Copy All Tables from IBM DB2 schema to SQL Server

I am trying to come up with the best and most efficient way to copy more than 700+ tables from an IBM DB2 iSeries schema to SQL Server. I have tried the followings:

1. I have exported all the 700+ tables into csv files but I am not able to upload them all in one batch to SQL. I can upload one table at time but it too time consuming

2. Created SSIS package to directly copy table form IBM to SQL but that's gain working for only one table at a time

Any recommendations as what tool(s) or methods to use for copying/uploading multiple tables from IBM to SQL?

ANS:
If you create a table that lists all the tables/files to be imported, and a script that takes a filename and imports the file (possibly with BULK INSERT), you could run multiple copies of that script to do parallel imports.  A flag bit in the table could be used to mark which tables have been chosen by one of the script copies.

SSRS Interview Question

1. What programming language would you use to create embedded functions in SSRS?
   visual Basic .Net used to create  embedded code in SSRS
2. What is the purpose of query parameter in ssrs?

Query parameter is used to filter the data in data source

3. What is the main difference between a Matrix report item and a Table report item? 

              both report items are just templates for the Tablix data region.            tabular report is the most basic type of report. Each column corresponds to a column selected from the database. A matrix (cross-product) report is a cross-tabulation of four groups of data: a. One group of data is displayed across the page

4.      What is the benefit of embedded code in the ssrs  reports?

Once we write the code in reports we can use the code in any expression in that report.

5.      How to display the amount in currency format and for that which property do you use?

For currency format in ssrs reports select the report item and then set the format property to  C.

6.      Can you use stored procedures in ssrs reports to get the data?

Yes, we can use stored procedures in ssrs reports and it should return only a single result.

7.      By which  we can use to generate reports in ssrs?

Reports can be developed by using tables,cubes,textfiles etc.,

8.      What is .rdl file?

Every report saved with .rdl extension in reporting services. RDL means Report Definition  Language.

9.      How many types os parameters in ssrs reports?

Single value parameters, multi value parameters, cascading parameters

10  what are the different stages in ssrs report processing

     Compile, process,render and export

SSIS Real Time Question

How do I access Microsoft Excel 2007 from SSIS 2005 version. I am unable to access the files from SSIS

ANS:
Use ACE connector for Excel.
ACE OLEDB 12.0:

TYPE OLE DB ProviderUSAGE Provider=Microsoft.ACE.OLEDB.12.0MANUFACTURER Microsoft 

Xlsx files

This one is for connecting to Excel 2007 files with the Xlsx file extension. That is the Office Open XML format with macros disabled.

Provider=Microsoft.ACE.OLEDB.12.0;Data Source=c:\myFolder\myExcel2007file.xlsx;
Extended Properties="Excel 12.0 Xml;HDR=YES";

"HDR=Yes;" indicates that the first row contains columnnames, not data. "HDR=No;" indicates the opposite.

SSRS INTERVIEW QUESTIONS part-2

What is the report rendering?

Report rendering is to call the report from server to application. Report rendering can be possible through different ways Like

Excel, PDF, CSV,XML, TIFF, HTML Web Archive,DOC

 What is the report server?

Report server is the server where we deploy the report In Other way it’s a holding place for reports. Applications access report server to view the report.

All the reports are reside with Report Server All other activities pertaining to SSRS is done at Report Server.It acts like work station for reporting tool.

Can we use the page total in report body?

The built in field [&pagenumber] and [&pagetotal] cannot be used in report body as these are applicable in report header or report footer.

These built in field can be added in footer or header for better representation of the report.

What are the different types of report?

Using BIDS reports can be created in two ways. I.e. two ways to retrieve the data from SQL Server data source.

1. TSQL Reports: TSQL Reports are made up of plain SQL Query. Data source in this case is SQL server database engine.
2. MDX Reports: MDX reports are created through cubes. For this data source is analysis services cubes.

What is report subscription? 

Report subscription is to schedule the resource on particular time and to send a mailer to particular users. A subscription is a standing request to deliver a report at a specific time or in response to an event, and then to have that report presented in a way that you define. Subscriptions provide an alternative to running a report on demand. On-demand reporting requires that you actively select the report each time you want to view the report. In contrast, subscriptions can be used to schedule and then automate the delivery of a report. 

What is the RDL file?

      A report definition contains data retrieval and layout information for a report. Report Definition Language (RDL) is an XML representation of this report definition.

What are the Matrix reports and what are their uses?

Matrix reports are the reports which used to generate data dynamically i.e. table structure is not static and it can be changed at run time.

Can you use a stored procedure to provide data to an SSRS report?
Yes, you can use a stored procedure to provide data to an SSRS report by configuring the dataset to use a stored procedure command type. However, your stored procedure should return only a single result set. If it returns multiple result sets, only the first one is used for the report dataset.

What is the main purpose of a report parameter?
The main purpose of a report parameter is to add interactivity to your reports, letting users change the report behavior based on options they select. The report parameter option allows you to show different dimensions in a single report by selecting the options.

What is the main purpose of a query parameter?
The main purpose of a query parameter is to filter data in the data source.

SQL SERVER Interview Questions

1.What is DTS in SQL Server ?
Data Transformation Services is used to transfer the data from one source to our required destination. Considering am having some data in sql server and I need to transfer the data to Excel destination. Its highly possible with dialogue based tool called Data Transformation services. More customization can be achieved using SSIS. A specialized tool used to do such migration works.

2.What is the significance of NULL value and why should we avoid permitting null values?
Null means no entry has been made. It implies that the value is either unknown or undefined.We should avoid permitting null values because Column with NULL values can't have PRIMARY KEY constraints. Certain calculations can be inaccurate if NULL columns are involved.

3.Difference between primary key and Unique key?
Both constraints will share a common property called uniqueness. The data in the column should be unique. The basic difference is,
· Primary key won’t allow null value. Whereas, unique key will accept null value but only one null value.
· On creating primary key, it will automatically format the data inturn creates clustered index on the table. Whereas, this characteristics is not associated with unique key.
· Only one primary key can be created for the table. Any number of Unique key can be created for the table.

4.What is a stored procedure:
Stored procedures are precompiled T-SQL statements combined to perform a single task of several tasks. Its basically like a Macro so when you invoke the Stored procedure, you actually run a set of statements. As, its precompiled statement, execution of Stored procedure is compatatively high when compared to an ordinary T-SQL statement.

5.What is the difference between UNION ALL Statement and UNION ?
The main difference between UNION ALL statement and UNION is UNION All statement is much faster than UNION,the reason behind this is that because UNION ALL statement does not look for duplicate rows, but on the other hand UNION statement does look for duplicate rows, whether or not they exist.

6.Example for Stored Procedure?
They are three kinds of stored procedures,1.System stored procedure – Start with sp_2. User defined stored procedure – SP created by the user.3. Extended stored procedure – SP used to invoke a process in the external systems.Example for system stored proceduresp_helpdb - Database and its propertiessp_who2 – Gives details about the current user connected to your system. sp_renamedb – Enable you to rename your database

7.What is a trigger?

Triggers are precompiled statements similar to Stored Procedure. It will automatically invoke for a particular operation. Triggers are basically used to implement business rules.

8.What is a view?
If we have several tables in a db and we want to view only specific columns from specific tables we can go for views. It would also suffice the needs of security some times allowing specfic users to see only specific columns based on the permission that we can configure on the view. Views also reduce the effort that is required for writing queries to access specific columns every time.

9.What is an Index?
When queries are run against a db, an index on that db basically helps in the way the data is sorted to process the query for faster and data retrievals are much faster when we have an index.

10.What are the types of indexes available with SQL Server?

There are basically two types of indexes that we use with the SQL ServerClustered -

1. It will format the entire table, inturn physically sort the table.

2. Only one clustered index can be created for a table.

3. Data will be located in the leaf level.

4. By default, primary key will create clustered index on the table.

Non-Clustered Index

1. It wont touch the structure of the table.

2. It forms an index table as reference to the exact data.

3. A reference to the data will be located in the leaf level.

4. For a table, we can create 249 non clustered index.

11.Extent Vs Page?

Pages are low level unit to store the exact data in sql server. Basically, the data will be stored in the mdf, ldf, ndf files. Inturn, pages are logical units available in sql server.The size of the page is 8KB.

Eight consecutive pages will form an extent 8 * 8KB = 64KB.

Thus I/O level operation will be happening at pages level.The pages will hold a template information at the start of each page (header of the page).

They are,

1. page number,

2. page type,

3. the amount of free space on the page,

4. the allocation unit ID of the object that owns the page.

Extents will be classifed into two types,

1. Uniform extents

2. Mixed extents

Uniform Extents:It occupied or used by a single object. Inturn, a single object will hold the entire 8 pages.Mixed

Extents:Mulitple objects will use the same extent. SQL Server will allow a max of eight objects to use a shared extent.

Property of SQL Server :Initally if an object is created, sql server will allocate the object to the mixed extent and once if the size reaches 8 pages and more... immediately, a new uniform extent will be provided for that particular object.

Herecomes, our fragmentation and reindexing concepts.

some information of sql server:

Maximum Number of tables : No restrictions (Until your harddisk size you can create tables)
Maximum bytes per row in the table : 8060 bytes
Maximum tables in a select statment - 256
Maxiumu references per table - 253
Maximum rows in the table - Unlimited (Depends on the storage)
Maximum columns per base table : 1024
Maximum columns per insert statment : 1024
Maximum columns per Select statment : 1024 * 4 = 4096
Bytes per Group by or Order by = 8000

Index:
Maximum clustered index per table - 1
Maximum Non-clustered index per table - 249
Maximum Columns in an index (composite index) - 16

Keys:
Maximum Columns in a Primary key - 16
Maximum Columns in a Foreign key - 16

Objects:
Nested Stored procedure levels- 32
Nested triggers levels- 32
Parameters per stored procedure - 2100
Parameters per User defined functions - 2100
Identifier length - 16

Database Level Details:
Number of instances for a server - 50
Files per database - 32767
Filegroups per database - 32767
Databases per instance of SQL Server - 32767

12.MSDE vs SQL Server :
MSDE is the downgrade version of SQL Server, the same code with initial release of SQL Server was named as MSDE (Microsoft Desktop Enginer).

13.Extent Vs Page:
Pages are 8 KB size smallest unit to store the data. Inturn, 8 Pages will form the extent.

14.Delete VS Truncate:
Delete will delete row by row in the table. The syntax is,
delete from tablename
We can give where conditions for deleting the data. 
Each delete will be logged in the log file.
Its a DML statement

Trucate will deallocate the reference in the pages instead of deleting the data.
Its DDL statement. The syntax is,
Truncate table tablename
We can provide truncate with tables having foreign key relationships. (Because it wont do any cascade delete on the table).
It wont log any information in the log file.
Delete or truncate the data at a stretch and wont do any row by row manipulation.

15.What do you mean by acid property?

Atomicity : The value should be atomic.

Consistency : The data in the database should be consistent. It indicates, if we are maintaining data in two different places. Those data should resemble. If it differs, then it will create confusions. Am I right?

Isolation : Transaction should be isolated and it should not affect the other transactions. If the transactions occured on the same data. Appropriate locks should be posted before starting the transactions.

Durability: The data should be stable.

SSRS INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

First iam providing basic SSRS interview questions.

1) What are the different kinds of SSRS Reports?

• Reports can be categorized into operational and analytical reports. The distinction is based on the source of data and level of analysis facilitated by any particular report. Operational reports are based on OLTP sources and are static reports and Analytical reports are based on OLAP sources and generally facilitate drill-down and drill-through for analysis. Technically, SSRS reports can be categorized into parameterized, linked, snapshot, cached, etc...

2) What are parameterized reports? What are cascading parameters in SSRS reports?

• Reports that accept parameters from users to fetch and report data conditionally, are known as parameterized reports. When you have multiple parameters in a report and values of different parameters are dependent and populated dynamically based on the value of parent parameters, it's known as a cascading parameter.

3) How would you go about developing a SSRS report?

• General development methodology for a SSRS report is to start by creating a data source. Based on the data source create one or multiple datasets as needed for parameters and the body of the report. Add required controls from the toolbox which would act as a container for the fields in the dataset. Format the controls added to the report body.  Verify and validate the report and finally deploy the report.

4) What is a dataset and what are the different types of datasets?

• A dataset is similar to a query definition, which is executed when the report is executed. Datasets are of two types: Shared and Embedded. An embedded dataset is private to the report in which it exists and shared datasets can be shared across reports.

5) Would you store your query in a SSRS report or a Database server? State the reason why.

• Storing SQL queries directly in text format in the dataset, should be avoided. Ideally it should be stored in a stored procedure in the database server. The benefit is that the SQL would be in a compiled format in a SP and brings all the benefits of using an SP compared to using an ad-hoc query from the report.

6) What is Tablix?

• A Tablix can be seen as a control with combined capabilities of a table and a matrix, which facilitates asymmetric and flexible, row and column level, static and dynamic groupings.

7) How would you access SSRS reports deployed on report server?

• Reports Manager is the most straight-forward way to access SSRS reports deployed on report server. Apart from executing the reports, it is the main administration console for SSRS server to manage reports.

8) Have you used the Report Viewer control / web part? What are the limitations?

• The report viewer control / web part is the basic control to integrate SSRS reports with external applications. Using these interface applications can link and display SSRS reports within the application. The parameters toolbar in these controls have a limited programmable interface to decorate and blend it with the theme of the application.

9) Which is the latest version of SSRS and what are the new enhancements?

• SSRS 2008 R2 is the latest RTM version of SSRS. Rich data visualizations, better programming functions for lookup and aggregation, improved performance and better control over exported data are some of the major enhancements.

10) What is Report Builder?

• Report Builder is an ad-hoc report authoring tool primarily targeted to be used by business analysts to facilitate self-service report authoring. Report Builder 3.0 is the latest version available as of date.

11) How would you deploy SSRS Reports using out-of-box functionality and how can you automate SSRS report deployment?

• Business Intelligence Development Studio is generally used to deploy SSRS reports. There is no out-of-box support in SSRS to automate reports deployment, but free third-party products like RSScripter can be used for this.

12) What is drill-down and drill-through in SSRS?

• Drill-down is a mechanism of decomposing summarized information to a detailed level. Drill-through is a mechanism of decomposing the problem by drilling information generally using more than one report

SSIS interview questions

1)difference between control flow and data flow?

2)logging in ssis?

3)how can we use check points in SSIS packages?

4)what is transaction concept in SSIS?

5)Error Handling in ssis?

6)how can we deploy the packages in SSIS?

7)in how many ways we can run the packages in SSIS?

8)what are all the command line tools available in SSIS?

 9)How do you schedule ssis packages ?

10)how do we run the stored procedures in SSIS?

11)explain SCD and its types?

12)Difference between SSIS and DTS?

13)Have you used SSIS Framework?

14)What configuration options have you used?

15)How to quickly load data into sql server table?

16)What is XMLify component?

17) You would like to log all the package errors to a custom database table you have created for auditing purposes. How can you accomplish this task?

18) Explain architecture of SSIS?

19) What is Execution Tree?

20) Difference between Unionall and Merge Join?