Forum Discussion
Affordable and user-friendly database solution
Hi redhughes,
Power BI datasets can be updated automatically by scheduled refresh. So a database isn't a must. Firstly, you need to keep the data sources update. Then Power BI will sync the updates according to the settings of the scheduled refresh.
What's your main concern?
Best Regards,
Dale
Hi v-jiascu-msft,
I understand a database isn't a must, but with large amounts of data (in my mind 1k lines per week with quite a few columns is large as it seriously slows Excel down) it's easier to manage.
My main concern at the moment is the fact that only I can refresh the PowerBI dataset with the Access database we're using. Like I said, I'm using a personal gateway which means it's specific to my machine, and the machine has to be on to run the refresh. Can this set up be improved so that my colleagues can update the database and then refresh the dataset themselves (or let the autorefresh do it at a specific time of day)? Is it a matter of changing the gateway settings or using a different gateway?
Thanks for your help,
Jan
Hi Jan,
1. The Gateway (personal) can be used by one user at the same time. That means it can be used by many users but only one account can be logged in at a time. If we switch accounts time to time, that would be a disaster.
2. The scheduled refresh is still available for the Gateway (personal). So if you set up the scheduled refresh in the Service side, your colleagues only need to update the data sources such as the database, Excel files.
3. The most important part is all the members of an App workspace can refresh the dataset by clicking "Refresh Now". So you set up the Gateway and your colleagues just use it. Please refer to the snapshot below.
Best Regards,
Dalev-jiascu-msftthanks for the reply. does it still mean that I (my laptop) has to be online when the other user is refreshing the data?
