Introduction to SSIS Interview Questions And Answers
SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS) is a data integration tool developed by Microsoft Corporation which is used for a broad range of data migration activities. This is a platform for data integration and workflow applications. It is proprietary commercial software provided by Microsoft that runs on the Microsoft Windows platform.
If you are looking for a job related to SSIS, you need to prepare for the 2020 SSIS interview questions. Though every SSIS interview is different and the scope of a job is also different, we can help you out with the top SSIS interview questions and answers, which will help you take the leap and succeed in your SSIS interview. Keeping this in mind, we have designed the most common SSIS interview questions and answers to help you get success in your interview.
Below is the list of 2020 SSIS Interview Questions that are asked mostly in an interview:
Part 1 – SSIS Interview Questions And Answers (Basic)
Following is the list of Basic SSIS Interview Questions that are mostly asked in an interview:
1. What is SQL Server Integration Services?
Answer:
SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS) is a platform for integrating different enterprise-level applications and transformation solutions. Integrations services will be used to provide complex business solutions that provide the delivery of business requirements easily. The different types of complex business solutions include transferring files, sending messages in response to the incoming events, data warehouse applications, data mining, data cleaning operations and updating SQL Server objects or entities. SSIS is also an Extract, Transform and Load (ETL) tool which performs data transformation operations.
SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS) is a key component of SQL Server Database Software that is used to carry out different data migration operations. SSIS has different features, such as Connections, Events handlers, tasks, variables, etc. SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS) provides programming features and extensibility options to develop customized models for transforms and tasks.
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2. What are the important components of SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS)?
Answer:
The main and important components are four things which are SSIS runtime engine, data flow pipeline engine, SSIS object model, SSIS windows service. The runtime engine provides management of the workflow of a package. The data flow pipeline engine provides the transformation of data from source to destination and also in-memory transformations.
The integration services architecture contains integration services service, which will be available in SQL Server Management Studio Software that can be used to monitor and manage the SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS) packages. The Integration Services object model contains application programming interfaces (API) that can be managed for accessing the command-line utilities, custom applications, and Integration Services tools.
The Integration Services runtime layout contains packages, runs packages, and provides support for breakpoints, configuration, connections, logging, and transactions which all of these can be saved as well. The data flow tasks will encapsulate the data flow engine. The in-memory buffers will be provided by the data flow engine, which moves data from source location to destination location.
Part 2 – SSIS Interview Questions And Answers (Advanced)
Following is the list of Advanced SSIS Interview Questions that are mostly asked in an interview:
3. What is a checkpoint in SSIS?
Answer:
A Checkpoint is used to store the failures in SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS) packages which provide a checkpoint capability to restore the failed package by terminating the failed jobs and resuming with the next ones by providing fault recovery capability. In the checkpoints header, the properties window provides the Checkpoint File Name, Check Point Usage, Save Checkpoints. The full path can be specified in Checkpoint File Name, where the package variables and completed task logs will be stored. Check Point Usage is used to restart at the point where the last task failure occurs.
To implement checkpoint behaviour, checkpoint save should be set to true. Checkpoints will be mostly used to restart the failure of SSIS packages. Checkpoints should be configured in an SSIS package. A checkpoint can be generated or enabled by using the properties configuration. The checkpoint file can be examined by checking the checkpoint element that contains the package id. Whenever an SSIS package started, SSIS searches and loads for checkpoint file and reads all the configuration or properties details.
4. What are the different flows in SSIS?
Answer:
The different flows in SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS) are Data Flow and Control Flow. The data flow task will be executed by the data flow engine, which moves or transfers the data between sources and their destinations. By adding a Data flow task into the package, control will provide the Extract, Transform and Load (ETL) tool feature. A data flow contains a minimum of one data flow component.
A typical data flow component contains extracting data from sources and transforming data to destinations that can be modified and data loading at destinations. An execution plan will be provided at the data flow engine at the time of execution. The Bulk processing feature can be utilised instead of data flow tasks to insert the bulk data into the SQL Server Database. A Control Flow provides the path for the execution of the workflow of tasks to be carried out. A looping concept is an example of the Control flow execution method.
Data Flow provides the data transformation from source destination, whereas Control flow defines the way of data flow by executing logically and the control flow operations to be carried out. Every SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS) package contains a control flow with optionally at least one data flow. The control flow elements are of three types: containers in packages that provide structures, functionality providing tasks, and precedence constraints. The integration services architecture gives the option of nesting the containers too.
5. What are the different types of transformations?
Answer:
The different types of transformations are Business Intelligence Transformations, Split and Join Transformations, Row Transformations, Row-Set Transformations, Other Transformations. Again there are many subtypes of transformations that exist for the above SSIS transformations. In addition to the above transformations, there are also custom transformations that do exist.
The transformations are the main components of the Dataflow tasks that transform the data from source feeds to destinations in the desired formats or structures as required. The main advantage of transformations is they have in memory and do not require any elaborations in the SQL scripts. There are also Synchronous and Asynchronous Transformations which are useful for concurrent transformations.
Data Conversion Transformations and Derived Columns are the Synchronous transformations where the data flows into memory buffers during the transformation process, and the same buffer reaches out. Asynchronous Transformations cause the blockage of data flow, which is two types called partially blocking transformations and fully blocking transformations. These two significant transformations in SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS).
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