Power BI Gateway refresh
Power bi data refresh can be done with (VNet Gateway or On-Premises Data gateway).
The Power BI Gateway enables secure data refresh and live connections between on-premises data sources and Power BI Service. It works by:
Installation – Set up the gateway on a machine with access to the data source
(preffered : Server).
Connection – The gateway communicates securely with Power BI over HTTPS.
Data Refresh – Queries are sent to the on-premises data source, and results are pushed back.
Modes – Supports Import (Scheduled Refresh), DirectQuery (Live Data), and Live Connection.
It ensures secure, encrypted communication and allows automated or real-time data updates.
📊 Power BI Data Flow Process:
1. Data Source to Gateway (On-Premises)
The Power BI service sends a request to the Power BI Gateway.
The gateway connects to the on-premises data source (SQL, Excel, etc.) and retrieves the data.
2. Data Transfer to Power BI Service
The gateway encrypts and securely transmits the data to the Power BI Service over HTTPS.
For DirectQuery/Live Connection, queries are sent in real-time.
For Import Mode, data is imported and stored in the Power BI service.
3. Power BI Service to Dataset
In Import Mode, the dataset is refreshed at scheduled intervals or on-demand.
In DirectQuery/Live Mode, the dataset is queried directly when a user interacts with the report.
4. Visualization in Reports/Dashboards
The data is processed and visualized in reports and dashboards for end-users.
🔐 Security: Data transfer is encrypted using Azure Service Bus.
The below image shows how the data flow into the power bi.
Note : In this scenario we are using Slave DB(OLAP DB) to refresh the data in power bi. which is running in On premises we have synced the Master DB to slave DB the data will be same as master.