Forum Discussion
Complete end to end on premises solution using Power BI
Looking for information on the best design for a complete end to end on premises solution using Power BI
The data is in SQL server 2016 and the requirement is to keep everything (including publication which I know is still in development but due at the end of 2016) on premises ....
Thanks
Hi bp,
Firstly, from your description, you want to use on-premises SQL Server 2016 Reporting Services to deploy and manage reports within your organization. Currently, besides creating traditional, paginated reports, you can also create mobile reports that are optimized for smartphones and tablets. Moreover, you have a modern web portal where you can view all your reports in one place. These features have been available in SSRS 2016, for more details, please review this blog.
Secondly, when you manage reports in Power BI Service, it is also safe. For more details about Power BI Security, please review this article.
Thirdly, when you connect to SSAS database via “Connect Live” option, on-premises gateway is required to display the reports of SSAS data source in Power BI Service. On-premises gateway is not required if you only display the reports of SQL Server data source in Power BI Service.
In addition, as you want to refresh your datasets in Power BI Service, you would need to add SSAS data source and SQL Server data source under the on-premises gateway. And please note that when you connect to SQL Server or SSAS via DirectQuery connection, there is no option to configure scheduled refresh in Power BI Service. Scheduled refresh is only available for imported datasets. For more details, please review this article.
Thanks,
Lydia Zhang
7 Replies
Can you be more specific in terms of your requirements? You seem to have all of the components that you need SQL 2016 and Power BI Desktop I assume. It is unclear at the moment whether or not what kind of infrastructure, if any, needs to be in place to support refresh. You could design this in a bunch of different ways depending on the requirements and load. Do you want high availability?
Hi,
the biggest requirement is that everything stays on premises and away from anything cloud based (including Azure) for security purposes - I know this isn't possible at present but it has been promised (?) soon .... and was demo'd at Ignite
https://myignite.microsoft.com/videos/2898
the data requirement is to have Power BI desktop or Pro connect to SQL Server using Direct Query, connect to SSAS using Direct Connection - I'm wondering if that means an On Premises Enterrprise Gateway is needed as well ....
The refresh rate isn't so important right now - daily is probably enough - but this will probably increase to hourly
Thanks for your help,
Hi bp,
Firstly, from your description, you want to use on-premises SQL Server 2016 Reporting Services to deploy and manage reports within your organization. Currently, besides creating traditional, paginated reports, you can also create mobile reports that are optimized for smartphones and tablets. Moreover, you have a modern web portal where you can view all your reports in one place. These features have been available in SSRS 2016, for more details, please review this blog.
Secondly, when you manage reports in Power BI Service, it is also safe. For more details about Power BI Security, please review this article.
Thirdly, when you connect to SSAS database via “Connect Live” option, on-premises gateway is required to display the reports of SSAS data source in Power BI Service. On-premises gateway is not required if you only display the reports of SQL Server data source in Power BI Service.
In addition, as you want to refresh your datasets in Power BI Service, you would need to add SSAS data source and SQL Server data source under the on-premises gateway. And please note that when you connect to SQL Server or SSAS via DirectQuery connection, there is no option to configure scheduled refresh in Power BI Service. Scheduled refresh is only available for imported datasets. For more details, please review this article.
Thanks,
Lydia Zhang
Will there be an enterprise read-only license for viewers of the Power BI reports that are stored in 2016 SQL Server Report Manager, or will viewers of the Power BI reports still need a Power BI Pro license?
Will the user experience include navigating through Power BI sign up pages before being presented a Power BI report?
Thanks!
Jimmy G.
