I had someone ask me the other day if they are using SSIS 2012 Project Versions, is there any benefit to using TFS? The answer is Yes! While Project Versions is a new feature that keeps prior versions of SSIS projects as they are deployed to the server and allows you to rollback to any prior version, it is not a replacement for source control. Here are some of the limitations of using Project Versions as compared to using TFS:
- No check out feature
- Difficult to extract a prior version (see http://www.ssistalk.com/2012/10/12/ssis-2012-export-old-version-of-a-deployed-project/)
- Downloading a project into VS is not quick as it involves exporting and unzipping
- Can’t revert just one SSIS package – must do the whole project
- Can’t compare checked-in version with your changes (pending changes)
- Does not support shelvesets
- No integration with Visual Studio
- Can’t make it part of a continuous integration solution
- Can’t deploy just one package, must deploy the entire project
The bottom line is the best use for Project Versions is to quickly revert to a prior project version if a new version causes issues (a quick rollback). It is not really a source control solution.