Forum Discussion

tyw214's avatar
tyw214
Helper I
8 years ago

PBI Service Refresh Fail but Works on Desktop

Hello All,

 

We have several critical reports that works completely fine on PBI Desktop. They refresh in about 1-2 minutes. But once uploaded to PBI Service and we do an on-demand refresh it takes very long time, and eventually fails.

 

The data sources consists of SalesForce objects (using PBI's object connector), and they are joined several tiems using PBI's native join merge query function. We at first thought it's a performance issue, so we did some optimzation, and the Desktop refresh takes just about 1-2minutes. But once uploaded to the PBI's service, it chokes on these join tables. Any ideas?

 

Edit: It's using an On-premise Gateway (Personal mode) it's querrying some resources that's only configured on the personal gateway. Does the computer hosting the gateway affect the performance in anyway? Although I believe SF sources do not need gateways.

Need Help

3 Replies

  • GilbertQ's avatar
    GilbertQ
    Super User
    8 years ago
    Hi there

    I would suggest that you migrate from the Personal gateway to the Enterprise Gateway, and have it installed on a dedicated PC/Server.

    The reason being is that when you start a data refresh it will do all the Power Query Functions on the PC/Server where the Gateway is running on. So if you have it on a shared or local PC it could take a long time due to having to compete for resources.

    Along with that if you are merging tables, this will happen through the Power Query Editor, which will require the gateway to complete those actions.
  • ReportGuru's avatar
    ReportGuru
    Post Patron
    2 years ago

    Hi tyw214 As a workaround, maybe you can try to test your connection with a 3rd party connector. I've tried windsor.ai, supermetrics and funnel.io. I stayed with windsor because it is much cheaper so just to let you know other options. In case you wonder, to make the connection first search for the Salesforce connector in the data sources list:

     

     

    After that, just grant access to your Salesforce account using your credentials, then on preview and destination page you will see a preview of your Salesforce fields:

     

     

    There just select the fields you need. It is also compatible with custom fields and custom objects, so you'll be able to export them through windsor.  Finally, just select PBI as your data destination and finally just copy and paste the url on PBI --> Get Data --> Web --> Paste the url. 

     

  • metrica's avatar
    metrica
    Post Prodigy
    1 month ago

    Hi tyw214 

     

    Moving from a personal gateway to a standard on-premises data gateway may help with management and reliability, but it will not necessarily fix the refresh issue by itself. If Salesforce data is merged with an on-premises source in the same Power Query query, the gateway processes the combined query. I would first check the refresh details and gateway logs to identify the failing query or merge.

     

    If Salesforce extraction is the bottleneck, Power BI Connector for Salesforce may be worth considering. It lets you select the required Salesforce objects and fields through an OData-based source. It will not remove the gateway requirement for on-premises data.

     

    AppExchange and 30-day free trial: https://appexchange.salesforce.com/appxListingDetail?listingId=31526f0e-abd8-4cb5-bd1a-3bd56b5c0577

    Documentation: https://metricasoftware.com/docs/salesforce/

    Support and demo: https://metricasoftware.com/docs/salesforce/contact-support/

     

    Cheers,
    Metrica Team