Forum Discussion
Redshift DB views Incremental Refresh Solution In Power BI
Hi Koritala ,
In Power BI, a Hybrid table is a single table that combines both Import mode and DirectQuery for different parts of its data. Usually, historical data is imported and stored in memory, while the most recent data is kept in DirectQuery mode, allowing Power BI to access the latest records directly from the source. This setup is automatically created when incremental refresh is enabled on a Premium or Fabric capacity, together with real-time data access.
As a result, most of the table is imported, and only a small, recent section stays in DirectQuery, giving users the benefits of both Import performance and DirectQuery freshness in one table. This is referred to as a Hybrid table in Power BI.
I'm also providing the Microsoft links for your reference--https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/connect-data/incremental-refresh-overview?utm_source.
Thank you.
Power BI cannot do incremental refresh on a pure DirectQuery model, and that is why it fails for your Redshift views.
What Power BI supports
Incremental refresh works for Import or Hybrid (Import + DirectQuery) tables, not for tables that are 100% DirectQuery.
For Redshift, the table or view used for incremental refresh must support query folding (View Native Query enabled) so Power BI can push the RangeStart/RangeEnd filters back to Redshift.
Practical options for your case
Switch back to Import with incremental refresh
Ask the Redshift team to expose your data as a table or materialized view with a date column you can filter on.
In Power BI, set the connection to Import, define RangeStart / RangeEnd parameters and an incremental refresh policy on that table. This bypasses the 1‑million‑row per‑query DirectQuery limit because historical data is stored in the model and only new partitions refresh.
Use a Hybrid model (Premium/Fabric capacity)
Import historical partitions with incremental refresh, and optionally enable the “Get the latest data in real time with DirectQuery” option so only the most recent slice hits Redshift in DirectQuery.
Ensure the M query still folds when RangeStart/RangeEnd filters are applied; otherwise that DirectQuery option will be disabled.
If you must stay pure DirectQuery
You cannot use Power BI incremental refresh; instead, handle incrementality in Redshift itself (for example, with materialized views that Redshift refreshes incrementally) and let Power BI query those objects directly.
In short: to get daily incremental loads from Redshift into Power BI, move the model to Import or Hybrid mode on a foldable table/materialized view, then configure incremental refresh on that table.
Hi Shubham,
May I how what does it mean of Hybrid (Import + DirectQuery) tables?
I am not clear on this.
Thanks,
Sri
Hi Koritala ,
In Power BI, a Hybrid table is a single table that combines both Import mode and DirectQuery for different parts of its data. Usually, historical data is imported and stored in memory, while the most recent data is kept in DirectQuery mode, allowing Power BI to access the latest records directly from the source. This setup is automatically created when incremental refresh is enabled on a Premium or Fabric capacity, together with real-time data access.
As a result, most of the table is imported, and only a small, recent section stays in DirectQuery, giving users the benefits of both Import performance and DirectQuery freshness in one table. This is referred to as a Hybrid table in Power BI.
I'm also providing the Microsoft links for your reference--https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/connect-data/incremental-refresh-overview?utm_source.
Thank you.