Who is the 'Power BI Service' user in Microsoft Fabric Metrics?

[dzamoraso]

Hi,

I've recently noticed that in Microsoft Fabric Metrics → Interactions, a user labeled "Power BI Service" appears, and it occupies a relatively high percentage of activity.

I would like to understand how to identify these cases more precisely, specifically:

• How can I determine the final user behind these interactions?
• What type of execution or process is being carried out under this user?

Is there a way to trace these interactions back to specific reports, datasets, or operations within Power BI Service?

Thanks in advance for your help!

[nilendraFabric · Accepted solution]

Hello @dzamoraso 

The "Power BI Service" user in Microsoft Fabric Metrics represents system-level activities executed by the Power BI platform itself, rather than actions performed by individual users. This designation typically appears in scenarios where automated or background processes are carried out, such as scheduled dataset refreshes, data exports via APIs, or other system-driven operations.

While the "Power BI Service" user reflects system-level actions, you can trace these activities to their origins using audit logs or activity logs. The Power BI Activity Log (accessible via PowerShell cmdlets like Get-PowerBIActivityEvent) provides detailed records of operations, including associated datasets, reports, and workspaces.

The Get-PowerBIActivityEvent cmdlet retrieves activity events for a Power BI tenant and simplifies access to these logs by handling continuation tokens automatically. This cmdlet requires specifying a start and end time (within the same day) and allows filtering by activity type or user

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/guidance/admin-activity-log

If this is helpful , please accept the solution

[rohit1991 · Accepted solution]

Hi @dzamoraso ,

The "Power BI Service" user in Microsoft Fabric Metrics represents automated processes executed by Power BI, rather than a specific named user. These activities typically include scheduled dataset refreshes, background query executions triggered by dashboards or reports, and system-managed operations. To trace these interactions back to specific reports or datasets, you can check the Dataset Refresh History in Power BI Service under Dataset Settings → Refresh History, which helps determine if the activity aligns with scheduled refreshes. Additionally, Microsoft Purview (formerly Office 365 Audit Logs) allows admins to track Power BI interactions by filtering events related to dataset refreshes and queries. The Power BI Capacity Metrics App provides execution times, CU consumption, and other insights that help identify which dataset or report initiated the process. If your organization uses Azure Log Analytics, setting up queries can further track Power BI Service activities and map them to specific reports.

[dzamoraso]

Hi all,

Thanks for the quick response.

Got it, looks like the Power BI Activity Logs are the way to go for diving into the details.

Appreciate the help.

Best,

[v-tsaipranay · Accepted solution]

Hi @dzamoraso ,

Thanks for reaching out to the Microsoft fabric community forum.

I wanted to check if you had the opportunity to review the information provided @nilendraFabric  and @rohit1991 .

I am also including Microsoft documentation that will provide you with additional information:

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/enterprise/service-admin-auditing

Please feel free to contact us if you have any further questions. If the responses provided has addressed your query, please accept it as a solution and give a 'Kudos' so other members can easily find it.

Thank you.

[rohit1991 · Accepted solution]

Hi @dzamoraso ,

The "Power BI Service" user in Microsoft Fabric Metrics represents automated processes executed by Power BI, rather than a specific named user. These activities typically include scheduled dataset refreshes, background query executions triggered by dashboards or reports, and system-managed operations. To trace these interactions back to specific reports or datasets, you can check the Dataset Refresh History in Power BI Service under Dataset Settings → Refresh History, which helps determine if the activity aligns with scheduled refreshes. Additionally, Microsoft Purview (formerly Office 365 Audit Logs) allows admins to track Power BI interactions by filtering events related to dataset refreshes and queries. The Power BI Capacity Metrics App provides execution times, CU consumption, and other insights that help identify which dataset or report initiated the process. If your organization uses Azure Log Analytics, setting up queries can further track Power BI Service activities and map them to specific reports.

[nilendraFabric · Accepted solution]

Hello @dzamoraso 

The "Power BI Service" user in Microsoft Fabric Metrics represents system-level activities executed by the Power BI platform itself, rather than actions performed by individual users. This designation typically appears in scenarios where automated or background processes are carried out, such as scheduled dataset refreshes, data exports via APIs, or other system-driven operations.

While the "Power BI Service" user reflects system-level actions, you can trace these activities to their origins using audit logs or activity logs. The Power BI Activity Log (accessible via PowerShell cmdlets like Get-PowerBIActivityEvent) provides detailed records of operations, including associated datasets, reports, and workspaces.

The Get-PowerBIActivityEvent cmdlet retrieves activity events for a Power BI tenant and simplifies access to these logs by handling continuation tokens automatically. This cmdlet requires specifying a start and end time (within the same day) and allows filtering by activity type or user

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/guidance/admin-activity-log

If this is helpful , please accept the solution

[jconnally]

To follow up on this. When the Power BI service is taking up large amounts of capacity. Why is that happening?