Streaming data Azure & Power BI - Streaming dataset

Case
I want to send streaming data to Power BI for realtime reporting purposes. This post is part of a series on Streaming Data in Azure and Power BI. It focusses on showing the live data in Power BI.

Power BI Streaming dataset

Solution
In the previous Stream Analytics post we pushed the data from the Event Hub to a new Streaming dataset in Power BI and in this post we will create a Power BI report and dashboard to see the streaming data actually moving on our screen.

Posts in this series:

• Setting up Azure Event Hubs
• Sending test messages to the Event Hub
• Setting up hot path in Azure Stream Analytics
• Setting up cold pathin Azure Stream Analytics *soon
• Viewing streaming data in Power BI

1) Check dataset
First make sure your Stream Analytics job is running and that data is send to the Event Hub. Only then a new Power BI Dataset will be created. Note that the icon for a streaming Dataset differs from a normal dataset. You can edit the dataset to see which columns are available, but don't change the columns or settings because Stream Analytics is managing it.

New Streaming dataset in Power BI

2) Create report

Now create a new Power BI report on the newly created dataset, publish it and  then view it in Power BI online.

Creating and publish our beautifull report

The workspace with dataset and report

The live report

Now while viewing the report make sure data is still streaming into the Power BI dataset. You will probably notice that nothing is changing or moving in your report. Once you hit the refresh visual button you will see the new data. However continuously hitting the refresh button is not likely an option for you.

3) Pin report visual to Dashboard

Hover your mouse over your report visual and look for the little push pin button. Click on it to create a new dashboard. Repeat this for all the visuals you want to see in live mode.

Pin Report Visual to Dashboard

The workspace with the new dashboard

Now open the newly created dashboard and watch the data streaming live into your visuals. You can adjust the size of the visuals to see more details. We left the bottom right empty to show a PowerShell ISE window pushing data to the Event Hub and with the lowest and slowest settings (basic Event Hub, 1 streaming unit in Stream Analytics and the max of 1 message a second) it just takes a view seconds for the data to appear in Power BI.

Streaming live data into Power BI

Conclusions

In this post we showed you the end of the hot path by creating a very basic report and pinning its visuals to a dashboard to see the data streaming live into your dashboard. You can enrich the dashboard with visuals from your cold path reports to also compare the live data to for example daily everages. The storage part of the cold path will be explained in a next post from this series.

Tip: during testing you can empty the streaming dataset by temporary switching off Historic data analysis in the edit screem of the dataset. You wont see new data until you switch it on again.