Knight's 24-Hour Trainer: Microsoft® SQL Server® 2008 Integration Services

Chapter 37. Logging Package Data

Most businesses want to keep track of the packages running on their servers. The logging options in SSIS allow you to record package information at runtime. This lesson shows you how to use those built-in logging options.

Although the logging options built into SSIS are limited, you have other ways to log information. One example is creating Execute SQL Tasks in the event handlers and passing in the system variables. However, creating and maintaining this type of logging can be time-consuming. There is also software available that creates a robust auditing framework on your packages, such as BI xPress from Pragmatic Works, Inc.

To set up logging with the built-in SSIS logging option, right-click in the Control Flow of a package and select Logging. This action opens the Configure SSIS Logs window, as shown in Figure 37-1. To log information from the package you need to place a check next to the package name in the left pane.

The drop-down menu of provider types has the available logging locations where you can save the information from the package. The options are as follows:

• Windows Event Log — The Windows Event Log option logs the data to the Windows Event Log

• Text File — The Text File option saves the information into a plain text file with the data comma separated

• XML File — The XML File option saves the data in an XML File parsed into XML nodes

• SQL Server — The SQL Server option logs the data to a table in your SQL Server. The table logged to on the ...