On-premises data gateway FAQ - Power BI

Note

We've split the on-premises data gateway docs into content that's specific to Power BI and general content that applies to all services that the gateway supports. You're currently in the Power BI content. To provide feedback on this article, or the overall gateway docs experience, scroll to the bottom of the article.

Do I need to upgrade the on-premises data gateway (personal mode)?

No, you can keep using the on-premises data gateway (personal mode) for Power BI.

Are any special permissions required to install the gateway and manage it in the Power BI service?

No special permissions are required. You need to sign in with either a work or school email account.

Can I upload Excel workbooks with Power Pivot data models that connect to on-premises data sources, and do I need a gateway for this scenario?

Yes, you can upload the workbook. No, you don’t need a gateway. But, because the data will reside in the Excel data model, reports in Power BI based on the Excel workbook won't be live. To refresh reports in Power BI, you have to reupload an updated workbook each time. Or, use the gateway with scheduled refresh.

If users share dashboards with a DirectQuery connection, will other users see the data even though they might not have the same permissions?

For a dashboard connected to Analysis Services, users will see only the data they have access to. If the users don't have the same permissions, they won't be able to see any data. For other data sources, all users will share the credentials entered by the admin for that data source.

Why can't I connect to my Oracle server?

You might need to install the Oracle client and configure the tnsnames.ora file with the proper server information to connect to your Oracle server. The oracle client is a separate installation outside of the gateway. For more information, see Install the Oracle client.

Are R scripts supported?

R scripts are supported only for personal mode.​

Can I use msmdpump.dll to create custom effective username mappings for Analysis Services?

No. This use isn't supported.

Can I use the gateway to connect to a multidimensional (OLAP) instance?

Yes. The on-premises data gateway supports live connections to both Analysis Services Tabular and Multidimensional models.

What if I install the gateway on a computer in a different domain from my on-premises server that uses Windows authentication?

No guarantees. It depends on the trust relationship between the two domains. If two different domains are in a trusted domain model, the gateway might be able to connect to the Analysis Services server, and the effective username can be resolved. If not, you might encounter a sign-in failure.

How can I find out what effective username is being passed to my on-premises Analysis Services server?