On Premise Gateway and Oracle Tnsnames Alias

[phi2134]

I am wondering if its possible to configure an oracle datasource under an on premise data gateway using the TNSNAMES alias.  I have the VM setup with the gateway installed and the right oracle driver installed and I can connect to a source using the //HOST/SERVICE name combination just fine without using the TNSNAMES file.

But i want to see if it is possible to use the TNSNAMES file configured for the same database and just use the alias name under the server when i setup the data source on the power bi onlines under the gateway.

I am trying to do this now and its giving me a timeout error.

[Anonymous]

@phi2134,

It is possible to add Oracle data source under gateway using TNSNAMES alias, just make sure that you have configured the tnsnames.ora file with the proper information for your database. For more details, you can follow the guide in the articles below.

Manage your data source - Oracle
Power BI - On-Premise Gateway Configuration steps to an Oracle Database



Regards,
Lydia

[phi2134]

Thanks for the input, but where did you store this file on the server that is hosting the on premise gateway? 

I have been able to correctly use the on premise data gateway if i dont use the Tnsnames file, such as just entering in the host and service name in the connection in my desktop file and the on premise data connector setup.  this lets me connect successfully and schedule refreshes.

when i try to use the tnsnames file on the on premise data gateway, i get a timeout error every time, even though i can get it to work on my desktop tool.  Im not sure if it is just having a hard time trying to find the file or something.

[Anonymous]

@phi2134,

The default path for tnsnames.ora is the following: [Oracle Home Directory]\Network\Admin\tnsnames.ora, the tnsnames.ora is located at the server that you install Oracle.

In your scenario, do you install Power BI on-premises gateway and Power BI Desktop in same machine? If they are installed in different machines, make sure the machines are in same domain.

Regards,
Lydia

[phi2134]

Hi Lydia, the on premise gateway is installed on a VM server, since we want it always up and running, the desktop is just on my local laptop.

[Anonymous]

@phi2134,

Which server do you install Oracle? Are you able to add Oracle data source if you install on-premises gateway on your laptop?

Regards,
Lydia

[phi2134]

On my laptop, i have the desktop tool and Oracle installed.  On the VM that we are running the On-Premise Data Gateway installed, we only have the Oracle client installed, not the power bi desktop.

There is no sense for us to put the on-premise data gateway on our laptop because we need a machine that is always up and running to be able to run the refreshes of our data.

I was able to add and connect to an Oracle data source through the on-premise data gateway as long as i didn't reference the tnsnames file in my setup of the datasets.  I had to do the //databasename/servicename in both places, the desktop tool and on the setup for the dataset on the on-premise gateway.

I am trying to use the tnsnames file to see if we can reference the same //databasename/servicename multiple times in our on-premise dataset setup due to having our security for these servers setup at the database level.

[Anonymous]

@phi2134,

Could you please check if you can connect to Oracle server with Tnsnames Alias from other applications such as Excel in the VM server that installed on-premises gateway?

You can also install Power BI Desktop on the VM server and check if the connection successful with Tnsnames Alias. I suspect the issue is related to settings about remote Oracle connection with Tnsnames.

Regards,
Lydia