Troubleshooting practice questions

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?

Exhibit

Refer to the exhibit.

Power BI XMLA endpoint configuration:
{
  "allowedUsers": [
    "user1@contoso.com",
    "user2@contoso.com"
  ],
  "allowAzureAnalysisServicesConnections": true,
  "blockExternalConnections": false
}

Trap 1: External connections are blocked by the configuration.

blockExternalConnections is false.

Trap 2: The user does not have permission to view reports.

They can view reports.

Trap 3: The XMLA endpoint is disabled.

The configuration shows it is enabled.

A
External connections are blocked by the configuration.
Why wrong: blockExternalConnections is false.
B
The user does not have permission to view reports.
Why wrong: They can view reports.
C
The user is not in the allowedUsers list for the XMLA endpoint.
Only user1 and user2 are allowed.
D
The XMLA endpoint is disabled.
Why wrong: The configuration shows it is enabled.

Question 2mediummulti select

You have a Power BI report that uses a custom visual from AppSource. The visual is not rendering correctly. Which three steps should you take to troubleshoot?

Trap 1: Disable hardware acceleration in Power BI Desktop

Hardware acceleration is not specific to custom visuals.

Trap 2: Clear the browser cache

Clearing cache is for browser-based reports, not for Desktop.

A
Disable hardware acceleration in Power BI Desktop
Why wrong: Hardware acceleration is not specific to custom visuals.
B
Check if the visual version is compatible with your Power BI Desktop version
Incompatibility can cause rendering issues.
C
Update the visual to the latest version from AppSource
Updates may fix bugs.
D
Clear the browser cache
Why wrong: Clearing cache is for browser-based reports, not for Desktop.
E
Verify that the visual uses the correct data fields
Incorrect field mapping can cause blank or error visuals.

Question 3hardmultiple choice

You are troubleshooting a Power BI DirectQuery model that connects to a SQL Server database. A slicer on 'Region' is slow to respond. The region column has 50 distinct values. What is the best optimization?

Trap 1: Increase the cache size in Power BI Desktop

Cache settings affect Import mode, not DirectQuery.

Trap 2: Switch the model to Import mode

Import mode is not always an option due to data size or real-time requirements.

Trap 3: Reduce the number of distinct values in Region

Reducing distinct values is not a best practice and may lose detail.

A
Create an index on the Region column in the source database
Indexing the column used in slicers improves query performance in DirectQuery.
B
Increase the cache size in Power BI Desktop
Why wrong: Cache settings affect Import mode, not DirectQuery.
C
Switch the model to Import mode
Why wrong: Import mode is not always an option due to data size or real-time requirements.
D
Reduce the number of distinct values in Region
Why wrong: Reducing distinct values is not a best practice and may lose detail.

Question 4hardmultiple choice

You are troubleshooting a Power BI report that uses a measure with the following formula: Profit Margin = DIVIDE(SUM(Transactions[Profit]), SUM(Transactions[Revenue])). The measure returns blank for rows where revenue is zero. You want to display 0% instead of blank. What should you do?

Trap 1: Use COALESCE([Profit Margin], 0).

COALESCE would replace blank with 0, but the measure still returns blank initially.

Trap 2: Use IFERROR( [Profit Margin], 0).

IFERROR does not catch blank from DIVIDE.

Trap 3: Wrap the measure with IF(ISBLANK([Profit Margin]), 0, [Profit…

The measure itself returns blank, so ISBLANK would be true but the measure still blank.

A
Use COALESCE([Profit Margin], 0).
Why wrong: COALESCE would replace blank with 0, but the measure still returns blank initially.
B
Add a third argument to DIVIDE: DIVIDE(SUM(Transactions[Profit]), SUM(Transactions[Revenue]), 0).
Correct. The third argument returns 0 when denominator is 0.
C
Use IFERROR( [Profit Margin], 0).
Why wrong: IFERROR does not catch blank from DIVIDE.
D
Wrap the measure with IF(ISBLANK([Profit Margin]), 0, [Profit Margin]).
Why wrong: The measure itself returns blank, so ISBLANK would be true but the measure still blank.

Question 5hardmultiple choice

You are troubleshooting a Power BI DirectQuery model connected to Azure Synapse Analytics. The report shows stale data even though the underlying database is updated hourly. What should you check first?

Trap 1: Whether the dataset is using Import mode instead of DirectQuery.

Incorrect. Import mode would require refresh.

Trap 2: Whether the user has RLS permissions that filter data incorrectly.

Incorrect. RLS affects what data is shown, not freshness.

Trap 3: Whether the dataset is configured for scheduled refresh.

Incorrect. DirectQuery does not use scheduled refresh.

A
Whether the dataset is using Import mode instead of DirectQuery.
Why wrong: Incorrect. Import mode would require refresh.
B
Whether the user has RLS permissions that filter data incorrectly.
Why wrong: Incorrect. RLS affects what data is shown, not freshness.
C
Whether the report has 'Disable caching' enabled in the dataset settings.
Correct. DirectQuery still uses some caching; disabling it forces fresh queries.
D
Whether the dataset is configured for scheduled refresh.
Why wrong: Incorrect. DirectQuery does not use scheduled refresh.

Question 6mediummultiple choice

Refer to the exhibit. You are troubleshooting an RLS configuration. The role 'SalesManager' is intended to restrict the user 'salesmanager@contoso.com' to see only their data. However, the user sees all data. What is the most likely issue?

Exhibit

{
  "version": "1.0",
  "dataset": {
    "name": "Sales",
    "tables": [
      {
        "name": "Orders",
        "columns": [
          {"name": "OrderDate", "dataType": "datetime"},
          {"name": "Amount", "dataType": "decimal"}
        ]
      }
    ],
    "roles": [
      {
        "name": "SalesManager",
        "modelPermission": "Read",
        "tablePermissions": [
          {
            "name": "Orders",
            "filterExpression": "USERPRINCIPALNAME() = \"salesmanager@contoso.com\""
          }
        ]
      }
    ]
  }
}

Trap 1: The filter expression should be '= "salesmanager@contoso.com"'…

The expression must evaluate to a Boolean.

Trap 2: The dataset is using DirectQuery, which does not support RLS.

DirectQuery supports RLS.

Trap 3: The model permission should be 'ReadAndExplore' instead of 'Read'.

Read is sufficient.

A
The filter expression should be '= "salesmanager@contoso.com"' without USERPRINCIPALNAME().
Why wrong: The expression must evaluate to a Boolean.
B
The filter expression compares the user's UPN to a static string, but there is no column in the table to filter against.
RLS filters typically filter a column, not the user identity itself.
C
The dataset is using DirectQuery, which does not support RLS.
Why wrong: DirectQuery supports RLS.
D
The model permission should be 'ReadAndExplore' instead of 'Read'.
Why wrong: Read is sufficient.