Optimized Power BI Solutions

You will learn about steps that allow developers and administrators to produce and maintain optimized Power BI solutions. Moreover, you can optimize your solution at different architectural layers. The Layers include –

• Firstly, the data source(s)
• Secondly, the data model
• Visualizations, that includes dashboards, Power BI reports, and Power BI paginated reports
• Lastly, the environment, that includes capacities, data gateways, and the network

Optimizing the Data Model

As you know, the data model supports the entire visualization experience, and in Power BI they are known as datasets. Data models are either external-hosted or internal-hosted, Therefore, it is crucial to understand your options, and to select the appropriate dataset type for your Optimized Power BI solutions. In general, there are three dataset modes –

• Import
• DirectQuery
• Composite

Optimizing visualizations

In general, Power BI visualizations can be dashboards, Power BI reports, or Power BI paginated reports. Such that each has different architectures, with its own respective guidance.

• Firstly, It’s important to understand that Power BI maintains a cache for your dashboard tiles—except live report tiles, and streaming tiles. Therefore when you will pin live report tiles to a dashboard, they will not be served from the query cache. Moreover, they act like reports, and make queries to back-end cores on the fly.
• Secondly, you may optimize Power BI report designs you may apply the most restrictive filters, limit visuals on report pages and evaluate custom visual performance.
• Thirdly, Power BI paginated report designs are optimized by applying best practice design to the report’s data retrieval. 

Optimizing the environment

The optimization of the Power BI environment can be performed by configuring capacity settings, sizing data gateways, and reducing network latency.

• FIRST METHOD: The first method of optimizing environment involves the use of capacity settings. So, when you use capacities—available with Power BI Premium (P SKUs), or Power BI Embedded (A SKUs, A4-A6) then you can manage capacity settings.
• SECOND METHOD: The method of gateway sizing involves a gateway whenever Power BI is required to access data that cannot be accessed directly over the Internet. Further, you can install the on-premises data gateway on a server on-premises, or VM-hosted Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS).
• THIRD METHOD: Network latency can affect report performance by extending the time required for requests to reach the Power BI service, and for responses to be delivered. Further, tenants in Power BI are assigned to a specific region.