Power BI Connector for SSIS

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

In this article you will learn how to quickly and efficiently integrate Power BI data in SSIS without coding. We will use high-performance Power BI Connector to easily connect to Power BI and then access the data inside SSIS.

Let's follow the steps below to see how we can accomplish that!

Download Documentation

Power BI Connector for SSIS is based on ZappySys API Connector Framework which is a part of SSIS PowerPack. It is a collection of high-performance SSIS connectors that enable you to integrate data with virtually any data provider supported by SSIS, including SQL Server. SSIS PowerPack supports various file formats, sources and destinations, including REST/SOAP API, SFTP/FTP, storage services, and plain files, to mention a few (if you are new to SSIS and SSIS PowerPack, find out more on how to use them).

Video Tutorial - Integrate Power BI data in SSIS

This video covers the following topics and more, so please watch carefully. After watching the video, follow the steps outlined in this article:

How to download and install the required PowerPack for Power BI integration in SSIS
How to configure the connection for Power BI
Features of the ZappySys API Source (Authentication / Query Language / Examples / Driver UI)
How to use the Power BI in SSIS

Prerequisites

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

SSIS designer installed. Sometimes it is referred as BIDS or SSDT (download it from Microsoft).
Basic knowledge of SSIS package development using Microsoft SQL Server Integration Services.
SSIS PowerPack is installed (if you are new to SSIS PowerPack, then get started!).

Read data from Power BI in SSIS (Export data)

In this section we will learn how to configure and use Power BI Connector in API Source to extract data from Power BI.

Begin with opening Visual Studio and Create a New Project.
Select Integration Service Project and in new project window set the appropriate name and location for project. And click OK.

In the new SSIS project screen you will find the following:
- SSIS ToolBox on left side bar
- Solution Explorer and Property Window on right bar
- Control flow, data flow, event Handlers, Package Explorer in tab windows
- Connection Manager Window in the bottom
Note: If you don't see ZappySys SSIS PowerPack Task or Components in SSIS Toolbox, please refer to this help link.
Now, Drag and Drop SSIS Data Flow Task from SSIS Toolbox. Double click on the Data Flow Task to see Data Flow designer.
From the SSIS toolbox drag and API Source (Predefined Templates) on the data flow designer surface, and double click on it to edit it:
Select New Connection to create a new connection:
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

Now it's time to configure authentication. Firstly, configure authentication settings in Power BI service and then proceed by configuring API Connection Manager. Start by expanding an authentication type:

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.

Navigate to the Azure Portal and log in using your credentials.
Access Microsoft Entra ID.
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.
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.
After registering the app, copy the Application (client) ID for later:
Copy OAuth authorization endpoint (v2) & OAuth token endpoint (v2) URLs to use later in the configuration:
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
Press Generate Token button to generate Access and Refresh Tokens.
Click Test Connection to confirm the connection is working.
Optional step. Choose Default Workspace from the drop down menu.
Choose Default Dataset from the drop down menu.
Done! Now you are ready to use the API Connector!

API Connection Manager configuration

Just perform these simple steps to finish authentication configuration:

Set Authentication Type to User Credentials [OAuth]
Optional step. Modify API Base URL if needed (in most cases default will work).
Fill in all the required parameters and set optional parameters if needed.
Press Generate Token button to generate the tokens.
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

Select the desired endpoint, change/pass the properties values, and click on Preview Data button to make the API call.

API Source - Power BI

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

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.

Read the data from the source, being any desired source component. In example we will use ZappySys Dummy Data Source component.
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.
Select New Connection to create a new connection:

API Destination - Power BI

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

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

Power BI authentication

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

Navigate to the Azure Portal and log in using your credentials.
Access Microsoft Entra ID.
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.
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.
After registering the app, copy the Application (client) ID for later:
Copy OAuth authorization endpoint (v2) & OAuth token endpoint (v2) URLs to use later in the configuration:
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
Press Generate Token button to generate Access and Refresh Tokens.
Click Test Connection to confirm the connection is working.
Optional step. Choose Default Workspace from the drop down menu.
Choose Default Dataset from the drop down menu.
Done! Now you are ready to use the API Connector!

API Connection Manager configuration

Just perform these simple steps to finish authentication configuration:

Set Authentication Type to User Credentials [OAuth]
Optional step. Modify API Base URL if needed (in most cases default will work).
Fill in all the required parameters and set optional parameters if needed.
Press Generate Token button to generate the tokens.
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

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.
Finally, map the desired columns:

API Destination - Power BI

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

Load Power BI data into SQL Server using Upsert Destination (Insert or Update)

Once you configured the data source, you can load Power BI data into SQL Server using Upsert Destination.

Upsert Destination can merge or synchronize source data with the target table. It supports Microsoft SQL Server, PostgreSQL, and Redshift databases as targets. Upsert Destination also supports very fast bulk upsert operation along with bulk delete.

Upsert operation - a database operation which performs INSERT or UPDATE SQL commands based on record's existence condition in the target table. It inserts records that don't have matching records in the target table or updates them, if they do, by matching them by key columns.

Upsert Destination supports INSERT, UPDATE, and DELETE operations, so it is similar to SQL Server's MERGE command, except it can be used directly in SSIS package.

From the SSIS Toolbox drag-and-drop Upsert Destination component onto the Data Flow designer background.
Connect your SSIS source component to Upsert Destination.
Double-click on Upsert Destination component to open configuration window.
Start by selecting the Action from the list.
Next, select the desired target connection or create one by clicking <New [provider] Connection> menu item from the Target Connection dropdown.
Then select a table from the Target Table list or click New button to create a new table based on the source columns.
Continue by checking Insert and Update options according to your scenario (e.g. if Update option is unchecked, no updates will be made).
Finally, click Map All button to map all columns and then select the Key columns to match the columns on:
Click OK to save the configuration.
Run the package and Power BI data will be merged with the target table in SQL Server, PostgreSQL, or Redshift:
Done!

Deploy and schedule SSIS package

After you are done creating SSIS package, most likely, you want to deploy it to SQL Server Catalog and run it periodically. Just follow the instructions in this article:

How to design, debug, deploy, schedule SSIS Package (In SQL Agent and Catalog)

Running SSIS package in Azure Data Factory (ADF)

To use SSIS PowerPack in ADF, you must first prepare Azure-SSIS Integration Runtime. Follow this link for detailed instructions:

Preparing ADF instance to use SSIS PowerPack

Actions supported by Power BI Connector

Learn how to perform common Power BI actions directly in SSIS with these how-to guides:

Centralized data access via Data Gateway

In some situations, you may need to provide Power BI data access to multiple users or services. Configuring the data source on a Data Gateway creates a single, centralized connection point for this purpose.

This configuration provides two primary advantages:

Centralized data access
The data source is configured once on the gateway, eliminating the need to set it up individually on each user's machine or application. This significantly simplifies the management process.
Centralized access control
Since all connections route through the gateway, access can be governed or revoked from a single location for all users.

	Data Gateway	Local ODBC data source
Simple configuration
Installation	Single machine	Per machine
Connectivity	Local and remote	Local only
Connections limit	Limited by License	Unlimited
Central data access
Central access control
More flexible cost

If you need any of these requirements, you will have to create a data source in Data Gateway to connect to Power BI, and to create an ODBC data source to connect to Data Gateway in SSIS.

Let's not wait and get going!

Creating Power BI data source in Gateway

In this section we will create a data source for Power BI in Data Gateway. Let's follow these steps to accomplish that:

Download and install ODBC PowerPack.
Search for gateway in Windows Start Menu and open ZappySys Data Gateway Configuration:
Go to Users tab and follow these steps to add a Data Gateway user:
- Click Add button
- In Login field enter username, e.g., john
- Then enter a Password
- Check Is Administrator checkbox
- Click OK to save
Now we are ready to add a data source:
- Click Add button
- Give Datasource a name (have it handy for later)
- Then select Native - ZappySys API Driver
- Finally, click OK
PowerBiDSN

ZappySys API Driver
When the ZappySys API Driver configuration window opens, configure the Data Source the same way you configured it in ODBC Data Sources (64-bit), in the beginning of this article.
Very important step. Now, after creating or modifying the data source make sure you:
- Click the Save button to persist your changes.
- Hit Yes, once asked if you want to restart the Data Gateway service.
This will ensure all changes are properly applied:

Skipping this step may result in the new settings not taking effect and, therefore you will not be able to connect to the data source.

Creating ODBC data source for Data Gateway

In this part we will create ODBC data source to connect to Data Gateway from SSIS. To achieve that, let's perform these steps:

Open ODBC Data Sources (x64):
Create a User data source (User DSN) based on ODBC Driver 17 for SQL Server:

ODBC Driver 17 for SQL Server

If you don't see ODBC Driver 17 for SQL Server driver in the list, choose a similar version driver.
Then set a Name of the data source (e.g. Gateway) and the address of the Data Gateway:

GatewayDSN

localhost,5000

Make sure you separate the hostname and port with a comma, e.g. localhost,5000.
Proceed with authentication part:
- Select SQL Server authentication
- In Login ID field enter the user name you used in Data Gateway, e.g., john
- Set Password to the one you configured in Data Gateway
Then set the default database property to PowerBiDSN (the one we used in Data Gateway):

PowerBiDSN
Continue by checking Trust server certificate option:
Once you do that, test the connection:
If connection is successful, everything is good:
Done!

We are ready to move to the final step. Let's do it!

Accessing data in SSIS via Data Gateway

Finally, we are ready to read data from Power BI in SSIS via Data Gateway. Follow these final steps:

Go back to SSIS.
From the SSIS toolbox drag and drop ODBC Source on the dataflow designer surface:
Double-click on ODBC Source component to configure it.
Click on New... button, it will open Configure ODBC Connection Manager window. Once it opens, click on New... button to create a new ODBC connection to Power BI ODBC data source:
Then choose the data source from the list and click Test Connection button. If the connection test is successful, close the window, and then click OK button to finish the configuration:

GatewayDSN
Read the data the same way we discussed at the beginning of this article.
That's it!

Now you can connect to Power BI data in SSIS via the Data Gateway.

If you are asked for authentication details, use Database authentication or SQL Authentication option and enter credentials you used when configuring Data Gateway, e.g. john and your password.