topic Re: How to consume big parquet files in power bi ? in Developer

How to consume big parquet files in power bi ?

jaryszek — Thu, 07 Aug 2025 10:32:28 GMT

Hello,

How to consume big parquet files in power bi ? Where to put them within microsoft cloud architecture?

Best,
Jacek

Re: How to consume big parquet files in power bi ?

jaineshp — Thu, 07 Aug 2025 12:36:32 GMT

Hey @jaryszek,

Azure Data Lake Gen2 - Best storage option for parquet files
Organize in folders by date/ID for better filtering performance

Option : Synapse Serverless SQL (Most practical)

Create Synapse workspace
Build SQL views over your parquet files
Connect Power BI via DirectQuery
Pay only for queries you run

Power BI Connection Steps

Never use Import mode for 70GB files
Always use DirectQuery connection
Connect through SQL views (Synapse) or direct lakehouse connection (Fabric)
Set up proper filters on ID column from the start

Fixed? ✓ Mark it • Share it • Help others!

Best Regards,
Jainesh Poojara | Power BI Developer

Re: How to consume big parquet files in power bi ?

jaryszek — Thu, 07 Aug 2025 13:45:32 GMT

thanks.

what is a difference between

Connect through SQL views (Synapse) or direct lakehouse connection (Fabric) ??
Best,
Jacek

Re: How to consume big parquet files in power bi ?

jaineshp — Fri, 08 Aug 2025 04:20:31 GMT

Hey @jaryszek,

You can find difference anywhere over the internet.

Here's a small part: -

Performance	Moderate (can have latency, especially serverless)	High (low-latency, optimized for Fabric)
Caching	Manual (materialized views, indexes)	Automatic OneLake caching
Data Modeling	SQL-based (views, joins, constraints)	Lakehouse tables, DAX or Power Query
Transformation	In SQL Views	In notebooks, pipelines, or Power BI

Fixed? ✓ Mark it • Share it • Help others!

Best Regards,
Jainesh Poojara | Power BI Developer

Re: How to consume big parquet files in power bi ?

jaryszek — Fri, 08 Aug 2025 07:07:40 GMT

It is not a question how to find differences only.

But when to choose specific solution?

Re: How to consume big parquet files in power bi ?

jaineshp — Fri, 08 Aug 2025 07:24:18 GMT

Hey @jaryszek,

When to Choose SQL views (Synapse) and Direct lakehouse

1. Choose Direct Lakehouse Connection

When your parquet files are already clean and analysis-ready. Best for teams comfortable with Power Query transformations who need fast performance on large, well-structured data.

2. Choose SQL Views (Synapse)

When your parquet files need complex joins or transformations before consumption. Ideal for SQL-heavy teams who need to implement business logic at the database layer.

3. Decision Factor: Team Skills Over Technology

Choose based on your team's expertise - Direct Lake needs Power Query skills, SQL views need T-SQL knowledge. Work with your team's strengths, not against them.

Fixed? ✓ Mark it • Share it • Help others!

Best Regards,
Jainesh Poojara | Power BI Developer

Re: How to consume big parquet files in power bi ?

jaryszek — Fri, 08 Aug 2025 08:58:31 GMT

the team is me with sql and power query expertise 🙂

Thank you!!