Connecting Power BI

In this article, we will walk through the process of connecting Microsoft Power BI to DataHub. To make it more illustrative, we will also build a dashboard that connects to the analytical database and monitors the real-time status of vehicles, all using Microsoft Power BI.

This guide is part of the DataHub documentation suite and specifically covers connecting Power BI to your data warehouse. If you're still deciding which BI tool to use, refer to the Selecting BI tools overview.

Dashboard features

• Display total number of vehicles

• Visualize vehicle movement statuses (moving/stopped/parked)

• Visualize connection statuses (active/idle/offline)

• Detailed table with current status of all vehicles

• Filtering by vehicle type, group, movement status, and connection status

• Data and report export capabilities

Technical requirements

• Windows 10/11 or Windows Server 2016+

• Microsoft Power BI Desktop (current version)

• Microsoft account for Power BI Service access (optional)

• Minimum 4 GB RAM (8 GB recommended)

• Internet access for database connection

Installation and setup

1. Install Power BI Desktop

1. Download Power BI Desktop from the official Microsoft website: https://powerbi.microsoft.com/desktop/

2. Run the installer and follow its instructions.

2. Download the dashboard file

1. Download the moving_status_dashboard.pbix file from the bi-intergrations repository -> power_bi. You can clone the whole repository for further interactions:

   git clone https://github.com/SquareGPS/bi-intergrations.git

2. Open the downloaded moving_status_dashboard.pbix file by double-clicking or through the Power BI Desktop menu: File → Open.

Database connection

1. Update connection parameters

1. After opening the dashboard file, go to Transform data → Edit parameters.

2. Update the following parameters:

• DB_HOST - database server address

• DB_NAME - database name

• DB_USER - username

• DB_PASS - password (do not save files with real credentials in shared access)

• DB_PORT - connection port (default 5432)

1. Click OK and apply the changes.

Connection parameter reference

Lakehouse Parameter	Power BI Setting Location	Notes
Host	DB_HOST parameter	The database server address provided in your welcome email
Port	DB_PORT parameter	Default is 5432 for PostgreSQL
Database name	DB_NAME parameter	Your assigned database name
Username	DB_USER parameter	Your database username
Password	DB_PASS parameter	Your secure database password
SSL mode	Connection Settings	Set to require in the Options dialog
Schema	Query Editor	Specify schema (raw_business_data or raw_telematics_data) in each query

2. Configure credentials

1. When connecting for the first time, Power BI will ask for database access credentials.

2. Select Database account and password as the authentication type.

3. Enter the credentials provided by your administrator.

4. Set privacy level to Organization or Private.

Using the dashboard

After setting up the connection, you can:

1. Refresh data - click the Refresh button on the ribbon or use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+R.

2. Use filters - apply filters on the right panel or directly on report elements:

   1. Filter by vehicle type

   2. Filter by groups

   3. Filter by movement/connection status

3. Drill down into data - click on visualization elements to view detailed information.

4. Create bookmarks - save specific filter settings and views for quick access.

Data refresh configuration

Local refresh

1. In Power BI Desktop, open the menu Home → Refresh.

2. To set up regular refreshes through Power BI Service, publish the report to the Power BI Service.

Cloud refresh (Power BI Service)

1. (Optional) Publish the dashboard to Power BI Service using the Publish button in Power BI Desktop.

2. In the Power BI Service, go to dataset settings.

3. In the Scheduled refresh section, configure the refresh frequency.

4. To connect to a local or private database, you'll need to install and configure the Power BI Gateway.

Troubleshooting

Database connection issues

• Connection error: Check the correctness of credentials and connection parameters.

• Firewall error: Ensure your IP address is added to the allowlist for database access.

• Gateway issues: When using Power BI Gateway, check the status of the gateway service.

Performance issues

• Slow visualization loading:

  • Reduce the number of simultaneously displayed elements

  • Check Import/DirectQuery mode in the data model

• High memory usage:

  • Reduce the amount of imported data by applying filters at the query level

  • Remove unnecessary columns from the data model

Other issues

Here are some tricks that can help you fix common issues:

1. Reopen Power BI Desktop and the dashboard file

2. Check for Power BI Desktop updates

3. Reinstall Power BI Desktop if necessary

4. Clear the Power BI cache: File → Options → Global → Clear items from cache

Next steps

After successfully connecting Power BI to your Private Telematics Lakehouse instance, we recommend you to:

• Explore the available data schemas by reviewing the Schema overview section to better understand the data structure and relationships.

• Start with simple queries focused on specific business entities before building complex dashboards - check our example queries for reference.

Support

For technical questions or requests for access to the demonstration database, please contact: [email protected]