

So far, you know that a dataset is a separate object from the report.

Datasets in the Power BI Service What is included in the dataset? You can schedule the refresh for the dataset and connect to on-premises sources (through a gateway) or cloud-based sources. The dataset includes the data, tables, relationships, calculations, and connection to the data source.The report is the visualization layer of your Power BI implementation.However, when you publish the PBIX file into the service (the Power BI website), you can easily see that there are two objects A report and a Dataset.

Task Manager showing Microsoft SQL Server Analysis Service running behind the scene of Power BI Desktop When you are in the environment of Power BI Desktop, you can’t see the separation that easily unless you go to the task manager and see the dataset running behind the scene under the Power BI Desktop task threads. When you create a Power BI report (or let’s call it a *.PBIX file), the report has two components (if the data connection mode is import data) A report and a dataset.
