I'm currently using Power BI to connect with Azure SQL databases for our reports, and I've got the firewall set to allow only specific IP addresses while also enabling access for all Azure services. This setup has worked well for us so far. Now, we're planning to migrate some of our reporting databases over to Azure SQL Managed Instances and want to ensure that Power BI can connect to these instances privately. Can anyone provide guidance on how to set up this connection through our private network? I've noticed that the firewall settings for SQL Managed Instances differ from those for standard Azure SQL databases.
1 Answer
To connect Power BI to your Azure SQL Managed Instance, you'll need to set up a data gateway first. This is crucial because a Managed Instance is treated similarly to a SQL Server running on a VM or on-premises in terms of networking. The data gateway will help establish a secure connection between your Power BI service and the Managed Instance. Check out this link for more details: [Azure SQL Blog](https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/azuresqlblog/integrate-microsoft-cloud-services-with-your-azure-sql-database-managed-instance/1083543).
Thanks for sharing the link! I did see that there's also an option to use the public endpoint for the SQL Managed Instance. I know that's generally less secure, but how risky is it actually to enable the public endpoint if we also need to allow external clients to access these reporting databases?