DTSX

DTSX is the file extension used by SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS) for its package files. DTSX files store the definition of an SSIS package in XML format, including the control flow, data flow pipelines, connection managers, variables, parameters, event handlers, and logging configuration.

The DTSX file is an XML document. It can be saved on disk as a .dtsx file or stored in SQL Server (such as MSDB) or in the SSIS Catalog (SSISDB) depending on the deployment model. In modern SQL Server versions, packages are typically deployed to the SSIS Catalog as projects and can reference environments for configuration.

Packages are created and edited with SQL Server Data Tools (SSDT) or Visual Studio with the SSIS extension. They are executed with the dtexec command-line utility or scheduled by SQL Server Agent. At runtime, SSIS loads the DTSX package and runs its tasks according to the defined control flow and data flow logic.

The structure of a DTSX file centers on a Package element that contains sections such as ConnectionManagers, Tasks (for example, Data Flow Task, Execute SQL Task, Script Task), PrecedenceConstraints, Variables, Parameters, and EventHandlers. A Data Flow Task, in turn, contains a Data Flow design with sources, transformations, and destinations that define how data moves and transforms between systems.

Security and deployment considerations include the package protection level, which governs whether sensitive data is saved in the DTSX file. In the project deployment model, credentials and environment-specific values are managed via parameters and SSIS environments rather than embedded in the file.