Author:Andy Leonard

I’m excited that PASS included Biml in the Summit 2015 this year. It’s the first year for this topic, at least officially. Unofficially, Biml topics have been presented the past couple years. The technology is maturing and receiving the exposure it so richly deserves. I’m honored be presenting Use Biml to Automate SSIS Design Patterns …
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One neat feature of SSIS Catalog Compare is the Catalog Browser. It’s a TreeView control that connects to the SSIS Catalog and displays handy information for Data Integration Administrators and Release Configurations people working in a DevOps enterprise. The Integration Services Catalogs node in SQL Server Management Studio’s (SSMS) Object Explorer provides this view of …
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It’s time to deploy that SSIS project from Development to Test, or from User Acceptance Testing to Production. Maybe it’s the very first time you’re deploying this project, maybe it’s the deployment of an upgrade or bug fix. Maybe you’re part of a team of data integration developers and you’re not sure if another team …
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The BimlScript.com website has been redesigned and relaunched by the good people at Varigence! The new site includes learning paths and tests. It’s almost as awesome as Biml. Go check it out today! :{> Bonus – check out the new BimlScript commercial!

My technology career began as a curiosity in 1975. I was 11 years old and living next door to an elderly couple. Their son returned from an engineering career in the Air Force and began tinkering with a microprocessor kit. I was curious and he taught me Motorola 6800 machine language. After that, 40 years …
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SQL Server 2016 introduces temporal tables, an interesting and “data warehouse-y” addition to the relational database. So how do temporal tables work? They add a couple columns to a table that are used to track the date a row is inserted or last updated, based on the primary key. Suppose you have a row that …
Continue reading SQL Server 2016 Temporal Tables and Type II Data Warehouse Dimensions

I am honored to present two sessions at SQL Saturday #431 in Spartanburg, SC on 26 Sep 2015! I will be delivering: Designing an SSIS Framework in 2015 Using Biml as an SSIS Design Patterns Engine SQL Saturday #431 also features two stellar precons: Transforming and Visualizing Data with Power BI by Patrick LeBlanc and …
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Opinions change, and they should change as more and better evidence surfaces. There are words for this: “learning” and “growing” are but two of them. Communication plays a key role in changing opinions. I’ve been studying communication recently and I’ve decided it’s a miracle anyone is ever able to communicate with anyone else. There are …
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I remind my children who live at home – the "junior engineers" – to deal with the things they have in their hands while they have them in their hands. Why? Because it’s inefficient to put something down only to pick it up later and put it where it belongs. Like all rules, there are …
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I am honored to present SSIS 2014 Data Flow Tuning Tips and Tricks to the Triad PASS BI chapter in Winston-Salem 25 Aug 2015. Do you want SSIS to go fast? This session is for you! Attend and learn techniques for developing, instrumenting, monitoring, and managing SSIS 2014 Data Flow performance in your data integration …
Continue reading Presenting SSIS 2014 Data Flow Tuning Tips and Tricks at Triad PASS BI 25 Aug 2015!