Organization Content Packs and Gateway Refreshes

[tsf]

In this Power BI Support article, it talks about creating an organizational content pack and how the owner can set the refresh schedule. I'm confused - can a dataset/report that uses an enterprise gateway for access to on-prem data be set up so that it caches the data for a period of time and then refreshes according to schedule? I don't see any option for that; it seems that it is always hitting the on-prem data source.

I know that I can do this using my personal workspace and a personal gateway. But I'm creating a content pack for Power BI Pro users within my organization and want to set a refresh schedule this way without constantly hammering an on-prem data source. Any options here? Thanks.

[greggyb]

Live explore (SSAS) and DirectQuery (SQL of various flavors, SAP HANA, other DBs coming) will always query the source system directly. These are available in the Enterprise Gateway.

You do not have to use a live connection to these sorts of data sources. You can choose to Import data rather than use one of those connection types. Imported data will be stored locally in a .pbix file, and when that .pbix file is uploaded to the Power BI Service, you can set up a scheduled refresh, so that a copy of the data is stored on Microsoft's Azure infrastructure.

[tsf]

I've tried importing data and uploading that pbix file within my organization's workspace, but the problem is that when I try to refresh or set up a refresh schedule, it prompts me for a Personal gateway. This doesn't make sense for organizational reports - I want to use the Enterprise gateway, not a Personal gateway. Is there a work around?

Here's the message I get:

"Couldn't refresh because your Personal Gateway is offline. Make sure your Personal Gateway is up and running."

[nikil]

Is your enterprise gateway configured to access the data sources ?

If not, use Manage gateway to configure the data sources and it should all work from there

[tsf]

Yes, it is. I'm already using the Enterprise Gateway that I've set up for DirectQuery reports:

But I want to upload reports that were designed to Import data (i.e. not use DirectQuery mode) and work off a refresh schedule. And when I upload one of those reports and try to set up the refresh schedule, it prompts for a *Personal* gateway, even though I already have an Enterprise gateway set up and available using the same exact server/database name.

On a side note, I went ahead and set up a Personal gateway, and even though it shows the status as being online and the credentials being correct, it keeps failing when trying to manually refresh the data. It eventually times out.

[greggyb · Accepted solution]

From the Power BI Gateway - Enterprise documentation page:

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Currently, the gateway allows for the use of DirectQuery to an on-premises SQL Server or SAP HANA, as well as a live connection to Analysis Services. You can use a live connection to either a tabular or multidimensional model in Analysis Services.

Looks like you're not yet able to use the Enterprise Gateway for hosted data models.