Unable to Deploy Large Tabular Model to Power BI Embedded (A2) Workspace

[charleshale]

Goal: Deploy a Power BI semantic model (~5GB, exported as .bim) to an A2 Embedded workspace via XMLA, and enable PremiumFiles large model support.

Problems Encountered:

1. Tabular Editor 2

• ✅ Connects to localhost for .pbix inspection

• ❌ Fails to deploy via XMLA (Invoke-ASCmd) with error:

  Unable to obtain authentication token using the credentials provided.

• Cause: TE2 doesn't support modern AAD/MFA authentication.

2. Tabular Editor 3 (licensed)

• ❌ CLI launch fails to execute deploy; opens interactive UI instead.

• ❌ GUI does not support opening .bim files directly.

• ✅ Can launch, but does not deploy unless embedded in .te3proj structure.

• Attempted multiple quoting/escaping strategies and .cmd wrapper — still launches UI, no deployment happens.

3. PowerShell with Invoke-ASCmd

• ❌ Cannot authenticate to Power BI XMLA endpoint:

  Unable to obtain authentication token using the credentials provided.

• Tested with execution policy override, correct module versions — no success.

4. Visual Studio

• ❌ Visual Studio 2022 Installer no longer exposes the Microsoft Analysis Services Projects extension.

• ❌ The recommended .vsix file from Microsoft (aka.ms or marketplace) is 404 / no longer available.

• ❌ Not listed under individual components or workloads (even with SSDT + BI tools selected).

What Did Work (ALMOST):

• Exporting .bim via Tabular Editor 2 (localhost)

• Wrapping it in a valid XMLA template

• Partial deployment appears to start, but cannot validate without full VS project or successful Set-PowerBIDataset confirmation
  
  

Still Blocked:

• Cannot deploy or manage large Power BI semantic models via any current tooling:

  • TE2 fails auth

  • TE3 can't run CLI or load .bim

  • Visual Studio lacks installable support

  • Invoke-ASCmd fails on token

  • Power BI ignores Set-PowerBIDataset until deployment succeeds

Questions:

• Where can we reliably download and install the Microsoft Analysis Services Projects extension for VS2022?

• Is there a supported way to deploy .bim to Power BI XMLA endpoint with modern auth + PremiumFiles enabled?

• Are there plans to fix TE3 CLI behavior or restore full XMLA deployment support without Visual Studio?

[v-agajavelly]

Hi @charleshale ,

Since we haven’t heard back from you, we’ll proceed to close this thread for now. If you continue to experience issues or have any additional questions, feel free to start a new thread in the Microsoft Fabric Community Forum. We’re always here to help and happy to support you.

Regards,
Akhil.

[v-agajavelly]

Hi @charleshale ,

Just checking in did you get a chance to try out the XMLA deployment approach or hear anything new from Marco or the SQLBI team? Really curious to know if it played well with AAD/MFA, especially in the context of Embedded capacities. It feels like we’re so close to having a fully streamlined workflow there. If you discovered any useful workarounds or tips along the way, would happy to hear about them always great to learn from each other’s setups.

Regards,
Akhil.

[v-agajavelly]

Hi @charleshale ,

Absolutely, that would be amazing! If anyone could pull it off, it’s definitely Marco and the SQLBI team. Having native XMLA deployment with proper AAD/MFA support in TE3 would really close the loop, especially for those of us working with Embedded capacities and large models. Appreciate you checking it out hope it works smoothly! Do share back if you uncover any other clever workaround too.

Regards,
Akhil.

[v-agajavelly]

Hi @charleshale ,

Thanks a lot for the suggestion @lbendlin  really appreciate it. Yes, I did try both SSMS and PowerShell

• SSMS: Couldn’t get past the authentication part due to lack of modern AAD/MFA support.
• PowerShell: Faced similar issues. Invoke-ASCmd fails to fetch token, even with the right modules and credentials.

What finally worked for me was using Tabular Editor 3 CLI, but only after wrapping the model in a .te3proj structure and making sure Large Dataset Storage Format was enabled in the workspace. Still feels like we need a more consistent and officially supported path for deploying large models to Power BI Embedded especially with modern auth.

Regards,
Akhil

[charleshale]

Will try this.   I wonder if we could get marco @ SQLBI to add XMLA deployment support in TE3.   That would be the cleanest given that TE2 had the functionality albeit without the  AAD/MFA authentication.  I suspect it's a big lift but SLQBI is super-human in their abilities!

[lbendlin]

Have you tried to deploy via SSMS or PowerShell ?

[charleshale]

yes - tried full powershell.   re ssms I couldn’t get past the authentication part due to lack of modern AAD/MFA support.  will try  .te3proj structure