Difference in Performance Between Power BI Service Links to Local or Sharepoint Files

[KCinMelbourne]

Hi all,

Does anyone have information on the performance variations between files on SharePoint vs. accessing those same files via a local file/network drive.  

I'm just curious about what might impact performance of these two data source options and therefore what considerations you might give for deciding where to store files that will feed a Power BI model published on Service.

Cheers

Kirsty

[Anonymous · Accepted solution]

If you are using an import model, there won't be any impact on the user experience.  Unless the files are ultra large, or there are a lot of them, i can't imagine you would have any noteworthy difference in refresh times between network drives and your sharepoint folders.

I personally have had issues with Gateways and SharePoint onpremise.  I opt to use network folders instead just for that performance reason, but that does mean your files can be further away (in network terms) from the Gateway.

SharePoint Online has worked like a dream however.

[KCinMelbourne]

Thanks @Anonymous,

We are using SharePoint online and haven't had issues in the past.  I've just moved to using automated extracts from our Finance system which can only export to the network.  Previously we manually ran reports so could save them where we wanted.

I was simply trying to get my head around processing time to figure out if it was worth getting IT to set up an auto shift for me.  Your advice certainly helps.

Cheers

Kirsty