On occasion I have the privilege and honor of delivering a full-day precon titled Intelligent Data Integration: SSIS Design Patterns and Biml as part of SQL Saturday events.
“Isn’t This The Same Presentation You Delivered Before, Andy?”
Yes and no. It has the same title but…
I’ve focused on Biml presentations for the past two years. Over the past eighteen months I’ve built the DILM Suite. These facts intersect: My goal is to facilitate DevOps and Continuous Integration (CI) with SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS) and Biml plays an important role; namely, automated SSIS code generation. The DILM Suite development work has impacted my webinars and presentations – especially this precon. I delivered SSIS Design Patterns and Biml: A Day of Intelligent Data Integration once before, over a year ago in Atlanta. Since then I’ve delivered modules of that presentation in Enterprise Data & Analytics webinars. With each delivery the DILM Suite development work has informed and inspired changes to the content of the modules; the content has evolved and the 15 Jun delivery will be different.
This evolution-of-content has happened to many of my Biml presentations. In some cases the updates are such that today’s version of the presentation is a radical departure from the first delivery. Why? I’m constantly learning. Writing the DILM Suite has intensified my learning. As I’ve shepherded this vision and watched it come to fruition, I’ve discovered new possibilities and more use cases.
“Mini-Cycles”
I catch a glimpse of what’s possible and develop until it’s reality. As I develop, the glimpse becomes more defined and I add and refine features in response. This “mini-cycle” continues until I reach a good stopping point with a solution, product, or utility. By then I’ve caught a glimpse of a solution to another problem and begin developing a different solution… and the mini-cycle repeats for this other solution, product, or utility.
With DILM Suite, I catch a glimpse of a Euler diagram (I think visually, in graphs) showing how two or more of the solutions, products, and utilities work together to facilitate more complex DevOps and SSIS CI scenarios. This started in early 2016 around the time I began releasing a handful of free utilities. There will be more free utilities but the list of free DILM Suite stuff at the time of this writing is:
The blog post titled An Example of Data Integration Lifecycle Management with SSIS, Part 4 provides a glimpse of how one might use four of these free tools together (everything except the Biml Express Metadata Framework – which hadn’t been released at that time). Today, at the time of this writing, that glimpse is my latest “pinnacle.” The Euler’s in my mind, though, are already two pinnacles beyond that – and working on a 3rd. It’s likely the 15 Jun delivery of the Intelligent Data Integration: SSIS Design Patterns and Biml precon will contain material beyond these five free tools.
The delivery after 15 Jun will likely contain still more material. I’m continuously integrating my Continuous Integration and DevOps-for-SSIS thoughts, and then building tools and designing best practices and patterns to support the latest version of my vision.
I don’t expect to stop.
Ever.
“Is the Intelligent Data Integration: SSIS Design Patterns and Biml Precon Just One Big Commercial for the DILM Suite, Andy?”
Goodness no.
In the first part I’m going to share everything I know about using what’s-in-the-box to deliver enterprise-class data integration with SSIS – some of which Kent Bradshaw and I covered in the 3-part webinar series titled SSIS Academy: Using the SSIS Catalog (we stayed “in the box” for these three webinars). In the second part I’ll point out some gaps in the OOTB solutions and demonstrate some ways to close them. Examples of some (not all) solutions are free DILM Suite tools.
Conclusion
I hope to see you at a SQL Saturday soon! If you’re interested in learning more about DevOps and Data Integration Lifecycle Management, I also hope to see you at the next Intelligent Data Integration: SSIS Design Patterns and Biml precon.
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You might enjoy engaging Enterprise Data & Analytics consultants because we like helping teams do more with SSIS.
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Learn More:
Expert SSIS Training Online with Brent Ozar Unlimited!
IESSIS1: Immersion Event on Learning SQL Server Integration Services – 2-6 Oct 2017, Chicago
What is the DILM Suite? 2. SSIS Catalog Compare
What is the DILM Suite? 1. SSIS Framework Community Edition
Adding an SSIS Application to SSIS Framework Community Edition
Schedule an SSIS Application with SSIS Framework Community Edition
The Heart of SSIS Framework Community Edition-Parent.dtsx
SSIS Framework Community Edition Updates
My Latest Book – Building Custom Tasks for SQL Server Integration Services – Is Now Available!
Enterprise SSIS, Biml, and DILM (recording)
Designing an SSIS Framework (recording)
Biml in the Enterprise Data Integration Lifecycle (recording) Password: BimlRocks
