A connection to oracle error from within PBI Desktop Report

[PBIFanHook7]

I am researching the following pbi desktop report error: A connection could not be made to the data source with the Name of '("protocol":"oracle","address":{"server":"server name"},"authentication":null,"query":null)'. I previously opened another post (below) with a slighly different error message and I thought I had that resolved but now I am getting the connection error but not everytime I open the report. This is wierd and when it works the report opens/runs fast. I appreciate any help and suggestions. Thanks in advance. 

I previously opened another post with a slighly different message: (https://community.fabric.microsoft.com/t5/Desktop/quot-Query-has-exceeded-the-available-resources-qu...)

Report Details ...

This report has a small data model with two DIM views in a one to many relationship with the ETL Fact View (4200 rows, 14 columns). One DIM View has 134 rows with 10 columns and the other DIM View has 13 rows with 10 columns. The Single cross-filter direction is used. The 'Make this relationship active' option is selected. The 'Assume referential integrity' option is not selected. The main visual is a table and it takes about 5 seconds to load. There is no complicated DAX, no calculated columns and only 1 measure which is: Total Records =  COUNTROWS (ETL Fact View).

There is an independant View which returns one record with the Load Date which is displayed in a Card visual on the first report tab and displayed in a Card visual on the second report tab which is just the Help Page.

[v-hjannapu]

Hi @PBIFanHook7,

I would also take a moment to thank @Ritaf1983 @wardy912 , for actively participating in the community forum and for the solutions you’ve been sharing in the community forum. Your contributions make a real difference.
 

I wanted to check if you had the opportunity to review the information provided. Please feel free to contact us if you have any further questions.

Regards,
Community Support Team.

[v-hjannapu]

Hi @PBIFanHook7,
I hope the above details help you fix the issue. If you still have any questions or need more help, feel free to reach out. We are always here to support you.


Regards,
Community Support Team.

[Ritaf1983 · Accepted solution]

Hi @PBIFanHook7 

This does not look like a permissions issue. Intermittent connection errors from Power BI Desktop to Oracle are usually related to client/driver configuration, network stability, or database resource limits. A few things to check:

Oracle Client
– Make sure only one 64-bit client is installed (19c or later is recommended).
– Clean up your PATH so you don’t have multiple oci.dll versions causing conflicts.
– If you use TNS, verify tnsnames.ora is correct and stable with tnsping.

Connection String
– Prefer SERVICE_NAME instead of SID.
– If you connect through SCAN or a load balancer, make sure DNS resolution is consistent.

Database Limits
– Ask your DBA to check for ORA-errors, Resource Manager rules, or session/process quotas.
– Your earlier “exceeded available resources” error suggests quota or workload limits on the DB side.

Network / VPN
– Short network drops can trigger “A connection could not be made.”
– Try opening the same view at different times of day to see if it correlates with load.

Power BI Desktop Settings
– Update to the latest version.
– In Options → Data Load, disable Parallel loading and Background data to test.
– Clear cache and enable tracing (Options → Diagnostics) to capture details when it fails.

Isolation Test
– Run the same views repeatedly in SQL*Plus/SQL Developer. If they also fail intermittently, the issue is with the DB or network. If they are stable there, focus on the client/Power BI side.

If the above checks do not resolve the problem, I recommend opening a support ticket with Microsoft Power BI Support, including a copy of your Desktop diagnostic trace and Oracle client version details:
https://support.fabric.microsoft.com/

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

[PBIFanHook7]

Rita, I marked your response as the solution. I have not yet, but plan to open a ticket with Microsoft Power BI Support. Thanks again for all of the excellent information. 

[PBIFanHook7]

Rita, thanks for such a thorough response. I think I am going to open a support ticket with Microsoft Power BI Support. I tried enabling trace within the power bi report but it does not save it. I believe I need to save that option because the error occurs when I first open the report, the first time for that day. Thanks again. (I will mark the solution soon.)

[wardy912]

Hi @PBIFanHook7 

 Is your PBI desktop version up to date? If not, give that a try.

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I hope this helps, please give kudos and mark as solved if it does!

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