SSIS flat file location. Local drive vs shared folder on same server

I have a flat file stored locally on the same server where SSIS is running.

When choosing the location of my flat file in the flat file connection manager, I could use the local drive (d:\testfiles\flatfile.txt) or I could use the UNC path (\myserver\flatfileshare\flatfile.txt.)

Both are pointing at the same file and the package is succesful either way. Is there a performance reason for why I should choose one over the other?

More than a performance reason, if you choose the UNC path, you have a more flexible solution. In that case, if you change the SSIS package, so it runs on another server, the path to the file will be correct.

Specify your files like this:

\\server\sharename\path\file.txt

This will work in both places.

Referred to as a UNC path.

When I had XP, I loved this utility for generating them - clippath. You could right-click a file and it would copy the path to your clipboard. Magical.

Now I'm on Win7 x64 and it's not supported. Windows7 has a copy file path, but it seems to use the drive letter, which is not what we want, is it?

Looking up a file is a trivial location, I wouldn't worry about the diff.

I'd use some sort of package configuration to store the path for the file, it's a much more flexible solution.