Direct query to another semantic model permissions - shared connections not working

[MarkBurgess]

Hi, we have a semantic model with some data that we want to share with the another department (model A), which is running in import mode . 

A user from another service would like to connect to one of the tables in this model and combine it with some of his own data in a new semantic model (model B), creating a composite model. The connection to model A is direct query. This all works great as long as all users have access to both semantic models. However the owner of model B does control access to model A and we don't want to have to add users to both models. We have gone into the setting of the model B and created a new connection to model A using a user that does have access to both.

In the screenshots below 'DailyMedRecs - data' is Model A

The shared connection works when I test it in the connections screen, but users without direct access to model A are getting this error:

It looks like this should work and I can't understand why it isn't. Any ideas? 

Many thanks

[MarkBurgess]

I couldn't find a way to change the live connection to the semantic model to import mode. I ended up changing to a lakehouse table. 

For anyone in the same position - one tip that saved me a ton of work was being able to copy and paste the query from Power BI Desktop to a Fabric Dataflow Gen2.

Still not sure why the proxy connection that I originally tried doesn't work though. The fact that you can create it and map it suggests you should be able to but it doesn't have any effect. Seems like a bug. 

[Poojara_D12]

Hi @MarkBurgess 

The issue arises because users accessing Model B need direct access to Model A for the composite model to work. Here’s a summary of the resolution:

1. Direct Access Required: Users must have at least Viewer permissions on Model A to access its data through Model B. Without this, the connection fails.
2. No Proxy Connection: Even if a shared connection is created in Model B using an authorized user, Power BI does not proxy permissions. Each user must independently have access to the underlying models.
3. Solution Options:
   • Grant access to Model A for the required users.
   • Alternatively, switch Model B to an Import mode for Model A’s data, avoiding direct dependency on permissions for Model A.

Composite models in DirectQuery require all users to have access to the connected datasets.

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Poojara
Data Analyst | MSBI Developer | Power BI Consultant
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