Forum Discussion
Datasize too big for one semantic model - best practise
Community ChampionThe maximum size of a semantic model with a Premium Per User (PPU) license in Power BI is 100 GB. This is significantly larger than the 1GB limit with a Pro license, allowing for more extensive data models.
When developing a semantic model that combines different data sources and business areas, and the data size is too large, best practices include:
- Enabling large semantic models: If you’re using Power BI Premium, you can enable the Large semantic model storage format to allow your semantic models to grow beyond 10.
- Incremental refresh: Configure incremental refresh policies to load only the data that has changed, reducing the overall size and improving refresh performance.
- Composite models: If the data size still exceeds limits, consider creating more than one semantic model and using composite models to combine them. This approach allows you to maintain a single source of truth while managing large datasets effectively.
Creating multiple semantic models and using composite models can seem contrary to the idea of a single golden semantic model. However, it’s a practical solution to handle large datasets while preserving the benefits of centralized business logic and data sources. It’s about finding the right balance between a unified semantic layer and the technical limitations of the platform.
Beow Link may help you to solve your issues:
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/enterprise/service-premium-large-models
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In case there is still a problem, please feel free and explain your issue in detail, It will be my pleasure to assist you in any way I can.
Hi 123abc
Thanks for the links. I have som follow up questions 🙂
1: If we choose to upgrade our licenses from Pro to Premium pr. users - do when then need to upgrade all users who only needs to be able to consume the reports from Pro to Premium as well or is it possible to create a premium workspace where the semantic model is located and then a pro workspace where all the reports is located with a live connection to the semantic model in the premium workspace?
2: Also, if we choose to enable incremental refresh or large semantic model format would we then need to use external tools like tabular editor 2 or is it possible to store a "backup" of the semantic model report with a subset of data and then when changes has been applied or new business logic added then just upload the semantic model afterwards, then do a full load and lastly enable incremental or large dataset on the semantic model again?
3: If we choose to make more than one semantic model and then create som composite models how do you then handle ex. a Calendar dimension. Would that be added to all 3 semantic models (sales, purchase, inventory) so you in reality would have three calendar dimensions to maintain or is there a smarter way of doing that sort of thing?