The document discusses the features and functionalities of Power BI, emphasizing file location, data refresh options, and gateways for on-premises data management. It highlights the limitations such as data size and row-level security, along with the ease of use for business analysts and BI admins. Additionally, it mentions the types of services supported and the need for centralized data source management.

1. Adam Saxton

2. Adam Saxton
@guyinacube /guyinacube/guyinacube
I write stuff
and create
videos…

3. Starting with
Power BI Desktop

7. File location and freshness

10. Refresh & Gateways

11. Import (cached mode) DirectQuery or Live connection
Refresh frequency Scheduled - hourly or daily Real-time
Performance No noticeable delay since data is already
cached
Depends on how fast the data source is as
queries are executed in real-time
Data storage in
Power BI
Since it is cached mode, data is stored in
the cloud
No data is stored in Power BI. Data is always on-
premises*
Data size Current limit of 1GB (compressed) per
model
The on-premises database is the limit; no Power
BI limitation
Row level security No support for on-prem row level
security. Supports Cloud RLS.
Re-use on-prem role based row level security for
Analysis Services. Non-SSAS supports Cloud
RLS.
*Some data is cached for optimizing first-time load performance

12. Self-service refresh – no IT dependency
Easy & simple to use: Lightweight one-
click installer running on your computer
One Personal Gateway per user
Runs either as a service or an app

13. Centralized way to refresh on-premises
content in Power BI and other services
Access control to data sources
Monitor and track usage
Live, interactive query with on-premises data
sources

14. Personal Gateway On-premises data gateway (Enterprise
gateway)
Target
Persona
Business analyst sets up and uses the
gateway for her data sources
• BI Admins set up the gateway for their
department/ company
• Multiple users use the gateway setup
by the admins
Usage Directly by analysts BI Admin
Features Import with scheduled refresh Direct query and scheduled refresh
Data source connections managed per
user
Central data source mgmt. and access
control
No central monitoring/control Central monitoring and control
Services
supported
Power BI Power BI, PowerApps, Microsoft Flow,
Azure Logic Apps and Azure Analysis
Services

16. DB

17. Troubleshooting

20. asaxton@microsoft.com