In this post we will discuss how to fix the “cannot communicate with the debug host process” error when trying to debug SQL Server Integration Services projects using the Business Intelligence Development Studio (BIDS).

Problem

When trying to debug a SQL Server Integration Services project from within the Business Intelligence Development Studio you receive the error shown below.

BIDS Error

Solution

The solution is to manually register the DTS/SSIS debug host program from a Windows command prompt. Execute the following command in the directories shown depending on what version you have installed.

DtsDebugHost.exe /regserver

SQL Server 2005

  • C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft SQL Server\90\DTS\Binn

SQL Server 2008

  • C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft SQL Server\100\DTS\Binn
  • C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\100\DTS\Binn

NOTE: The folder paths shown assume a 64-bit operating system.