Forum Discussion
Issue with Power BI Service Refresh for PostgreSQL (SSL certification GCP postgres sql)
Solution Summary: Connecting Power BI to a DB on Ubuntu VM in GCP
We successfully resolved the connectivity issue to a database hosted on a Ubuntu OS inside a VM on GCP (Google Cloud Platform). Here's a step-by-step breakdown of what worked, both in Power BI Desktop and Power BI Service.
✅ Power BI Desktop Configuration
Open Power BI Desktop
Go to the Home tab > Click Transform Data
In the Power Query Editor, go to:
File > Options and settings > Data source settings
Select your data source and click Edit Permissions
In the Edit Permissions window:
Uncheck the "Encrypt connections" box (if applicable)
Set the Privacy Level to Organizational
Click OK, close the editor, and publish the report to the Power BI Service
✅ Power BI Service Configuration
Go to the relevant Workspace in Power BI Service
Find the Semantic Model (Dataset) you just published
Click the three dots (···) > Settings
Under Data Source Credentials:
Select Authentication Method as OAuth
Enter your DB credentials and Sign in
Scroll to Gateway and Cloud Connection
Enable "Use an On-premises or VNet data gateway"
Under the Gateway section:
Click the dropdown under Action > Choose "Add to gateway"
Create a new data source connection that matches the configuration used in Power BI Desktop
🧩 Final Outcome
Now, you're able to successfully refresh the data in Power BI Service.
This setup solved our issue connecting to a database hosted in an Ubuntu VM on GCP.
Hi Anonymous ,
Thank you for your detailed response — it's very helpful.
To clarify our setup:
We are hosting a PostgreSQL database on a Google Cloud Platform (GCP) VM running Ubuntu. Since it's a Linux-based VM, we cannot install the On-Premises Data Gateway, which is only available for Windows.
You're right that Power BI Service requires a trusted SSL certificate or a gateway to connect without errors. However, since we're running Ubuntu and can't use the gateway, we are looking for alternative solutions.
Could you please advise on the best approach in this case?
is there another recommended way to securely connect Power BI Service to a PostgreSQL instance hosted on an Ubuntu VM in the cloud?
Appreciate your guidance.
Solution Summary: Connecting Power BI to a DB on Ubuntu VM in GCP
We successfully resolved the connectivity issue to a database hosted on a Ubuntu OS inside a VM on GCP (Google Cloud Platform). Here's a step-by-step breakdown of what worked, both in Power BI Desktop and Power BI Service.
✅ Power BI Desktop Configuration
Open Power BI Desktop
Go to the Home tab > Click Transform Data
In the Power Query Editor, go to:
File > Options and settings > Data source settings
Select your data source and click Edit Permissions
In the Edit Permissions window:
Uncheck the "Encrypt connections" box (if applicable)
Set the Privacy Level to Organizational
Click OK, close the editor, and publish the report to the Power BI Service
✅ Power BI Service Configuration
Go to the relevant Workspace in Power BI Service
Find the Semantic Model (Dataset) you just published
Click the three dots (···) > Settings
Under Data Source Credentials:
Select Authentication Method as OAuth
Enter your DB credentials and Sign in
Scroll to Gateway and Cloud Connection
Enable "Use an On-premises or VNet data gateway"
Under the Gateway section:
Click the dropdown under Action > Choose "Add to gateway"
Create a new data source connection that matches the configuration used in Power BI Desktop
🧩 Final Outcome
Now, you're able to successfully refresh the data in Power BI Service.
This setup solved our issue connecting to a database hosted in an Ubuntu VM on GCP.