Power BI Scheduled Refresh for PostgreSQL using ODBC and On-Premise Data Gateway Personal Mode: A Step-by-Step Guide

Power BI is a powerful data visualization tool that allows you to connect to various data sources and create interactive reports and dashboards. One of the key features of Power BI is the ability to schedule data refreshes, which ensures that your reports always have the most up-to-date information.

In this article, we will discuss how to configure scheduled refresh for Power BI using a PostgreSQL data source and an ODBC connection, as well as the On-Premise Data Gateway in Personal Mode.

1. Define a Data Source Name (DSN) for the connection using the ODBC Data Source Administrator. This will allow you to easily connect to your PostgreSQL database without having to specify all of the connection information each time. To create a DSN, you will need to open the “ODBC Data Source Administrator” on your machine. The location of this tool may vary depending on your operating system, but it can typically be found in the Control Panel. Once you have opened the administrator, you will need to select the “System DSN” tab and then click the “Add” button.
2. Install the appropriate ODBC driver for your version of PostgreSQL and configure the DSN connection by providing the necessary information such as the server name, database name, and credentials. You can also specify additional options such as the default schema and encoding.
3. Set up the On-Premise Data Gateway in Personal Mode. This is a component that allows Power BI to connect to on-premises data sources, and it can be installed on any machine that has access to the data source. Once the gateway is installed and configured, you will need to add it to your Power BI account.
4. Configure the scheduled refresh for your Power BI reports by going to the report settings and selecting the “Schedule Refresh” option. You can then specify the refresh frequency, and choose the data source and gateway that you want to use for the refresh.

It’s worth noting that when you set up a scheduled refresh, Power BI will automatically refresh the data in your reports at the specified frequency. You can also refresh the data manually at any time by going to the report settings and clicking the “Refresh” button.

In conclusion, Power BI is an excellent tool for creating interactive data visualizations and scheduled refresh is an important feature that allows you to keep your reports up-to-date. By following the steps outlined in this article, you can easily configure scheduled refresh for Power BI using a PostgreSQL data source and an ODBC connection, as well as the On-Premise Data Gateway in Personal Mode. It is essential to keep in mind that you should always start by defining a Data Source Name (DSN) in the ODBC Data Source Administrator in order to connect to the PostgreSQL database.