Video tutorial

Watch this quick video to see the integration in action. It walks you through the end-to-end setup, including:

  • Installing the SSIS PowerPack
  • Configuring a secure connection to Power BI
  • Working with Power BI data directly inside SSIS
  • Exploring advanced API Source features
While this video uses the OData Connector as an example, the core concepts and setup process are exactly the same for the Power BI Connector.

Video doesn't load? Watch this video on YouTube.

Ready to dive in? Download the product to jump right in, or follow the step-by-step guide below to see how it works.

Prerequisites

Before we begin, make sure the following prerequisites are met:

  1. SQL Server Data Tools (SSDT) designer installed for Visual Studio.
  2. SQL Server Integration Services Projects 2022+ Visual Studio extension installed.
  3. SSIS PowerPack is installed.

Get dataflows in SSIS

  1. Open Visual Studio and click Create a new project.

  2. Select Integration Services Project. Enter a name and location for your project, then click OK.

  3. From the SSIS Toolbox, drag and drop a Data Flow Task onto the Control Flow surface, and double-click it:

    Drag Data Flow Task onto Control Flow to use SSIS PowerPack Data Flow components

  4. Make sure you are in the Data Flow Task designer:

    Make sure you are in Data Flow designer in SSIS package

  5. From the SSIS toolbox drag and API Source (Predefined Templates) on the data flow designer surface, and double click on it to edit it:

    SSIS API Source (Predefined Templates) - Drag and Drop

  6. Select New Connection to create a new connection:

    API Source - New Connection

  7. 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
    Power BI Connector Selection

  8. Select your authentication scenario below to expand connection configuration steps to:

    • Configure the authentication in Power BI.
    • Enter those details into the API Connection Manager configuration.
    User Credentials

    Power BI authentication

    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]

    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:

      Start new app registration in Microsoft Entra ID
      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.
      Register app in Microsoft Entra ID

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

      Copy client ID of Microsoft Entra ID app

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

      Copy Auth and Token URLs in Microsoft Entra ID app

    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!

    API Connection Manager configuration

    Just perform these simple steps to finish authentication configuration:

    1. Set Authentication Type to User Credentials [OAuth]
    2. Optional step. Modify API Base URL if needed (in most cases default will work).
    3. Fill in all the required parameters and set optional parameters if needed.
    4. Press Generate Token button to generate the tokens.
    5. Finally, hit OK button:
    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
    ZappySys OAuth Connection
    Find full details in the Power BI Connector authentication reference.

  9. Select Dataflows table from the dropdown and hit Preview Data:

    API Source - Power BI
    Read and write Microsoft Power BI data effortlessly. Access, refresh, and manage datasets, reports, and dashboards — almost no coding required.
    Power BI
    Dataflows
    Optional Parameters
    WorkspaceId
    SSIS API Source - Read from table or endpoint

  10. That's it! We are done! Just in a few clicks we configured the call to Power BI using Power BI Connector.

    You can load the source data into your desired destination using the Upsert Destination , which supports SQL Server, PostgreSQL, and Amazon Redshift. We also offer other destinations such as CSV , Excel , Azure Table , Salesforce , and more . You can check out our SSIS PowerPack Tasks and components for more options. (*loaded in Trash Destination)

    Execute Package - Reading data from Power BI and load into target

Power BI Connector actions

Need another use case? Pick the next Power BI action in SSIS below.

Conclusion

You now know how to get dataflows in SSIS without writing complex code. Power BI Connector handled pagination and authentication automatically.

Ready to get started? Download the trial or ping us via chat if you need help:

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