Integration Services (SSIS) Connections

Microsoft SQL Server Integration Services packages use connections to perform different tasks and to implement Integration Services features:

• Connecting to source and destination data stores such as text, XML, Excel workbooks, and relational databases to extract and load data.

• Connecting to relational databases that contain reference data to perform exact or fuzzy lookups.

• Connecting to relational databases to run SQL statements such as SELECT, DELETE, and INSERT commands and also stored procedures.

• Connecting to SQL Server to perform maintenance and transfer tasks such as backing up databases and transferring logins.

• Writing log entries in text and XML files and SQL Server tables and package configurations to SQL Server tables.

• Connecting to SQL Server to create temporary work tables that some transformations require to do their work.

• Connecting to Analysis Services projects and databases to access data mining models, process cubes and dimensions, and run DDL code.

• Specifying existing or creating new files and folders to use with Foreach Loop enumerators and tasks.

• Connecting to message queues and to Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI), SQL Server Management Objects (SMO), Web, and mail servers.

To make these connections, Integration Services uses connection managers, as described in the next section.

Connection Managers

Integration Services uses the connection manager as a logical representation of a connection. At design time, you set the properties of a connection manager to describe the physical connection that Integration Services creates when the package runs. For example, a connection manager includes the ConnectionString property that you set at design time; at run time, a physical connection is created using the value in the connection string property.

A package can use multiple instances of a connection manager type, and you can set the properties on each instance. At run time, each instance of a connection manager type creates a connection that has different attributes.

SQL Server Integration Services provides different types of connection managers that enable packages to connect to a variety of data sources and servers:

• There are built-in connection managers that Setup installs when you install Integration Services.

• There are connection managers that are available for download from the Microsoft website.

• You can create your own custom connection manager if the existing connection managers do not meet your needs.

Built-in Connection Managers

The following table lists the connection manager types that SQL Server Integration Services provides.

Connection Managers Available for Download

The following table lists additional types of connection manager that you can download from the Microsoft website.

Custom Connection Managers

You can also write custom connection managers. For more information, see Developing a Custom Connection Manager.

Related Tasks

For details about how to add or delete a connection manager in a package, see Add, Delete, or Share a Connection Manager in a Package.

For details about how to set the properties of a connection manager in a package, see Set the Properties of a Connection Manager.

Related Content

• Video, Leverage Microsoft Attunity Connector for Oracle to enhance Package Performance, on technet.microsoft.com

• Wiki articles, SSIS Connectivity, on social.technet.microsoft.com

• Blog entry, Connecting to MySQL from SSIS, on blogs.msdn.com.

• Technical article, Extracting and Loading SharePoint Data in SQL Server Integration Services, on msdn.microsoft.com.

• Technical article, You get "DTS_E_CANNOTACQUIRECONNECTIONFROMCONNECTIONMANAGER" error message when using Oracle connection manager in SSIS, on support.microsoft.com.