SSIS Logging with Custom Event Handlers

By Tom Nonmacher

In the world of ETL processes, logging plays a crucial role in understanding the flow of data, identifying bottlenecks and resolving issues. SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS) provides a robust logging mechanism, but at times, the default logging options might not suffice. This is where SSIS Custom Event Handlers come into the picture. Custom Event Handlers in SSIS allow you to expand the logging capabilities to suit your specific needs.

To create a custom event handler, you first need to choose the event you want to handle. This could be any event such as OnError, OnWarning, or OnInformation. For this example, we will use the OnError event. Next, you will need to add a script task to the event handler. This script task can be written in either VB.NET or C#.


-- Script Task Example
public void Main()
{
    // Get the error description from the Dts object
    string errorDescription = Dts.Variables["System::ErrorDescription"].Value.ToString();

    // Log the error description to a file
    System.IO.File.AppendAllText(@"C:\SSIS\ErrorLog.txt", errorDescription);

    Dts.TaskResult = (int)ScriptResults.Success;
}

The above script logs the error description to a file. You could modify the script to log any information you need. The SSIS variables are a gold mine of information which can be used for custom logging.

With SQL Server 2022, Azure SQL and Microsoft Fabric, you can take SSIS logging to the next level. You can log SSIS events to Azure SQL Database, and use Microsoft Fabric to process and analyze the logs. Azure SQL Database provides the scalability and availability that you need for logging in high transaction ETL processes. Microsoft Fabric can handle large amounts of data and provide real-time analytics.


-- Set up logging in Azure SQL Database
CREATE TABLE SSISLog
(
    EventTime datetime,
    EventName nvarchar(50),
    EventDescription nvarchar(max)
)

Delta Lake and Databricks can also be integrated with SSIS for logging purposes. Delta Lake provides ACID transactions, scalable metadata handling, and unifies streaming and batch data processing. Databricks provides an interactive workspace that enables collaboration between data scientists, data engineers, and business analysts.

OpenAI and SQL can be combined to get insights from the SSIS logs. For example, you can use GPT-3, an AI model by OpenAI, to analyze the logs and identify patterns or anomalies. This can help in predictive maintenance and proactive issue resolution. With OpenAI, you can create a natural language interface for your logs, enabling you to query your logs using plain English.

In conclusion, SSIS Custom Event Handlers provide a powerful tool for logging in ETL processes. When combined with the right technologies, they can greatly simplify the task of logging and make your ETL processes more robust and reliable.




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