Why move
Power BI semantic models on Premium/Fabric capacity offer the same Tabular engine plus Direct Lake, larger models, incremental refresh, deployment pipelines and no servers to patch. Azure Analysis Services customers have been encouraged to migrate for some time.
1. Assess
- Compatibility level 1200 or higher (1500+ recommended). Multidimensional cubes must be rebuilt — no automated path.
- Data sources: on-prem sources need an on-premises data gateway; cloud sources need credentials or SSO.
- Security: roles with RLS/OLS; members are Windows/AD groups → map to Entra ID groups.
- Clients: Excel PivotTables, Power BI reports with live connection, paginated reports, custom apps (ADOMD/AMO).
2. Prepare the workspace
- Workspace on Premium/Fabric capacity, XMLA endpoint set to Read Write (capacity settings).
- Large semantic model storage format enabled for models over the default limit.
3. Deploy the model
Option A — Azure Analysis Services migration feature in Power BI (for AAS sources): it migrates the model and can redirect AAS clients.
Option B — XMLA deployment (SSAS or AAS):
- Open the model (
.bimor from the server) in Tabular Editor or Visual Studio. - Change data sources to Power Query/structured sources if they're legacy providers.
- Deploy to
powerbi://api.powerbi.com/v1.0/myorg/<Workspace Name>.
SSMS can also back up/restore or script the database with TMSL to the XMLA endpoint.
4. Rebind data and refresh
- Set data source credentials (or bind to a gateway) in the semantic model settings.
- Initial full refresh — through XMLA (TMSL
refreshcommand) for large models to process partitions in parallel and avoid timeouts. - Configure scheduled refresh or keep your existing orchestration calling XMLA/REST.
{ "refresh": { "type": "full", "objects": [ { "database": "Sales Model" } ] } }
5. Security
Recreate role membership with Entra ID groups (Power BI roles can't contain on-prem AD-only groups). Test RLS with Test as role and with real users. Workspace roles (Viewer etc.) control who can read; build permission controls who can create reports.
6. Redirect clients
| Client | Change |
|---|---|
| Power BI reports with live connection | Rebind to the new semantic model (Power BI Desktop, or REST rebind API) |
| Excel | New connection to the semantic model (Analyze in Excel / Power BI connector) |
| Paginated reports | Change data source to the XMLA endpoint |
| Apps using ADOMD/AMO | Connection string to the XMLA endpoint with Entra auth |
Tip
Keep the SSAS model processing but unused for a few weeks. Compare key measures between old and new with a set of DAX queries before you switch off the server.
Checklist
- Compatibility level and features checked; multidimensional rebuild planned separately
- XMLA read-write enabled; model deployed
- Gateway/credentials and refresh working
- Roles mapped to Entra groups; RLS tested
- Clients redirected; SSAS/AAS retired