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TaufikMaggangka
Helper II
Helper II

Gateway in Power BI

HI All,

I am pretty new with power BI. For now I develop a report using "diect query mode" and found it that need gateway to access the database(I am using sql server) in this mode.

Here my concerns:
1. Is it the laptop that installed on-premises gateway that I used should be always turn "ON" so the users can access the report ? Because when I turn off the laptop the users got a message " the gateway is either offline or could not be reached".
2. is it there any way to access database or publish the report in direct query mode without gateway ?

Any sollutions will be really appreciated.



1 ACCEPTED SOLUTION
selimovd
Super User
Super User

Hello @TaufikMaggangka ,

 

DirectQuery mode means your Power BI file doesn't store any data. Every time someone opens the reports, changes a slicer or selects for example a bar of a bar chart, a query will be sent to the data source.

For that reason the data source must be available at all times.

 

If you use a data source that is in the cloud, like an Azure SQL Server database, Power BI Service can just connect directly to the data base in the cloud.

In your case you are using a data source that is in your network. As the Power BI Service is not in your network a gateway is required to access the service. When someone opens a report in Power BI Service, the query is sent to the gateway in your network and the gateway will then grab the required data from the source and send it to Power BI Service.

 

In general it's not recommended to install the gateway to a normal notebook. As you said, when you are not online, nobody is able to access the report. In general it's recommended to install a gateway to a server that is running 24/7 in your company. Also it's recommended to install at least 2 gateways to 2 different machines as this one machine would be the bottleneck again.

 

To come back to your question:

a) Switch to a data source that is always available in the cloud like Azure SQL database, files in OneDrive and so on.

b) DirectQuery mode has a lot of disadvantages. Is there a specific reason why you need direct query mode? Otherwise just import the data. Like this most of your problems would be gone.

c) Install the gateway on a server or a notebook in your environment that is always on

 

If you need any help please let me know.
If I answered your question I would be happy if you could mark my post as a solution ✔️ and give it a thumbs up 👍
 
Best regards
Denis
 

View solution in original post

2 REPLIES 2
selimovd
Super User
Super User

Hello @TaufikMaggangka ,

 

DirectQuery mode means your Power BI file doesn't store any data. Every time someone opens the reports, changes a slicer or selects for example a bar of a bar chart, a query will be sent to the data source.

For that reason the data source must be available at all times.

 

If you use a data source that is in the cloud, like an Azure SQL Server database, Power BI Service can just connect directly to the data base in the cloud.

In your case you are using a data source that is in your network. As the Power BI Service is not in your network a gateway is required to access the service. When someone opens a report in Power BI Service, the query is sent to the gateway in your network and the gateway will then grab the required data from the source and send it to Power BI Service.

 

In general it's not recommended to install the gateway to a normal notebook. As you said, when you are not online, nobody is able to access the report. In general it's recommended to install a gateway to a server that is running 24/7 in your company. Also it's recommended to install at least 2 gateways to 2 different machines as this one machine would be the bottleneck again.

 

To come back to your question:

a) Switch to a data source that is always available in the cloud like Azure SQL database, files in OneDrive and so on.

b) DirectQuery mode has a lot of disadvantages. Is there a specific reason why you need direct query mode? Otherwise just import the data. Like this most of your problems would be gone.

c) Install the gateway on a server or a notebook in your environment that is always on

 

If you need any help please let me know.
If I answered your question I would be happy if you could mark my post as a solution ✔️ and give it a thumbs up 👍
 
Best regards
Denis
 

Thank you @selimovd . Will try your suggestion.

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