DataFlows with DirectQuery Not Querying Base Datasource

[esambell]

When using a Dataflow with DirectQuery the DirectQuery function seems to only provide live access to the data cached in the Dataflow itself, not the base datasource itself (in this case MS SQL). If the idea is to provide near real time data to a report is there a way to do this with Dataflows to create a standardized single point of truth, or does it mean setting up individual semantic models for each report for DirectQuery to work properly?

[collinq · Accepted solution]

Hi @esambell ,

If I am understanding you correctly, the issue is that you are wanting to have data refresh more often or closer to real-time, is that right?  In the dataflow, it will refresh the data based on the refresh cycle.  It doesn't matter how the data is connected to, just how often it is refreshed.  So, if you have a PRO license, then you will get data up to 8 times a day. If you have Premium, you can increase the number of refreshes.  

Even if you set up each and every report to use Direct Query, the data is only refreshed when the scheduled refresh runs.  You don't necessarily achieve the goal of getting to your data more often.

However, if you are needing real time streaming of the data, this article is a pretty good overview of how that works.  Real-time streaming in Power BI - Power BI | Microsoft Learn