To
overcome Power BI refresh limitations at the data source level, you can employ
various strategies to ensure that data is updated and available for analysis.
Here are different refresh options at the data source(s) level:
- Change Data Capture
(CDC):
- Implement
Change Data Capture mechanisms at the source database to capture and
track changes to the data.
- Use CDC to
identify new or modified data since the last refresh and only refresh the
incremental changes in Power BI.
- Scheduled Extract,
Transform, Load (ETL) Jobs:
- Schedule
periodic ETL jobs to extract data from source systems, transform it as
needed, and load it into Power BI.
- Use ETL
tools such as Azure Data Factory, SSIS, or custom scripts to automate
data extraction and loading processes.
- Data Replication:
- Replicate
data from source systems to a staging or data warehouse environment using
replication tools or techniques.
- Refresh data
in Power BI from the staging or data warehouse environment, which can
have more predictable and controlled refresh processes.
- Streaming Data:
- Stream data
directly from source systems using real-time data streaming technologies
such as Kafka, Azure Event Hubs, or AWS Kinesis.
- Power BI can
connect to streaming data sources to provide real-time insights without
relying on batch refreshes.
- DirectQuery Mode:
- Configure
Power BI datasets to use DirectQuery mode, where queries are sent
directly to the underlying data source in real-time.
- DirectQuery
mode ensures that users always access the latest data without the need
for scheduled refreshes.
- API Integration:
- Integrate
Power BI with source systems using APIs to retrieve data on-demand or at
scheduled intervals.
- Implement
custom connectors or use existing connectors provided by Power BI to
connect to APIs and fetch data.
- Web Scraping and Web
Data Connector:
- Use web
scraping techniques or Power BI's Web Data Connector to extract data from
web sources and refresh it periodically.
- Web scraping
can be useful for accessing data from websites or online databases that
do not provide APIs.
- Manual Data Import:
- Manually
import data into Power BI using CSV or Excel files when automated refresh
options are not feasible.
- Although
less efficient, manual data import can be useful for occasional or
one-time data refreshes.
By
leveraging these refresh options at the data source(s) level, you can ensure
that data in Power BI remains up-to-date and relevant for analysis, thereby
overcoming refresh limitations imposed by Power BI licensing or resource
constraints.