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CahabaData
Memorable Member
Memorable Member

Data Source transition planning

have opened this in Desktop but it straddles both Desktop & Service

 

real world: if someone begins with file samples of their data  - let's say they are a set of csv files;

 

interested to get it data modeled and an initial set of visuals established in Desktop, then a Service Dashboard sampling..... kind of a proof of concept scenario...

 

then at this point - if they think it is viable - they want to connect to their actual data sources; which could be onprem ODBC or cloud based (let's assume the data source is always one recognized/supported in PBI specs)

 

The question is: Can the data source always be transitioned without rebuilding the data model / reports / visuals?

 

The same question asked from the other direction: Which PBI Service / Data Source connection combination can ONLY be built in Service ? 

 

The pragmatic aspects of this is understanding that while there is a linear progression from Desktop Data to Desktop Report/Visuals published to Service Report and pinned Service Dashboard;  however if the data source cannot transition then upfront this linear progression should not be the approach to use - - and instead  - - identify what must be built initially & only in Service because of the connection to the final data source. 

 

 

 

 

 

www.CahabaData.com
1 ACCEPTED SOLUTION

Hi @CahabaData,

 

1. Can the data source always be transitioned without rebuilding the data model / reports / visuals?

 

In Power BI Desktop, we can change data source connection string in Advanced Editor use Power Query. But if the target source has different structure, fields, data types from previous source table, then you needs also to modify the data model, report or visual.

 

While in Power BI Service, once we publish the .PBIX file to Power BI Service, the data source used in this report is fixed, and we are not able to change connection string used in the dataset. Also the relation between report and corresponding dataset is built automatically, we are not able to replace one of them with another. So it means, though we can create a new dataset in Power BI Service, but we can't link the report with this new dataset. We need to create a new report from this new dataset, or we need to modify connection and reports in desktop then republish them to service.


2. Which PBI Service / Data Source connection combination can ONLY be built in Service ?

 

Power BI Desktop and Power BI Service support different data sources types, you can refer to links below to learn more:


Data sources in Power BI Desktop

Data sources for Power BI service

 

And there are some service content packs which are only available in Power BI Service: Connect to services with content packs for Power BI.

 

If you have any question, please feel free to ask.

 

Best Regards,
Qiuyun Yu

Community Support Team _ Qiuyun Yu
If this post helps, then please consider Accept it as the solution to help the other members find it more quickly.

View solution in original post

7 REPLIES 7
Greg_Deckler
Super User
Super User

You can always use the Power Query Advanced Editor to change the source of the query.


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Thanks  @Greg_Deckler That would be the best possible scenario.

 

But it seems that I watched a tutorial where a Live Connection to a cloud based data source looked like it could only get set up via PBI Service - - and that was the genesis of this line of thought I just posted.....  I need to hunt down that link.....as it really introduced some confusion for me on this issue.....

 

 

www.CahabaData.com

True, a Live Connection configured via the Service is a completely different animal than a connection initiated from the Desktop and you are not going to have near the control over it as you would have in Desktop.


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yeah that's my concern.  If we start as proof of concept with csv samples via desktop then up to service dashboards....  if they ultimately want a Live connection to a cloud data source is that possible to transition?... or do we have to rebuild the report

 

need to clarify my PBI road map on these type issues.......

www.CahabaData.com

Hi @CahabaData,

 

1. Can the data source always be transitioned without rebuilding the data model / reports / visuals?

 

In Power BI Desktop, we can change data source connection string in Advanced Editor use Power Query. But if the target source has different structure, fields, data types from previous source table, then you needs also to modify the data model, report or visual.

 

While in Power BI Service, once we publish the .PBIX file to Power BI Service, the data source used in this report is fixed, and we are not able to change connection string used in the dataset. Also the relation between report and corresponding dataset is built automatically, we are not able to replace one of them with another. So it means, though we can create a new dataset in Power BI Service, but we can't link the report with this new dataset. We need to create a new report from this new dataset, or we need to modify connection and reports in desktop then republish them to service.


2. Which PBI Service / Data Source connection combination can ONLY be built in Service ?

 

Power BI Desktop and Power BI Service support different data sources types, you can refer to links below to learn more:


Data sources in Power BI Desktop

Data sources for Power BI service

 

And there are some service content packs which are only available in Power BI Service: Connect to services with content packs for Power BI.

 

If you have any question, please feel free to ask.

 

Best Regards,
Qiuyun Yu

Community Support Team _ Qiuyun Yu
If this post helps, then please consider Accept it as the solution to help the other members find it more quickly.

much thanks QY for putting all the data on this topic together into 1 place.   I believe this should be pinned for availability for other newer PBI developers as they come along.

 

 

www.CahabaData.com

I'm not aware of a way to edit a dataset source if created in the Service so you would likely be looking at a rebuild.


@ me in replies or I'll lose your thread!!!
Instead of a Kudo, please vote for this idea
Become an expert!: Enterprise DNA
External Tools: MSHGQM
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Mastering Power BI 2nd Edition

DAX is easy, CALCULATE makes DAX hard...

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