What is a breakpoint in SSIS? How is it setup? How do you disable it?
A breakpoint is a stopping point in the code. The breakpoint can give the Developer\DBA an
opportunity to review the status of the data, variables and the overall status of the SSIS package.
10 unique conditions exist for each breakpoint.
Breakpoints are setup in BIDS. In BIDS, navigate to the control flow interface. Right click on the
object where you want to set the breakpoint and select the ‘Edit Breakpoints…’ option.
Can you name 5 or more of the native SSIS connection managers?
1) OLEDB connection – Used to connect to any data source requiring an OLEDB connection (i.e.,
SQL Server 2000)
2) Flat file connection – Used to make a connection to a single file in the File System. Required for reading information from a File System flat file
3) ADO.Net connection – Uses the .Net Provider to make a connection to SQL Server 2005 or other
connection exposed through managed code (like C#) in a custom task
4) Analysis Services connection – Used to make a connection to an Analysis Services database or project. Required for the Analysis Services DDL Task and Analysis Services Processing Task
5) File connection – Used to reference a file or folder. The options are to either use or create a file or folder
6) Excel
What is the use of Bulk Insert Task in SSIS?
Bulk Insert Task is used to upload large amount of data from flat files into Sql Server. It supports only OLE DB connections for destination database.
What is the ONLY Property you need to set on TASKS in order to configure CHECKPOINTS to RESTART package from failure?
The one property you have to set on the task is FailPackageOnFailure. This must be set for each task or container that you want to be the point for a checkpoint and restart. If you do not set this property to true and the task fails, no file will be written, and the next time you invoke the package, it will start from the beginning again.
Where can we set the CHECKPOINTS, in DataFlow or ControlFlow ?
Checkpoints only happen at the Control Flow; it is not possible to checkpoint transformations or restart inside a Data Flow. The Data Flow Task can be a checkpoint, but it is treated as any other task.
Can you explain different options for dynamic configurations in SSIS?
1) XML file
2) custom variables
3) Database per environment with the variables
4) Use a centralized database with all variables
What is the use of Percentage Sampling transformation in SSIS?
Percentage Sampling transformation is generally used for data mining. This transformation builds a random sample of set of output rows by choosing specified percentage of input rows. For example if the input has 1000 rows and if I specify 10 as percentage sample then the transformation returns 10% of the RANDOM records from the input data.
What are the different types of Data flow components in SSIS?
There are 3 data flow components in SSIS.
1. Sources
2. Transformations
3. Destinations
What are the different types of data sources available in SSIS?
There are 7 types of data sources provided by SSIS: a.) Data Reader source b.) Excel source c.) Flat file source d.) OLEDB source e.) Raw file source f.) XML source g.) Script component
What is SSIS Designer?
It is a graphical tool for creating packages. It has 4 tabs: Control Flow, Data Flow, Event Handlers and Package Explorer.
What is Control Flow tab?
It is the tab in SSIS designer where various Tasks can be arranged and configured. This is the tab where we provide and control the program flow of the project.
Explain Audit Transformation ?
It allows you to add auditing information as required in auditing world specified by HIPPA and Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX). Auditing options that you can add to transformed data through this transformation are :
1. Execution of Instance GUID : ID of execution instance of the package
2. PackageID : ID of the package
3. PackageName
4. VersionID : GUID version of the package
5. Execution StartTime
6. MachineName
7. UserName
8. TaskName
9. TaskID : uniqueidentifier type of the data flow task that contains audit transformation.
Explain Character Map Transformation?
It transforms some character. It gives options whether output result will override the existing column or add to new column. If you define it as new column, specify new column name. Operations available here are:
1. Uppercase
2. Lowercase
3. Byte reversal : such as from 0x1234 to 0x4321
4. Full width
5. Half width
6. Hiragana/katakana/traditional Chinese/simplified Chinese
7. Linguistic casing
What is the use of Term Extraction transformation in SSIS?
Term Extraction transformation is used to extract nouns or noun phrases or both noun and noun phrases only from English text. It extracts terms from text in a transformation input column and then writes the terms to a transformation output column. It can be also used to find out the content of a dataset.
What is Data Viewer and what are the different types of Data Viewers in SSIS?
A Data Viewer allows viewing data at a point of time at runtime. If data viewer is placed before and after the Aggregate transform, we can see data flowing to the transformation at the runtime and how it looks like after the transformation occurred. The different types of data viewers are:
1. Grid
2. Histogram
3. Scatter Plot
4. Column Chart.
What is Ignore Failure option in SSIS?
In Ignore Failure option, the error will be ignored and the data row will be directed to continue on the next transformation. Let’s say you have some JUNK data(wrong type of data or JUNK data) flowing from source, then using this option in SSIS we can REDIRECT the junk data records to another transformation instead of FAILING the package. This helps to MOVE only valid data to destination and JUNK can be captured into separate file.
Which are the different types of Control Flow components in SSIS?
The different types of Control Flow components are: Data Flow Tasks, SQL Server Tasks, Data Preparation Tasks, Work flow Tasks, Scripting Tasks, Analysis Services Tasks, Maintenance Tasks, Containers.
What are containers? What are the different types of containers in SSIS?
Containers are objects that provide structures to packages and extra functionality to tasks. There are four types of containers in SSIS, they are: Foreach Loop Container, For Loop Container, Sequence Container and Task Host Container.
It functions as if…then…else construct. It enables send input data to a satisfied conditional branch. For example you want to split product quantity between less than 500 and greater or equal to 500. You can give the conditional a name that easily identifies its purpose. Else section will be covered in Default Output Column name.
After you configure the component, it connect to subsequent transformation/destination, when connected, it pops up dialog box to let you choose which conditional options will apply to the destination transformation/destination.
Explain Copy column Transformation?
This component simply copies a column to another new column. Just like ALIAS Column in T-Sql.
Explain Data conversion Transformation?
This component does conversion data type, similar to TSQL function CAST or CONVERT. If you wish to convery the data from one type to another then this is the best bet. But please make sure that you have COMPATABLE data in the column.
What is Data Flow tab?
This is the tab where we do all the work related to ETL job. It is the tab in SSIS Designer where we can extract data from sources, transform the data and then load them into destinations.
What is the function of control flow tab in SSIS?
On the control flow tab, the tasks including dataflow task, containers and precedence constraints that connect containers and tasks can be arranged and configured.
What is the function of Event handlers tab in SSIS?
On the Event handlers tab, workflows can be configured to respond to package events.
For example, we can configure Work Flow when ANY task Failes or Stops or Starts ..
What is the function of Package explorer tab in SSIS?
This tab provides an explorer view of the package. You can see what is happening in the package. The Package is a container at the top of the hierarchy.
What is Solution Explorer?
It is a place in SSIS Designer where all the projects, Data Sources, Data Source Views and other miscellaneous files can be viewed and accessed for modification.
How do we convert data type in SSIS?
The Data Conversion Transformation in SSIS converts the data type of an input column to a different data type.
A breakpoint is a stopping point in the code. The breakpoint can give the Developer\DBA an
opportunity to review the status of the data, variables and the overall status of the SSIS package.
10 unique conditions exist for each breakpoint.
Breakpoints are setup in BIDS. In BIDS, navigate to the control flow interface. Right click on the
object where you want to set the breakpoint and select the ‘Edit Breakpoints…’ option.
Can you name 5 or more of the native SSIS connection managers?
1) OLEDB connection – Used to connect to any data source requiring an OLEDB connection (i.e.,
SQL Server 2000)
2) Flat file connection – Used to make a connection to a single file in the File System. Required for reading information from a File System flat file
3) ADO.Net connection – Uses the .Net Provider to make a connection to SQL Server 2005 or other
connection exposed through managed code (like C#) in a custom task
4) Analysis Services connection – Used to make a connection to an Analysis Services database or project. Required for the Analysis Services DDL Task and Analysis Services Processing Task
5) File connection – Used to reference a file or folder. The options are to either use or create a file or folder
6) Excel
What is the use of Bulk Insert Task in SSIS?
Bulk Insert Task is used to upload large amount of data from flat files into Sql Server. It supports only OLE DB connections for destination database.
What is the ONLY Property you need to set on TASKS in order to configure CHECKPOINTS to RESTART package from failure?
The one property you have to set on the task is FailPackageOnFailure. This must be set for each task or container that you want to be the point for a checkpoint and restart. If you do not set this property to true and the task fails, no file will be written, and the next time you invoke the package, it will start from the beginning again.
Where can we set the CHECKPOINTS, in DataFlow or ControlFlow ?
Checkpoints only happen at the Control Flow; it is not possible to checkpoint transformations or restart inside a Data Flow. The Data Flow Task can be a checkpoint, but it is treated as any other task.
Can you explain different options for dynamic configurations in SSIS?
1) XML file
2) custom variables
3) Database per environment with the variables
4) Use a centralized database with all variables
 |
| Red Hat Frequently Asked SSIS Interview Questions Answers |
What is the use of Percentage Sampling transformation in SSIS?
Percentage Sampling transformation is generally used for data mining. This transformation builds a random sample of set of output rows by choosing specified percentage of input rows. For example if the input has 1000 rows and if I specify 10 as percentage sample then the transformation returns 10% of the RANDOM records from the input data.
What are the different types of Data flow components in SSIS?
There are 3 data flow components in SSIS.
1. Sources
2. Transformations
3. Destinations
What are the different types of data sources available in SSIS?
There are 7 types of data sources provided by SSIS: a.) Data Reader source b.) Excel source c.) Flat file source d.) OLEDB source e.) Raw file source f.) XML source g.) Script component
What is SSIS Designer?
It is a graphical tool for creating packages. It has 4 tabs: Control Flow, Data Flow, Event Handlers and Package Explorer.
What is Control Flow tab?
It is the tab in SSIS designer where various Tasks can be arranged and configured. This is the tab where we provide and control the program flow of the project.
Explain Audit Transformation ?
It allows you to add auditing information as required in auditing world specified by HIPPA and Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX). Auditing options that you can add to transformed data through this transformation are :
1. Execution of Instance GUID : ID of execution instance of the package
2. PackageID : ID of the package
3. PackageName
4. VersionID : GUID version of the package
5. Execution StartTime
6. MachineName
7. UserName
8. TaskName
9. TaskID : uniqueidentifier type of the data flow task that contains audit transformation.
Explain Character Map Transformation?
It transforms some character. It gives options whether output result will override the existing column or add to new column. If you define it as new column, specify new column name. Operations available here are:
1. Uppercase
2. Lowercase
3. Byte reversal : such as from 0x1234 to 0x4321
4. Full width
5. Half width
6. Hiragana/katakana/traditional Chinese/simplified Chinese
7. Linguistic casing
What is the use of Term Extraction transformation in SSIS?
Term Extraction transformation is used to extract nouns or noun phrases or both noun and noun phrases only from English text. It extracts terms from text in a transformation input column and then writes the terms to a transformation output column. It can be also used to find out the content of a dataset.
What is Data Viewer and what are the different types of Data Viewers in SSIS?
A Data Viewer allows viewing data at a point of time at runtime. If data viewer is placed before and after the Aggregate transform, we can see data flowing to the transformation at the runtime and how it looks like after the transformation occurred. The different types of data viewers are:
1. Grid
2. Histogram
3. Scatter Plot
4. Column Chart.
What is Ignore Failure option in SSIS?
In Ignore Failure option, the error will be ignored and the data row will be directed to continue on the next transformation. Let’s say you have some JUNK data(wrong type of data or JUNK data) flowing from source, then using this option in SSIS we can REDIRECT the junk data records to another transformation instead of FAILING the package. This helps to MOVE only valid data to destination and JUNK can be captured into separate file.
Which are the different types of Control Flow components in SSIS?
The different types of Control Flow components are: Data Flow Tasks, SQL Server Tasks, Data Preparation Tasks, Work flow Tasks, Scripting Tasks, Analysis Services Tasks, Maintenance Tasks, Containers.
What are containers? What are the different types of containers in SSIS?
Containers are objects that provide structures to packages and extra functionality to tasks. There are four types of containers in SSIS, they are: Foreach Loop Container, For Loop Container, Sequence Container and Task Host Container.
Explain Conditional split Transformation ?
It functions as if…then…else construct. It enables send input data to a satisfied conditional branch. For example you want to split product quantity between less than 500 and greater or equal to 500. You can give the conditional a name that easily identifies its purpose. Else section will be covered in Default Output Column name.
After you configure the component, it connect to subsequent transformation/destination, when connected, it pops up dialog box to let you choose which conditional options will apply to the destination transformation/destination.
Explain Copy column Transformation?
This component simply copies a column to another new column. Just like ALIAS Column in T-Sql.
Explain Data conversion Transformation?
This component does conversion data type, similar to TSQL function CAST or CONVERT. If you wish to convery the data from one type to another then this is the best bet. But please make sure that you have COMPATABLE data in the column.
What is Data Flow tab?
This is the tab where we do all the work related to ETL job. It is the tab in SSIS Designer where we can extract data from sources, transform the data and then load them into destinations.
What is the function of control flow tab in SSIS?
On the control flow tab, the tasks including dataflow task, containers and precedence constraints that connect containers and tasks can be arranged and configured.
What is the function of Event handlers tab in SSIS?
On the Event handlers tab, workflows can be configured to respond to package events.
For example, we can configure Work Flow when ANY task Failes or Stops or Starts ..
What is the function of Package explorer tab in SSIS?
This tab provides an explorer view of the package. You can see what is happening in the package. The Package is a container at the top of the hierarchy.
What is Solution Explorer?
It is a place in SSIS Designer where all the projects, Data Sources, Data Source Views and other miscellaneous files can be viewed and accessed for modification.
How do we convert data type in SSIS?
The Data Conversion Transformation in SSIS converts the data type of an input column to a different data type.