Interpreting SSIS Execution Reports
Understanding Execution Results
SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS) provides detailed execution reports that are crucial for monitoring package performance, troubleshooting errors, and ensuring data integrity. These reports offer insights into every stage of a package's lifecycle, from start to finish.
When an SSIS package runs, it generates an execution result that can be one of the following:
- Success: The package completed all its tasks without errors.
- Failure: The package encountered an unrecoverable error and stopped execution.
- Canceled: The user or a system process explicitly stopped the package.
- Pending: The package is waiting to start execution.
Key Components of an Execution Report
SSIS execution reports typically include information about:
- Package Name: The name of the SSIS package that was executed.
- Start Time: The date and time when the package execution began.
- End Time: The date and time when the package execution concluded.
- Duration: The total time taken for the package to execute.
- Status: The overall result of the execution (Success, Failure, etc.).
- Error Messages: Detailed descriptions of any errors encountered during execution.
- Warnings: Notifications of non-critical issues that may require attention.
- Event Logs: A chronological record of significant events that occurred during execution.
- Task Results: The status and performance of individual tasks within the package.
Example: Task Results
The execution report breaks down the performance of each task within your package. This is invaluable for pinpointing bottlenecks.
| Task Name | Type | Status | Start Time | End Time | Duration | Rows Read/Written |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Load Customer Data | Data Flow Task | Success | 2023-10-27 10:00:05 | 2023-10-27 10:01:30 | 00:01:25 | 15,200 / 15,200 |
| Transform Address | Script Task | Success | 2023-10-27 10:01:31 | 2023-10-27 10:01:45 | 00:00:14 | N/A |
| Load Orders | Data Flow Task | Failure | 2023-10-27 10:01:46 | 2023-10-27 10:02:10 | 00:00:24 | 5,000 / 0 |
Interpreting Error and Warning Messages
Error messages are critical for diagnosing issues. They often provide a specific error code and a descriptive text explaining what went wrong. Warnings, while not stopping execution, often indicate potential data quality issues or inefficiencies.
When an error occurs, examine the following:
- The task that failed.
- The error code and message for specific technical details.
- The data being processed at the time of the error.
- The configuration of the failing task.
A common error scenario might involve a data type mismatch or a constraint violation.
Monitoring Performance
Beyond just success or failure, execution reports help in performance tuning. By observing task durations and row counts, you can identify areas where your package might be underperforming.
Key performance indicators (KPIs) to monitor include:
- Total Execution Time: Aim to reduce this over time.
- Task Durations: Identify the longest-running tasks.
- Rows Processed Per Second: Helps gauge the efficiency of data flow components.
- Disk I/O and CPU Usage: While not always in the report itself, correlate report times with system resource usage.
Consider optimizing data flow transformations, efficient querying, and appropriate indexing on source/destination databases to improve performance.
Tools for Viewing Reports
SSIS execution reports can be viewed through several interfaces:
- SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS): Provides a graphical interface to view execution history and details.
- SSIS Catalog: For packages deployed to the SSIS Catalog, you can use the built-in reports or query the catalog views directly.
- Custom Logging: Implementing custom logging within your packages can provide highly tailored reports for specific needs.