Reviewing Package Elements

The SSIS Import and Export Wizard creates a package containing the necessary components to implement an end-to-end data extract, transform, and load (ETL) process. On the surface, this package is very simple because it just moves data from one location to another. Upon closer examination, you'll see that there's a little more to this process.

The QuickStartIS package contains two tasks: one that creates and prepares the destination tables and another task to perform the actual data transformation, called a data flow task. The data flow encapsulates ten different operations, which include reading data from each of the five tables, mapping the columns to the destinations, and then actually writing data to the output tables. In the next exercise, you will review the script used to create the tables and the source and destination data adapters in the data flow task, which are used to perform the data transformation.

Reviewing a Package Created Using the Import and Export Wizard

This exercise reviews the package elements created by the SSIS Import and Export Wizard.

Review the Preparation SQL Task

1. On the Control Flow tab, double-click the SQL task to display its properties.

2. Click the ellipsis button in the SQLStatement property to view the script. Your screen looks like this:

   

   This task contains a script generated by the wizard to build the tables you selected in the wizard.

3. Close the SQL Task Editor.

Review the Data Flow Task

1. Open each data flow task and review each component.

   When you double-click a data flow task, the Data Flow tab is displayed, and you can see the series of five data flows. Each box represents a data flow from a source to a destination.

   Notice that there are multiple transformations or multiple paths. Each of these pipelines can run concurrently. In the designer, you can test the package by running it directly in Debug mode.

2. When completed, close any open dialog boxes by clicking the Cancel button.