Knight's Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Integration Services 24-Hour Trainer

Chapter 13

Using the Execute Process Task

When creating SSIS packages, you will sometimes find that you need to run a process or executable outside of your SSIS package. A good example of this is the need to compress or decompress files for a package before loading the data from those files into a database. There is no built-in compression task in the SSIS Toolbox. The Execute Process Task enables you to call these windows or console applications.

Errors that occur in the outside programs can be captured in the SSIS package in a variable. This variable value can be written to a log file or a table for auditing.

The Execute Process Task is shown in Figure 13-1, where the Process node is selected on the left. In this screen, you select the executable the task will call and enter any arguments you need to pass to the executable. Arguments can be thought of as parameters and are not always required by the executable. The figure has an executable set and an argument for example purposes.

You can see several other properties in the Process node of the Execute Process Task. The following list explains each of these properties.

• RequireFullFileName—Tells the task whether it needs the full path to execute the command. If the file is not found at the full path or in the PATH environment variables of the machine, the task will fail. Typically, a full path is used only if you want to explicitly identify the executable you want to run. However, if the file exists in the System32 directory, ...