Connect Power BI to Azure Databricks

Project Overview

This guide walks you through connecting Microsoft Power BI to Azure Databricks SQL Warehouse, authenticating the connection, browsing Unity Catalog, selecting Gold Layer tables, and importing business-ready data for dashboard development.

By completing this guide, you will:

• Connect Power BI to Azure Databricks
• Configure Databricks Connection Settings
• Retrieve the Server Hostname and HTTP Path
• Authenticate using Azure Databricks
• Browse Unity Catalog
• Import Gold Layer Tables
• Prepare Data for Analytics
• Build Interactive Power BI Dashboards

Architecture

                Azure Data Lake Storage
                         │
                         ▼
                  Bronze Layer
                         │
                         ▼
                  Silver Layer
                         │
                         ▼
                   Gold Layer
                         │
                         ▼
               SQL Warehouse (Serverless)
                         │
                         ▼
                  Power BI Desktop
                         │
                         ▼
            Executive Business Dashboards

Prerequisites

Before connecting Power BI, ensure you have:

• Azure Subscription
• Azure Databricks Workspace
• Unity Catalog configured
• SQL Warehouse running
• Gold Layer tables created
• Power BI Desktop (Latest Version)
• Required permissions to access Unity Catalog

Step 1 — Open Power BI and Select Azure Databricks

Launch Power BI Desktop.

Navigate to:

Home
    └── Get Data
            └── Search "Azure Databricks"

Select

Azure Databricks

Click

Connect

Step 2 — Configure Connection Settings

Power BI opens the Databricks connection window.

Provide the following information:

Property	Value
Server Hostname	Azure Databricks Server Hostname
HTTP Path	SQL Warehouse HTTP Path

Leave the remaining settings unchanged.

Click

Next

---

Step 3 — Retrieve Server Hostname and HTTP Path

Open your Azure Databricks Workspace.

Navigate to:

SQL Warehouses
        └── Serverless Starter Warehouse
                └── Connection Details

Copy the following values:

Server Hostname

adb-xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.azuredatabricks.net

HTTP Path

/sql/1.0/warehouses/xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Return to Power BI.

Paste both values into their respective fields.

Click

Next

---

Step 4 — Authenticate with Azure Databricks

Power BI prompts for authentication.

Choose one of the supported authentication methods.

Recommended:

Microsoft Entra ID (Azure Active Directory)

Alternatively, use:

• Personal Access Token (PAT)

Complete the authentication process.

Step 5 — Browse Unity Catalog

After successful authentication, Power BI displays the Databricks catalog hierarchy.

Expand:

Azure Databricks
        └── Catalog
                └── Schema
                        └── Tables

Locate your project catalog.

Example:

ecommerce

Step 6 — Select Gold Layer Tables

Expand the Gold schema.

Example:

ecommerce
        └── gold

Select the required business tables.

Recommended tables:

• gld_dim_products
• gld_dim_customers
• gld_dim_date
• gld_fact_order_items
• gld_fact_daily_orders_summary

Click

Transform Data

or

Load

Step 7 — Verify Imported Tables

After loading completes, verify that:

• Tables appear in the Fields pane.
• Data preview loads successfully.
• No authentication errors occur.
• Relationships can be created.

Example imported tables:

Gold
├── gld_dim_products
├── gld_dim_customers
├── gld_dim_date
├── gld_fact_order_items
└── gld_fact_daily_orders_summary

Step 8 — Build the Data Model

Create relationships between the imported tables.

Example Star Schema:

                gld_dim_products
                        │
                        │
                        ▼
gld_dim_customers ─── gld_fact_order_items ─── gld_dim_date
                        │
                        ▼
        gld_fact_daily_orders_summary

Step 9 — Create Visualizations

Build interactive dashboards using imported data.

Recommended visualizations:

• Revenue Trend
• Daily Sales
• Customer Analysis
• Product Performance
• Country-wise Sales
• Top Products
• Top Customers
• Order Summary

Step 10 — Publish to Power BI Service

Once the report is complete:

Navigate to

Home
        └── Publish

Publish the report to:

My Workspace

or

Production Workspace

Configure scheduled refresh if required.

Connection Workflow

Power BI Desktop
        │
        ▼
Azure Databricks Connector
        │
        ▼
SQL Warehouse
        │
        ▼
Unity Catalog
        │
        ▼
Gold Schema
        │
        ▼
Business Tables
        │
        ▼
Power Query
        │
        ▼
Power BI Data Model
        │
        ▼
Interactive Dashboards

Recommended Gold Tables

Table	Purpose
gld_dim_products	Product Dimension
gld_dim_customers	Customer Dimension
gld_dim_date	Calendar Dimension
gld_fact_order_items	Sales Fact
gld_fact_daily_orders_summary	Daily Sales Summary

Dashboard Recommendations

Dashboard	Description
Executive Dashboard	Business KPIs
Sales Dashboard	Sales Analysis
Customer Dashboard	Customer Insights
Product Dashboard	Product Performance
Country Dashboard	Regional Sales
Revenue Dashboard	Revenue Trends
Orders Dashboard	Order Analysis

Troubleshooting

Authentication Failed

Verify:

• SQL Warehouse is running.
• Microsoft Entra ID permissions.
• Personal Access Token validity.
• Workspace access.

Unable to Connect

Verify:

• Server Hostname is correct.
• HTTP Path is correct.
• SQL Warehouse is active.

No Tables Visible

Verify:

• Unity Catalog permissions.
• Gold schema exists.
• User has SELECT permission.

Slow Performance

Possible reasons:

• Large datasets
• SQL Warehouse is stopped
• Network latency
• Importing unnecessary tables

Best Practices

• Connect only to the Gold Layer.
• Keep SQL Warehouse running during refresh.
• Use descriptive table names.
• Create a Star Schema in Power BI.
• Hide unnecessary columns.
• Configure scheduled refresh in Power BI Service.
• Secure data using Unity Catalog permissions.