Changing the way Connections are surfaced and managed was a major focus of SSIS Catalog Compare version 3. The changes were first shared as part of SSIS Catalog Browser – a free utility from DILM Suite for viewing the contents of an SSIS Catalog – because building the surfacing mechanisms for the SSIS Catalog was the easiest part of the job (i.e., scripting is hard!). For this reason, SSIS Catalog Browser will almost always be ahead of SSIS Catalog Compare in surfacing functionality.

Connections Virtual Folders

SSIS Catalog Compare now surfaces Connections virtual folders at the Project and Package level:

Expanded, the Connection virtual folders respectively contain nodes that represent SSIS Project and Package connections:

Each connection node, in turn, surfaces Connection properties:

Different connection manager providers surface different property collections. But the SSIS Catalog treats connection manager properties exactly like parameters. Don’t believe me? Query the SSISDB.catalog.object_parameters view:

As shown in the screenshot above (click to enlarge), Project parameters shown at the top of the results with object_type 20 include Project-level parameters and project connection manager properties. The same can be seen for Package parameters and connection manager properties with object_type 30, found lower in the results. Connection manager properties are stored in the SSIS Catalog in the same location as parameters (the internal.object_parameters table).

Connection manager properties are identified with the prefix “CM.”

SSIS Catalog Compare surfaces connection manager properties apart from parameters to surface a more-accurate visualization of the SSIS Catalog.