Interoperability and Coexistence (Integration Services)

Features and Differences

The following table lists some of the differences between the current and earlier versions of Integration Services. The table also lists some of the differences between Integration Services and its predecessor, DTS.

For additional information about the changes that occur when you upgrade SQL Server 2005 to SQL Server 2008, see Considerations for Upgrading Integration Services.

Side-by-Side Compatibility Issues

When you have SQL Server 2008 Integration Services installed side-by-side with SQL Server 2005 Integration Services, you can perform the following tasks:

• Design packages in Business Intelligence Development Studio. You have to use the SQL Server 2008 version of Business Intelligence Development Studio to develop and maintain packages that are based on SQL Server 2008 Integration Services. Likewise, you have to use the SQL Server 2005 version of Business Intelligence Development Studio to develop and maintain packages that are based on SQL Server 2005 Integration Services. You can load and run packages that were developed in SQL Server 2005 Integration Services in the SQL Server 2008 version of Business Intelligence Development Studio. However, if you save your changes, the packages are saved in the package format that SQL Server 2008 Integration Services uses. Once saved in the format that SQL Server 2008 Integration Services uses, packages can no longer be opened in the SQL Server 2005 version of Business Intelligence Development Studio, nor run by the SQL Server 2005 Integration Services tools.

• Manage packages in SQL Server Management Studio. You cannot connect to an instance of the SQL Server 2005 version of the Integration Services service from the SQL Server 2008 version of Management Studio. That is, in the Connect to Server dialog box, you cannot enter the name of a server on which only the SQL Server 2005 version of the Integration Services service is running. However, you can edit the configuration file for the service and thereby manage packages that are stored in an instance of SQL Server 2005 from the SQL Server 2008 version of Management Studio. For more information, see Configuring the Integration Services Service.

• Store packages in SQL Server. You can store SQL Server 2008 Integration Services packages in the msdb database of an instance of SQL Server 2008. Likewise, you can store SQL Server 2005 Integration Services packages in the msdb database of an instance of SQL Server 2005. However, you cannot store SQL Server 2008 Integration Services packages in the msdb database of an instance of SQL Server 2005. Nor can you store SQL Server 2005 Integration Services packages in the msdb database of an instance of SQL Server 2008.

  On an instance of SQL Server 2008, you can import packages from an instance of SQL Server 2005, but you cannot export packages to an instance of SQL Server 2005.

  On an instance of SQL Server 2005, you cannot import packages from, nor export packages to, an instance of SQL Server 2008.

• Run packages. You can run SQL Server 2005 Integration Services packages by using the SQL Server 2008 version of the dtexec utility or of SQL Server Agent. Whenever a SQL Server 2008 Integration Services tool loads a package that was developed in SQL Server 2005 Integration Services, the tool temporarily converts, in memory, the package to the package format that SQL Server 2008 Integration Services uses. If the SQL Server 2005 Integration Services package has issues that prevent a successful conversion, the SQL Server 2008 Integration Services tool cannot run the package until those issues are resolved. For more information, see Upgrading Integration Services Packages.