Write data to Power BI using SSIS (Import data)

In this section we will learn how to configure and use Power BI Connector in the API Destination to write data to Power BI.

Video tutorial

This video covers following and more so watch carefully. After watching this video follow the steps described in this article.

• How to download SSIS PowerPack for Power BI integration in SSIS
• How to configure connection for Power BI
• How to write or lookup data to Power BI
• Features about SSIS API Destination
• Using Power BI Connector in SSIS

Step-by-step instructions

In upper section we learned how to read data, now in this section we will learn how to configure Power BI in the API Source to POST data to the Power BI.

1. Read the data from the source, being any desired source component. In example we will use ZappySys Dummy Data Source component.

2. From the SSIS Toolbox drag and drop API Destination (Predefined Templates) on the Data Flow Designer surface and connect source component with it, and double click to edit it.
   

3. Select New Connection to create a new connection:
   

   API Destination - Power BI

   Connect to your Power BI account and retrieve data, refresh datasets, etc.

   

4. Use a preinstalled Power BI Connector from Popular Connector List or press Search Online radio button to download Power BI Connector. Once downloaded simply use it in the configuration:
   

   Power BI

   

5. Proceed with selecting the desired Authentication Type. Then select API Base URL (in most cases default one is the right one). Finally, fill in all the required parameters and set optional parameters if needed. You may press a link Steps to Configure which will help set certain parameters. More info is available in Authentication section.

    User Credentials [OAuth]

   Use delegated access (User Credentials) whenever you want to let a signed-in user work with their own resources or resources they can access. Whether it's an admin setting up policies for their entire organization or a user deleting an email in their inbox, all scenarios involving user actions should use delegated access. [API reference]

   Steps how to get and use Power BI credentials : User Credentials [OAuth]
   

   Follow these simple steps below to create Microsoft Entra ID application with delegated access:

   WARNING: If you are planning to automate processes, we recommend that you use a Application Credentials authentication method. In case, you still need to use User Credentials, then make sure you use a system/generic account (e.g. automation@my-company.com). When you use a personal account which is tied to a specific employee profile and that employee leaves the company, the token may become invalid and any automated processes using that token will start to fail.

   1. Navigate to the Azure Portal and log in using your credentials.
   2. Access Microsoft Entra ID.

   3. Register a new application by going to App registrations and clicking on New registration button:

      
      INFO: Find more information on how to register an application in Graph API reference.

   4. When configuration window opens, configure these fields:

      • Supported account type
        • Use Accounts in this organizational directory only, if you need access to data in your organization only.
      • Redirect URI:
        • Set the type to Public client/native (mobile & desktop).
        • Use https://zappysys.com/oauth as the URL.
      

   5. After registering the app, copy the Application (client) ID for later:

      

   6. Copy OAuth authorization endpoint (v2) & OAuth token endpoint (v2) URLs to use later in the configuration:

      

   7. Now go to SSIS package or ODBC data source and use the copied values in User Credentials authentication configuration:

      • In the Authorization URL field paste the OAuth authorization endpoint (v2) URL value you copied in the previous step.
      • In the Token URL field paste the OAuth token endpoint (v2) URL value you copied in the previous step.
      • In the Client ID field paste the Application (client) ID value you copied in the previous step.
      • In the Scope field use the default value or select individual scopes, e.g.:
        • offline_access
        • https://analysis.windows.net/powerbi/api/Workspace.Read.All
        • https://analysis.windows.net/powerbi/api/Dataset.Read.All
        • https://analysis.windows.net/powerbi/api/Dataset.ReadWrite.All
   8. Press Generate Token button to generate Access and Refresh Tokens.
   9. Click Test Connection to confirm the connection is working.
   10. Optional step. Choose Default Workspace from the drop down menu.
   11. Choose Default Dataset from the drop down menu.
   12. Done! Now you are ready to use the API Connector!

   Fill in all required parameters and set optional parameters if needed:

   PowerBiDSN

   Power BI

   User Credentials [OAuth]

   https://api.powerbi.com/v1.0/myorg

   Required Parameters
   Authorization URL	Fill-in the parameter...
   Token URL	Fill-in the parameter...
   Client ID	Fill-in the parameter...
   Scope	Fill-in the parameter...
   Default Dataset (select after generating tokens)	Fill-in the parameter...
   Optional Parameters
   Client Secret
   Redirect URI (must match App Redirect URI)
   Default Workspace (Keep Empty for My Workspace - select after generating tokens)
   RetryMode	RetryWhenStatusCodeMatch
   RetryStatusCodeList	429|503
   RetryCountMax	20
   RetryWaitTimeMs	1000
   RetryMultiplyWaitTime	True
   Login options

   

6. Select the desired endpoint, change/pass the properties values, and go to the Mappings tab to map the columns.

   API Destination - Power BI

   Connect to your Power BI account and retrieve data, refresh datasets, etc.

   

7. Finally, map the desired columns:

   API Destination - Power BI

   Connect to your Power BI account and retrieve data, refresh datasets, etc.

   

8. That's it; we successfully configured the POST API Call. In a few clicks we configured the Power BI API call using ZappySys Power BI Connector