Refreshing Power BI Dataset from Azure Data Factory with Cross-Tenant Configuration

[Vishnuvardhana]

I'm trying to set up a data pipeline in Azure Data Factory (ADF) to refresh a Power BI dataset. The challenge I'm facing is that the Power BI workspace is in a different tenant ID than the ADF instance.

• ADF is set up in Tenant A.
• The Power BI workspace (where the dataset resides) is in Tenant B.

What is the best approach to trigger a Power BI dataset refresh from ADF in this cross-tenant setup? Are there any specific configuration steps, permissions, or service principals that need to be considered for this integration to work securely and effectively?

Any guidance or examples would be greatly appreciated!

[NandanHegde]

Please refer to the below link :

https://datasharkx.wordpress.com/2022/11/07/refresh-power-bi-dataflow-dataset-from-azure-data-factor...

Note : Even if the Dataset is in another tenant as ADF, you can have the service principal created in the tenant within the Dataset and leverage it within ADF

[Vishnuvardhana]

Hello Nandan,

Thank you for your response! I understand that Service Principals are typically used for authentication, but unfortunately, I am unable to use a Service Principal in my scenario.

Since I cannot use a Service Principal, could you please provide guidance on how I can use a service account (or another approach) to trigger a Power BI dataset refresh when the dataset resides in a different tenant?

[NandanHegde · Accepted solution]

Ideally leveraging a service account without MFA to generate OAUTh token is not a good security practice.

You can create an Azure function within the tenant in which the Power BI dataset is present, grant access to the Azure function in the workspace and write code within Az function to generate OAUTh token.

Then trigger the Azfunction via ADF and pass the OAUth toke into web activity for power bi dataset refresh etc