Power BI
8 posts on Power BI: benchmarks, internals and workarounds for the Microsoft data stack.
- 08How Much Does Direct Lake Cost in Microsoft Fabric?
Direct Lake vs Import CU cost, measured over nine replications on F64 and F2. Where the refresh saving goes, and the Lakehouse overhead you don't see.
- 07Direct Lake Internals: Transcoding, Framing, Residency, and Eviction
How Direct Lake really works in Microsoft Fabric: framing, transcoding, column residency and eviction, with the measured CU cost of each.
- 06Power BI Write-Back to Azure SQL Database using Fabric User Data Functions
Bypass native Fabric limitations and achieve instant Power BI write-back to Azure SQL. Learn to use User Data Functions to skip the Spark cold start.
- 05Fix Slow Refreshes: Faster Way to Load SharePoint Files in Power BI
Optimize Power BI SharePoint data retrieval. Learn technical differences between connectors and implement a custom REST API strategy for faster dataset refreshes.
- 04How to Fix Slow SharePoint List Refresh in Power BI
Boost Power BI SharePoint refresh speed. Fix RenderListDataAsStream errors and use a custom M script to cut load times from minutes to seconds.
- 03Native write-back in Power BI (Fabric preview)
Write back to SQL straight from a Power BI report using Fabric User Data Functions and Translytical Task Flows. No Power Apps, no Power Automate.
- 02Refresh Semantic Models Every Minute – Now in Fabric (Preview)
The Refresh Semantic Model activity in a Data Pipeline gets you past Power BI's 30-minute limit, with dependencies and no code. Preview, with caveats.
- 01Make Your Power Query Dynamic with Parameters
Discover how to make your Power Query dynamic with parameters. Learn practical ways to use parameters in Power BI, enhancing flexibility and control.
