Refreshing data from single vs multiple databases. What's the difference?

[RefineryUnit]

So I have 2 reports where r1 is pulling data from 1 database and r2 is using 2 different databases. Both are located in the same cloud but r1 doesn't require a gateway to schedule an automatic refresh while r2 is asking me to set up a gateway to do so. 

Can someone explain why that is so? or am I doing something wrong?

[otravers]

What kind of database is r2 (SQL, MySQL, PostgreSQL) and where is it hosted?

[RefineryUnit]

both are in SQL Server stored in Azure cloud

[otravers]

But is it SQL Server running in a virtual machine (IaaS) or is it the Azure SQL PaaS? I'm asking because these are completely different services, SQL in an Azure VM requires a VM, "Azure SQL Database" doesn't.

[RefineryUnit · Accepted solution]

well, not sure what exactly happened but republishing the report has fixed the issue. Sometimes I'm totally lost about how it fixes itself without me doing anything