SSIS
includes several tools that simplify package creation, execution, and
management. These tools are available within the Visual Studio/BI
Development Studio IDE (as shown in the drop-down list in Figure 1) or integrated into other component-based tools (such as SSMS, as shown in Figure 2).
Equally as easily, you can invoke SSIS functionality (for example, the SSIS Import and Export Wizard) from within SSMS (see Figure 52.8).
Also, within SSMS, you
can organize packages; execute packages (via the Execute Package
utility); import and export packages to and from the SQL Server msdb.dtsx files); and migrate DTS packages (older SQL Server version packages). database, the SSIS package store, and the filesystem (
Following are the primary working environments for creating, managing, and deploying SSIS packages:
Import and Export Wizard—
You can use this wizard, available within Visual Studio/BI Development
Studio or from SSMS, to build packages to import, export, and transform
data or to copy database objects (see Figure 3). This is an easy way to create the basic SSIS packages that you need quickly and deploy them with great ease.
SSIS Designer—
This standard GUI is available in the Visual Studio/BI Development
Studio, as part of an SSIS project. It lets you construct/manipulate
packages containing complex workflows, multiple connections to
heterogeneous data sources, and even event-driven logic (see Figure 4).
This is the same IDE that all code development uses in the .NET
platform, making it extremely easy to start developing right away.
SSIS command-line utilities— A number of utilities are available within SSMS to aid you in running and managing SSIS packages (see Figure 5). One example is the Execute Package utility (which uses dtexec and dtutil command-line utilities). If the utility accesses a package that is stored in msdb, the command prompt may require a username and password.
SSIS Query Builder—
Query Builder provides an easy-to-use GUI for quickly developing SQL
queries, testing the queries, and embedding them into the SSIS packages
that you are developing. It is sort of like a mini SQL Query Profiler.
It is entirely point-and-click oriented. Figure 6 shows the point at which you can invoke the Query Builder as you add Execute SQL Task as part of an SSIS package to the SQL Task Editor.
Figure 7
shows the full Query Builder interface, along with a SQL statement that
is being developed that retrieves address information from the AdventureWorks2008 Person.Address table.
SSIS Expression Builder—
You can use Expression Builder to develop the simple or complex
expressions that get used by a package (the expression property of the
package configuration). These expressions are things like validating
working directories on a local machine where an SSIS package has been
deployed and other complex evaluations
that you want to have used by an SSIS package property. This graphical
tool enhances your ability to use these types of expressions for your
SSIS packages. It not only helps you develop the expressions, but also
evaluates them to make sure they are providing the proper results (much
like what Query Builder does for SQL statements). Figure 8
shows a typical expression palette of both the variables that can have
expressions defined for them and some of the functions (such as string
functions) that can be used with the expression.
Finally, after you have
created SSIS packages, you need to execute them via command-line
execution, within SQL programs, or via other .NET–supported programming
languages. You can easily do this by using the dtexec package execution utility. You manage packages by using the dtutil utility.
