topic Re: users' usage report (for frontend power bi) in Administration & Architecture

users' usage report (for frontend power bi)

Uri — Mon, 09 Jun 2025 09:20:52 GMT

Hi All,

I'm currently working on retrieving usage information by querying system tables. At the moment, I'm using the system.access.audit table. However, I've noticed that the list of users retrieved appears to be incomplete when compared to similar reports I generate in Power BI.

The power bi connectivity configuration is based on direct query.

Has anyone encountered a similar issue or have any idea what might be causing this discrepancy? Any suggestions on how to resolve it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Uri

Re: users' usage report (for frontend power bi)

SP_6721 — Mon, 09 Jun 2025 17:34:50 GMT

Hi @Uri ,

It’s likely due to differences in authentication, permissions, and logging coverage. Power BI often connects using a service principal or shared credentials, so audit logs may show these service principal IDs instead of individual user emails. Additionally, some user actions, such as notebook commands, are only captured if verbose audit logs are enabled in your Databricks workspace settings.

To address this:

Make sure you have the right permissions on Unity Catalog and system.access.audit
Check if Power BI uses a service principal, which affects how users show up in logs
Enable verbose audit logging to capture more detailed activity
Ensure your query filters and date ranges match those in Power BI

Re: users' usage report (for frontend power bi)

Uri — Mon, 16 Jun 2025 19:29:04 GMT

thank you for the replay.

if i understand correctly, when using PBI direct query connectivity the users being used is not s service principle but the end user who open the PBI dashboard. correct?

did you implement any usage report?

Regards,

Uri