Scheduled Refresh Failure on Report Server (May 2025) - IDbCommand interface exception

[FLORENTINO_23]

Hello everyone,

I am encountering a persistent issue when refreshing a report on Power BI Report Server, while the same file refreshes perfectly fine on my Power BI Desktop.

Environment Details:

• Report Server Version: 1.23.9316.13987 (May 2025)

• Power BI Desktop Version (Optimized for Report Server): 2.143.954.0 64-bit (May 2025)

Error Message:

When I trigger the refresh on the server, I receive the following error stack:

SessionID: XXXX

• [0] -XX: An unexpected exception occurred.

• [2] -XXX: The command has been canceled.. The exception was raised by the IDbCommand interface.

• [3] -XXXX: The current operation was cancelled because another operation in the transaction failed.

• [10] -XXXX: The command has been canceled.. The exception was raised by the IDataReader interface.

What I've checked:

• Manual refresh on Desktop works fine.

• Data source credentials on the server are correct.

Is this a known bug in the May 2025 release, or could it be a timeout/driver issue? Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks!

[v-pnaroju-msft]

Hi FLORENTINO_23,

Thank you for the update, and we are glad to hear that your refresh issue has been resolved.

Based on our understanding, while using SELECT * followed by “Remove Other Columns” will work, it is considered best practice to explicitly select only the required columns in your SQL query. This improves performance, reduces data transfer, ensures better query folding, and helps avoid unexpected schema changes. Your current approach is acceptable for small datasets. However, for production scenarios, defining columns at the source is recommended.

Should you have any further questions, please feel free to contact the Microsoft Fabric community.

Thank you.

[FLORENTINO_23]

Latest Update: With the help of my IT team, some adjustments were made to the report server settings, and all my reports are now refreshing successfully. I truly appreciate your feedback pointing out it was a server-side issue rather than a DAX or file error, as everything worked fine locally.

Additionally, my IT team noted that my queries use SELECT * too frequently, followed by a 'Remove Other Columns' step. Should I specify the exact columns directly in the SQL query, or is my current method (Select * then remove columns) acceptable?

[v-pnaroju-msft]

Thankyou, @Poojara_D12 and @tayloramy for your responses.

Hi FLORENTINO_23,

We would like to follow up and see whether the details we shared have resolved your problem. If you need any more assistance, please feel free to connect with the Microsoft Fabric community.

Thank you.

[Poojara_D12]

Hi - "This answer was generated with the assistance of AI and has been reviewed before posting."

This isn’t a known widespread bug specific to the May 2025 build of Power BI Report Server—your error pattern points much more toward a server-side execution failure, typically caused by timeouts, resource limits, or driver inconsistencies rather than a dataset logic issue. The key clue is “command has been canceled” cascading across IDbCommand and IDataReader, which usually happens when the server kills a long-running or blocked query, or when one step in a transaction fails and the rest get aborted. Since it works in Desktop, the difference is almost always environment-related: Report Server has stricter timeouts, lower memory ceilings, and depends on installed data providers (ODBC/OLE DB/SQL drivers) that may differ from your local machine. You should focus on (1) increasing CommandTimeout/ExecutionTimeout on the data source or server config, (2) checking SQL Server-side logs for query timeouts or deadlocks, (3) validating that the exact same driver version used in Desktop is installed on the Report Server, and (4) monitoring memory/CPU spikes during refresh—because Report Server will silently cancel queries under pressure. If the dataset involves multiple queries or merges, one failing step will cancel the entire transaction, which aligns exactly with your error chain.

[v-pnaroju-msft]

Hi FLORENTINO_23,

We appreciate your inquiry through the Microsoft Fabric Community Forum.

Based on our understanding, since the refresh works in Power BI Desktop but fails only on Power BI Report Server with an IDbCommand/IDataReader cancellation error, this may indicate a server side execution issue rather than a problem with the report or the dataset model.

One possible resolution path is to first check the PBIRS logs, for example, RSPowerBI_*.log and correlate the findings with ExecutionLog3 using the SessionID. This will help identify the exact cause of the failure, such as a timeout, a driver/provider issue, a credential or delegation problem, or memory pressure. After that, please ensure driver consistency between Desktop and the server, for example, verify that the same 64-bit ODBC and/or OLE DB providers are installed on both systems. Additionally, validate the authentication context, especially if you are using Windows authentication including Kerberos. If the queries are long running, consider increasing server side timeout settings in ReportServer.config, such as DatabaseQueryTimeout and ExternalCommandTimeout.

Also, review query performance, including whether query folding occurs, heavy joins, and whether source side execution is being used. Monitor server resources and refresh concurrency as well. PBIRS executes refresh operations within a constrained background engine, which may cancel dependent operations if one operation fails.

Additionally, kindly refer to the links below:
Troubleshoot scheduled refresh in Power BI Report Server - Power BI | Microsoft Learn
Power BI report scheduled refresh in Power BI Report Server - Power BI | Microsoft Learn
Power BI report data sources in Power BI Report Server - Power BI | Microsoft Learn
Configure Kerberos to Use Power BI Reports - Power BI | Microsoft Learn
Query folding guidance in Power BI Desktop - Power BI | Microsoft Learn
What's new in Power BI Report Server - Power BI | Microsoft Learn

We hope the information provided helps resolve the issue. Should you have any further queries, please feel free to contact the Microsoft Fabric Community.

Thank you.

[tayloramy]

Hi @FLORENTINO_23, 

Can you give us some more details? 

What data sources are you using in the report?  

[FLORENTINO_23]

The report pulls from SQL and share-drive files. What additional details can I provide for you?

[tayloramy]

Hi @FLORENTINO_23, 

Do you have a gateway set up and configured properly? After you upload the report, are you going into the semantic model in Fabric and configuring the connections?