Ideally, I want to make SSDT/SSIS packages on my desktop PC that I can test and deploy to a production server environment. On my PC I have: Windows 7 Visual Studio 2008 Visual Studio 2010 (shell) SQL Server Express 2012 (local dev copy of prod) [supposedly] BIDS (Business Intelligence Development Studio) and SSDT (SQL SErver Data Tools) etc.
On my production server I have: Windows Server 2008 SQL Server 2012 Visual Studio 2010 (shell)
I cannot load/run SSIS (SQL Server Integration Services) onto my machine because SQL Server express doesn't allow for it, as suggested by these articles:
http://support.microsoft.com/Default.aspx?id=963070
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc645993.aspx#SSIS
And I am getting this error when trying to look at a "package.dtsx" file in VS:
Microsoft Visual Studio is unable to load this document: To design Integration Services packages in SQL Server Data Tools (SSDT). SSDT has to be installed by one of these editions of SQL Server 2012: Standard. Enterprise. Developer, or Evaluation. To install SSDT, run SQL Server Setup and select SQL Server Data Tools.
When I run the SQL2012Express installer, it says SSDT is installed already.
Question #1: But why can't I just point a local VS2010/SSDT/SQL2012Express at my production SQL2012 environment? (Microsoft is getting their money legitimately!)
Question #2: I can get it to work on the production server, but isn't it bad form to develop on a production server? (and it complicates source control etc.)
You must have One of those versions installed. The SQL server express edition with advanced tools only includes reporting. Not ssis. Sql serverv dev edition is actually pretty cheap.