Problems executing maintenance plans in SQL Server 2008

In the RTM build of SQL Server 2008 , if you install the tools in any edition, you are able to create maintenance plans. However depending upon your version and your extact installation components, when you execute the maintenance plan you created, you may receive the following message:

Executed as user: <domain>\<user>. Microsoft (R) SQL Server Execute Package Utility Version 10.0.1600.22 for 32-bit Copyright (C) Microsoft Corp 1984-2005. All rights reserved. The SQL Server Execute Package Utility requires Integration Services to be installed by one of these editions of SQL Server 2008: Standard, Enterprise, Developer, or Evaluation. To install Integration Services, run SQL Server Setup and select Integration Services. The package execution failed. The step failed.

This is caused by the fact that you need to have the full SSIS component installed to execute the package that you have created. Many people will not come across this message as they have just installed the SSIS component by default, but you should consider the following scenario:

If you are running a lower level edition, such as web or workgroup, then you cannot install SSIS as part of that setup and configuration, as it is not available in that edition. Therefore to be able to run the packages that you have created, you would, as the message says, need to install the component, but from a licensed edition that supports SSIS.

If you are running Standard or Enterprise edition, you will need to re-run setup and add the SSIS component. This will allow you to run the maintenance plan.

This behavior is by design as SSIS is only supported in the higher editions of SQL Server. However we understand that for some customers this is not the optimal type of behavior with regard to maintenance plans (this is a good example of Microsoft Connect feedback), and as such it has been logged and is under review by the development team.