Overview
SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS) is the integration and ETL (extract – transform – load) tool in the Microsoft Data Platform stack. SSIS is typically used in data warehousing scenarios, but can also be used in common data integration use cases or just to move data around. SSIS is used behind the scenes in the Maintenance Plans of SQL Server and in the Import/Export wizard.
Explanation
SSIS is a flexible tool, and it can perform all sorts of operations:
- Transferring data from a source to a destination. This is done in memory, and you can perform data manipulation tasks on the data while it is in memory, which makes SSIS one of the faster tools on the market.
- You can perform simple FTP tasks.
- SSIS can send emails to notify people.
- SSIS is capable of robust error and event handling.
- You can define a workflow with constrains to conditionally execute certain tasks.
- And if all that isn’t enough, you can always extend SSIS with .NET code.
There’s already an Integration Services tutorial here at MSSQLTips.com. However, it’s already a couple of years old and there have been plenty of changes and new features for SSIS to warrant a new tutorial. In this tutorial, we will guide you with the creation of a simple package that transfers and manipulates data between a source and a destination. We will also deploy the package to the server and investigate how you can execute and monitor the package.
We will go through a number of topics in order to create our package. The high-level outline is as follows:
- How to get Sample Data?
- Control Flow
- Reading Data
- Writing Data
- Deploying the Package
- Executing the Package
- Monitoring Execution
- Quick Performance Tips
You can use the outline on the left to browse the tutorial or use the arrows “Previous” and “Next”.
Additional Information
- You can find all SSIS tips here.
