Connect to Denodo as datasource with PBIRS

[MarkTower]

Hi

We want to connect to Denodo from Power BI Report Server. Since custom connectors are not yet supported in Power BI Report Server, we're wondering if we can use generic ODBC driver with DSN-less connection (to avoid storing the credentials in the OS).

Has anyone been able to connect to Denodo from PBIRS? is there any new about when custom connectors will be supported?

Thanks in advance
best regards

[MarkTower]

thanks @johnbasha33 that the test that we want to perform (generic ODBC driver and DSN-less connection string), but we're concerned that this is only theory, and we want to know if anyone has been able to connect to Denodo from PIBRS.

Best regards

[MarkTower]

Hi

Thanks for your replies. @johnbasha33 regarding your first bullet, we've checked it with the Denodo Support Team and they've confirmed to us that current custom ODBC connnector that they officialy provied is not supported by PBIRS. In fact, they don't know why Denodo is listed as a supported source in the Microsoft PIBRS Doc. Instead, they've suggested we use the generic ODBC connector and DSN-less connection to avoid configuring the credentials in the OS. Therefore, my question is whether anyone has managed to connect to Denodo using the generic ODBC Connector from Report Server. Have you? thanks in advance!

Best regards

[v-ssriganesh]

Hi @MarkTower,
Thank you for the update and for sharing the details from your conversation with the Denodo Support Team. I appreciate the clarification, Kudos to @johnbasha33 for valuable response, which pointed you in the right direction.

• To clear up any confusion, when Denodo Support referred to the “generic ODBC connector,” they likely meant using the Denodo ODBC driver through PBIRS’s ODBC data source option, configured with a DSN-less connection to avoid storing credentials in the operating system. The Denodo ODBC driver is specific to Denodo’s Virtual DataPort (VDP) server but is accessed in PBIRS as a “generic” ODBC data source (unlike native connectors for SQL Server or Oracle). This approach is fully compatible with PBIRS and aligns with your requirement to avoid OS-stored credentials.
  
  
• Regarding Denodo being listed as a supported source in Microsoft’s PBIRS documentation, this may be a misunderstanding. The official PBIRS data sources page (https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/report-server/data-sources) includes ODBC as a supported data source, which enables Denodo connectivity via its ODBC driver, but Denodo itself isn’t a natively supported data source. If you have a specific link or screenshot of the documentation mentioning Denodo, please share it, and we can dig deeper or escalate to Microsoft for clarification.
  
  

Since PBIRS currently does not support custom connectors, we recommend keeping an eye on the Power BI Blog for any updates, you can also submit a feature request at Fabric Ideas - Microsoft Fabric Community

If this information is helpful, please “Accept as solution” and give a "kudos" to assist other community members in resolving similar issues more efficiently.
Thank you.

[MarkTower]

Hey @v-ssriganesh 

Thanks for your reply. We're talking about two different connectors:

• Denodo Power BI Custom Connector
• Power BI ODBC Generic connector

The Denodo support team suggested us to use the Power BI ODBC Generic Connector since the Denodo Power BI Custom Connector is not supported by PIBRS. Using that connector we could follow the DSN-less protocol using the connection string to connect to our Denodo Server. What do you mean on the first bullet "The Denodo ODBC driver is specific to Denodo’s Virtual DataPort (VDP) server but is accessed in PBIRS as a “generic” ODBC data source"? as far as we understood to the Denodo Support Team, it should'nt neccesary install and use the Denodo ODBC Connector.

Regarding the seccond bullet, you can find "Denodo" as a supported source in the link that you provided Power BI report data sources in Power BI Report Server - Power BI | Microsoft Learn

It's confusing because it says that either ODBC or Denodo are two different sources supported.

thank you in advance

kind regards

[v-ssriganesh · Accepted solution]

Hi @MarkTower,

Thanks for your follow-up and the screenshot, it’s helpful to see the documentation. Let’s address your questions about the connectors and the PBIRS supported data sources list.

I apologize for any confusion earlier. When I mentioned the Denodo ODBC driver being used as a “generic” ODBC data source in PBIRS, I meant that PBIRS accesses Denodo through its ODBC data source option (unlike native connectors like SQL Server). However, connecting to Denodo’s Virtual DataPort (VDP) server typically requires the Denodo ODBC driver, as generic ODBC drivers (e.g., Microsoft’s built-in drivers) aren’t designed for Denodo’s architecture. Denodo Support’s advice to use the “Power BI ODBC Generic Connector” likely refers to PBIRS’s ODBC data source option, but you’ll likely still need the Denodo ODBC driver installed. To be certain, I recommend confirming with Denodo Support if a generic driver can be used instead, as this isn’t a common setup based on community feedback :https://community.denodo.com/.

The screenshot shows “Denodo” listed as a supported data source in the PBIRS documentation (https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/report-server/data-sources), separate from ODBC, which is confusing. This may be an error or outdated information, as Denodo isn’t a natively supported data source in PBIRS, and its inclusion might reflect older Power BI Desktop support (e.g., via the Denodo Power BI Custom Connector, which PBIRS doesn’t support). The correct approach, as Denodo Support advised, is to use the ODBC data source option with a DSN-less connection. You can provide feedback on this discrepancy directly to Microsoft via the “Feedback” link at the bottom of the documentation page to help clarify this for the community.

I trust this information proves useful. If it does, kindly “Accept as solution” and give it a "kudos" to help others locate it easily.
Thank you.

[v-ssriganesh]

Hi @MarkTower,
I hope this information is helpful. Please let me know if you have any further questions or if you'd like to discuss this further. If this answers your question, please accept it as a solution and give it a 'Kudos' so other community members with similar problems can find a solution faster.
Thank you.

[v-ssriganesh]

Hi @MarkTower,
I wanted to check if you had the opportunity to review the information provided. Please feel free to contact us if you have any further questions. If my response has addressed your query, please accept it as a solution and give a 'Kudos' so other members can easily find it.
Thank you.

[v-ssriganesh]

Hi @MarkTower,

May I ask if you have resolved this issue? If so, please mark it as the solution. This will be helpful for other community members who have similar problems to solve it faster.

Thank you.

[v-ssriganesh]

Hi @MarkTower,

Thank you for posting your query in the Microsoft Fabric Community Forum, and thanks to @johnbasha33 for sharing valuable insights.

Could you please confirm if your query has been resolved by the provided solution? If so, please mark it as the solution. This will help other community members solve similar problems faster.

Thank you.

[johnbasha33]

@MarkTower 

For Denodo specifically:

• Denodo provides a Denodo ODBC driver that is compatible with most ODBC consumers, including PBIRS.

• You can use a DSN-less connection string inside your Power BI model.

Example of a DSN-less connection string for Denodo:

Driver={DenodoODBCDriver};Server=yourserver.domain.com;Port=9999;Database=yourdbname;UID=youruser;PWD=yourpassword;

When you publish to PBIRS:

• PBIRS will prompt you to configure the data source credentials separately.

You can set it up to use stored credentials (encrypted inside PBIRS) or prompt for them at refresh.

Did I answer your question? Mark my post as a solution! Appreciate your Kudos !!