SSIS New and Enhanced Features from SQL Server 2005 to SQL Server 2016

1.            SQL Server 2005

                I.          Integration Services Development Enhancements

1)     New Integration Services Architecture from DTS to SSIS by two distinct engines: run-time engine and data-flow engine

The previous architecture of SQL Server Data Transformation Services (DTS) combined data transformation, tasks, and package control flow into a single component. This made the creation of complex packages difficult. In SQL Server 2005, the Integration Services architecture separates data flow from control flow by introducing two distinct engines—the Integration Services run-time engine and the Integration Services data flow engine. This separation provides better control of package execution, increases the visibility of data transformations, and enhances the extensibility of Integration Services by simplifying the creation and implementation of custom tasks and transformations.

For more information, see Integration Services Architecture.

a)    Integration Services Run-Time Engine

The Integration Services run-time engine stores package layout, executes packages, controls workflow between tasks, and provides run-time services such as debugging, logging, event handling, and management of connections, variables, and transactions.

For more information, see Control Flow Elements.

b)    Integration Services Data Flow Engine

The Integration Services data flow engine satisfies the needs of enterprises whose extraction, transformation, and loading (ETL) processes require fast, flexible, extensible, and dependable data movement. It is optimized for high-performance data movement and transformation.

The data flow engine supports multiple sources, multiple transformations, and multiple destinations in one fast, flexible data flow. Integration Services includes more than 25 transformations and more than 10 sources and destinations for use in data flows. The Data Flow task, which represents the Integration Services data flow engine graphically in SSIS Designer, replaces various DTS data-oriented tasks, such as the Data Transformation task and the Data Driven Query task.

 

2)     Extensible Object Model – integrated with .NET framework

In addition to the separation of data flow and control flow, the entire underlying Integration Services object model has been reengineered with extensibility in mind. A powerful integrated development environment (IDE) is combined with support for the Microsoft .NET Framework to accelerate the creation of powerful custom Integration Services tasks, transformations, and data adapters.

 

The custom extensions that can be developed include tasks, log providers, enumerators, connection managers, and data flow components. These custom objects can be integrated into the user interface of Business Intelligence Development Studio.

 

The Integration Services run-time API and data flow API let developers extend and customize almost every aspect of the object model. New or existing Integration Services packages can be loaded, modified, and executed programmatically, giving developers the ability to fully automate package maintenance and execution.

 

For more information, see Integration Services Programming.

For some examples of custom Integration Services development projects, see Programming Samples.

 

3)     New Integration Services Designer – New features for design

The new SSIS Designer provides an integrated developer experience for designing, creating, testing, and debugging Integration Services packages. The user interface of SSIS Designer lets you build and configure packages by using drag-and-drop methods and by selecting options in dialog boxes for each package object.

 

SSIS Designer includes these features:

  • Separate design surfaces for package control flow, data flow, and event handlers.
  • A hierarchical view of package content in Solution Explorer.
  • Containers that can be expanded and collapsed for grouping related tasks, allowing easier viewing, organization, and management of package layout.
  • Annotations that make package control flow, data flows, and event handlers self-documenting.
  • A connections area for adding connection managers to packages and for referencing data source objects.
  • Dialog boxes for adding custom variables, configuring logging, creating configurations, and signing packages with digital signatures.
  • Debugging tools that provide the ability to set breakpoints on packages, containers, and task events, and data viewers for watching data as it moves through the data flow.
  • A progress window that lists the start time of a package and its tasks, their execution state, and any warnings and error messages.
  • A graphical representation of package execution including the progress, precedence, and execution outcome of individual tasks, containers, and data flow components.

4)     New Development Environment - BIDS

SQL Server 2005 introduces Business Intelligence Development Studio for building data transformation solutions, and SQL Server Management Studio for managing Integration Services packages. Business Intelligence Development Studio hosts SSIS Designer, the graphical tool for creating Integration Services packages, and provides all the powerful features of the Microsoft Visual Studio development environment to the Integration Services package developer.

 

Business Intelligence Development Studio integrates seamlessly with the Visual Studio for Applications (VSA) environment, in which the developer writes scripts for the Script task and the Script component. When debugging a package that includes both breakpoints on package events that you set in SSIS Designer, and breakpoints on lines of script code in a Script task that you set in VSA, the package can run to and from breakpoints in the package and the script.

 

5)     Enhanced SQL Server Import and Export Wizard

The redesign of the SQL Server Import and Export Wizard puts the focus on copying data. This wizard is the simplest way to quickly create Integration Services packages that copy data between two data stores.

 

The SQL Server Import and Export Wizard includes many new features, including better support for data in flat files and real-time preview of data. Saved packages created by using the SQL Server Import and Export Wizard can be opened in Business Intelligence Development Studio and extended by using SSIS Designer.

 

6)     New Workflow Features

Many new workflow features, including containers for looping, event handlers, and enhanced precedence constraints, give the package developer more precise control over package execution.

 

Workflow containers provide structure to packages and services to tasks. They support repeating control flows in packages, and they group tasks and containers into meaningful units of work. Integration Services provides the following new containers:

  • The Sequence container, for grouping tasks and other workflow structures into a unit of work that can be managed as one item. For more information, seeSequence Container.
  • The For Loop container, for grouping tasks and other workflow structures into a unit of work that is repeated by evaluating an expression. For more information, see For Loop Container.
  • The Foreach Loop container, for grouping tasks and other workflow structures into a unit of work that is repeated by enumerating objects. For more information, see Foreach Loop Container.

The Integration Services object model supports a nested hierarchy of containers in a package control flow. Workflow containers can also include other containers, providing support for complex package workflow.

 

7)     New Integration Services Tasks

New and enhanced tasks make it simple to build packages that solve complex business problems by using only the tasks that Integration Services provides.

a)    Workflow Tasks

Integration Services includes a number of tasks that perform workflow operations, such as executing other packages, running applications, and sending e-mail messages. Integration Services also includes these new workflow tasks:

  • The WMI Data Reader task, for querying Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) data.
  • The WMI Event Watcher task, for listening to WMI events.

b)    Data Preparation Tasks

Several other new tasks provide data preparation functionality, such as uploading, downloading, and copying files. New data preparation tasks include the following:

  • The File System task, for performing operations on files and folders in the file system.
  • The Web Service task, for accessing Web services.
  • The XML task, for working with XML documents.

c)     Business Intelligence Tasks

Integration Services now includes a number of tasks that perform business intelligence operations, such as processing analytic objects, running scripts written in the Analysis Services data definition language (DDL), and executing data mining prediction queries. Integration Services includes these new business intelligence tasks:

  • The Analysis Services Execute DDL task for running DDL scripts.
  • The Data Mining Query task for querying data mining models.

d)    Scripting Tasks

Integration Services includes two tasks that can contain scripts: the Script task, and the ActiveX Script task for legacy support. These scripts run in the package workflow to extend package functionality beyond the functionality provided by the built-in Integration Services tasks.

 

8)     New Integration Services Data Sources and Destinations

In SQL Server 2005, Integration Services packages can extract data from many additional types of data sources. To access these data sources, Integration Services provides the following new sources and destinations in addition to the SQL Server, OLE DB, and flat file sources and destinations:

  • SQL Server 2005 Compact Edition destination, for inserting and updating data into SQL Server 2005 Compact Edition databases.
  • DataReader source and destination, for consuming and providing data to any .NET Framework data provider.
  • XML source, for exacting data from XML documents.
  • Raw File source and destination, for reading and writing raw data to files.
  • Recordset destination, for creating and populating an in-memory ADODB recordset.
  • Data Mining Model Training, Data Mining Query, Partition Processing, and Dimension Processing destinations, for working with analytic objects such as mining models, cubes, and dimensions.

Integration Services also includes the Script Component for simplified development of custom sources and destinations.

 

9)     New Integration Services Data Transformations

The Integration Services data flow engine supports data flows that have multiple sources, multiple transformations, and multiple destinations. New transformations make it easy for developers to build packages that have complex data flow without writing any code. These transformations include the following:

  • Conditional Split and Multicast transformation, for distributing data rows to multiple downstream data flow components.
  • Union All, Merge, and Merge Join transformations, for combining data rows from multiple upstream data flow components.
  • Sort transformation, for sorting data and identifying duplicate data rows, and the Fuzzy Grouping transformation for identifying similar data rows.
  • Lookup and Fuzzy Lookup transformations, for extending data with values from a lookup table.
  • Term Extraction and Term Lookup transformations, for text mining applications.
  • Aggregate, Pivot, Unpivot, and Slowly Changing Dimension transformations, for common data warehousing tasks.
  • Percentage Sampling and Row Sampling transformations, for extracting a sample rowset.
  • Copy Column, Data Conversion, and Derived Column transformations, for copying and modifying column values, and the Aggregate transformation for summarizing data.
  • Pivot and Unpivot transformations, for creating normalized data rows from non-normalized data and vice versa. 

Integration Services also includes the Script Component for simplified development of custom transformations.

 

              II.          Integration Services Management Enhancements

1)     New Package Storage and Management Tools

a)    New Integration Services Service

The Integration Services service is a Microsoft Windows service that manages package storage and displays a hierarchical view of saved packages in SQL Server Management Studio. The service supports packages stored in the msdb database in an instance of SQL Server or in the file system.

For more information about the new Integration Services service, see Integration Services Service and Managing Integration Services Packages.

b)    New Package Management Utility

The dtutil command-line utility manages packages from the command prompt. You can perform tasks such as copying, deleting, moving, and signing packages that are stored in the msdb database, in an instance of SQL Server, or in the file system.

 

2)     New Package Monitoring and Troubleshooting Tools

a)     New Running Packages List

The Integration Services service displays a list of running packages in SQL Server Management Studio.

For more information, see Integration Services Service.

b)    New Package Logging Options

Integration Services includes rich logging features, including multiple logging providers, a logging schema from which you can choose the type of information to log, and a flexible logging model that supports logging configuration at the package level and the task level.

For more information, see Logging Package Execution.

c)     New Package Restart Capability

A package that fails during execution can now be restarted from a point other than the very beginning of the package. The package can now include checkpoints that let you restart the package from the failed task instead of having to rerun the whole package. By using checkpoints, a package can avoid unnecessarily repeating these lengthy operations:

  • The download and upload of large files.
  • The loading of large amounts of data, such as a bulk insert.
  • The processing of analytic objects.

When the failed package is rerun, Integration Services uses a checkpoint file to determine the location from which to restart the package.

For more information, see Using Checkpoints in Packages.

d)    New Performance Monitoring Features

Integration Services now includes a set of performance counters for monitoring the performance of the data flow engine.

3)     New Package Deployment Tools

a)    New Package Configuration Features

Configurations allow you to dynamically update the properties of package objects, and move packages from development to testing to production environments more easily. Integration Services includes the Package Configuration Wizard to assist with configuration management.

For more information, see Package Configurations.

b)    New Package Deployment Utility

Business Intelligence Development Studio includes the ability to create a deployment utility for Integration Services packages. During the process of creating the deployment utility, Business Intelligence Development Studio automatically detects and includes all package dependencies such as the package configurations, making it an ideal mechanism for deploying packages in a production environment. When you run the Integration Services package deployment utility, you can install packages to the msdb database in an instance of SQL Server 2005 or to the file system.

For more information about deployment see Deployment of Packages.

 

4)     New Package Security Features

a)    New Integration Services Roles

Administrators can manage access to Integration Services packages by using SQL Server roles for packages stored in the msdb database in an instance of SQL Server. SQL Server 2005 includes a set of preconfigured server roles for Integration Services.

For more information, see Integration Services Roles as below:

 

Windows administrators – Can Stop all currently running packages.

db_dtsadmin (db_ssisadmin in SSIS 2008+) or sysadmin– can

·        Import packages.

·        Delete own packages.

·        Delete all packages.

·        Change own package roles.

·        Change all package roles.

 

db_dtsltduser (db_ssisltduser in SSIS 2008+)

·        Import packages.

·        Delete own packages.

·        Change own package roles.

 

db_dtsoperator (db_ssisoperator in SSIS 2008+) – can Enumerate all packages. View all packages. Execute all packages. Export all packages. Execute all packages in SQL Server Agent. But None on Write

 

b)    New Package Encryption Options

Integration Services packages can be encrypted with various levels of encryption to protect sensitive data.

For more information, see Setting the Protection Level of Packages.

c)     New Digital Signatures for Packages

Integration Services packages can be digitally signed.

 

5)     Legacy Support Features

SQL Server 2005 includes a set of tools and features that support managing, editing, running, and migrating Data Transformation Service (DTS) packages from earlier versions of SQL Server. SQL Server Management Studio lists available DTS packages and provides options to modify or execute them. Integration Services also includes the Package Migration Wizard to assist in migrating DTS packages to the Integration Services format.

2.            SSIS 2008

                I.          Installation Features

1)     New Samples Location

Books Online no longer includes SQL Server sample databases and sample applications. These sample databases and sample applications are now available on the SQL Server Samples Web site. This Web site not only makes it easier for users to find these samples, but to find additional samples that are related to Microsoft SQL Server and Business Intelligence. On the SQL Server Samples Web site, you can do the following actions:

·        Browse through samples contributed by developers, users, and the Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) community.

·        Download both sample databases and code projects.

·        View or participate in a discussion area where you can report issues and ask questions about the samples for each technology area.

 

2)     Support for SQL Server 2000 Data Transformation Services (DTS)

Integration Services still supports SQL Server 2000 Data Transformation Services (DTS). For more information, see Support for Data Transformation Services (DTS) in SQL Server 2008.

 

              II.          Component Enhancements

1)     Enhanced Performance and Caching for the Lookup Transformation

Performance enhancements to the Lookup transformation include faster cache loading and more efficient lookup operations. These enhancements are possible because of the following features:

·        The ability to take rows that do not have matching entries in the reference dataset and load those rows into the cache.

·        The ability to use separate data flows to load the reference dataset into the cache and to perform lookups on the reference dataset.

The Lookup transformation now includes the following caching options:

·        The reference dataset is a cache file (.caw), and is accessed by using a Cache connection manager.

·        The reference dataset is a connected data source in the data flow, and is accessed by using a Cache connection manager and a Cache Transform transformation.

·        The reference dataset is a table, view, or query that is fully or partially cached and accessed by using an OLE DB connection manager.

·        The cache can be shared between multiple Lookup transformations in a single package and between transformations in separate packages. For more information, see How to: Implement a Lookup Transformation in Full Cache Mode Using the Cache Connection Manager.

·        You can deploy a cache file together with a package. For more information, see How to: Create and Deploy a Cache for the Lookup Transformation.

For more information, see Lookup Transformation, Cache Connection Manager, and Cache Transform.

For a video that demonstrates how to configure the Lookup Transformation, see the video home page, How to: Implement a Lookup Transformation in Full Cache Mode (SQL Server Video), in the MSDN Library.

 

2)     New ADO.NET Components – new ADO NET Source and ADO NET Destination

Integration Services now includes the following ADO.NET components:

·        An ADO NET source component that consumes data from a .NET Framework provider and makes the data available to the data flow. For more information, see ADO NET Source.

·        An ADO NET destination component that loads data into a variety of ADO.NET-compliant databases that use a database table or view. For more information, see ADO NET Destination.

 

3)     New Data Profiling Task and Data Profile Viewer

The Data Profiling task is a new task in the Integration Services toolbox. You can use this task inside an Integration Services package to profile data that is stored in SQL Server. The information provided by the profile helps you identify potential problems with data quality. The Data Profiling task provides profiles that help identify data quality problems within individual columns and with column relationships:

Profiles that help identify problems within individual columns

·        The distribution of lengths in the column values.

·        The percentage of null values.

·        The distribution of values in the column.

·        Column statistics for numeric columns.

·        Regular expressions that match string columns.

 

Profiles that help identify problems with column relationships

·        Candidate key columns.

·        Functional dependencies between columns.

·        The inclusion of the set of values in one column in the set of values in another column.

 

For more information, see Data Profiling Task and Profiling Data with the Data Profiling Task and Viewer.

For a video that demonstrates how to use the Data Profiling task, see the video home page, How to: Use the Data Profiling Task (SQL Server Video), in the MSDN Library.

 

4)     New Integration Services Connections Project Wizard – the new Import and Export Wizard

Use the Integration Services Connections Project Wizard to create a package that contains the connection information that you need to connect data sources and destinations. The wizard guides you through the steps of selecting data providers, configuring connection managers, and assigning connection managers to sources and destinations. For more information about when to use this wizard, see Creating a Package by Running a Wizard.

 

5)     New Script Environment - Visual Studio Tools for Applications (VSTA) replaces Visual Studio for Applications (VSA)

Business Intelligence Development Studio now integrates seamlessly with Microsoft Visual Studio Tools for Applications (VSTA) environment. VSTA is the development environment in which a developer writes scripts for the Script task and the Script component.

 

VSTA supports both the Microsoft Visual Basic 2008 or Microsoft Visual C# 2008 programming languages. VSTA also enables you to add managed assemblies to a script at design time by browsing to the folder location. In addition, VSTA enables you to add a Web reference in your code that enables the code to use objects and methods provided by a Web service.

For SQL Server 2005 Integration Services (SSIS) packages that include Microsoft Visual Studio for Applications (VSA) scripts, VSTA converts those scripts.

 

For more information about VSTA in Integration Services, see the following topics:

·        Script Task

·        Script Component

·        Migrating Scripts to VSTA

·        Referencing Other Assemblies in Scripting Solutions

 

6)     Package Upgrade

You can upgrade your Integration Services packages from the format that Integration Services uses in SQL Server 2005 to the format that SQL Server 2008 uses. To upgrade your SQL Server 2005 packages, do one or more of the following procedures:

·        Use the dtexec command prompt utility (dtexec.exe) that comes with SQL Server 2008 to run the SQL Server 2005 package. When you use this method to run a SQL Server 2005 package, the upgrade is temporary, and the changes that result from the upgrade cannot be saved.

·        Add the SQL Server 2005 package to an existing project or open that package in SQL Server 2008 Integration Services. Integration Services will automatically upgrade the package. However, the upgrade is temporary. To permanently upgrade the package, you must save the package changes.

·        Create or open a SQL Server 2005 Integration Services project, and then use the SSIS Package Upgrade Wizard to upgrade all the packages in the project. This upgrade process is permanent.

For more information, see Upgrading Integration Services Packages.

 

7)     Package Configurations – dtexec applies package configurations twice.

When you use the dtexec command prompt utility (dtexec.exe) to run a deployed package, Integration Services now applies package configurations twice. Integration Services applies the configuration both before and after applying the options that you specified at the dtexec command line.

For more information, see Package Configurations.

 

           III.          Data Management Enhancements

1)     Enhanced Data Type Handling in the SQL Server Import and Export Wizard

The SQL Server Import and Export Wizard now provides additional information and options related to the date type conversions that the import or export operation requires:

·        You can view data type mapping information for each table or view that you select to import or export. This information includes a visual indication of the probability that the conversions will succeed without error.

·        You can view additional detailed information for any column in the selected table or view.

·        You can accept or reject the data type conversions that the wizard will perform on a column by column basis.

·        You can specify the handling of errors and truncations on a global or a column by column basis.

For more information, see Review Data Type Mapping (SQL Server Import and Export Wizard).

2)     New Date and Time Data Types

The following new date and time data types are available in Integration Services:

·        DT_DBTIME2

·        DT_DBTIMESTAMP2

·        DT_DBTIMESTAMPOFFSET

These new Integration Services data types provide the following benefits:

·        Support for a larger scale for fractional seconds.

·        Support of user-defined precision.

·        Support for a time zone offset.

Various control flow and data flow elements support these new data types. For more information, see Control Flow Elements and Data Flow Elements.

 

You can convert the new data types to other Integration Services date data types by using expressions, the Data Conversion transformation, and the Derived Column transformation. You can also use expressions to perform comparisons between the new data types. For more information, see Integration Services Data Types and Cast (SSIS Expressions).

3)     Enhanced SQL Statements

Integration Services includes the following enhancements to Transact-SQL statements:

1.               Perform multiple data manipulation language (DML) operations - Merge   

Transact-SQL supports the use of a MERGE operation in an SQL statement. The MERGE operation enables you to express multiple INSERT, UPDATE, and DELETE operations in a single statement against a specified target table. The target table is based on join conditions with a source table. For more information, see Inserting, Updating, and Deleting Data by Using MERGE and Using MERGE in Integration Services Packages.

2.               Retrieve data about changes to a data source – Output and Insert 

The INSERT operation supports inserting rows into a target table that are returned by the OUTPUT clause of an INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE, or MERGE operation. For more information, see INSERT (Transact-SQL).

3.               Improve the performance of the bulk load operation when the data is sorted according to the clustered index on the table   

The BULK option of the OPENROWSET function supports the ORDER argument that specifies how the data in the data file is already sorted. The ORDER argument does not effect a sort operation on the text data. This argument is a hint to the SQL Server Database Engine that the data is already pre-sorted in the file. If the data is not sorted, the Database Engine returns an error.

The OPENROWSET function enables you to use OLE DB to access remote data. For more information, see OPENROWSET (Transact-SQL).

 

           IV.          Performance and Troubleshooting Enhancements

1)     Change Data Capture

Integration Services can use a new Database Engine feature called change data capture. This new feature captures insert, update, and delete activity that is applied to SQL Server tables. Change data capture also makes the details of these changes available in an easily consumed relational format.

 

For information on using change data capture in an Integration Services package to perform incremental loads, see Improving Incremental Loads with Change Data Capture. For the latest samples of how to use change data capture in Integration Services packages, see the SQL Server Samples Web site.

2)     New Debug Dump Files

You can create debug dump files (.mdmp and .tmp) that provide information about what happens when a package runs. This information can help you in troubleshooting issues that occur when you run the package.

To create the debug dump files, you use certain command prompt options with the dtexec utility and the dtutil command prompt utility (dtutil.exe). For more information, see dtexec Utility and dtutil Utility.

 

For more information about the type of information included in the debug dump file (.tmp), see Working with Debug Dump Files.

 

3.            SSIS 2008R2

ADO NET Destination Editor (Connection Manager Page) has a new option - Use bulk insert when available

This release includes a new option, Use bulk insert when available, in the ADO NET Destination Editor. This option enables you to use the System.Data.SqlClient.SqlBulkCopy interface to improve the performance of bulk insert operations.

 

4.            SSIS 2012 – Project Deployment Model, Parameter, and SSISDB Catalog

                I.          Development Enhancements

1)     Project Connection Managers

This release allows you to create connection managers at the project level that can shared by multiple packages in the project. The connection manager you create at the project level is automatically visible in the Connection Managers tab of the SSIS Designer window for all packages. For details, see Add, Delete, or Share a Connection Manager in a Package.

3)     Offline Connection Managers

Integration Services now validates all connections before validating all of the data flow components when a package is opened and sets any connections that are slow or unavailable to work offline. This helps to reduce the delay in validating the package data flow. After a package is opened, you can also turn off a connection by right-clicking the connection manager in the Connection Managers area and then clicking Work Offline. This can speed up operations in the SSIS Designer.

For more information, see Troubleshooting Tools for Package Development.

4)     Flat File Connection Manager Changes

The Flat File connection manager now supports parsing files with embedded qualifiers. The connection manager also by default always checks for row delimiters to enable the correct parsing of files with rows that are missing column fields

For more information, see Flat File Connection Manager.

5)     Parameters - to assign values to properties within packages at the time of package execution

Integration Services (SSIS) parameters allow you to assign values to properties within packages at the time of package execution. You can create project parameters at the project level and package parameters at the package level. Project parameters are used to supply any external input the project receives to one or more packages in the project. Package parameters allow you to modify package execution without having to edit and redeploy the package. For more information, see Integration Services (SSIS) Parameters.

6)     Execute Package Task and Parameters – Now two ways to pass values to a child package: package configuration and parameters!

In this release, you can configure the Execute Package task to make values available to the child package by mapping variables or parameters to child package parameters. For more information, see the Passing Values to Child Packages section of Execute Package Task.

7)     Comparing and Merging Packages - The structure of package .dtsx files has been modified to make it easier.

The structure of package .dtsx files has been modified to make it easier for you to compare packages. You can also more reliably merge packages that don’t contain conflicting changes or changes stored in binary format.

For more information, see SSIS Package Format.

8)     Undo/Redo in SSIS Designer

You can undo and redo up to 20 actions in the SSIS Designer. For a package, undo/redo is available in the Control Flow, Data Flow, Event Handlers, and Parameters tabs, and in the Variables window. For a project, undo/redo is available in the Project Parameters window.

For details, see SSIS Designer.

9)     Column Mapping- Columns are re-mapped based on their name and data type rather than by lineage ID

When an error occurs due to a column mapping problem in the data flow, such as missing columns, the error icon appears on the path or above the component if no path is connected. In addition, you can still edit the component when there is a mapping problem.

The SSIS Designer is now smarter about re-mapping columns when a new data source is connected. Columns are re-mapped based on their name and data type rather than by lineage ID.

You can more easily resolve issues with disconnected input paths and unmapped columns in an execution tree, by using the Resolve Column Reference Editor.

10)  Script Task and Script Component – can target the .NET Framework 4.5

If you create a package by using SQL Server Data Tools - Business Intelligence for Visual Studio 2012 that includes a Script task or Script component, you can configure the script project to target the .NET Framework 4.5 class library. You set the Target framework property in Microsoft Visual Studio Tools for Applications (VSTA).

 

You can install SQL Server Data Tools - Business Intelligence for Visual Studio 2012 side by side with SQL Server Data Tools (SSDT) that is included in SQL Server 2012.

 

Note: Script tasks and Script components that target the .NET Framework 4.5 class library, cannot be edited in SQL Server Data Tools (SSDT) that is included in SQL Server 2012. The workaround is to load the package in SQL Server Data Tools - Business Intelligence for Visual Studio 2012 and change the script project to target the .NET Framework 4.0 class library.

 

It is recommended that if you plan to edit the package in both SQL Server Data Tools - Business Intelligence for Visual Studio 2012 and SQL Server Data Tools (SSDT) that is included in SQL Server 2012, to configure the script project to target the .NET Framework 4.0 class library.

              II.          Data Quality

1)     DQS Cleansing Transformation – new DQS Cleansing transformation

Integration Services now includes the DQS Cleansing transformation that enables you to more easily and accurately improve the quality of data.

 

For more information about improving data quality using these components, see DQS Cleansing Transformation.

           III.          Management and Troubleshooting

1)     Server Environments

Server environments are a new concept in this release of Integration Services. You use an environment to specify runtime values for packages contained in a project you’ve deployed to the Integration Services server. These variable values are mapped to the project parameters.

For more information, see Create and Map a Server Environment and Deployment of Projects and Packages.

 

2)     SSISDB Catalog

The SSISDB catalog is the central point for working with Integration Services (SSIS) projects that you’ve deployed to the Integration Services server. For example, you set project and package parameters, configure environments to specify runtime values for packages, execute and troubleshoot packages, and manage a variety of Integration Services server operations.

 

For more information, see the following topics.

·        SSIS Catalog

·        Backup, Restore, and Move the SSIS Catalog

 

3)     Troubleshooting Performance and Data Issues

This release provides additional views, stored procedures, and stored functions to help you troubleshoot performance and data issues.

Troubleshooting Capability

Related Views, Procedures, and Functions

Get performance statistics and other information for an execution

·        catalog.executions (SSISDB Database)

·        catalog.execution_component_phases

·        catalog.executable_statistics

·        dm_execution_performance_counters (SSISDB Database)

Add, remove, and query data taps in a package data flow

·        catalog.add_data_tap

·        catalog.add_data_tap_by_guid

·        catalog.remove_data_tap

·        catalog.execution_data_taps

·        catalog.execution_data_statistics

Create a dump for a running package

catalog.create_execution_dump

Set a parameter value in an instance of an execution and view parameter values that are used by a package during an instance of execution.

·        catalog.set_execution_parameter_value (SSISDB Database)

·        catalog.execution_parameter_values (SSISDB Database)

4)     Reports for Troubleshooting Package Operations

In this release, standard reports are available in SQL Server Management Studio to help you troubleshoot Integration Services packages that have been deployed to the SSISDB catalog. These operations reports help you to view package execution status and identify the cause of execution failures.

 

For more information, see Reports for the Integration Services Server.

           IV.          Performance

1)     Reduced Memory Usage by the Merge and Merge Join Transformations

Microsoft has made the Integration Services Merge and Merge Join transformations more robust and reliable. This is achieved by reducing the risk that these components will consume excessive memory when the multiple inputs produce data at uneven rates. This improvement helps packages that use the Merge or Merge Join transformations to use memory more efficiently.

Microsoft has also provided new properties and methods for developers of custom data flow components to implement a similar solution in their own components. This improvement makes it more feasible to develop a robust custom data flow component that supports multiple inputs. For more information, see Developing Data Flow Components with Multiple Inputs.

             V.          Deployment- deploy your projects to the Integration Services server

In the current release of Integration Services, you can deploy your projects to the Integration Services server. This is the new project deployment model. The Integration Services server enables you to manage packages, run packages, and configure runtime values for packages by using environments.

 

The following topics provide information about converting projects to the project deployment model and deploying projects, and the Integration Services server.

·        Deployment of Projects and Packages

·        Deploy Projects to Integration Services Server

·        Integration Services (SSIS) Server

           VI.          Access to Samples and Tutorials

1)     Getting Started Window

The Getting Started window in the SSIS Designer provides links to samples, tutorials and videos. You can customize the window by adding links to additional content. For more information, see Integration Services User Interface.

2)     SSIS Toolbox

The SSIS Toolbox in SQL Server Data Tools (SSDT) provides links to samples and Help content for Control Flow and Data Flow items. You can add links for custom components. For more information, see Developing Custom Objects for Integration Services.

 

5.            SSIS 2014 – No Change

6.            SSIS 2016

                I.          AlwaysOn support - Add the SSISDB database (just the same as any other user database) to an AlwaysOn Availability Group

The AlwaysOn Availability Groups feature is a high-availability and disaster-recovery solution that provides an enterprise-level alternative to database mirroring. An availability group supports a failover environment for a discrete set of user databases, known as availability databases that fail over together. For more information, please see AlwaysOn Availability Groups.

 

In SQL Server 2016, SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS) introduces new capabilities that allow you to easily deploy to a centralized SSIS Catalog (i.e. SSISDB user database). In order to provide the high-availability for the SSISDB database and its contents (projects, packages, execution logs, etc.), you can add the SSISDB database (just the same as any other user database) to an AlwaysOn Availability Group. When a failover occurs, one of the secondary nodes automatically becomes the new primary node.

 

Configure SSIS support for AlwaysOn

1)      Step 1: Create Integration Services Catalog

o   Launch SQL Server Management Studio and connect to a SQL Server instance in the cluster that you want to set as the primary node of AlwaysOn high availability group for SSISDB.

o   In Object Explorer, expand the server node, right-click the Integration Services Catalogs node, and then click Create Catalog.

o   Click Enable CLR Integration. The catalog uses CLR stored procedures.

o   Click Enable automatic execution of Integration Services stored procedure at SQL Server startup to enable the catalog.startup stored procedure to run each time the SSIS server instance is restarted. The stored procedure performs maintenance of the state of operations for the SSISDB catalog. It fixes the status of any packages there were running if and when the SSIS server instance goes down.

o   Enter a password, and then click Ok. The password protects the database master key that is used for encrypting the catalog data. Save the password in a secure location. It is recommended that you also back up the database master key.

2)      Step 2: Add SSISDB to an AlwaysOn Availability Group

o   Adding the SSISDB database to an AlwaysOn Availability Group is almost same as adding any other user database into an availability group. That is:

§  In Object Explorer, connect to the server instance that hosts the primary replica.

§  Expand the AlwaysOn High Availability node and the Availability Groups node.

§  To launch the New Availability Group Wizard, select the New Availability Group Wizard command.

§  The first time you run this wizard, an Introduction page appears. To bypass this page in the future, you can click Do not show this page again. After reading this page, click Next.

§  On the Specify Availability Group Name page, enter the name of the new availability group in the Availability group name field. This name must be a valid SQL Server identifier that is unique on the WSFC failover cluster and in your domain as a whole. The maximum length for an availability group name is 128 characters.

§  On the Select Databases page, the grid lists user databases on the connected server instance that are eligible to become the availability databases. Select one or more of the listed databases to participate in the new availability group. These databases will initially be the initial primary databases.

§  On the Specify Replicas page, specify and configure one or more replicas for the new availability group.

§  …..

3)      Step 3: Enable SSIS support for AlwaysOn

o   After you create the Integration Service Catalog, right click the Integration Service Catalogs node, and clickEnable AlwaysOn Support…. You should see an Enable Support for AlwaysOn dialog box. If this menu item is disabled, confirm that you have all the prerequisites installed and click Refresh.

 

For detailed overview and step-by-step instructions for enabling AlwaysOn for SSISDB, see AlwaysOn for SSIS Catalog (SSISDB).

 

              II.          Incremental package deployment

The Incremental Package Deployment feature allows you to deploy one or more packages to an existing or new project without deploying the whole project. You can incrementally deploy packages using: Deployment Wizard, SQL Server Management Studio (uses Deployment Wizard), stored procedures, and Management Object Model (MOM) API at this time. See Deploy Packages to Integration Services Server for details.

a.     Project Upgrade

When you upgrade your SSIS projects from previous to the current version, the project-level connection managers will continue to work as usual and the package layout/annotations are retained.