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prerequisite for VM
Hey YashikaAgrawal,
Good question! Let me clarify the account requirements for Enterprise Gateway:
Windows Service Account Requirements: You'll need a dedicated domain service account to run the gateway service. This doesn't need admin privileges - just make sure it has "Log on as a service" rights configured. Avoid using local accounts; stick with domain accounts for better security and management.
Power BI Registration Account: For registering the gateway in Power BI Service, you need an account with either Pro or PPU licensing. This account handles the gateway registration and ongoing management tasks in the Power BI portal.
Can they be the same account? Absolutely! You can use one domain service account for both purposes - just assign it a Pro license. This approach keeps things simple and reduces the number of accounts you need to manage.
Quick Setup Tip: I usually recommend creating one dedicated service account (like "svc-powerbi-gateway"), giving it the Pro license, and using it for both the Windows service and Power BI registration. Makes troubleshooting easier down the line.
The gateway software itself is free - you're only paying for the Pro license needed for registration and management.
Did it work? ✔ Give a Kudo • Mark as Solution – help others too!
Best regards,
Jainesh Poojara / Power BI Developer
4 Replies
Hi YashikaAgrawal,
Your planned setup looks solid — here’s a quick review and a few suggestions:
VM Specifications
OS: Windows Server 2019/2022 – Supported
CPU/RAM: 8 cores / 16 GB RAM – Ideal for medium to heavy load
Storage: 100 GB+ SSD – Good. Make sure logs & temp files don’t clog up space
Service Account
Create a dedicated domain service account for the gateway
No need for a Pro license just to run the gateway
Ensure it has logon as a service rights
Database Connectivity
SQL Server & Oracle: Provide credentials with read access
AWS Athena: Ensure proper ODBC driver setup and access key configuration
Network/Firewall Settings
Outbound Ports required:
443, 5671, 5672, 9350–9354Open communication to Power BI service endpoints (whitelist URLs as per Microsoft docs)
Other Suggestions
Join VM to the TATA domain
Keep the gateway software updated regularly
Enable high availability or recovery options if critical
Monitor via Power BI Gateway logs and service status dashboard
This setup should support your hybrid data refresh scenarios (SQL, Oracle, Athena) smoothly via the on-premises gateway.
Let me know if you need help with high availability configuration or DSN setup for Athena.
—
Best regards,
Jainesh Poojara / Power BI DeveloperThank you for the reply. 1 doubt i have for creating Enterprise gateway in VM
Do we need a. Windows Service Account with admin access and 2. Power BI email account(service account) to register.
Is this correct.
Please reply.
Thanks
Hey YashikaAgrawal,
Good question! Let me clarify the account requirements for Enterprise Gateway:
Windows Service Account Requirements: You'll need a dedicated domain service account to run the gateway service. This doesn't need admin privileges - just make sure it has "Log on as a service" rights configured. Avoid using local accounts; stick with domain accounts for better security and management.
Power BI Registration Account: For registering the gateway in Power BI Service, you need an account with either Pro or PPU licensing. This account handles the gateway registration and ongoing management tasks in the Power BI portal.
Can they be the same account? Absolutely! You can use one domain service account for both purposes - just assign it a Pro license. This approach keeps things simple and reduces the number of accounts you need to manage.
Quick Setup Tip: I usually recommend creating one dedicated service account (like "svc-powerbi-gateway"), giving it the Pro license, and using it for both the Windows service and Power BI registration. Makes troubleshooting easier down the line.
The gateway software itself is free - you're only paying for the Pro license needed for registration and management.
Did it work? ✔ Give a Kudo • Mark as Solution – help others too!
Best regards,
Jainesh Poojara / Power BI Developer
One more point to add is if you need high availability. Install two gateway. Servers and join them as a cluster so that if one of them goes down the other one will still function. This also serves as a very basic load balancing feature to balance the load if there is high usage. Install an on-premises data gateway | Microsoft Learn
