Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Bible

Chapter 52

Building, Deploying, and Managing ETL Workflows in Integration Services

In This Chapter

Using New SSIS Features

Understanding Deprecated Features

Performing Basic ETL with SSIS

Constructing Control and Data Flows

Exploring the Full List of Package Elements

Understanding Deployment Models

ETL stands for Extract, Transform, and Load, and is most commonly associated with data warehousing; however, many businesses require ETL processes without ever moving into the realm of the data warehouse. For example, a call center that processes the insurance claims of hundreds of insurance companies must import each client companies' location and policy data. That data must live in both systems, and because both systems almost always have different data schemas, you must perform a constant transform process on the data to achieve proper data integrity and synchronization. Enter the ETL developer armed with SSIS.

Integration Services offers a lot of ETL bang for the buck in the world of Enterprise ETL tools. The multitude of new features offered in SSIS in SQL Server 2012 addresses many of the reported complaints about the steep learning curve and the difficulty of using configurations.

What's New in Integration Services for SQL Server 2012?

A lot. SSIS began with SQL Server 2005 as a dramatic rewrite of Data Transformation Services from SQL Server 2000. In addition to an entirely new design environment, SSIS introduced a suite of powerful functionality with the Data Flow Task, ...