BI & Analytics connector

The SSAS Tabular data catalog your whole team can trust.

The Dawiso SSAS Tabular connector turns your tabular models into a searchable data catalog: every database, table, measure and DAX expression, with relationships and roles documented.

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Live connector Stable connector

SSAS Tabular

Dawiso

Metadata-only · your data never leaves the source

Type: On-prem / Azure analytical engine
Auth: Microsoft Entra service principal
Sync: Scheduled, incremental
Direction: Read-only · metadata

First things first

What is a data connector?

Metadata-only Read-only access Incremental sync Cross-system lineage

A data connector is the bridge between a tool in your stack and the catalog that gives you a unified view of it. Once a connector is configured, it reaches into the source system on a schedule, reads out the metadata - schemas, tables, dashboards, jobs, ownership, lineage - and represents it inside the catalog. Your actual rows and values stay where they are.

Connectors are the reason a data catalog can answer questions like "which Power BI dashboard depends on this Snowflake table?" or "who owns the orders topic in Kafka?" - automatically, without anyone keeping a spreadsheet up to date.

Three properties separate a good connector from a brittle one: it should be read-only and safe, it should be incremental so a full re-scan isn't required for every refresh, and it should resolve lineage across system boundaries, not just inside one tool.

About the platform

What is SSAS Tabular?

SQL Server Analysis Services in Tabular mode is Microsoft's analytical engine for semantic models: tables, relationships, measures and hierarchies stored in-memory and queried with DAX. It runs on-premises with SQL Server Analysis Services, in the cloud as Azure Analysis Services, and underneath every Power BI Premium workspace via the XMLA endpoint.

TMSL describes the model. What it does not describe is which warehouse table loaded the Sales fact, which Power BI report consumes the model, who owns the measure that defines net revenue, or which deprecated measure still ships in production. That's where the Dawiso SSAS Tabular data catalog joins the picture: read-only, metadata-only, and cross-platform.

Architecture

How Dawiso connects to SSAS Tabular

A small read-only role on the SSAS Tabular side. The Dawiso scanner pulls metadata on a schedule. Everything ends up in your catalog, business-readable.

Source

SSAS Tabular (on-prem) / Azure AS / Power BI XMLA

Semantic models
Tables, columns, measures
Hierarchies & relationships
Roles & row-level security

REST · JDBC

Dawiso scanner

Read-only metadata

Schema & object discovery
Dependency resolution
SQL flow parsing (optional)
Sampling on opt-in

Internal

Catalog

Dawiso platform

Searchable metadata
Lineage & ownership
Business glossary
Policy & classifications

Connection details

Protocol: XMLA endpoint · Power BI workspace XMLA · DIR for on-prem SSAS
Authentication: Microsoft Entra (Azure AD) service principal · Tenant ID, Client ID, Client Secret
Lineage: Model structure read from TMSL: tables, measures, relationships and partition data-source references documented per semantic model

Setup

Connect SSAS Tabular in 4 steps

01

Pick the source

Tabular PBI for ingestion via Power BI workspace XMLA endpoint, or SSAS Tabular DIR for on-premises SQL Server Analysis Services via Dawiso Integration Runtime.
02

Register a service principal

In Microsoft Entra register an application and generate a client secret. Grant it access to the SSAS instance or Power BI workspace XMLA endpoint.
03

Connect in Dawiso

Add the SSAS host (asazure://... for Azure AS, SSAS01.company.local for on-prem) and the service principal Tenant ID, Client ID and Client Secret.
04

Pick databases and scan

Comma-separated list of databases (or Excluded Databases). DIR scripts each model to TMSL JSON and pushes it to your Dawiso tenant over HTTPS.

Capabilities

What you get with the SSAS Tabular connector

Model & table catalog

Every semantic model, table, column and partition is searchable, with descriptions, data types and the role that controls access to each row.
DAX measure library

Centralize and document DAX measures so the same net-revenue formula is not redefined as ten near-identical measures across multiple semantic models.
Model relationships documented

From TMSL, every measure, table and relationship is documented, including the data source each partition loads from, so the structure of each semantic model is searchable.
Row-level security visibility

Roles and row-filter expressions defined inside the tabular model are catalogued so security knows who sees which slice of the data.
Ownership & certification

Mark models as certified, deprecated or under review. The owner is visible directly in the catalog alongside SSAS role membership and Power BI workspace roles.
On-prem + Azure covered

One connector for on-prem SSAS, Azure Analysis Services and Power BI Premium XMLA, so a mixed Microsoft estate ends up in one catalog.

Business value

Why teams turn on the SSAS Tabular connector

−65%
Fewer near-duplicate measures

Modellers find the certified DAX measure in Dawiso instead of authoring a tenth variation of net-revenue in a new tabular model.
10×
Faster model review

See which tables, measures and relationships make up each semantic model, and the data source every partition loads from. Seconds, not days.
Audit
Row-level security made auditable

Roles and row-filter DAX expressions are catalogued so 'who can read which rows' becomes a documented, classified, audit-ready answer.

Ready to catalog your SSAS Tabular?

Set up the connector in an afternoon. See your first lineage graph the same day.

Read the docs

Frequently asked questions

Still curious? Talk to our team ->

What is the purpose of SSAS?

SQL Server Analysis Services builds tabular and multidimensional models for BI. Dawiso reads SSAS Tabular metadata read-only - models, tables, measures and relationships - and catalogs them with partition data-source references and ownership.

Does SSAS have a data catalog?

No. SSAS is a modeling engine. Dawiso catalogs your SSAS Tabular models, measures and relationships, documenting how each measure and table fits the model and the data source its partitions load from.

What permissions does Dawiso need for SSAS Tabular?

A Microsoft Entra service principal with access to the SSAS instance or Power BI workspace XMLA endpoint. Provide Tenant ID, Client ID and Client Secret. Dawiso is read-only and never modifies the model.

Does Dawiso copy model data?

No. Dawiso reads the TMSL definition of each model via XMLA or the DIR scanner, which scripts the model to JSON. Fact and dimension rows stay inside SSAS; sampling is opt-in per data source.

On-prem SSAS or Azure Analysis Services?

Both, plus Power BI Premium XMLA endpoints. On-prem SSAS is reached via Dawiso Integration Runtime; Azure AS and Power BI XMLA are reached over HTTPS with the service principal. Same connector, same catalog.

How is the model definition transferred?

For cloud sources, Dawiso queries the XMLA endpoint directly. For on-prem SSAS, Dawiso Integration Runtime scripts each database to TMSL JSON locally and sends the metadata to Dawiso over HTTPS.