Newbie question about refresh.

[Another_User]

Hello everybody.

We are migrating from Report Server to cloud and we started with a few simple dashboards. We are also creating dataflows and, of course, semantic models. But I have a doubt about dashboard refreshing.

Imagine that we have a dataflow A, linked to a semantic model A, and this gives data to two dashboards, A1 and A2. We want to update these dashboards hourly, but the question is, where do I have to configure the updates? I saw that when I manually update the dataflow, there is no impact in the refresh time of the model or the dashboards, while if I update the model, both dashboards are updated. So, to automate an update of the dashboards at 8:00 pm, should I coinfigure it only in the model? Or should I schedule the dataflow at 7:30 and model at 8:00? Which is the best way to get the dashboards updated?

Thanks.

[Anonymous · Accepted solution]

Hi @Another_User ,

Based on your description, the best practice I would suggest is:
1. scheduling the data stream refresh at 7:30pm is a prudent practice. This ensures that the latest data is available for semantic modeling.
2. Next, schedule the semantic model to refresh at 8:00 PM. This will ensure that the model brings in the latest data from the refreshed data stream. The updated semantic model will automatically update the links to its dashboards (A1 and A2).

For more details, you can read below document:

Understand and optimize dataflows refresh - Power BI | Microsoft Learn

Configure scheduled refresh - Power BI | Microsoft Learn

Best Regards,
Adamk Kong

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