Forum Discussion
Centralize table refresh in Semantic Model Build
Hi Koritala ,
Explore Composite Models they are the ideal use case for you.in composite model, you can build one central model with common tables which will be used as remote model.then other 4 models can be created using this model as reference plus additional tables.in composite model, rls/ols has to be defined in the remote model only.you can also apply incremental refresh on remote model to have efficient data refresh for 15 years of data.
References:
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/transform-model/desktop-composite-models
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/guidance/composite-model-guidance
Please give kudos or mark it as a solution once confirmed.
Thanks and Regards,
Praful
I think a solution for you would be to create a "master" dataset that you publish to your workspace. Create all needed measures and relationships on this model (this model will ideally have no visuals). Then for your reports create "thin" reports on top of this semantic model. To create the "thin" report, in Desktop when you start creating your report, instead of starting with "Get Data" and building the model you start by going to OneLake catalogue and selecting "Power BI Semantic models":
You can then select your published data model and build your visuals on top of that model using all the same measures. You then only have one model to refresh and multiple reports can use that one model. This will get rid of the duplicate semantic models and copies of data.
Hi d_m_LNK,
Thanks for your quick response.
As you suggested I tried to Import all the tables into Master Model. But my challenge is that I have a very few very large tables and not allowed me to import those tables into Master model. Can you plz suggest how to over come this scenario? We have PPU License. In desktop, when I try to import very large tables, it is saying memory issue and can't use Import mode.
Thanks,
Sri.
You may be able to set up incramental refresh depending on your large table. This will create partitions at whatever cadence you set in the refresh policy. Documentation is here: Configure incremental refresh for Power BI semantic models - Power BI | Microsoft Learn
This will allow you to set parameters for the data that is loaded in the model so you can at least get it published.
Do you need all the data in the model? Is it an option for you to write custom SQL against your large table to only pull in recent data? not knowing the exact scenario I just giving options I have worked with.
Hi d_m_LNK,
Thanks for your response.
The process you explained in your response, that is with Fabric not the normal power bi I belive. Can you confirm?
Thanks,
Sri
This is with the Power BI service as well as Fabric. It worked before we switched to fabric and still after. The composite models explained by Praful_Potphode is essentially an extension of what I was talking about and is a great use case for your issue.
