Power BI desktop data import is slow when using Snowflake Connectors

[sdata5]

Hi,

I am using Power BI Desktop (Version - 2.104.702.0 64-bit (April 2022)) and importing data from Snowflake tables using ODBC (Version 2.24.07.00) connection and custom query which pulls approximately 400k records. Initially the import was quick but after few days when I tried to refresh data manually it became very slow. To figure out the issue, I took a small custom query with 10k records and imported it. But this did not help me identify the root cause. I uninstalled Power BI and ODBC Connectors and installed them back and tried but it did not work. I have tried with different versions of Power BI and ODBC Connector, cleared cache, cleared data source settings and issue still exists. I tried with inbuilt snowflake connector in Power BI and even it is still the same. Finally, I noticed it is only loading 15 records at a time and is taking almost 30 minutes to load 10k records. I requested my peers to try on their end and for them, it just finishes in 5 seconds. I have connected with snowflake experts thinking the issue is with ODBC Connector and the logs shows query getting executed within few seconds from snowflake and terminating. Lastly, I requested for Virtual desktop and installed same versions of Power BI and ODBC Connector. When I did the load it just finished within 5 seconds. Now I know the issue is with Power BI on my PC but not sure where exactly the issue is occuring.

Any help here is appreciated!

@PowerBI @Snowflake 

[Anonymous]

Hi @sdata5 ,

First, please check if your computer meets the minimum requirements to run Power BI Desktop.

• Windows 8.1 / Windows Server 2012 R2, or later
• .NET 4.6.2 or later
• Internet Explorer 11 or later
• Memory (RAM): At least 2 GB available, 4 GB or more recommended.
• Display: At least 1440x900 or 1600x900 (16:9) required. Lower resolutions such as 1024x768 or 1280x800 aren't supported, as certain controls (such as closing the startup screen) display beyond those resolutions.
• Windows display settings: If you set your display settings to change the size of text, apps, and other items to more than 100%, you may not be able to see certain dialogs that you must interact with to continue using Power BI Desktop. If you encounter this issue, check your display settings in Windows by going to Settings > System > Display, and use the slider to return display settings to 100%.
• CPU: 1 gigahertz (GHz) 64-bit (x64) processor or better recommended.
• WebView2, if not automatically installed with Power BI Desktop or uninstalled. Download and run the installer for WebView2.

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In addition, after meeting the above requirements, please update your Power BI Desktop version to the latest version.

Download the Power BI Desktop

Then please try to connect to snowflake in Power BI Desktop again and check if it can load the data frequently...

Connect to Snowflake in Power BI Desktop

Use the CData ODBC Driver for Snowflake in Microsoft Power Query

Here is a thread with a similar problem to yours, please check it for the solution. Hopefully it will help you solve the problem too.

Snowflake DirectQuery incredibly slow on Power BI Desktop, yet works fine in Power BI Service

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 I actually had it enabled at first and just tried disabling all the options.

Turns out the slowness was caused by these automatically added parameters in Power Query:

[CreateNavigationProperties=null, ConnectionTimeout=null, CommandTimeout=null]

After removing these, the performance is back to normal.

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Best Regards

[sdata5]

I don't think it is same zone issue. It is only happenning on my work machine. My peers was able to import data in just few seconds. Also I am using direct query, only doing an import with a simple SQL query

Select * from TBL_NAME limit 10000

Strange thing is, Power BI is exactly importing 15 records at a time.

[amitchandak]

@sdata5 , Hope power bi and snowflake are in same zone. Means if slowflake is in different region, there will lag.

also refer these

https://community.powerbi.com/t5/Desktop/Snowflake-DirectQuery-incredibly-slow-on-Power-BI-Desktop-y...

https://community.powerbi.com/t5/Desktop/Power-BI-visualization-very-slow-with-snowflake-direct-quer...

https://community.powerbi.com/t5/Service/Power-BI-import-data-from-Snowflake-slow/m-p/1610488/highli...