Shared Semantic Model - Connectivity Issue from different tenants

[Scheneyder]

Hi Everyone,

The company that I work, provide the customers workspace in which we publish power bi dashboard and semantics models, using Azure Databricks as the data source. The semantic model is build with Direct Query and the security level has been done in databricks. We grant access to the customers trough the Azure Portal and invite them as external users to our tenant.

When the customers  log into our tenant they are able to visualize our dashboards and use the semantic model in the power bi service (that works fine), but when they download the power bi and customize the view in power bi desktop they are not able to publish the report back to the workspace, and when they try to publish to their own workspace they are not able to access the data. The error message is that the file is published but the data is disconnected. 

We have enabled all the options bellow to "entire organization"

Enable Cross-Workspace Semantic Model Usage 

Enable Semantic Model Discoverability 

[Murtaza_Ghafoor]

This is common issue in Power BI desktop, as users is only granted access to B2B power BI service so therefore he is not able to connect via Power BI Desktop.
Please Avoid Desktop-based authoring for external users as PBI Desktop does not support Power BI Desktop download and republish workflows for B2B users when using DirectQuery and Databricks.

If this is compulsory then isolate the architecture, provide the customers with their own Databricks connection and semantic model (separate tenant or workspace), or consider Import mode where feasible.

[v-hashadapu]

Hi @Scheneyder , Thank you for reaching out to the Microsoft Community Forum.

We find the answer shared by @cengizhanarslan  is appropriate. Can you please confirm if the solution worked for you. It will help others with similar issues find the answer easily.

Thank you @cengizhanarslan  for your valuable response.

[Scheneyder]

His answer may be right, but it doesn't help with the issue. He is saying that this doesn't work, ok, I know that its not working. But, how can I have this sorted? My customers need to publish to workspace.

[cengizhanarslan]

Power BI Desktop cannot:

• carry over Databricks credentials,

• rebind DirectQuery connections across tenants,

• or safely republish that dataset binding.

So Desktop opens the report, but when they publish, the semantic model connection is dropped → “data disconnected”. This is expected behavior.

So you have a few limited options here which none of them would be a perfect solution as there is no any in your case.

Option 1: They publish reports, not datasets

• You own and publish the semantic model (DirectQuery to Databricks).

• Customers get Build permission on the semantic model.

• Customers create reports:

  • in Power BI Service (web authoring), or

  • in Desktop using Live connection, then publish reports only.

• They do not publish datasets.

This is the standard multi-tenant pattern.

Option 2: Customer-owned semantic models

If customers must publish datasets:

• Each customer must have:

  • their own Databricks connection,

  • their own semantic model in their tenant,

  • their own credentials.
    You cannot safely share a DirectQuery dataset across tenants and let others republish it.

[tayloramy]

Hi @Scheneyder, 

Another idea, do you have a data gateway set up for the connection? 
If you make the connection on a gateway (either on prem or VNET) then you can assign these users permissions to use that connection, allowing them to re-authenciate using the credentials in the connection. 

[tayloramy]

Hi @Scheneyder, 

Are your users making copies of the semantic model, or trying to build reports off of the same model? 

I recommend they open Power BI Desktop, and connect to the existing model. That way they don't need to publish a new model and authenciate it. 

[Scheneyder]

We tried both ways:
1. Download a copy of the report and build on it

2. Create a New Power BI and connect to the semantic model by get data

Neither works

[Pratikdhirbassi]

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[cengizhanarslan]

They are “external” from Power BI’s perspective, even if they’re internal org units. Cross-tenant “take this semantic model to Desktop and republish” is not a reliable/supported pattern, especially with DirectQuery.

In that case, what you’re seeing is still expected:

• They can consume the report/semantic model in the Service (cross-tenant sharing can allow this).

• But when they open in Power BI Desktop and try to:

  • publish back to your workspace, or

  • publish to their own tenant/workspace
    the dataset can end up disconnected because DirectQuery + credentials + model binding cannot be transferred cleanly across tenants.

[lbendlin]

The error message is that the file is published but the data is disconnected.

That's not an error message.  That is a notice to them that in order to run these reports in the Power BI service they need to re-authenticate the connections used in the semantic model, and (if needed) map the gateways.

[Scheneyder]

We cant authenticate because the guest doesn't have a databricks account, its an external user

[lbendlin]

Have these guest users been given build access to the semantic model?  

[Scheneyder]

They have admin access to the workspace  that we created for them, its also the workspace where we share the semantic model