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Power BI uses the same Postgres credentials as any other client. Most organizations should have one person set up the model once, publish it, and let everyone else consume reports. Lambda gives you the database and the reporting contract. It does not ship a finished .pbix file into your tenant.

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Before you start

  1. Create a credential in Lambda under Settings → Analytics. See Connect.
  2. Decide who owns the Power BI workspace and the cloud connection. Prefer a shared service identity, not one employee’s personal account.
  3. Keep at least two workspace admins.

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Connect Desktop to Postgres

1

Get data

Use the PostgreSQL connector. Enter the host and database from Lambda.
2

Sign in

Use the username and password. Require encryption.
3

Load reporting views

Navigate to schema reporting and select the views you need. For a first model, start with shipments, shipment_versions, and shipment_changes.
Add discovery views only when someone needs field hunting or detail drills.

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Storage modes

Observations are the heavy table. Always fold a date window (and usually a path or label filter) before you put them on a page.

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Relationships

Turn off automatic relationship detection and automatic date tables. Create explicit single-direction relationships:
  • shipments[shipment_key] → shipment_versions[shipment_key]
  • shipments[shipment_key] → shipment_changes[shipment_key]
  • cargowise_payloads[payload_id] → cargowise_deliveries[payload_id]
  • cargowise_deliveries[event_id] → cargowise_messages[event_id]
  • cargowise_payloads[payload_id] → observations on payload_id
  • cargowise_xml_fields[semantic_field_key] → observations on semantic_field_key
Do not relate deliveries directly to observations. One payload can have many deliveries; join observations through payload_id.
Use job_number for business filters and labels. Keep shipment_key for joins.

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Publish and keep it live

1

Publish

Publish the model to a Power BI workspace.
2

Configure the cloud connection

Use the same Postgres login. Cap the data source maximum connections at 5 so it matches the database limit.
3

Share reports, not passwords

Give consumers Viewer access. Do not hand the Postgres password to every report reader.
The connection stays usable until the credential is rotated or revoked. New data appears through DirectQuery or on the next Import refresh. You do not rebuild the model just because the dataset updated. When you rotate a password in Lambda, update the stored credential in the Power BI connection once.

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What “build the model once” means

  1. Connect with the credential
  2. Load the curated views
  3. Set relationships and refresh behavior
  4. Publish
After that, day-to-day work is opening reports — not redoing connection setup.

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Prefer a database client instead?

That is supported. Use the same host, port, user, and password in any Postgres client and query reporting directly. Power BI is optional.