building an end-to-end SSIS (SQL Server Integration Services) data pipeline. This tutorial covers extracting data from a source, transforming it, and loading it into a destination — commonly known as ETL (Extract, Transform, Load).
End-to-End SSIS Data Pipeline Tutorial
Scenario
You want to extract customer data from a flat file (CSV), transform the data (e.g., clean and format), and load it into a SQL Server database.
Prerequisites
- SQL Server and SQL Server Data Tools (SSDT) installed (Visual Studio with SSIS project template).
- Sample source file (CSV).
- A destination SQL Server database/table to load data into.
Step 1: Create an SSIS Project
- Open Visual Studio.
- Click Create a new project.
- Select Integration Services Project, then click Next.
- Name your project (e.g., CustomerETLPipeline) and choose a location.
- Click Create.
Step 2: Create a Data Flow Task
- In Solution Explorer, open Package.dtsx.
- In the Control Flow tab, drag a Data Flow Task onto the canvas.
- Double-click the Data Flow Task to switch to the Data Flow tab.
Step 3: Add a Source (CSV File)
- In the Data Flow tab, drag a Flat File Source to the canvas.
- Double-click it to configure:
- Click New to define a flat file connection.
- Browse to your CSV file and configure the column delimiter, header row, etc.
- Click OK.
Step 4: Add Data Transformations (Optional)
Depending on your needs, drag any of the following:
- Derived Column – to create new columns or transform data.
- Data Conversion – to convert data types.
- Conditional Split – to branch data flow based on conditions.
- Lookup – to enrich data from another source.
Example:
- Drag a Derived Column transform.
- Connect it to the Flat File Source.
- Double-click it to create expressions like trimming strings, calculating fields, etc.
Step 5: Add a Destination (SQL Server)
- Drag an OLE DB Destination to the canvas.
- Connect it to your transformation or source.
- Double-click to configure:
- Click New to create a new OLE DB Connection Manager.
- Connect to your SQL Server database.
- Choose the destination table or create a new one.
- Map the input columns to destination columns.
Step 6: Execute and Test the Package
- Press F5 to execute the package.
- Monitor the progress via green/red icons.
- Check the destination table in SQL Server to ensure data is loaded.
Step 7: Deploy the Package (Optional)
To schedule or run the package outside of Visual Studio:
- Use Integration Services Catalog to deploy the package to SQL Server.
- Use SQL Server Agent to schedule execution.
Best Practices
- Use configurations or parameters for file paths and connection strings.
- Log errors using SSIS logging.
- Handle data quality issues during transformation.
- Validate data types to avoid truncation or type mismatch errors.
Would you like this tutorial turned into a downloadable PDF, or should I tailor it to a more specific use case (e.g., API source, Excel, cloud DB)?
From Blogger iPhone client
Certainly! If you want SSIS to dynamically pick a file with a specific prefix (e.g., Customer_*.csv), you’ll need to use a Script Task in the Control Flow to search for that file and store its path in a variable, which the Flat File Connection Manager will then use.
Here’s how to insert this step into your pipeline:
[Updated Step] 2.1: Dynamically Pick a File with a Certain Prefix
Goal:
Pick a file from a directory with a specific prefix (e.g., Customer_*.csv), and pass its full path to the Flat File Connection Manager.
A. Add a SSIS Variable
- Go to SSIS > Variables (or press Ctrl+K).
- Create a new variable:
-
- Name: SourceFilePath
- Data Type: String
- Value: Leave blank (to be filled dynamically)
B. Add a Script Task in Control Flow
- In the Control Flow, drag a Script Task above your Data Flow Task.
- Double-click it, and in the Script Task Editor:
-
- Click Edit Script.
- Use the following code in Main():
public void Main()
{
string folderPath = @"C:\Data\"; // Update this path
string prefix = "Customer_";
string[] files = Directory.GetFiles(folderPath, prefix + "*.csv");
if (files.Length > 0)
{
Dts.Variables["User::SourceFilePath"].Value = files[0];
Dts.TaskResult = (int)ScriptResults.Success;
}
else
{
Dts.TaskResult = (int)ScriptResults.Failure;
}
}
Certainly! If you want SSIS to dynamically pick a file with a specific prefix (e.g., Customer_*.csv), you’ll need to use a Script Task in the Control Flow to search for that file and store its path in a variable, which the Flat File Connection Manager will then use.
Here’s how to insert this step into your pipeline:
[Updated Step] 2.1: Dynamically Pick a File with a Certain Prefix
Goal:
Pick a file from a directory with a specific prefix (e.g., Customer_*.csv), and pass its full path to the Flat File Connection Manager.
A. Add a SSIS Variable
- Go to SSIS > Variables (or press Ctrl+K).
- Create a new variable:
-
- Name: SourceFilePath
- Data Type: String
- Value: Leave blank (to be filled dynamically)
B. Add a Script Task in Control Flow
- In the Control Flow, drag a Script Task above your Data Flow Task.
- Double-click it, and in the Script Task Editor:
-
- Click Edit Script.
- Use the following code in Main():
By default, the example processes only the first matching file (files[0]). If there are multiple files with the same prefix (e.g., Customer_202504.csv, Customer_202505.csv), only the first one will be processed unless you modify the pipeline to loop through all matching files.
To Process Multiple Files: Use a
Foreach Loop Container
Here’s how you can enhance your SSIS package to process all files matching a prefix:
[New Step] Use Foreach Loop to Process Multiple Matching Files
1. Add a Variable
Create a string variable:
- Name: SourceFilePath
- Scope: Package level
- Data Type: String
2. Add a Foreach Loop Container
- In the Control Flow, drag a Foreach Loop Container.
- Double-click it to configure:
-
- Collection tab:
-
- Enumerator: Foreach File Enumerator
- Folder: C:\Data\ (your folder path)
- Files: Customer_*.csv
- Check “Fully qualified” file name
- Variable Mappings tab:
-
- Map Index 0 to the User::SourceFilePath variable
3. Move the Data Flow Task Inside the Loop
Drag your Data Flow Task inside the Foreach Loop Container so it runs once per file.
4. Set the Flat File Connection to Use the Variable
- Open your Flat File Connection Manager.
- Go to Properties > Expressions.
- Set the ConnectionString property to:
@[User::SourceFilePath]
Now each time the loop iterates, SourceFilePath gets updated, and the connection manager reads the correct file.
Result
The pipeline will:
- Iterate through all files with the prefix Customer_
- Load each file using the Data Flow Task
- Process them one at a time
Would you like me to generate a visual flow diagram for this setup?