Forum Discussion
Shared Semantic Model Costs
Hey all!!
In my company's current setup, we have multiple Power BI reports that consume data from the same semantic model. We’re now centralizing everything into a single semantic model file. However, we have some concerns regarding potential additional costs.
While reading the Fabric documentation, I came across the metric "live connections (per second)". We’re currently using an F8 capacity, and I’d like to understand exactly what this metric represents.
Does “live connections (per second)” refer to each time a user accesses a dashboard, or is it counted every time the user interacts with it (e.g., using slicers, filters, or visuals)?
Our dashboards are embedded, and each user interaction triggers a query to the model. The reports connect to the semantic model via DirectQuery, but the semantic model itself is in Import mode. That’s why I’m trying to understand whether every interaction would count as a new live connection and potentially impact capacity costs.
It'd be very much appreciated if you all could help me understand this 🙂
Thank youu
Hello andremaarinho,
In Fabric capacity metrics, “Live connections (per second)” measures how many concurrent query sessions (connections) are established from reports or dashboards to semantic models per second.
It is not a billing or cost metric — it’s a performance indicator showing query concurrency and load patterns on your capacity.
🔹 What counts as a “live connection”?
A live connection occurs whenever a report establishes a session with a semantic model hosted in your Fabric capacity.
This usually happens once per report render (initial load or refresh) — not per interaction.
Inside that connection, multiple queries (DAX or MDX) are executed per visual, slicer, or filter, but these are all part of the same active session.
So:
No, you are not charged per live connection.
Fabric capacity cost is fixed based on the SKU (F2, F4, F8, F64, etc.).
What this metric reflects is resource consumption (CPU, memory, and concurrency), which determines whether your capacity is adequate for your workload.What can impact cost:
If you consistently hit high concurrency, query queueing, or refresh delays, you might need to scale up (F16) or autoscale to maintain performance.
But every slicer click does not create new billing activity.
Documentation :
- https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/fabric/enterprise/licenses#capacity-units
- https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/fabric/enterprise/metrics-app
- https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/fabric/enterprise/metrics-app-compute-page
Hope it can help you !
Best regards,
Antoine
3 Replies
Hello andremaarinho,
In Fabric capacity metrics, “Live connections (per second)” measures how many concurrent query sessions (connections) are established from reports or dashboards to semantic models per second.
It is not a billing or cost metric — it’s a performance indicator showing query concurrency and load patterns on your capacity.
🔹 What counts as a “live connection”?
A live connection occurs whenever a report establishes a session with a semantic model hosted in your Fabric capacity.
This usually happens once per report render (initial load or refresh) — not per interaction.
Inside that connection, multiple queries (DAX or MDX) are executed per visual, slicer, or filter, but these are all part of the same active session.
So:
No, you are not charged per live connection.
Fabric capacity cost is fixed based on the SKU (F2, F4, F8, F64, etc.).
What this metric reflects is resource consumption (CPU, memory, and concurrency), which determines whether your capacity is adequate for your workload.What can impact cost:
If you consistently hit high concurrency, query queueing, or refresh delays, you might need to scale up (F16) or autoscale to maintain performance.
But every slicer click does not create new billing activity.
Documentation :
- https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/fabric/enterprise/licenses#capacity-units
- https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/fabric/enterprise/metrics-app
- https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/fabric/enterprise/metrics-app-compute-page
Hope it can help you !
Best regards,
Antoine
Hi andremaarinho,
Have you had a chance to review the solution we shared by AntoineW? If the issue persists, feel free to reply so we can help further.
Thank you.
HI andremaarinho,
Checking in to see if your issue has been resolved. let us know if you still need any assistance.
Thank you.
