads to locking, blocking, and deadlocks once systems move into production
This episode’s a good fit if you’re planning a new application or migration, or if you need a clear way to explain design issues to developers and architects.
Optimizing Database Performance – Episode 2: SQL Best Practices
Once the schema’s solid, SQL is the next lever. In this session, Kevin turns to how you write SELECT statements and how that affects performance. This webinar focuses on:
- structuring queries to minimize unnecessary work
- understanding how indexes and access paths shape runtime behavior
- what to look for when you review SQL from multiple teams
Use this when you want to standardize query patterns across teams or run an internal training or code-review session on SQL Server performance.
The Data Table – Misconfigured Database Servers
Many “mysterious” performance issues aren’t mysterious at all. They often start with misconfigured instances. In this episode, Kevin Kline and Michael DSpain explain why so many SQL Server® instances are deployed with unsafe or suboptimal defaults and how those choices affect day-to-day performance. They walk through:
- which default settings most often hurt performance
- why those settings keep creeping into production
- how to establish consistent, sane baselines across your estate
This session is especially useful if you own standard builds, templates, or golden images, or if you keep finding the same misconfigurations across environments.
The Data Table – From DBA to DBE
The job description for database professionals is changing. In this episode, Kevin and Michael unpack the shift from Database Administrator (DBA) to Database Engineer (DBE) and how that changes expectations for the role. Covers:
- how responsibilities are moving from reactive operations to more engineering-focused work
- which skills are becoming essential, such as automation, data movement, and partnering with DevOps and application teams
- how individuals and teams can position themselves for this evolution
Recommended if you’re planning your own career path, building a database platform or reliability team, or explaining the DBA to DBE shift to leadership.
The Data Table – PowerShell: Unveiling the Basics
Automation’s now a core competency, not a nice-to-have. In this episode, Kevin and Michael explain why PowerShell® has become the default automation tool for many DBAs and show how to get started without being a full-time developer. You’ll learn:
- why manual, click-driven workflows don’t scale
- where PowerShell fits into everyday tasks like backup checks, configuration audits, and reporting
- how to approach your first scripts so you see real value quickly
This is the right next step if you know you should automate more but haven’t yet started, or if you need approachable content to get teammates on board with scripting.
The Data Table – Leap into Savings: Unleashing Database Cost Optimization
Database performance is now directly tied to license and cloud bills. In this episode, Kevin connects the dots between tuning decisions and spend. This webinar digs into:
- where SQL Server licensing costs commonly spiral
- how to avoid over-provisioning on-premises and in the cloud
- how tuning and right-sizing can turn into measurable savings
Watch this when you’re being asked to reduce spend without sacrificing performance or when you need to turn technical decisions into clear budget impact for stakeholders.
The Data Table – Pull the Plug on Pager Duty: Regain Your Nights and Weekends
On-call load and alert fatigue are major drivers of burnout. This episode tackles that reality directly, with a focus on making on-call sustainable without lowering the bar on reliability. Kevin talks through:
- why traditional on-call models generate so much unnecessary noise
- how better alert design, change control, and anomaly detection reduce night and weekend pages
- practical steps you can take to reclaim time without increasing risk
It pairs well with work you’re doing around observability, smarter alerting, or AI-assisted incident response.
The Data Table – Unlocking Gen AI in the Analytics for Optimal D&A Performance
Finally, this episode looks ahead to how generative AI may affect analytics and data platforms. Kevin explains why Gen AI tools are getting so much attention but aren’t yet deeply embedded in most data and analytics workflows. Here Kevin focuses on:
- realistic use cases for database and analytics teams today
- where Gen AI can augment, not replace, existing workflows
- how to tell the difference between valuable experimentation and hype
This is a very useful watch if you’re fielding questions about what you’re doing with AI or trying to separate practical opportunities from noise.
More ways to learn: High-Performance DBA and product updates
Beyond these, you can deepen your skills and stay current on what’s new:
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High-Performance DBA webinars
Focused sessions on burnout reduction, better observability, and practical tuning for storage, memory, and CPU. New episodes are scheduled regularly and promoted alongside other database events.
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Quarterly database product updates
Release recaps, a forward look at our database products, live demos of key features in real troubleshooting scenarios, and guidance on using in-app guides and THWACK to influence future work.
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