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viniciuscini
New Member

Improve query performance of direct query with Databricks

I’m building a dashboard in Power BI’s Pro Workspace, connecting data via Direct Query from Databricks (around 60 million rows from 15 combined tables), using a SQL Serverless (small size and 4 clusters).

The problem is that the dashboard is taking too long to load.

Considering that I can’t change my workspace to Premium, work with import mode, or use aggregation tables, is there anything else I can do besides what I’ve already done (listed below)?

  • Model tables in a “Star schema” in Power BI;
  • Materialize all tables in Databricks, avoiding as much as possible calculations and joins inside Power BI;
  • Check the “Referential Integrity” box when joining tables in Power BI;
  • Avoid using bi-directional filters;
  • Avoid using calculated columns or any field with “line-to-line interaction”;
  • Avoid nesting one calculation inside another;
  • Set up dimension tables in Dual Storage Mode;
  • Add an “Apply” button to apply all changes at once.
  • Increase the “Maximum connections per data source” in Power BI's configuration;
  • Increase the “Maximum number of simultaneous evaluations” in Power BI's configuration;
  • Increase the “Maximum memory used per simultaneous evaluation” in Power BI's configuration;
  • Uncheck “Auto date/time” in Power BI's configuration;
  • Uncheck “Allow data preview to download in the background” in Power BI's configuration;
  • Uncheck “Enable parallel loading of tables” in Power BI's configuration;
  • Uncheck “Turn on Q&A to ask natural language questions about your data” in Power BI's configuration;
  • Uncheck “Cross highlighting/filtering by default” in Power BI's configuration;

P.S.: I also tried to scale up the SQL Serverless (both memory and the number of nodes), but despite the dashboard taking 3-4 minutes to load, only 20%-30% of the compute power is being used. So, it does not seem to be a matter of compute power.

Due to that, I suspect that connection latency might have something to do with the slow performance.

2 ACCEPTED SOLUTIONS
amitchandak
Super User
Super User

@viniciuscini , Seem like you have tried all.

Ensure good partitioning and clustering of your data for your access patterns. Consider Z-ordering and clustering Optimizations with Delta Lake.

 

Also, consider Microsoft Fabric. It gives similar data with Direct Lake, where you do need a copy.

 

You can start a trial.  If your DataBricks table is in Delta format, you can just create shortcuts create model, and check the same in Fabric

Starting Your Free Trial- https://youtu.be/8kIMHmkQ9m4

Shortcuts- https://youtu.be/KIbt9GzAdWk

 

Share with Power BI Enthusiasts: Full Power BI Video (20 Hours) YouTube
Microsoft Fabric Series 60+ Videos YouTube
Microsoft Fabric Hindi End to End YouTube

View solution in original post

Anonymous
Not applicable

Hi @viniciuscini ,

 

I think you can try Fabric as amitchandak mentioned.

You may also refer to below offical blogs to optmize Power BI Performance.

For reference:

Optimization guide for Power BI - Power BI | Microsoft Learn

DirectQuery model guidance in Power BI Desktop - Power BI | Microsoft Learn

DirectQuery optimization scenarios with the Optimize ribbon in Power BI Desktop - Power BI | Microso...

 

Best Regards,
Rico Zhou

 

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

View solution in original post

2 REPLIES 2
Anonymous
Not applicable

Hi @viniciuscini ,

 

I think you can try Fabric as amitchandak mentioned.

You may also refer to below offical blogs to optmize Power BI Performance.

For reference:

Optimization guide for Power BI - Power BI | Microsoft Learn

DirectQuery model guidance in Power BI Desktop - Power BI | Microsoft Learn

DirectQuery optimization scenarios with the Optimize ribbon in Power BI Desktop - Power BI | Microso...

 

Best Regards,
Rico Zhou

 

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

amitchandak
Super User
Super User

@viniciuscini , Seem like you have tried all.

Ensure good partitioning and clustering of your data for your access patterns. Consider Z-ordering and clustering Optimizations with Delta Lake.

 

Also, consider Microsoft Fabric. It gives similar data with Direct Lake, where you do need a copy.

 

You can start a trial.  If your DataBricks table is in Delta format, you can just create shortcuts create model, and check the same in Fabric

Starting Your Free Trial- https://youtu.be/8kIMHmkQ9m4

Shortcuts- https://youtu.be/KIbt9GzAdWk

 

Share with Power BI Enthusiasts: Full Power BI Video (20 Hours) YouTube
Microsoft Fabric Series 60+ Videos YouTube
Microsoft Fabric Hindi End to End YouTube

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