Dashboard tile from Direct Query/SSAS on-prem does not refresh

[ToddChitt]

I have SSAS instance hosting a tabular database, and a Power BI model built on top of that. The model is deployed to the service, and a Gateway Data Source is set up. Data can and will flow properly when queried. I understand that Dashboard tiles can't have Alerts configured and I understand that.

BUT, when I pull up the dashboard in question, I expect it to RUN the direct query and get me the latest numbers for the tile.

I just looked at the dashboard and one number seemed off. I clicked on the tile, and the number as shown on the REPORT was different than as shown on the DASHBOARD (there are NO filters in play here). I re-pinned the same tile again to the same dashboard so now I had TWO copied of the same tile. Each showed different numbers! When I refresh the browser page, the original tile finally caught up and showed the correct number.

My question (and general complaint) is this: Why did the tile NOT show the correct number to start with? Seems it is reporting off some cached value. How do I get it to show the right number each and every time? My users will be VERY disappointed and confused if they have to 1) pull up the dashboard, then 2) click the refresh button.

I have seen browser screens caching stuff before on this product and it is frustrating. How do I stop it?

[v-cherch-msft]

Hi @ToddChitt 

Please check if below post could help.

https://community.powerbi.com/t5/Service/Dashboard-Tiles-not-refreshing-with-SSAS-Back-End/td-p/4413...

Regards,

[ToddChitt]

@v-cherch-msftThat post describes the issue, but does not do much in explaining WHY it happens, or how to rectify it. The post is almost three years old. I would have expected Microsoft to have figured this out by now. 

Is it possible this is because the SSAS Tabular instance and the Gateway that connects is are running on my local development machine, and as such are not connected to Power BI Service 100% of the time?

But when the machine IS connected, pulling up the Dashboard should run the Direct Query for each of the tiles, does it not? I'm going to say, "No" to this because with the SSAS disconnected, I still see numbers.

Seriously, I see this as a BUG!. The Dashboard Tile MUST AT ALL TIMES report the SAME NUMBER as the REPORT TILE from which it came (assuming same filter context, etc.) The fact that it caches data is just WRONG, especially with DIRECT QUERY. If I STOP the Analysis Service on the laptop, then the Report tiles show ERRORS, as expected since it is DIRECT QUERY. But the Dashboard tiles STILL SHOW NUMBERS. 

How do i STOP Power BI from doing this caching business?

[v-cherch-msft]

Hi @ToddChitt 

It's a time reason by default.For further,please check if below workarounds could help.

https://community.powerbi.com/t5/Service/Refresh-dashboard-tiles-in-less-than-15-minutes-in-Direct-q...

https://www.credera.com/blog/technology-solutions/power-bi-directquery-automatically-refresh-less-th...

For 3rd party Links:

Please understand that this link is provided “AS IS” with no warranties or guarantees of content changes, and confers no rights.

Regards,

[ToddChitt]

Hello @v-cherch-msft Thanks for you quick reply.

Sorry, neither of those links helped. I don't plan on re-architecting my solution to use push datasets. It is currently in an Analysis Services Tabular model and we need it to serve up other reporting avenues in house. The other article mentions changing the refresh schedule of the dataset. But I don't have that option as it is direct query. I can't schedule a refresh.

It has been DAYS now, with fresh data getting processed regularly in the Tabular Model, and I can see that fresh data in a Power BI REPORT. But the DASHBOARD has not been refreshed. 

So, other than the user having to MANUALLY click the REFRESH button on the page, WHAT ELSE might cause Power BI to refresh data on a Dashboard Tile that uses DIRECT QUERY? You mention a 'time reason'. What's the time frame? 

Am I missing some setup or configuration option or setting, or is this a bug?

[ToddChitt]

@v-cherch-msft 

OK, I did stumble upon the Dataset Settings in Power BI (second article above) but some things seem out of sorts.

A) If you click on the elipsis next to the Dataset itself, you will see a popup message that says, "This dataset connects to a SQL Server Analysis Services Tabular database & is always up to date. You don't have to schedule a refresh on this dataset."

B) If you click the gear icon in the upper right corner, then select Settings, then select the Datasets page, and finally select the Dataset in question, there is a section for "Scheduled cache refresh" and you can select anywhere from 15 minutes to weekly. The default appears to be hourly. 

So if I "don't need to schedule a refresh on the dataset", why do I have this setting for Scheduled cache refresh? These two things seem to be polar oposites. And why can I NOT access the Scheduled Cache Refresh option from the elipsis next to the dataset? That's a user experience letdown for sure. 

I changed the Cache refresh window to 15 minutes and waited for the next cycle. The tile on the dashboard now seems to have refreshed on its own. Was that a fluke? Or was I just being too impatient? Would I see the same caching failures if the server was running 24/7?

I guess the test is to A) load the Tabular database with fresh data and process it, then B) wait at least 15 minutes, more like 1/2 hour, THEN check the numbers in the Dashboard vs. the Report. I'll try that in the coming days. 

Looking further at the refresh history, I see that it records COMPLETED at several times this morning when my laptop (which hosts the Gateway and the SSAS Tabular database) was SHUT DOWN. There is no way it could have been completed because the database was off line. Please explain.