advice as i migrate my winscp based ssis pkg to our prod server

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advice as i migrate my winscp based ssis pkg to our prod server

stan

Ten Centuries

Points: 1370
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March 27, 2026 at 6:54 pm

#4756542
Hi , i installed winscp on my pc, added it to GAC thru vs (i think a developer script) on my pc as well, and added a reference to it while editing a c# script in vs in the pkg i was developing. It might have been on 2 c# scripts.
I just deployed the pkg to our production dw server, specifically to the catalog. I think i can muddle thru the winscp install there using default c: drive as a target. my friend thinks the .dll reference(s) from c# were deployed automatically, im not so sure. Is that how it works? Or do i need to add references again?
im most concerned about adding winscp to GAC there on the prod server. My only experience is doing that thru vs, specifically a developer script window i think. For starters vs isnt installed there. I could probably install vs there if i had to. does the community have any advice? For the moment i cant imagine installing winscp to GAC there remotely (from my pc) but i'd have to look at the command again.
- This topic was modified 2 weeks, 6 days ago by stan.
- This topic was modified 2 weeks, 6 days ago by stan.
- This topic was modified 2 weeks, 6 days ago by stan.

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SQL BrainBox SSC Veteran Points: 246 More actions · Answer 1

Hi Stan,

I don't believe the .dll references in your script and GAC entries will be deployed along with your package deployment. That's something you'll have to set up on the prod server to mirror your desktop.

I'd recommend doing a server backup like a system restore point before installing WinSCP, then put the .dll into the GAC

Try it on a DEV server first though. These .dlls are prone to Windows OS patching especially when it comes to .Net framework security patches and updates. Good luck!

Tung Dang
Azure and SQL Server DBA Contractor / Consultant
SQL Brainbox - SQL Server Monitoring Tool

frederico_fonseca SSCoach Points: 16313 More actions · Answer 2

stan wrote:

Hi , i installed winscp on my pc, added it to GAC thru vs (i think a developer script) on my pc as well, and added a reference to it while editing a c# script in vs in the pkg i was developing. It might have been on 2 c# scripts.
I just deployed the pkg to our production dw server, specifically to the catalog. I think i can muddle thru the winscp install there using default c: drive as a target. my friend thinks the .dll reference(s) from c# were deployed automatically, im not so sure. Is that how it works? Or do i need to add references again?
im most concerned about adding winscp to GAC there on the prod server. My only experience is doing that thru vs, specifically a developer script window i think. For starters vs isnt installed there. I could probably install vs there if i had to. does the community have any advice? For the moment i cant imagine installing winscp to GAC there remotely (from my pc) but i'd have to look at the command again.

one option is to NOT use the GAC for this - see documentation of how to do it by placing the DLL on a diff location.

https://winscp.net/eng/docs/library_ssis

stan Ten Centuries Points: 1370 More actions · Answer 3

thx Tung, that was already tried in dev as i wrote in the post.

how would you go about adding .dll refs to a c# script in ssis once its in the prod catalog?

I think you are right about gac but im wondering about your .dll ref answer.

This reply was modified 2 weeks, 3 days ago by stan.
This reply was modified 2 weeks, 3 days ago by stan.

stan Ten Centuries Points: 1370 More actions · Answer 4

thx frederico, im kind of intrigued more by the exec path example (example 1 as opposed to the gac workaround in example 2 of your link) only because the code is much more similar to what i tested with.

my gut says its equivalent to setting .dll references when editing a script task. Tell me if you think im wrong.

Anyway, i'm even more tempted now to temporarily install vs on the prod machine because...

when i think about .dll refs, my head says they are probably pointers and if set on the same machine, and if MS had its act together, they'd travel with the pkg if i deployed to prod's catalog from the prod machine's vs instance
not sure about the order or why i need/am setting refs when something is in gac where everything is supposed to be able to find it, but i would feel comfortable adding this .dll etc to gac from vs instead of some of the quirky workarounds im reading for non dev machines. i even saw a workaround suggested where you copy gacutil's 3 peices to prod and run gacutil from there. by "not sure about the order" i mean #2 first or #1 or is one of these not even necessary.

This reply was modified 2 weeks, 3 days ago by stan.
This reply was modified 2 weeks, 3 days ago by stan.

stan Ten Centuries Points: 1370 More actions · Answer 5

i'm not sure how this is going to go but i added winscp to gac on the prod server, imported the already deployed pkg, edited both c# scripts and see the refs to winscp already there. Not sure what that means but built both and got the build succeeded message and deployed the pkg after saving. we'll see in due time if the pkg runs on prod from sql agent. not being a .net guy, i dont know how this is going to turn out.

one of the reasons im skeptical is because i always read about strongly named .dlls. i dont know if that's a ref thing, a gac thing or both. but if refs follow the pkg in deployment from dev to the prod cat, its hard to believe a valid strongly named ref tagged along because its a deployment between 2 different environments and winscp wasnt even installed on prod before the first deploy from dev. however it was before the deploy mentioned above in the first paragraph of this post.

This reply was modified 2 weeks, 3 days ago by stan.
This reply was modified 2 weeks, 3 days ago by stan.

stan Ten Centuries Points: 1370 More actions · Answer 6

i just ran the pkg from sql agent. I dont want to guess especially since you'd think strongly named assemblies etc should have been in play. If anyone in the community knows how/why this worked pls share. Is it possible GAC overrides the strongly named thing and refs? I s it possible importing , opening and building allowed .net to find/ref the assemblies again? I suspect the directory where winscp was installed on prod was the same name as where i installed on my pc.