Top SSIS Interview Questions and Answers

SQL Server Integration Services or SSIS refers to a part of Microsoft SQL Server. SSIS is an integration platform that helps us with a broad range of data transformation and enterprise-level migration activities.

SSIS supports data sources like relational databases, XML, flat files, etc. It helps with reading, copying, downloading large files, loading, and extracting useful information. SSIS also allows us to manage SQL objects, send data to several destinations, and mine data. This article takes a look at some of the top SSIS interview questions.

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In this article, we’ll cover:

• SSIS Interview Questions and Answers
• Sample Interview Questions on SSIS
• SSIS Interview Questions for Experienced Professionals
• SSIS Developer Interview Questions
• FAQs on SSIS Interview Questions

SSIS Interview Questions and Answers

We’ll begin with some sample SSIS interview questions and answers to get a basic idea of what to expect.

1. What are some types of Data viewers available in SSIS?

Some types of Data viewers available in SSIS are:

• Column Chart
• Grid
• Histogram
• Scatter Plot

2. Define logging mode property.

LoggingMode is a property that all SSIS packages and their associated tasks have. LoggingMode property only accepts three possible values:

• Disabled: For disabling logging of the part
• Enabled: For enabling logging of the component
• Use Parent Setting: For using the parent’s setting of the part

3. What is a container in SSIS? Name the types of containers in SSIS.

In SSIS, A container refers to a logical grouping of tasks in SSIS. It enables the management of the scope of a task together. The four types of containers in SSIS are:

• Sequence container
• Task host container
• For loop container
• Foreach loop container

4. Name some connection types or file types that support SSIS

Some connection or file types that support SSIS are:

• ODBC
• OLEDB
• XML
• Excel
• .net SQLClient
• Flat File

5. Name some important components of the SSIS package?

Some important components of the SSIS package are:

• Control flow
• Data flow
• Package explorer
• Event handler

Sample Interview Questions on SSIS

Now, here are some sample SSIS interview questions. See if you can solve them:

1. What is data conversion transformation?
2. Explain the concept of Precedence Constraint.
3. Differentiate between project and package control flow in SSIS.
4. Explain conditional split transformations.
5. Describe your previous experience in SSIS.
6. Explain the three data flow components: source, performance, and destination.
7. Name and explain the use of different types of SSIS containers.
8. What are config files in SSIS? What’s their use?
9. Explain the concept and use of SSIS breakpoint.
10. Explain the types of data flows in SSIS.
11. Explain the types of SSIS containers.

SSIS Interview Questions for Experienced Professionals

Let’s move a step further with some SSIS interview questions for experienced SSIS professionals:

1. What are some advantages and disadvantages of using SSIS?
2. Differentiate between Merge Transformation and Union all transformation
3. What is the difference between SSIS and Informatica?
4. What is the use of the control flow tab in SSIS?
5. What are some critical best practices for using SSIS?
6. What is the work of the data profiling task?
7. What are the types of data transformation in SSIS? Explain each.
8. What are SSIS checkpoints, and why are they used?
9. What are the advantages of SSIS Packages over stored procedures?
10. How to create a deployment utility in SSIS?
11. Name the components used to send data from the access database to the SQL database on the off chance.

SSIS Developer Interview Questions

Lastly, here are some technical SSIS interview questions for developers. Ensure you can solve them before your interview:

1. Explain different options for dynamic configuration in SSIS.
2. Describe the role of Execute SQL task in SSIS.
3. Name some of the most commonly used tasks present in SSIS?
4. How can we schedule packages for a specific period of a day?
5. What would you do if a package runs fine in BIDS but fails while running from the SQL agent job?
6. When would you use the Script component over the derived column (and vice-versa)?
7. How would you deploy a package in the SSIS Catalog?
8. How does error handling work in SSIS?
9. What are SSIS expressions, and when are they used?
10. How can we log SSIS execution?
11. How would you monitor performance in SSIS?
12. How would you connect Azure to SSIS?
13. How to kill a package that’s running infinitely?
14. Name some third-party SSIS plugins.
15. How would you program your own SSIS task?
16. How would you store SQL passwords when using SSIS?
17. How would you approach retrieving data of packages that are stored in the MSDB Database?
18. How would you add a recordset variable inside a Script Task?

We hope that this list of SSIS interview questions will help you crack your tech interview. To prepare better, practice some mock interviews and read our guide to 12 key preparation tips to crack an interview.

FAQs on SSIS Interview Questions

Q1. What are the three data flow components in SSIS?

Source, performance, and destination are the three data flow components in SSIS.

Q2. What are the interview question topics for SSIS?

You can expect questions related to Control flow, Data flow, Package explorer, and Event handler in SSIS interview questions.

Q3. For what types of data containers is checkpoint data not saved?

Checkpoint data is not saved for foreach and for loop containers.

Q4. In how many days can I learn SSIS?

You can comfortably learn SSIS within a month, although the duration might vary slightly based on where you’re starting from.

Q5. What are some possible locations to save the SSIS package?

We can save the SSIS package either in the SQL Server, the file system, or the package store.

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