I am changing the way I report updates to the SQL Server Integration Services extension for Visual Studio. Henceforth, I intend to post an update once each quarter. I can hear some of you thinking, “Why are you making this change, Andy?” That’s an excellent question. I’m glad you asked! I get distracted and forget to check for extension updates regularly.

I’ve learned that if I do not put reminders on my calendar, it’s easy for me to overlook stuff. And so:

There Are Two Integration Services Extensions

I’m not sure why the decision was made to “fork” development and maintenance of the Integration Services extension for Visual Studio 2022. Based upon experience with SSIS, Visual Studio, and the Microsoft SSIS team, I am confident there’s a very good reason. As one can glean from my appointment screenshot above, I save the links to both pages. The links are:

SSIS Pre-2022: https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=SSIS.SqlServerIntegrationServicesProjects&ssr=false#overview
SSIS 2022: https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=SSIS.MicrosoftDataToolsIntegrationServices

I am unhappy to report that I have not personally tested either update. </sadtrombone>

SSIS Pre-2022 Update

Visiting the SQL Server Integration Services Projects page reveals I’ve missed several updates since my last post on the topic (hence the reminder):

The latest update is version 4.6, released 21 Mar 2024.

New:

• IS Deployment Wizard supports Azure Active Directory… er, I mean Entra, authentication.
• Dimension and Partition Processing components are supported.

Bug fixes:

• A notification to “Repair Microsoft Visual Studio Tools for Applications 2019 via Control Panel” was added when developers encounter a failure of scripting to update. The past few updates have addressed bugs related to scripting in SSIS.
• An exception when converting to Project Deployment Model. Project Deployment Model is necessary for deployment to the SSIS Catalog, and conversion to Project Deployment Model supports backwards compatibility with SSIS projects developed using Package Deployment Model. Package Deployment Model was the only deployment model available in pre-2012 versions of SSIS. Project Deployment Model has been the default setting for new SSIS project development since SSIS 2012.

SSIS 2022 Update

The latest (at the time of this writing) at the SQL Server Integration Services Projects 2022 page:

The latest update is version 1.4, released 28 Apr 2024.

Bug fixes:

• Fixed an Cast issue related to Project Deployment Model.
• Microsoft SQL Server Compact Edition has reached end of (maintenance) life, and so its connection manager and Destination components have been retired. I remember developing a couple applications for the Compaq iPAQ that used Microsoft SQL Server Compact Edition. Rest in peace, SQLCE.

Known issues:

• Dimension Processing and Partition Procession components are not supported. Have they been deprecated? I will have to look into that.
• There’s duplication in the Project context menu. This seems like an easy fix.
• “DQS has a side-by-side issue when target SQL Server Version installed at the same machine.” If I’m reading this correctly, DQS experiences some issue when multiple versions of SQL Server are installed on the same server. I’ve never been a fan of installing multiple versions of SQL Server on the same server. I highly recommend SSIS developers not attempt to install different versions of SSIS on the same server. It’s “bad.”

Conclusion

Lots of enterprises continue to use SSIS – especially for on-premises data engineering. In a recent conversation with Enterprise Data & Analytics data engineers, we surmised SSIS may likely remain available for as long as SQL Server is supported on-premises. It’s a guess, yes; but an educated and somewhat informed guess.