SQL Server Integration Services : The Package Execution Utility (part 1)

c:> dtexec /? > dtexec.txt

You will quickly see all the main options and how similar this is to dtsrun (in SQL Server 2000). Some dtsrun command-line options have direct dtexec equivalents, such as the options for providing a server name or package name or for setting the value of a variable. Other dtsrun command-line options don’t have direct dtexecdtexec command-line options support features in SSIS, such as the options to pass in connection strings and manage checkpoints. equivalents. In addition, some

You can create new command-line dtexec executions visually with the assistance of the Package Execution utility, which you open through dtexecui. This GUI displays all the available options and ensures the use of the correct syntax (see Figure 1). You start it up from the command prompt:

c:> dtexecui

Figure 1. The user interface for executing and configuring SSIS packages.

Using this Package Execution utility is really the best way to create new command-line executions for SSIS packages and to run them easily. Figure 2 shows the Package Execution Progress console during a package execution. You can choose to stop the execution from here.

Figure 2. The Package Execution Progress console in the Execute Package utility.

When you double-click any filesystem-stored SSIS package (that is, .dtsx file), you are always placed in this dtexecui environment (just as you automatically start up Microsoft Word when you double-click a Word document).

The dtexec Utility

You use the dtexec command-line utility to configure and execute SSIS packages. The dtexec utility provides access to all the package configuration and execution features, such as connections, properties, variables, logging, and progress indicators. The dtexec utility lets you load packages from three sources:

• A Microsoft SQL Server database

• The SSIS service (package store)

• The filesystem itself

The dtexec utility proceeds through four phases as it executes:

When a package runs, dtexec can return an exit code. The exit code is used to populate the ERRORLEVEL variable—the value of which can then be tested in conditional statements or branching logic within an operating system batch file. The dtexec utility can set the following exit code values: