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PL-900 Practice Question: A Power BI administrator for a large retail…
You are a Power BI administrator for a large retail company. The company has a Power BI workspace that contains a dashboard named 'Sales Overview'. The dashboard is shared with the sales team. Recently, users have reported that the dashboard is loading slowly, and some visuals show 'Data is not available' errors. The dashboard uses a DirectQuery connection to an on-premises SQL Server database. The database team confirms that the server is not under heavy load. You need to troubleshoot and resolve the issue. What should you do first?
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates often assume the issue is database-side (indexes or load) or try to change the connection mode (Import) without first verifying the gateway, which is the most common point of failure in hybrid Power BI deployments.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Check the on-premises data gateway performance and logs for errors
The on-premises data gateway is the critical bridge between Power BI and the on-premises SQL Server when using DirectQuery. Slow loading and 'Data is not available' errors often stem from gateway performance issues, connectivity problems, or errors logged by the gateway service. Checking the gateway logs and performance metrics is the first logical troubleshooting step before making architectural changes.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Check the on-premises data gateway performance and logs for errors
Why this is correct
Slow load and data errors often indicate gateway issues.
- ✗
Replace the DirectQuery connection with an Import connection
Why it's wrong here
This would require a full data load and might not address the immediate issue.
- ✗
Ask the database team to add more indexes to the SQL Server tables
Why it's wrong here
The database team confirmed the server is not under load, so indexing may not be the issue.
- ✗
Increase the scheduled refresh frequency to every 15 minutes
Why it's wrong here
DirectQuery does not use scheduled refresh; it queries live.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This PL-900 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Microsoft certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the PL-900 exam.