Data Gateways in Power BI

Data gateways in Power BI act as a bridge between on-premises data sources and the Power BI service. They allow secure data refresh and live connections without moving data to the cloud.

• Enables scheduled and on-demand data refresh
• Supports multiple on-premises data sources
• Ensures secure data transfer
• Commonly used for enterprise reporting setups

Purpose of Power BI

The primary goal of Power BI is to build interactive dashboards and reports while ensuring that data remains up to date. Power BI continuously refreshes data from connected sources enabling users to track changes and make informed decisions in near real time. Power BI can connect to various data sources, including:

• Files (Excel, CSV, XML etc.)
• Databases (SQL Server, Oracle, MySQL etc.)
• Power Platform (Power Apps, Dataverse)
• Azure Services

To securely connect Power BI Service (cloud) with on-premises data sources a Data Gateway is required.

Types of Gateways

Power BI provides two types of gateways:

1. Personal Gateway

The Personal Gateway is designed for individual users who want to refresh their own reports from on-premises data sources. Key Features of Personal Gateway are:

• Works only with Power BI Service
• Supports import mode and scheduled refresh
• Runs as a desktop application
• Does not require administrator privileges
• Uses single-user credentials
• Ideal for personal or ad-hoc reporting

How to Download Personal Gateway

1. Click the Download icon in the top-right corner of Power BI Service

2. Select Data Gateway from the dropdown

3. A new page opens listing available gateways

4. Click Download Gateway

5. Select Personal Gateway and complete the installation

2. On-Premises Data Gateway (Enterprise)

The On-Premises Data Gateway is intended for organizational use and supports enterprise-grade security, monitoring and scalability. Key Features of On-Premises Data Gateway are:

• Works with Power BI, Power Apps, Power Automate and Azure Logic Apps
• Supports both Import mode and DirectQuery
• Allows multiple users with role-based access control
• Enables monitoring and auditing
• Centralized gateway management for organizations

How to Download On-Premises Data Gateway

1. Click the Download icon in Power BI Service
2. Select Data Gateway
3. Click Download Gateway
4. Choose On-Premises Data Gateway
5. Complete the installation

Gateway Configuration

1. Sign in using the same email ID used for your Power BI account
2. This account becomes the gateway administrator
3. Enter the gateway name and recovery key
4. Additional administrators can be added later

Personal vs On-Premises Data Gateway

Here we compare personal gateway and On-Premises Data Gateway