Installing and using VS2015 for BI solution

Question

For a migration project (SQL server 2008R2 to SQL server 2016) we need to update our solutions. VS2015 should be compatble with SQL2016.
The challenge is to find the proper downloads.
Installing the downloads from:
https://visualstudio.microsoft.com/vs/older-downloads/isolated-shell/
(first isolated shell , then integrated shell) yields a professional edition (license key required)
I have no idea if this comes with the required data tools . We use SSIS,SSAS, SSRS projects in solutions.
The only alternative seems to be the community edition. Do we need to get the data tools seperately then?

Answer 1

Better install & use the latest version of SSDT, it support SQL Server version 2008R2-2017, see Download SQL Server Data Tools (SSDT) for Visual Studio => Supported Versions.

Answer 2

Hi @Ties Blom ,
I agree with Olaf. SQL Server Data Tools (SSDT) provides project templates and design surfaces for building SQL Server content types - relational databases, Analysis Services models, Reporting Services reports, and Integration Services packages.
In addition, SSDT is backwards compatible, so you can always use the newest SSDT to design and deploy databases, models, reports, and packages that run on older versions of SQL Server.
Best Regards,
Amelia

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