Creating Live Connection from Power BI Desktop to Customer's SQL Server DB on AWS

[manoj_0911]

Creating Live Connection from Power BI Desktop to Customer's SQL Server DB on AWS

Hello Power BI Community,

I'm currently working on a project where I need to establish a live connection from Power BI Desktop installed on my laptop to a SQL Server database hosted on AWS, belonging to a customer. I would like to seek guidance on how to set up this live connection effectively.

Are there any specific configurations or settings I need to be aware of to ensure a smooth connection?

Thanks,
Manoj Prabhakar

[amitchandak · Accepted solution]

@manoj_0911 , With SQL server you can connect with a Direct Query connection. You will need on-premise gateway, in case AWS ports are not opened.

Live connection is for

1. SQL Server analysis service

2. Azure Analysis Service

3. Power BI dataset

and Data is as good as what is refreshed on those datasets 

Direct Lake connection is for Fabric Lakehouse and Warehouse semantic Model

[amitchandak · Accepted solution]

@manoj_0911 , With SQL server you can connect with a Direct Query connection. You will need on-premise gateway, in case AWS ports are not opened.

Live connection is for

1. SQL Server analysis service

2. Azure Analysis Service

3. Power BI dataset

and Data is as good as what is refreshed on those datasets 

Direct Lake connection is for Fabric Lakehouse and Warehouse semantic Model

[manoj_0911]

Hi @amitchandak  Thank you your reply, can you please provide an table with detailed differences between live vs import vs direct query. I'm little confused between live and direct query

[Anonymous · Accepted solution]

Hi @manoj_0911 

Thanks for the reply from @amitchandak , please allow me to provide my additions:

Direct Query: It is a direct connection to the data source. Data will not be stored in the Power BI. Power BI only store metadata of data to obtain data. With this method, the model will be much smaller. 

For more details, you can read related document link:

DirectQuery in Power BI - Power BI | Microsoft Learn

Live connection: This method is roughly similar to Direct Query, but it connects with data sources that are modeling engines themselves. And it only supported for these data sources: Azure Analysis Services; SSAS tabular; SSAS Multi-Dimensional.

For more details, you can read related document link:

Solved: Difference between live connection and direct quer... - Microsoft Fabric Community

What's the difference between live connections and DirectQuery? - Power BI | Microsoft Learn

Best Regards,
Yulia Xu

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