Need Assistance || Microsoft fabric || Direct Lake Mode

[maverickf17]

Hi All,
I have few questions.
I have created a semantic model in Fabric.
The table/view in the semantic model comes from one lake tables.
Now I have a power bi report created locally and using local model which is done is power bi desktop.
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I wanted to bind this Power bi report with the semantic model in fabric that uses one lake tbale.
I went to get data in power Bi desktop and Imported the semantic model and the tables of the modela are power Bi desktop model view as below. But when I checked the storage mode of the table in model view it is coming as Direct query  as the below pic.

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But when I check the smeantic model in the One lake I see the below:

am cofuse now what storage mode is the semantic model using
and we have billions of rows I need to   undestand performance vice which storage mode is better.
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Another aspect would be .
I am using One lake as per the below.

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To create the semantic model tables .
I have used view (sql) like the below and then import it to the semantic model.

Basically something like Core one lake tables->Views-> model Building star schema -> Report

But the above is just dummy some columns have been not ocnfirmed from the Business Analyst
So, I want to create as soon i get info of the table say x, then y etc.
Similar to ad-hoc bsasis how do I do that?

Thank you,
Maverick

[v-veshwara-msft]

Hi @maverickf17 ,
We wanted to kindly follow up regarding your query. If you need any further assistance, please reach out.
Thank you.

[v-veshwara-msft]

Hi @maverickf17 ,
Just checking in regarding your query. If further assistance is needed, please reach out.
Thank you.

[v-veshwara-msft]

Hi @maverickf17 ,
Just wanted to check if the responses provided were helpful. If further assistance is needed, please reach out.
Thank you.

[v-veshwara-msft · Accepted solution]

Hi @maverickf17 ,

Thanks for posting in the Microsoft Fabric Community, and thank you @suparnababu8  for already sharing detailed guidance.

Building on that, the behavior you are seeing depends on how the semantic model connects to OneLake:

• Direct Lake on OneLake (public preview) – uses delta tables directly and doesn’t fall back to DirectQuery.

• Direct Lake on SQL endpoints  – uses the SQL endpoint of a Lakehouse or Warehouse. In this case, if the model references a SQL view or certain features (like row-level security), the connection can fall back to DirectQuery.

Reference: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/fabric/fundamentals/direct-lake-overview#key-concepts-and-terminol... 

In your case, the semantic model correctly shows as Direct Lake in Fabric. However, since you’ve built the semantic model on top of SQL views, when you connect to that published model from Power BI Desktop the model view will always display DirectQuery. This is just how Desktop represents the connection - it doesn’t mean your semantic model isn’t using Direct Lake in the service, but SQL views can introduce scenarios where Direct Lake falls back to DirectQuery.

For performance with large datasets, as @suparnababu8  mentioned, practices like star schema design, composite models, aggregations, and incremental refresh are recommended, and the resources shared are very useful.

Please reach out for further assistance.

Thank you.

[suparnababu8]

Hi @maverickf17 

• When you are pulling the sematic model from Fabric, it will show Direct Query mode in Power BI desktop insetd of direct lake.
• If you have billions of rows,  I suggest you go with Composite model (Dimensions -Import mode, Fact - Direct Query.Directlake) 
• Use aggregated tables and star schema model to improve the performance.
• If you are refreshign large datasets, use incremenatl refresh concept.
• You can sue Views and on top of that you create sematic models.
• Use this sematcimodels in power bi and refresh the power bi to update the latest data.

Please go thorugh below links, it might helps you

Power BI Semantic Models - Microsoft Fabric | Microsoft Learn

Identifying Semantic Model Storage Mode in Fabric

Optimization guide for Power BI - Power BI | Microsoft Learn

Refresh a Semantic Model Using Data Pipelines (Preview) - Power BI | Microsoft Learn

Please let me know if it helps you

Thank you!

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