SSIS Best Practices, Part 1

One of the topics on which I've presented quite a bit lately has been that of SQL Server Integration Services best practices. The body of knowledge on how to best use SSIS is small compared to more mature development technologies, but there is a growing number of resources out there related to SSIS best practices.

And here it is. ;-)

In any event, here is a list of links to those online resources I have found related to SSIS best practices:

• SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS) 10 Quick Best Practices from Kuldeep Chauhan (http://blogs.msdn.com/sqllive/archive/2007/05/21/sql-server-integration-services-ssis-10-quick-best-practices.aspx): This is a relatively straightforward list, and presents some "low hanging fruit" for avoiding common mistakes.
• SQL SSIS Best Practices from Roy Ashbrook (http://drowningintechnicaldebt.com/blogs/royashbrook/archive/2007/05/04/sql-ssis-best-practices.aspx): This is more of a collection of links than any truly original material, but it's still good stuff.
• Best Practices from the SQLIS.com Wiki (http://wiki.sqlis.com/default.aspx/SQLISWiki/BestPractices.html): Another short collection of links - hopefully it will grow sooner rather than later.
• SSIS Best Practices - Performance from Ashvini Sharma (http://blogs.msdn.com/ashvinis/archive/2005/09/27/474563.aspx): This one predates the release of SQL Server 2005 so it's a little dated and a little sparse, but it still covers practices that I see people overlooking today.
• SSIS: Suggested Best Practices and naming conventions from Jamie Thompson (http://blogs.conchango.com/jamiethomson/archive/2006/01/05/SSIS_3A00_-Suggested-Best-Practices-and-naming-conventions.aspx): Yes, I've saved the best for last. This is the most comprehensive list of SSIS best practices that I have found online to date. Jamie is a great voice for the SSIS community, and has obviously put a lot of thought and work into this post.

I'd also like to point out that there is a decent amount of overlap and a decent amount of contradiction between the various best practices referenced above. Not everyone agrees on what's best, and to a large extent, "best" is determined as much by the context in which you're using SSIS as it is by SSIS itself. Read all of these resources (and everything else, for that matter) with an open mind and apply their guidance with a healthy dose of pragmatism.

And although this doesn't fall into the same "lists of things to do and to not do" category as the links above, anyone who is interested in doing SSIS correctly needs to check out Microsoft's Project REAL (http://www.microsoft.com/sql/solutions/bi/projectreal.mspx) as well.

Of course, I have no intention of stopping here. (The whole "Part 1" thing in the title probably clued you in on this already, right?) At some point - hopefully today, but possibly as late as this weekend - I will be posting my own personal list of best practices, but I wanted to give credit where credit is due before doing so.