Forum Discussion
Scheduled Refresh Fails When Gateway Machine is Turned Off
Hi Community,
I have connected to a MySQL database using an ODBC connection as the data source in Power BI Desktop. After importing the data and building my report, I published it to the Power BI Service.
Since the data source is ODBC-based, I understand that a data gateway is required for scheduled refresh. So, I installed and configured the On-premises data gateway on my laptop, and set up scheduled refreshes at 8 AM, 9 AM, 10 AM, and 11 AM.
Here’s what I observed:
My laptop (where the gateway is installed) was turned off in the morning.
I received email notifications that the scheduled refreshes at 8 AM, 9 AM, and 10 AM failed.
At around 10:30 AM, I turned my laptop on.
The 11 AM scheduled refresh was successful, and I was also able to trigger a manual refresh from the Power BI Service.
My Question:
Is it true that scheduled refreshes will only work when the machine where the gateway is installed is turned ON and connected to the internet?
If yes, what are the possible solutions to ensure that scheduled refreshes run successfully regardless of whether my laptop is on or off?
Any guidance or best practices around this would be highly appreciated.
Thank you!
Hi Anonymous ,
Why It's Failing:
When your laptop is turned off, the gateway service is unavailable, so Power BI Service can't reach your on-prem MySQL data via ODBC. That’s why refreshes fail.Answer to your main question:
“Is it true that scheduled refreshes will only work when the machine where the gateway is installed is turned ON and connected to the internet?”Yes. 100% true. Power BI Service relies on the installed gateway to act as a bridge between the cloud and your on-premise data source. If that bridge is down (your laptop is off), refresh fails.
Solutions & Best Practices:
1. Install the Gateway on a Server or Always-On Machine
The best and most reliable approach:Move the gateway to a dedicated server or cloud VM (e.g., Azure VM, AWS EC2, or an always-on on-prem machine).
This ensures your refreshes run whether or not your personal laptop is on.
2. Use a Clustered Gateway Setup (Optional Advanced)
If you have multiple machines:Set up a gateway cluster.
If one machine (like your laptop) is offline, another machine in the cluster can still run the refresh.
This adds redundancy and high availability.
More info: Configure high availability for the on-premises data gateway
3. Switch to a Cloud-Based Data Source (if applicable)
If your MySQL DB can be:Migrated to a cloud version (e.g., Azure Database for MySQL),
Or exposed securely with firewall rules/VPN for Power BI Service,
…then you can eliminate the need for a gateway altogether.
4. Schedule Refreshes During Laptop Online Hours (Not recommended long-term)
If nothing else is feasible right now:Set the refresh times after you're usually logged in, but it's risky and manual.
How to Move the Gateway to a New Machine:
Install On-Premises Gateway on the new machine/server.During setup, choose “Migrate, restore, or takeover an existing gateway”.
Sign in using the same account as on Power BI Service.
Reassign the data source in Power BI Service to the new gateway instance.
Please mark this post as solution if it helps you. Appreciate Kudos.
2 Replies
- Cookistador
Super User
Hi Anonymous
Indeed, the machine on which the gateway is deployed must be turn on
The gateway act likes a bridge, if you close the brige (turn off your machine), nothing can transist between the cloud and your on-premise architecture (as you are using import mode, data are stored in the cloud)
The best practice for this, is to install a standard gateway on a server and let this server always turn on
If you could not use another machine, the solution is to use a cloud source (for example instead of SQL Server instance, you can use Azure SQL Database)
- FarhanJeelani
Hi Anonymous ,
Why It's Failing:
When your laptop is turned off, the gateway service is unavailable, so Power BI Service can't reach your on-prem MySQL data via ODBC. That’s why refreshes fail.Answer to your main question:
“Is it true that scheduled refreshes will only work when the machine where the gateway is installed is turned ON and connected to the internet?”Yes. 100% true. Power BI Service relies on the installed gateway to act as a bridge between the cloud and your on-premise data source. If that bridge is down (your laptop is off), refresh fails.
Solutions & Best Practices:
1. Install the Gateway on a Server or Always-On Machine
The best and most reliable approach:Move the gateway to a dedicated server or cloud VM (e.g., Azure VM, AWS EC2, or an always-on on-prem machine).
This ensures your refreshes run whether or not your personal laptop is on.
2. Use a Clustered Gateway Setup (Optional Advanced)
If you have multiple machines:Set up a gateway cluster.
If one machine (like your laptop) is offline, another machine in the cluster can still run the refresh.
This adds redundancy and high availability.
More info: Configure high availability for the on-premises data gateway
3. Switch to a Cloud-Based Data Source (if applicable)
If your MySQL DB can be:Migrated to a cloud version (e.g., Azure Database for MySQL),
Or exposed securely with firewall rules/VPN for Power BI Service,
…then you can eliminate the need for a gateway altogether.
4. Schedule Refreshes During Laptop Online Hours (Not recommended long-term)
If nothing else is feasible right now:Set the refresh times after you're usually logged in, but it's risky and manual.
How to Move the Gateway to a New Machine:
Install On-Premises Gateway on the new machine/server.During setup, choose “Migrate, restore, or takeover an existing gateway”.
Sign in using the same account as on Power BI Service.
Reassign the data source in Power BI Service to the new gateway instance.
Please mark this post as solution if it helps you. Appreciate Kudos.
