Power BI - Differences between Power BI personal Gateway and Data Management Gateway
Last Updated :
16 Jan, 2023
In Power BI, a gateway is a software component that enables secure and seamless data connectivity between Power BI and on-premises data sources. A gateway acts as a bridge between the cloud-based Power BI service and on-premises data sources, allowing you to use Power BI to access and visualize data that is stored on-premises. We may need to use a gateway in Power BI if we want to access on-premises data sources from Power BI or if we want to use Power BI to create live connections to on-premises data sources. Some common scenarios where a gateway may be required include:
- When we want to use Power BI to access and visualize data that is stored in an on-premises database or data warehouse.
- When we want to use Power BI to create real-time dashboards and reports that are powered by on-premises data.
- When we want to use Power BI to schedule automatic data to refresh for on-premises data sources.
A gateway is required in Power BI when you want to access or visualize on-premises data sources from the Power BI service. It allows you to securely and seamlessly connect to on-premises data sources and use Power BI to access and visualize the data.
Types of Gateway in Power BI
Personal Gateway
Power BI personal gateway is a tool that enables users to refresh their on-premises data in Power BI. It connects to a variety of data sources and allows users to schedule automatic data to refresh in the Power BI service. This is useful when you want to keep your Power BI reports and dashboards up-to-date with the latest data from your on-premises data sources.
Data Management Gateway
Data Management Gateway (previously known as On-Premises Data Gateway) is a tool that allows users to connect to on-premises data sources and perform data integration, ETL (extract, transform, and load), and data mashup. It can be used with Power BI, Power Automate (previously known as Microsoft Flow), Azure Logic Apps, and other services that require access to on-premises data.
Differences between Power BI Personal Gateway and Data Management Gateway
Below is the table consisting of the key differences between the Power BI personal gateway and data management gateway:
Aspects
| Personal Gateway
| Data Management Gateway
|
---|
Usage | Intended for personal use and also used to refresh on-premises data in Power BI | Designed for enterprise-level integration scenarios and can be used for data integration, ETL, and data mashup in addition to data refresh |
---|
Connection Type | Support connection to on-premises data sources | Support connection to both on-premises data sources and cloud-based data sources. |
---|
Data Sources | Can connect to a variety of data sources, including SQL Server, Oracle, Excel, and more | Can connect to a wider range of data sources, including on-premises databases, file systems, and cloud-based data sources. |
---|
Data Refresh | Allow users to refresh their on-premises data in Power BI | Data Management Gateway allows users to refresh their on-premises data and also allows users to schedule data to refresh and configure data refresh settings, such as the frequency and duration of the refresh in Power BI |
---|
Integration capabilities | No support for advanced integration capabilities. | Offers more advanced integration capabilities, including support for data integration, ETL, and data mashup |
---|
Deployment Options | Can be installed on a local machine or on a server in your organization. | Can be installed on a local machine or on a server in your organization and can also be installed in the cloud, using Azure Integration Runtime. |
---|
Accessibility | Power BI personal gateway can only be used by the user who installed it. | Data Management Gateway can be accessed by multiple users within an organization. |
---|
Performance | Power BI personal gateway slows down especially when dealing with large volumes of data | Data Management Gateway is generally faster and more efficient |
---|
Cost | Power BI personal gateway is free to use | Data Management Gateway is a paid service, with pricing based on the number of connections and data transfer. |
---|
Management and maintenance | Power BI personal gateway does not have capabilities for monitoring, diagnostics, and maintenance. | Data Management Gateway has more advanced management and maintenance capabilities, including support for monitoring, diagnostics, and maintenance. |
---|
Scalability | Less scalable compared to Data Management Gateway | Data Management Gateway is more scalable. |
---|
Steps to Install Personal Mode
The points given below are the steps required to install personal mode:
- Go to the Microsoft Download Center and click the "Download" button for the Power BI On-Premises Data Gateway (Personal Mode).

- Run the downloaded installer file. Follow the prompts to complete the installation. This may include accepting the terms of the license agreement and specifying the installation location.

- When the installation is complete, the Power BI On-Premises Data Gateway (Personal Mode) will be installed on your computer. To start the gateway, go to the Start menu and look for the "On-Premises Data Gateway (Personal Mode)" entry. Click on this entry to start the gateway. When the gateway starts, it will open a web browser window and display a sign-in page. Sign in with your Microsoft account to complete the setup process.

- Once the setup process is complete, the Power BI On-Premises Data Gateway (Personal Mode) will be fully functional and you can use it to connect to on-premises data sources from Power BI.

Conclusion
Both Power BI personal gateway and Data Management Gateway can be installed on a local machine or on a server in your organization. They provide secure connectivity between the cloud and on-premises data sources, using either DirectQuery or scheduled refresh. However, Power BI personal gateway is intended for personal use, while Data Management Gateway is designed for enterprise-level integration scenarios.
Similar Reads
Power BI - Differences between the M Language and DAX Power BI supports both M Language and DAX as expression languages. Both are more comparable to the formulas in Microsoft Excel than they are to any programming language. However, M and DAX are distinct from one another and are applied in various ways when creating Power BI models. As we get to know
8 min read
Differences Between Microsoft Power BI and SSRS SSRS and Power BI are both Business Intelligence (BI) tools that are made to show data to users in a easy to understand way. Even though Microsoft made both but they are designed for different types of users and used for different purposes. In this article, we will see the differences between Power
3 min read
Difference between Business Intelligence and Data Warehouse Business Intelligence: Large business organizations usually receive large amounts of data from various sources. This data is always exploitable to obtain diverse sets of information that help in making better business decisions. These actionable insights may be descriptive, predictive, or prescripti
3 min read
Difference between Data Visualization and Business Intelligence Data visualization is one of the analytical tools used in data science and it simply refers to the process of representing data graphically to allow data communications and expression of patterns. The tool aims to make the charts, graphs, and maps simple to understand as well as to discover the fact
8 min read
Difference Between Gateway and Modem Every individual nowadays has access to the internet and knows what the internet but has anyone ever wondered how your computer or smartphone is able to connect to the internet? Well, that's where a gateway and modem come into the picture. Gateway is a device that connects different networks. In sim
4 min read
Difference between Business Intelligence and Data Mining Business Intelligence (BI) alludes to advances, applications, and hones for the collection, integration, examination, and introduction of business data. The reason for Commerce Insights is to bolster superior trade choice-making. Basically, Trade Insights frameworks are data-driven Decision Support
4 min read