8 min read
APPROXIMATEDISTINCTCOUNT in Direct Lake: When 1.6% Error Is Fine
APPROXIMATEDISTINCTCOUNT now runs on Import and Direct Lake models in preview. Decide per measure where about 1.6% error is fine, label it, and test the gain.
Direct Lake
10 articles
8 min read
Converting Direct Lake Tables to Import: Designing Hybrid Models
Power BI now converts single Direct Lake tables to Import in web modelling, making storage mode a per-table choice with real refresh and governance costs.
12 min read
Whose Identity Reaches the Target? OneLake Shortcut Security
How identity flows through OneLake shortcuts: passthrough vs delegated, SQL endpoint access modes, the Direct Lake over SQL exception, and lost policy.
7 min read
Delta Lake in Fabric: Not Every Engine Reads Every Table
Every Fabric engine speaks Delta Lake, but not the same features. How to use the interoperability matrix so Spark tables still work in SQL and Power BI.
1 min read
V-Order: Microsoft Fabric's Performance Optimization
V-Order is a write-time optimization that physically reorders data within Parquet files to maximize compression and query performance, especially for Direct…
9 min read
Designing a Gold Layer and Semantic Model That Stay in Direct Lake
Design-time rules for Direct Lake in Fabric: size tables to your SKU's guardrails, move logic into Delta, avoid views, and control when models reframe.
7 min read
Tracing a Slow Fabric Report Back Through Every Layer
A diagnose-first workflow for slow Fabric reports: check capacity, the visual, DAX, Direct Lake fallback, Delta file layout and Spark, in that order.
1 min read
Direct Lake Optimization: Maximizing Power BI Performance
Direct Lake changes the Power BI performance story — but it's not automatic. Over the past months I've seen Direct Lake deliver dramatic improvements when…
1 min read
Direct Lake Mode: Power BI Performance Without Import Overhead
Direct Lake is the quiet superpower of Microsoft Fabric, and I think it's underexplained in most of the post-Build coverage. The classic Power BI trade-off…
1 min read
Power BI in Microsoft Fabric: Unified Business Intelligence
Power BI in Fabric provides seamless BI capabilities that connect directly to your unified data layer. Tomorrow, I will cover Fabric Capacities and pricing.