Following is a general tutorial for connecting from Power BI Desktop Edition to OBIEE Subject Areas through BI Connector and then publishing the same into PowerBI Cloud App with the help of On-premises data gateway and using it there.
Pre-requisites
- Microsoft Power BI Desktop December 2018 update or the latest version.
- Microsoft Power BI On-Premises Data Gateway November 2018 update or latest version.
- Install BI Connector Server Edition for Microsoft PowerBI on the same machine as your Power BI On-premises Data Gateway. (Refer to Step-by-Step Installation Guide for BI Connector Server Edition for Microsoft PowerBI)
- Install BI Connector Desktop Edition for Microsoft Power BI on your PC. (Refer to Step-by-Step Installation Guide for BI Connector Desktop Edition for Microsoft PowerBI)
Configure Gateway and Data Source in Power BI Cloud
Before publishing the report to Power BI cloud, you have to add the gateway and create data sources under it.
Configure Gateway
- Install Power BI On-premises data gateway on a separate server and Sign In with your account.
- Configure 'BI Connector' with On-premises data gateway using this article.
- You will be asked to add the Gateway by setting credentials for it. Enter the name and password for the gateway.
Sign in PowerBI Cloud Account
- Now, sign In to your account in Power BI cloud.
- On the top-right, click on settings icon and select 'Manage Gateways' option.
Add Data Source to use the Gateway
Enable 'Allow user's custom data connectors to refresh through this gateway cluster' option and click 'Apply'.
Gateway that you created in step 1 will be displayed under 'GATEWAY CLUSTER'. Click 'ADD DATA SOURCE' button to add a new data source under this gateway.
Configure Data Source Details
Enter the details for the data source as follows:
- Enter the name for the data source (Example: OBIEE Subject Areas).
- Select BI Connector as Data Source Type from the drop down
- Enter the Data Source Name as "OBIEE Subject_Areas", where 'Obiee Subject Areas' is the DSN you configured after installing BI Connector. NOTE: Create the DSN only under System DSN for connecting from PowerBI to BI Connector.
- Enter your Username for connecting to OBIEE Server
- Enter your password for your account in OBIEE
- Click Add.
If you have entered the correct Data Source Name and credential information, your connection will be successful.
Publish OBIEE Subject Areas From PowerBI Desktop
We need to create a report from Power BI desktop and then publish it to Power BI gateway to work on it from Power BI cloud app,
Launch PowerBI Desktop
Launch Power BI. Select Get Data option.
Select BI Connector
In the Get Data dialog, scroll down and select BI Connector.
Enter DSN Information
- In the BI Connector dialog box , Enter the DSN name that you configured after installing BI Connector. Advanced Options are not necessary.
- Select Direct Query radio button.
- Click Ok button.
NOTE: Create the DSN only under System DSN for connecting from PowerBI Gateway to BI Connector. Also create separate DSNs for Subject Area and report.
Connect to the Database
Click on the Database name to connect to the required database.
Select the Subject Area
- On Successful Connection, a subject area or list of subject areas will be displayed based on Manage subject area list
- The list of tables will be displayed just like a Table. Select a table and click on load.
Note: Refer to the following articles for connecting multiple tables in Direct query and Import modes:
Connect Power BI Desktop to OBIEE Subject Areas using Direct Query - Step-by-Step User Guide
Connect Power BI Desktop to OBIEE Subject Areas using Import - Step-by-Step User Guide
Select the fields to visualize
- Drag and drop or select one or more fields to the join area.
- Choose the desired visualization and you have now successfully created your Power BI Visualization for OBIEE data.
Publish the Report
- Click on Publish button on the top left of the menu bar, to publish the report to Power BI cloud.
- You will be asked to save the workbook locally too. Enter the name for the workbook and save it.
Your workbook is now published successfully in the Power BI cloud. You can now continue to work on the report online.
If you have any questions or issues creating a report, we are just a click away. Contact us at support@biconnector.com or file a ticket at our support portal.