BI Connector - Server Edition allows you to connect Power BI Report Server and create intuitive visualisations in minutes.
The following is a general tutorial for installing and configuring BI Connector Server Edition.
Pre-requisites
BI Connector Server Edition has the following pre-requisites:
- OS: Windows Operating System - 64 bit (Server edition preferred).
- Microsoft Power BI : Power BI Report Server (You should install BI Connector Server Edition only in the same machine where Power BI Report Server is installed).
- Administrator Privilege: Windows Administrator privilege for your PC to install BI Connector. If you do not have the privilege to install software on your PC, then please contact your IT to help install BI Connector in your desktop/server.
- Internet Access: Internet access for online license activation.
Note: If you do not have internet access or if you have proxy/firewall blocking access, then please refer to How do I do an offline activation of BI Connector License.
- OBIEE role and Privileges: Your OBIEE user ID must have the roles/privileges as defined in What OBIEE roles/access is needed for BI connector to connect to OBIEE?
- Taleo access: You should use a userID/password that can directly login to Taleo without using Single Sign-on.
Step 1: Download
Download the latest version of BI Connector Server Edition from here.
Step 2: Uninstall BI Connector
If you have already installed any older versions of BI Connector on your PC, uninstall it by following the below steps.
- Uninstall the existing BI Connector
In your PC —> Go to Control Panel , Programs / Software, Uninstall BI Connector.
Step 3: Extract
Once the download is complete,
- Open BIConnector-Server-Edition-x64-PowerBI.exe file which is a compressed file.
- Extract the file by double-clicking on it.
- The following 3 files will be extracted from the zip file.
- BIConnector-Server-Edition-x64-PowerBI(x.x.x.xxxx).exe
- BIConnector-Readmore-PowerBI.txt
- BIConnector-TrialLicenseKey-PowerBI.txt
Step 4: Installation
Double click on BIConnector-Server-Edition-x64-PowerBI(x.x.x.xxxx).exe. You will see the BI Connector Installer screen as shown below.
Click on Next in the screen below.
In the following screen, review and (1) Accept the license agreement. Click (2) Next.
In the next screen, note that BI Connector is installed in "C:\Program Files\BI Connector" folder by default. Click Install.
BI Connector is now installed in your PC. Verify that Launch ODBC Administrator is checked. Click Finish.
The ODBC Data Sources Administrator UI will open.
You are now ready to configure BI Connector.
If this is the first time you have installed the BI Connector please follow the steps to activate license, if not continue to Step 6.
From the ODBC Data Source Administrator application, select the User DSN tab, click Add.
In the Create New Data Source UI, select (1) BI Connector Driver and click (2) Finish.
BI Connector Activate License UI will be displayed.
- Enter your information such as Name, Organization Name, Email Address, Phone Number.
- The default 30-day trial license key will be displayed.
- Click Activate. BI Connector will connect to Licensing Server and try to activate your trial license.
On successful activation, you will see the "Activation Successful" message. Click on Close.
Next, you are now ready to configure the data source as described in Step 6.
Launch the ODBC Data Source Administrator application.
Note: If ODBC Data Sources Administrator screen does not open automatically from the previous step, you can search in Windows Search box for "ODBC" and select ODBC Data Sources (64-bit) to launch this screen.
Note: You must create a System DSN. Do not create a User DSN because BI Connector Server Edition will not work as a Windows Service.
In the Create a New Data Source UI for BI Connector, enter the following information.
- Give a name to your Data Source, e.g., Northwind SA.
- Give a description of the Data Source, e.,g Northwind Subject Area.
- Enter the Server Name for your OBIEE or Taleo instance in the Server Name field:
Example for OBIEE: https://obiprod.biconnector.com
Example for Taleo: https://biconnector.taleo.net - Connecting to OBIEE server
- If your server URL starts with http:// and has a port number (e.g., 9704), then use that port number (e.g., 9704).
- If your server URL starts with https:// and does not have a port number, then port number is typically 443.
- If your server URL starts with https:// and has a port number (e.g., 9804), then use that port number (e.g., 9804).
- Connecting to Taleo server
For connecting to Taleo server please check "Single Sign-on" and choose "Taleo". - If you have SSO (Single Sign-on) enabled to access OBIEE, then select the "Single Sign-on" checkbox, then select your Single Sign-on type from the list. (Please refer this article to check Oracle BI authentications).
Please note that supporting your SSO infrastructure might require Professional services engagement, please contact our support to get additional information. - Enter your OBIEE or Taleo username in User Id field.
- Enter your OBIEE or Taleo password in Password field. For security reasons the password will not be stored and the user will have to authenticate every time a connection is made to the server.
- Click on Test Connection to verify the connection. If the Test connection is successful, you will see the following window. Click OK in the Test Connection UI.
Configuration for accessing Subject Areas
- Now select "Subject Areas" radio button.
- Select "Manage Subject Area List" option to select specific Subject Areas for access within Tableau/PBI/Qlik Sense.
If the list is empty then all the Subject Areas and its information will be loaded. - Click on Save button to save the configuration.
- The created DSN are now displayed within the ODBC Data Sources Administrator UI.
Configuration for accessing Reports
- Now select "Reports" radio button.
- Select "Manage Reports List" to select specific Reports for access within Tableau/PBI/Qlik Sense. Please check this article for more information.
Please note that if this list is empty, then no reports will be made available for access within Tableau/PBI/Qlik. - Click on Save button to save the configuration.
- The created DSN are now displayed within the ODBC Data Sources Administrator UI.
Troubleshooting
If the connection is not successful, you will see the following window. Please click OK.
Verify the URL, port, user id and password and click Test connection again. Even if the URL/port/userid/password are correct and you are still not able to successfully connect, the error could be due to network/SSO configurations such as WebAuth/SAML that might block all web service connections to the server. Please contact us at support@biconnector.com.
Step 7: Restart Power BI Report Server
After executing the above steps, it is essential to restart the Power BI Report Server. Please execute the following steps:
- Go to the Start Menu and Search “Services".
- Open the "Services" App.
- Now the list of Services opens up. Right click the "Power BI Report Server" service, and choose Restart.
Congratulations! You are now ready to connect from Power BI Report Server to OBIEE or Taleo.
Also, please refer the following articles:
User Guide for Connecting Power BI Desktop (Optimized for Report Server) to OBIEE Subject Areas
(or)
User Guide for Connecting Power BI Desktop (Optimized for Report Server) to OBIEE Reports