Skip to main content
cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 

July 7 - July 17 | Round 2 of the Power BI Dataviz World Championships. Don't miss your chance! Learn more

Reply
rpeleg
Frequent Visitor

data model management

Hi

I understand that durring pbix publish, its data model is exported from the pbix file into an instance of SSAS tabular 

where it is managed by the pbi server - right?

This is also true where a pbix model uses a direct query connection only - where no data is actually managed within pbi?

So regardless of connection type (import or direct query) - a model would still be managed within SSAS ?

 

Thanks a bunch

Rea

1 ACCEPTED SOLUTION
Anonymous
Not applicable

@rpeleg,

Whne you publish PBIX file to Power BI report server, the content about how the PBIX file is stored is recorded in the dbo.catalog table of the ReportServer database.  And the actual report definition and data model of the PBIX file are stored in the dbo.CatalogItemExtendedContent table, you will see the following entries in this table for your PBIX file.

CatalogItem

DataModel

PowerBIReportDefinition

And as explained by stpnet in this similar thread , when you view report in Power BI report server, it fires up a captive instance of SSAS tabular and queries are sent to the SSAS instance when you slice and dice your charts .


However, for those PBIX files which contain live connection, there is no DataModel entry in the dbo.CatalogItemExtendedContent table. Only the connection details and report definition are managed within Power BI report server, Power BI report server will send the queries directly to your data source when you interact with the report.


Regards,
Lydia

View solution in original post

1 REPLY 1
Anonymous
Not applicable

@rpeleg,

Whne you publish PBIX file to Power BI report server, the content about how the PBIX file is stored is recorded in the dbo.catalog table of the ReportServer database.  And the actual report definition and data model of the PBIX file are stored in the dbo.CatalogItemExtendedContent table, you will see the following entries in this table for your PBIX file.

CatalogItem

DataModel

PowerBIReportDefinition

And as explained by stpnet in this similar thread , when you view report in Power BI report server, it fires up a captive instance of SSAS tabular and queries are sent to the SSAS instance when you slice and dice your charts .


However, for those PBIX files which contain live connection, there is no DataModel entry in the dbo.CatalogItemExtendedContent table. Only the connection details and report definition are managed within Power BI report server, Power BI report server will send the queries directly to your data source when you interact with the report.


Regards,
Lydia

Helpful resources

Announcements
FabCon and SQLCon Barcelona 2026

FabCon & SQLCon – Barcelona 2026

Join us in Barcelona for FabCon and SQLCon, the Fabric, Power BI, SQL, and AI community event. Save €200 with code FABCMTY200.

60 days of Data Days Carousel

Data Days 2026

Join Fabric Data Days 2026: 60 days of free live/on-demand sessions, challenges, study groups, and certification opportunities.

Power BI DataViz World Championships carousel

Power BI DataViz World Championships - June 2026

A new Power BI DataViz World Championship is coming this June! Don't miss out on submitting your entry.