PL-300 Deploy and maintain assets — 20 Questions

Question 1

You manage a Power BI workspace that contains a dataset refreshed daily from an on-premises SQL Server. Users report that the report shows data from two days ago. You verify that the scheduled refresh ran successfully this morning. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The gateway is using a cached version of the data due to a misconfigured data source.. Option A is correct because the most likely cause is that the on-premises data gateway is using a cached version of the data due to a misconfigured data source. When the data source is misconfigured (e.g., incorrect credentials or connection string), the gateway may fall back to a previously cached dataset, causing the report to show stale data even though the scheduled refresh appears to have run successfully. This explains why users see data from two days ago despite a successful refresh this morning.

Answer

The refresh took longer than expected and timed out.

Answer

The scheduled refresh is not set to refresh the dataset.

Answer

The on-premises data gateway is offline.

Question 2

You need to deploy a Power BI report from a development workspace to a production workspace. You want to ensure that the report uses the production dataset connection string without manual changes. What should you use?

Accepted Answer

Configure a deployment pipeline with parameter rules to override the data source.. Option C is correct because deployment pipelines in Power BI allow you to define parameter rules that automatically override data source connection strings when content is deployed from development to production. This ensures the report uses the production dataset without any manual post-deployment changes, maintaining consistency and reducing human error.

Answer

Manually update the data source in the production workspace after deployment.

Answer

Use a Power BI template (.pbit) and change the connection string before publishing.

Answer

Publish the report directly to the production workspace and update the dataset.

Question 3

Your Power BI dataset uses DirectQuery to an Azure SQL Database. Users complain that the report is slow. You need to improve query performance without changing the data source. What should you do?

Accepted Answer

Reduce the number of columns and rows retrieved by the report visuals.. Option A is correct because reducing the number of columns and rows retrieved by report visuals directly minimizes the amount of data sent from Azure SQL Database to Power BI via DirectQuery. Since DirectQuery sends native queries to the source for each visual interaction, fewer columns and rows mean smaller, faster queries, which reduces overall latency without altering the underlying data source.

Answer

Add more visuals to the report to distribute the load.

Answer

Switch the dataset to Import mode.

Answer

Increase the scheduled refresh frequency.

Question 4

You are deploying a Power BI solution to a customer. The customer requires that all report access be controlled via Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) groups. You have a single workspace with multiple reports. What is the best practice for managing permissions?

Accepted Answer

Add an Azure AD group to the workspace role.. Option D is correct because using an Azure AD group to manage workspace roles aligns with the customer's requirement for centralized access control via Azure AD. This approach simplifies permission management by allowing group membership changes in Azure AD to automatically propagate to Power BI workspace access, ensuring consistency and reducing administrative overhead.

Answer

Create a Power BI group and add users to it.

Answer

Assign each user directly to the workspace role.

Answer

Share each report individually with users.

Question 5

You have a Power BI dataset that is refreshed every hour from an on-premises data source using an enterprise gateway. The refresh consistently fails at 2:00 AM. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The on-premises data gateway is scheduled to reboot at 2:00 AM.. The consistent failure at exactly 2:00 AM strongly points to a scheduled event on the on-premises data gateway, such as a reboot or maintenance window. Enterprise gateways can be configured to reboot periodically for updates or health reasons, and if this coincides with the refresh schedule, the gateway will be unavailable, causing the refresh to fail. Transient errors or cloud maintenance would not produce a perfectly consistent daily failure at the same time.

Answer

The refresh is failing due to a transient network error.

Answer

The data source is undergoing maintenance in the cloud.

Answer

The scheduled refresh time conflicts with another refresh.

Question 6

Which TWO actions should you take to ensure that a Power BI report deployed to production is available to users even if the gateway is offline for maintenance?

Accepted Answer

Create a separate dataset in the cloud that caches the data.. Option D is correct because creating a separate dataset in the cloud that caches the data (e.g., using a scheduled dataflow or a cloud-based dataset with Import mode) ensures that the report can still serve cached data from the Power BI service even when the on-premises gateway is offline for maintenance. This decouples report availability from gateway connectivity, as long as the cached data is refreshed before the maintenance window.

Answer

Create a Power BI Premium capacity to ensure high availability.

Answer

Schedule the dataset refresh to run during the maintenance window.

Answer

Use DirectQuery instead of Import mode to avoid gateway dependency.

Question 7

Which THREE steps should you perform to deploy a Power BI solution from development to production using deployment pipelines?

Accepted Answer

Set up deployment pipeline rules to modify parameters (e.g., database name).. Option B is correct because deployment pipeline rules allow you to modify dataset parameters (e.g., database server or database name) when content moves between pipeline stages, ensuring each stage connects to the appropriate data source without manual reconfiguration. This is a core feature of Power BI deployment pipelines to maintain environment-specific settings.

Answer

Create a new workspace manually in production.

Answer

Assign Power BI Pro licenses to all developers.

Question 8

You review the dataset refresh history. The second refresh took 30 minutes and failed. What is the most likely reason for the failure?

Accepted Answer

The refresh exceeded the timeout limit set in the gateway.. The second refresh took 30 minutes and failed, which strongly indicates the refresh exceeded the default 30-minute timeout limit configured in the on-premises data gateway. When a dataset refresh operation in Power BI runs longer than the gateway's timeout setting, the gateway terminates the connection, causing the refresh to fail. This is a common issue when refreshing large datasets or complex queries through a gateway.

Answer

The refresh schedule conflicted with another refresh.

Answer

The on-premises data gateway was offline.

Answer

The data source was unavailable.

Question 9

You are troubleshooting connectivity to a Power BI Premium dataset via the XMLA endpoint. A user reports that they cannot connect using SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) but can view reports in the Power BI service. The user's email is user3@contoso.com. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The user is not in the allowedUsers list for the XMLA endpoint.. Option C is correct because the XMLA endpoint for Power BI Premium datasets requires explicit user membership in the allowedUsers list (or allowedGroups) to enable client tools like SSMS to connect. The user can view reports in the Power BI service, which uses a different permission model (workspace roles), but SSMS connectivity via XMLA is gated by this separate list. Since the user is not in the allowedUsers list, the connection fails even though they have report viewing access.

Answer

External connections are blocked by the configuration.

Answer

The user does not have permission to view reports.

Answer

The XMLA endpoint is disabled.

Question 10

A user reports that a Power BI report is not refreshing data from a SQL Server database. The dataset uses Import mode. The gateway cluster shows all gateways are online. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The data source credentials are incorrect or expired.. Option D is correct because in Import mode, Power BI caches data and refreshes it on a schedule using stored credentials. If those credentials expire or become invalid, the refresh fails even though the gateway cluster shows as online. The gateway being online only indicates network connectivity, not that the stored credentials are still valid for the SQL Server database.

Answer

The report is using a scheduled refresh with a conflicting time.

Answer

The gateway version is incompatible with the SQL Server version.

Answer

The dataset uses DirectQuery mode which requires a live connection.

Question 11

You deploy a Power BI app to a workspace with an app-only license (Premium Per User). Users report that they can access the app but cannot see any visuals in the reports. The dataset uses Import mode. What is the most likely issue?

Accepted Answer

The users do not have a Premium Per User license assigned.. The workspace uses a Premium Per User (PPU) license, which requires each user accessing content in that workspace to have a PPU license assigned. Without it, users can see the app in the list but cannot render visuals because the dataset (Import mode) is processed on PPU-capacity nodes that enforce license checks. This is the most likely cause given the symptom of empty visuals.

Answer

The report uses DirectQuery and the data source is offline.

Answer

The report is published to a shared dataset that has been deleted.

Answer

The dataset has row-level security (RLS) that filters all rows for these users.

Question 12

You manage a Power BI deployment that uses deployment pipelines. After promoting content from Development to Test, you notice that the Test workspace dataset uses a different data source than expected. What is the most likely reason?

Accepted Answer

The dataset parameters were not configured in the deployment pipeline rules.. Option C is correct because deployment pipeline rules allow you to configure dataset parameters (such as data source paths) to differ between pipeline stages. If these rules are not set, the dataset retains the data source configuration from the source stage (Development), causing the Test workspace to use an unexpected data source. The pipeline deploys the dataset artifact, but without parameter overrides, the data source connection string remains unchanged.

Answer

The pipeline didn't deploy the dataset because it was already in Test.

Answer

The data source credentials were not applied during deployment.

Answer

The Test workspace has a separate dataset that was manually created.

Question 13

You need to ensure that a Power BI report uses the latest data from a cloud-based Azure SQL Database. The report is configured with scheduled refresh. What is the minimum required license for the dataset owner to configure a scheduled refresh?

Accepted Answer

Power BI Pro. Option D is correct because Power BI Pro is the minimum license required for a dataset owner to configure a scheduled refresh against a cloud-based Azure SQL Database. Scheduled refresh is a premium feature that is not available with a Power BI Free license, and while Power BI Premium capacity or Premium Per User can also support scheduled refresh, they are not the minimum requirement. The dataset owner must have a Pro license to schedule refreshes for datasets hosted in shared capacity.

Answer

Power BI Premium capacity

Answer

Power BI Premium Per User

Answer

Power BI Free

Question 14

You publish a Power BI report to a workspace that uses an organizational app. After updating the report, you want users to see the changes immediately without having to reinstall the app. What should you do?

Accepted Answer

Update the app in the workspace by selecting 'Update app'.. Option D is correct because updating the app in the workspace by selecting 'Update app' publishes the latest version of the report (and any other content) to the existing app without requiring users to reinstall. The app is a container that points to the workspace content; updating it refreshes that pointer, making changes immediately available to users who already have the app installed.

Answer

Delete and recreate the app from the workspace.

Answer

Republish the report from Power BI Desktop.

Answer

Ask users to refresh their browser cache.

Question 15

Which TWO actions are required to set up a Power BI deployment pipeline with separate data sources for Development and Production?

Accepted Answer

Define dataset parameters in Power BI Desktop for data source values.. Option A is correct because defining dataset parameters in Power BI Desktop for data source values allows you to make the data source connection dynamic. These parameters can then be overridden at each stage of the deployment pipeline, enabling separate data sources for Development and Production without modifying the report file.

Answer

Assign the dataset owner to each stage workspace.

Answer

Re-enter data source credentials for each stage after deployment.

Answer

Create separate gateways for each stage.

Question 16

Which THREE factors should you consider when planning the deployment of Power BI content to a large enterprise with multiple regions?

Accepted Answer

Data residency requirements for each region.. Data residency requirements are critical because Power BI stores data in specific Azure regions. For a multi-region enterprise, you must ensure that data does not leave the required geographic boundary due to compliance or legal mandates. This affects where you provision Power BI tenants, capacity, and data sources.

Answer

The number of visuals per report page.

Answer

The currency format used in reports for each region.

Question 17

You are reviewing the deployment configuration for a Power BI dataset. The exhibit shows a JSON snippet of the dataset settings. You need to ensure that data is refreshed twice a day at 6:00 AM and 6:00 PM UTC. However, the refresh fails at both scheduled times. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The data source uses Integrated Security (SSPI) which is not supported for scheduled refresh.. Option A is correct because scheduled refresh in Power BI requires a gateway to connect to on-premises data sources, and when the data source uses Integrated Security (SSPI), the gateway cannot delegate credentials for scheduled refresh. SSPI relies on the user's interactive Windows authentication context, which is not available during unattended scheduled refresh operations. This causes the refresh to fail at both scheduled times.

Answer

The refresh schedule uses UTC but the data source is in a different time zone.

Answer

The dataset has DirectQuery enabled, which prevents Import mode refresh.

Answer

The gateway ID is incorrect.

Question 18

You manage a Power BI workspace used by the sales team. After updating a dataset with new columns, some users report that their reports show old data. You verify that the scheduled refresh completed successfully. What should you do first?

Accepted Answer

Open the report in Power BI Desktop, refresh the dataset, and republish.. Option A is correct because when a dataset is updated with new columns in Power BI Desktop, the report's underlying data model must be refreshed and republished to the Power BI service. Even if the scheduled refresh completes successfully, it only refreshes the existing data structure; it does not automatically incorporate schema changes like new columns. Republishing the .pbix file ensures the service has the updated metadata and data.

Answer

Clear the users' browser cache.

Answer

Reconfigure the scheduled refresh to run more frequently.

Answer

Reset the on-premises data gateway.

Question 19

You are a Power BI administrator for a large organization. A team has published a shared dataset to a Premium workspace. They use an XMLA endpoint to programmatically refresh the dataset daily. Recently, the refresh started failing with the error: 'The operation was canceled because the session was terminated by a concurrent operation.' The dataset is not partitioned. You need to ensure the refresh completes without errors. What should you do?

Accepted Answer

Enable the 'Refresh conflict detection' setting on the dataset to prevent concurrent operations.. The error 'The operation was canceled because the session was terminated by a concurrent operation' indicates that two refresh operations are conflicting on the same dataset. Enabling 'Refresh conflict detection' on the dataset prevents concurrent refreshes by queuing or blocking overlapping operations, ensuring the XMLA-triggered refresh completes without interruption.

Answer

Remove all scheduled refreshes and rely solely on the XMLA script.

Answer

Change the XMLA script to run less frequently, e.g., once per week.

Answer

Partition the dataset and refresh partitions sequentially.

Question 20

You have developed a Power BI report that uses a live connection to an Azure Analysis Services (AAS) model. The AAS model is deployed in a different Azure region. Users report that the report loads slowly, sometimes taking over 30 seconds to render a single visual. You need to improve performance without changing the data model or the report structure. What should you do?

Accepted Answer

Deploy the Azure Analysis Services model to the same region as the Power BI workspace.. Option C is correct because deploying the Azure Analysis Services model to the same Azure region as the Power BI workspace minimizes network latency between the live connection client (Power BI) and the tabular model server. A live connection sends DAX queries over the XMLA protocol, and cross-region traffic introduces significant round-trip delays, which directly causes slow visual rendering. By co-locating the AAS server and the Power BI service in the same region, you reduce the physical distance and network hops, improving query response time without altering the model or report.

Answer

Enable the 'Reduce data shown in visuals' option in Power BI Desktop.

Answer

Implement row-level security (RLS) in the Azure Analysis Services model.

Answer

Convert the report to import mode and schedule a refresh.