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Event logging in SSIS gives a lot of valuable information about the run-time behavior and execution status of the SSIS package. Having a common minimum number of events is good for consistency in reports and general analysis. Lets say your team wants to ensure that all packages must log at least OnError, OnWarning, OnPreExecute and OnPostExecute events. If the package has a DataFlowTask then the BufferSizeTuning should also be logged. The developer can include more events to log as required but these mentioned previously are the minimum that must be included.

You can create pre-deployment checklists or documentation to ensure this minimum logging. Probably you already have that. As the number of developers and/or packages increase, it becomes difficult to ensure consistency in anything, not just for event logging. Therefore documentation, checklists and training are helpful to an extent only. Your requirement could be more complex than my five-event example above and thus more prone to to oversight.

The easiest way to ensure a common logging implementation would be a logging template that has all the minimum event pre-selected. The developer should just need to apply that to the package.

Event Logging in SSIS with a Template

I assume that you are already familiar with the concepts of event logging in SSIS so this post is not going to be a beginners level introduction to event logging. I will rather discuss options to have a minimum standard event logging across SSIS packages and teams with minimal effort. I’ll also mention some traps to avoid.

I am using a demo SSIS package with two Data Flow Tasks and an Execute SQL Task. I have enabled event logging in SSIS for the first few events at the package level for the sake of demonstration. The logging configuration options for the package node (which is the top node) are shown in the first image.

The logging options at the child container node Data Flow Task 1 are shown in the second image. The configuration for other Data Flow and the Execute SQL Task look the same.

The check marks for the tasks are grayed out which means they are inheriting the logging options from their parent, i.e. the package. To disable logging for a task, remove its check mark in the left tree view window.

TIP: Logging can also be disabled by going to the Control Flow canvas and changing the LoggingMode property of the task to Disabled.

The Trick

Now look at the bottom of the images again. Notice the Load… and Save… buttons? They do exactly what they say. You can set your logging options and save them as an XML template. Later, this XML template can be loaded into other packages to enable the same logging options.

The XML template file has nodes for each event. For example, the logging options for OnError event are saved like this –

-<EventsFilter Name="OnError">

-<Filter>

<Computer>true</Computer>

<Operator>true</Operator>

<SourceName>true</SourceName>

<SourceID>true</SourceID>
<ExecutionID>true</ExecutionID>

<MessageText>true</MessageText>

<DataBytes>true</DataBytes>

</Filter>

</EventsFilter>

Notice that the XML just mentions the event name, not the name of any task. This means that when the template file is loaded, this logging option will be set for any task where the event is applicable. More on this later.

The Traps

The OnError event is a generic event applicable to all tasks. Lets talk about events that are specific to tasks. For example, the BufferSizeTuning event is applicable just to the Data Flow Tasks, not Execute SQL Tasks.

When I proceed to set logging for BufferSizeTuning event, I have to set it individually in the Data Flow Task tree node. Notice the message at the bottom of the second image that says –

To enable unique logging options for this container, enable logging for it in the tree view.

This message is important in the context of saving and loading a template file too. When I save a template file, the logging options of just that tree view node are saved. For example, the BufferSizeTuning event will be saved in the template only if I am at the Data Flow task in the tree view. It will not be saved if I am at the Package or the Execute SQL task in the tree view.

The reverse is also true. When I load a template, its logging options are applied to just that node which I select in the tree view. For example, if I load a template at the Data Flow Task 1, the options will not be applied to the Data Flow Task 2 or the Execute SQL Task. If the template has an event that is not applicable to the task then that event’s settings will be ignored. For example, the BufferSizeTuning event logging option is meant for Data Flow Tasks so it will be ignored for the Execute SQL Task. The fact that non-relevant options are ignored can be helpful for us to consolidate all logging options in a single template file.

Conclusion

A package level Save and Load of a logging template is straight forward. But if you need to have logging for events that are specific to a task type, then consider creating a logging template for each type of task. Also, if your logging configuration requires anything else than the package level settings, remember to load the template for each task in the tree view.

Number of Template Files	How	Pros and Cons
Individual File per Task	Create one template file for each type of task. The file will have events applicable to that task.	Pros – Easier to know what type of tasks have a template and which ones do not.Cons – More files to manage.
Single File for All Tasks	Create a template file for each task. Then copy all event options in a single XML file.	Pros – One file is easier to manage.Cons – Not obvious which tasks are include. Need to put in comments in the XML file.