Import SAS xpt 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 SAS xpt data for visualizations, dashboards, and more. This article shows how to connect to SAS xpt in CData Connect AI, publish a dataset from Power BI Desktop to the Power BI Service and then create reports on SAS xpt data in the Power BI service.

Configure SAS xpt Connectivity for Power BI Service

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

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

2. Select "SAS xpt" from the Add Connection panel

3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to SAS xpt.

   Connecting to Local SASXpt Files

   You can connect to local SASXpt file by setting the URI to a folder containing SASXpt files.

   Connecting to S3 data source

   You can connect to Amazon S3 source to read SASXpt files. Set the following properties to connect:

   • URI: Set this to the folder within your bucket that you would like to connect to.
   • AWSAccessKey: Set this to your AWS account access key.
   • AWSSecretKey: Set this to your AWS account secret key.
   • TemporaryLocalFolder: Set this to the path, or URI, to the folder that is used to temporarily download SASXpt file(s).

   Connecting to Azure Data Lake Storage Gen2

   You can connect to ADLS Gen2 to read SASXpt files. Set the following properties to connect:

   • URI: Set this to the name of the file system and the name of the folder which contacts your SASXpt files.
   • AzureAccount: Set this to the name of the Azure Data Lake storage account.
   • AzureAccessKey: Set this to our Azure DataLakeStore Gen 2 storage account access key.
   • TemporaryLocalFolder: Set this to the path, or URI, to the folder that is used to temporarily download SASXpt file(s).
   
4. Click Save & Test
5. Navigate to the Permissions tab in the Add SAS xpt Connection page and update the User-based permissions.

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

Publish a Dataset from Power BI Desktop

Once you connect to SAS xpt 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 SAS xpt 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 SAS xpt 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 SAS xpt Data from Cloud Applications

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