Import Avro Data into the Power BI Service for Visualizations

Power BI transforms your company's data into rich visuals for you to collect and organize so you can focus on what matters to you. When paired with CData Connect AI, you get access to Avro data for visualizations, dashboards, and more. This article shows how to connect to Avro in CData Connect AI, publish a dataset from Power BI Desktop to the Power BI Service and then create reports on Avro data in the Power BI service.

Configure Avro Connectivity for Power BI Service

Connectivity to Avro from Power BI Service is made possible through CData Connect AI. To work with Avro data from Power BI Service, we start by creating and configuring a Avro connection.

1. Log into Connect AI, click Sources, and then click Add Connection

2. Select "Avro" from the Add Connection panel

3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to Avro. Connect to your local Avro file(s) by setting the URI connection property to the location of the Avro file.
4. Click Save & Test
5. Navigate to the Permissions tab in the Add Avro Connection page and update the User-based permissions.

With the connection configured, you are ready to connect to Avro data from the Power BI service.

Publish a Dataset from Power BI Desktop

Once you connect to Avro in Connect AI, you can create a dataset in Power BI desktop and publish the dataset to the Power BI service.

1. Open Power BI Desktop and click Get Data -> Online Services -> CData Connect AI and click "Connect"
2. Click "Sign in" and authenticate with your CData Connect AI account
3. After signing in, click "Connect"
4. Select tables in the Navigator dialog
5. Click Load to establish the connection to your Avro data from Power BI

6. Define any relationships between the selected entities on the Relationships tab.
7. Click Publish (from the Home menu) and select a Workspace.

Build Reports and Dashboards on Avro Data in the Power BI Service

Now that you have published a dataset to the Power BI service, you can create new reports and dashboards based on the published data:

1. Log in to PowerBI.com.
2. Click Workspaces and select a workspace.
3. Click Create and select Report.
4. Select the published dataset for the report.
5. Choose fields and visualizations to add to your report.

Live Access to Avro Data from Cloud Applications

Now you have a direct connection to live Avro data from the Power BI service. You can create more data sources and new visualizations, build reports, and more — all without replicating Avro data.

To get live data access to hundreds of SaaS, Big Data, and NoSQL sources directly from your cloud applications, sign up for a free trial of CData Connect AI.