Power BI import data from Snowflake slow

[JohanEriksson]

Hi all!

I have converted a pretty simple dataset, which import data from SQL Server, so it import the same data from a Snowflake database. Dataset contains 4 fact tables (views) and 2 dimesnion tables (views) and there are only 3 or 4 DAX expressions in report.

The elapse time with datasource SQL Server is between 2:30 and 3 minutes.

The elapse time with datasource Snowflake is between 5 and 10 minutes.

(I have done several tries and the pattern is the same)

I can see in Snowflake query history that all queries takes maximum 20 seconds.

There is no significant difference when I cahnge Snowflake Wrehouse size. I change Warhouse size from Small to Large)

My Power BI is in datacenter North Europe, Snowflake is in West Europe. I have been told that it should not have any impact.

So, does anybody have an idea where all overhead time in Snowflake comes from?!

Thanks in advance!

[v-janeyg-msft · Accepted solution]

Hi, @JohanEriksson 

Is the refresh time of the data source in PBI service? The query engine of different databases is different, and the query speed is of course not the same.
Reference:Microsoft SQL Server vs. Snowflake Comparison (db-engines.com)

If it doesn’t solve your problem, please feel free to ask me.

Best Regards

Janey Guo

If this post helps, then please consider Accept it as the solution to help the other members find it more quickly.