Question

I am making a framework in SSIS to load files from configurable folders and match them to a logical job in the database. In this job a package name is configured and in SSIS I execute this package in runtime.

I want to programmatically load a package configuration for this package, depending on the job loaded. SSIS SQL Server package configuration is not an option, because that loads values to this package just once in runtime for the package itself, but I want to load a specific package configuration in runtime that has been stored with the job (job has one package, but has many package configurations)….

Schematically:
folderA -> file A.1 -> job A -> load package configuration for job A -> execute package in job A.

Is that possible?

Answer 1

I found the solution now. It is only possible by using a script task that uses the SSIS object model to create a package in runtime based on the SQL Server Application class where you can load the package by filename. After loading the package from file, I can read the configuration from file by xml or by SQL Server and add it in runtime to the child package configuration list.

Two important notes:

1) Parent variables are not passed to child package automatically.
Only when an execute package task is used the parent variables are passed to the child automatically. To get this working I search the variables in runtime and write the values in it, because I know the exact variables I want to pass to each child package.

2) When using SQL Server as a package configuration for a child package, you must also create a connection manager in runtime and add it to the connection manager collection of the package. when adding the package configuration to the child package, be sure that the name of that connection manager is part of the connection string.

Here is the code to prove it works:

//load the information of the job into these variables. Package is the File system deployed package on a share. Package configuration can be the package configuration in an xml file on a share, or a connection string when using SQL Server (this one is used here).
            string package = this.Dts.Variables["Package"].Value.ToString();
            string packageConfiguration = this.Dts.Variables["PackageConfiguration"].Value.ToString();


            //create a package from package factory, by file.
            Microsoft.SqlServer.Dts.Runtime.Application app = new Microsoft.SqlServer.Dts.Runtime.Application();
            Package packageToRun = app.LoadPackage(package, null);

            //------------------------------------------ CHILD PACKAGE VARIABLES PASSING
            packageToRun.EnableConfigurations = true;

            //add one extra package configuration for child package specific configuration
            Configuration config = packageToRun.Configurations.Add();
            config.Name = "MyConfig";
            config.ConfigurationType = DTSConfigurationType.SqlServer;
            config.ConfigurationString = packageConfiguration;

            //use the name 'MyConnectionManager' in your packageConfiguration
            ConnectionManager cm = packageToRun.Connections.Add("OleDb");
            cm.Name = "MyConnectionManager";
            //TODO: retrieve this from an environvariable to allow change in data source for DEV, QA, PROD, now temporarly fixed to this value
            cm.ConnectionString = "Data Source=.;Initial Catalog=YYYYYYYYYY;Provider=SQLNCLI10.1;Integrated Security=SSPI;";

            //For Parent-Child var passing, I used the technique to let all the parent variables being defined in the child packages. 
            //Other technique could be to allow the child package not define the parent variables, but then the child packages have to reference them from code

            //------------------------------------------  PARENT VARIABLES PASSING
            //Now check if these parent variables exist in child package and write the actual values in them
            try
            {
                Variables vars = null;
                VariableDispenser variableDispenser = packageToRun.VariableDispenser;

                if (
                    packageToRun.Variables.Contains("User::XXXXXXXXXXXX") &&
                    )
                {
                    packageToRun.VariableDispenser.LockForWrite("User::XXXXXXXXXXXX");

                    variableDispenser.GetVariables(ref vars);

                    packageToRun.Variables["User::XXXXXXXXXXXX"].Value = this.Dts.Variables["User::XXXXXXXXXXXX"].Value;

                    vars.Unlock();

                    packageToRun.Execute();

                    Dts.TaskResult = (int)ScriptResults.Success;
                }
                else
                {
                    this.Dts.Events.FireError(0, string.Empty, "Child package: " + package + " has no required master variables defined or unable to unlock.", string.Empty, 0);
                }
            }
            catch (Exception ex)
            {
                this.Dts.Events.FireError(0, string.Empty, ex.Message, string.Empty, 0);

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