Semantic Model with direct query permissions

[Giu]

Hi all,

I need to share some tables from our semantic model with another department.

To achieve this, I created a new semantic model (B) using a direct query on the primary semantic model (A).

I published semantic model B in a new, dedicated workspace.

Everything works fine for me as an administrator.

In the dedicated workspace containing semantic model B, I added colleagues from the other department as members. I also granted them "Read" access to semantic model A, but when they try to connect to the model, they encountered the following error message:

"protocol":"analysis-services","address":{"server":"powerbi://api.powerbi.com/v1.0/myorg/wsA","database":"[PROD] Semantic A"},"authentication":null,"query":null.

To resolve this, I gave them "Build" permissions on semantic model A as well, and it worked. However, I don’t want to give the other department full visibility of the main semantic model A.

Does anyone have suggestions for how to configure permissions to achieve this?

Thanks in advance, Giuseppe

[v-pnaroju-msft]

Hi Giu,

We are following up to see if your query has been resolved. Should you have identified a solution, we kindly request you to share it with the community to assist others facing similar issues.

If our response was helpful, please mark it as the accepted solution and provide kudos, as this helps the broader community.

Thank you.

[v-pnaroju-msft]

Hi Giu,

We wanted to check in regarding your query, as we have not heard back from you. If you have resolved the issue, sharing the solution with the community would be greatly appreciated and could help others encountering similar challenges.

If you found our response useful, kindly mark it as the accepted solution and provide kudos to guide other members.

Thank you.

[v-pnaroju-msft]

Hi Giu,

We would like to verify whether the solution provided by @Deku has resolved the issue you were facing. If you have identified another resolution, we kindly request you to share it with the community, as it could be of great help to others with similar concerns.

If you found the response useful, please mark it as the accepted solution and give kudos to support other users with comparable queries.

Thank you.

[v-pnaroju-msft]

Thank you, @Deku , for your response.

Hi @Giu,

We sincerely appreciate your inquiry on the Microsoft Fabric Community Forum.

In addition to the response provided by @Deku , please consider the following alternative method, which may help resolve the issue:
Instead of sharing the entire semantic model, create a new dataset that includes only the tables required by the other department.

1. In Power BI Desktop, create a new dataset by connecting it to the primary semantic model (A).
2. Select only the tables necessary for the other department.
3. Publish the new dataset to a dedicated workspace and share it with the respective department.

If you find our response helpful, kindly mark it as the accepted solution and provide kudos. This will assist other community members encountering similar queries.

Thank you.

[Giu]

Hi @v-pnaroju-msft,

This is exactly what I have done.

My concerns are:

1.  We do not want to refresh different semantic models at different times.
2. To build a new report from semantic model B, I need to grant the Build permission on the main semantic model. However, based on the documentation, it seems that Read permission alone should be sufficient: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/connect-data/service-datasets-permissions

Thanks

Kind Regads

Giuseppe

[Deku · Accepted solution]

You definately need build permission, I ran into this problem a while ago and got confirmation from Microsoft.

I think the suggestion is to daisy chain DQ over AS models to together

Import -> DQ1 -> DQ2

You would grant build permission on the DQ1 model but not the import one. DQ1 would have a subset of the tables

[Deku]

You could use the analysis service connector in power query and they could import only the tables they need.