It is nothing hard to create report using Power BI desktop for example from Excel and then upload it to the cloud on powerbi.com. But how to update the cloud data when the source file is located on your PC/server and “the cloud service does not see the data”? One of the ways is to update the report manually in Power BI desktop, counting with uploading it to the web again afterwards. But that is not the most handy solution. The elegant solution is an automatic update using Power BI Gateway.
What is Power BI Gateway used for?
Simply put, it is a safe bridge between on-premise data (data on PC or server) and Power BI service. This bridge creates a connection between your report uploaded to Power BI service and data source (e.g. some Excel). If the source Excel is not changed afterward, the changes will get mirrored into the report.
Power BI gateway can be simply installed on your server/pc. Here is the link for download.
Power BI Gateway installer offers 2 gate types
You can select type of the gate during the installation – 2 options are available and it can be sort of confusing at the first glance
1) On-premises data gateway – preselected type meant for personal usage and mainly for servers. This gateway offers more options of use. Main benefit is multiple users can use it if installed on server. With according permit issued by gate admin of course.
2) On-premises data gateway (Personal mode) – second type is the easier personal mode. This gate is installed on PC and enables only updates of report done from account to which the gate is connected (does not allow multiple users to access the dataset). This option haves also more restrictions.