Microsoft Fabric MVP Corner – October 2023
About this blog series
Microsoft Most Valuable Professionals, or MVPs, are technology experts who passionately share their knowledge with the community. They are always on the “bleeding edge” and have an unstoppable urge to get their hands on new, exciting technologies. They have very deep knowledge of Microsoft products and services, while also being able to bring together diverse platforms, products, and solutions, to solve real world problems. To learn about the Microsoft MVP Award and to find MVPs, visit the official website: https://mvp.microsoft.com/.
The Microsoft Fabric team presents you with a blog series “Microsoft Fabric MVP Corner” to highlight selected content related to Fabric and created by MVPs. Dive into a collection of content created by MVPs that includes blogs, videos, articles, live streams, podcasts, and more. Delve into these valuable resources and immerse yourself in the wealth of knowledge and insights shared by our esteemed MVP community. Enjoy reading, watching, and listening to these informative resources!
This month’s MVP content
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Adrian Chodkowski (Twitter/X: @adrian_sql) Blog post: Connect Power BI and Spark notebooks with Microsoft Fabric Semantic Link Description: This article explores the new Semantic Link feature in Microsoft Fabric, which allows easy connections between Power BI datasets and Synapse Data Science. What’s particularly noteworthy is that this feature isn’t limited to data scientists; it’s also useful for data engineers and Power BI developers. |
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Adrian Chodkowski (Twitter/X: @adrian_sql) Blog post: Loading Files with Spark Structured Streaming in Microsoft Fabric Description: The article’s primary focus lies in the application of Structured Streaming within Microsoft Fabric for the incremental reading of files. In the context of the “lakehouse” concept within Microsoft Fabric, which centers on transforming raw data into a structured Delta format, one pivotal facet of this procedure is the incremental data loading. |
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Alex Rostan (Twitter/X: @rostanker) Video:Fabric & Databricks: Powering Tomorrow’s Data Solutions Description: In this video Alex and Gaston delve into the world of Microsoft Fabric and Databricks, where cutting-edge technology meets seamless data management. |
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Alex Rostan (Twitter/X: @rostanker) Video: Do the Thing : Microsoft Fabric and Databricks Description: In this video Alex and Gaston demo how Microsoft Fabric and Azure Databricks can integrate with each other to create a single solution for analytics. |
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Amit Chandak (Twitter/X: @amitchandak78) Description: In this video Amit presents options for exporting data from Microsoft Fabric to external destinations, like Azure SQL and ADLS Gen2. |
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Amit Chandak (Twitter/X: @amitchandak78) Video: Microsoft Fabric Part 35/SQL: How to create Slowly Changing Dimension (SCD) Description: In this video Amit demonstrates how to create Slowly Changing Dimension (SCD) Type2 in Microsoft Fabric using SQL code. |
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Amit Chandak (Twitter/X: @amitchandak78) Video: Microsoft Fabric Part 36: Semantic link in Microsoft Fabric Description: From this video you will learn about Semantic Link in Microsoft Fabric, which can serve as a bridge between BI and Data Science. The feature seamlessly connects Power BI datasets with Synapse Data Science and Data Enigneering experiences within Microsoft Fabric. |
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Andy Cutler (Twitter/X: @MrAndyCutler) Blog post: What Happens When You Clone A Fabric Warehouse Table? Description: There’s a feature within warehouses called Cloning. This allows you to make a copy of a table. However, we’re not copying the data, just the table metadata (schema, transaction log) – this is called Zero Copy Cloning. We can use cloning for a variety of reasons such as testing new data changes, snapshotting tables at a particular point in time, taking backups of table. So how do we clone a table? What’s the syntax? What happens in the storage layer? In this blog post Andy dives into the feature and answers these questions. |
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Andy Cutler (Twitter/X: @MrAndyCutler) Blog post: Fabric Lakehouse Loading using Data Pipelines & Notebooks – Inspired by MS End-to-End Tutorials Description: Microsoft has created a set of End-to-End tutorials for various workloads including Lakehouses. These are step-by-step walkthroughs to get you up and running with various workloads available within Fabric. Yes, you can approach these as stand-alone guides, but you can also use them as a springboard into creating your own solutions. And that’s exactly what Andy did. |
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Chris Wagner (Twitter/X: @kratosbi) Video: Fabric Fridays: Best Practices in Microsoft Fabric Description: Fabric Fridays is series of videos on Microsoft Fabric, featuring Fabric Fridays where Chris Wagner and Kevin Arnold talk about Fabric every week. In this episode Chris and Kevin discuss best practices for working with Microsoft Fabric. |
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Chris Wagner (Twitter/X: @kratosbi) Video: Fabric Fridays: Data Activator in Microsoft Fabric Description: Fabric Fridays is series of videos on Microsoft Fabric, featuring Fabric Fridays where Chris Wagner and Kevin Arnold talk about Fabric every week. In this episode Chris and Kevin discuss Data Activator, a newly announced experience in Fabric. |
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David Abiola (Twitter/X: @AbiolaDavid01) Video: Automate Reading of MSExchange Email Attachments to Microsoft Fabric Lakehouse Description: The video demonstrated how to automate reading of Microsoft Exchange email attachments into the Microsoft Fabric lakehouse. |
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Dinesh Kumar Prabakaran (Twitter/X: @dinuswt22) Podcast: Microsoft Fabric Explained: All You Need to Know Description: Why does Microsoft Fabric stand out? |
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Erwin de Kreuk (Twitter/X: @erwindekreuk) Article: Microsoft Fabric Content Hub Update October Description: October Update => Stay up-to-date with the latest and most valuable content about Microsoft Fabric, all in one place! From insightful articles and tutorials to engaging videos and community blogs, you’ll find a treasure trove of resources to deepen your understanding. |
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Greg Low (Twitter/X: @greglow) Podcast: Fabric Down Under Show 4 – Will Thompson on Data Activator Description: This is the 4th podcast in the series, featuring Will Thompson introducing Data Activator. |
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Ignacio Barrau (Twitter/X: @ignacho_07) Blog post: [ES] [Fabric] Data Factory – copy data más simple (“[Fabric] Data Factory – simpler copy data”) Description: En esta publicación de blog, Ignacio explica lo fácil que es utilizar la actividad Copiar datos en Fabric Data Factory Pipeline. | In this blog post Ignacio explains how easy it is to use the Copy Data activity in Fabric Data Factory Pipeline. |
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Kevin Chant (Twitter/X: @kevchant) Blog post: Microsoft Fabric repositories publicly available in GitHub Description: Covers some interesting Microsoft Fabric repositories publicly available in GitHub. |
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Kevin Chant (Twitter/X: @kevchant) Blog post: Git integration and deployment pipeline updates on the Microsoft Fabric roadmap Description: Covers some interesting Git integration and deployment pipeline updates on the Microsoft Fabric roadmap that I am looking forward to. |
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Kevin Chant (Twitter/X: @kevchant) Blog post: CI/CD for Microsoft Fabric Data Warehouses using Azure DevOps Description: Covers CI/CD for Microsoft Fabric Data Warehouses using Azure DevOps. Which can now be done gracefully with the new target platform thanks to a new SqlPackage update. |
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Kevin Chant (Twitter/X: @kevchant) Blog post: CI/CD for Microsoft Fabric Data Warehouses using YAML Pipelines Description: Covers how to perform CI/CD for Microsoft Fabric Data Warehouses using YAML pipelines. Which can now be done gracefully with the new target platform thanks to a new SqlPackage update. |
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Marc Lelijveld (Twitter/X: @MarcLelijveld) Blog post: Exploring Direct Lake Framing and warm-up data using Semantic Link in Fabric Notebooks Description: In this blog, Marc continues his story around data temperature for Direct Lake datasets by elaborating on a process called framing and how you can influence data eviction to drop data from memory. Finally, this blog goes into more details on how you could use Semantic Link in Fabric Notebooks to warm up the data for most optimal end-user performance. |
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Marthe Moengen (Twitter/X: @mmoengen) Blog post: What is OneLake in Microsoft Fabric? Description: OneLake is one of the key features that makes Fabric so game-changing. So, what is OneLake? How does it work? How can you access it? And what are the key benefits? |
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Marthe Moengen (Twitter/X: @mmoengen) Blog post: How do you set up your Data Governance in Microsoft Fabric? Description: In this article, I will focus on the specific Fabric components and features that help you govern your data in Fabric. Let’s take a look at the new features Domains in Fabric, how Data Lineage is implemented, Roles and access management, policies and processes, and the purview hub. |
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Mathias Halkjær Petersen (Twitter/X: @HalkjaerM) Article: Deep-dive into Direct Lake Description: The article delves into Microsoft Fabric’s new storage mode, Direct Lake, which merges the advantages of both Import mode and DirectQuery. |
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Nicky van Vroenhoven (Twitter/X: @nickyvv) Blog post: Pausing a Fabric Capacity – What Does It Actually Mean? Description: In his exploration of Power BI’s Fabric capacity, Nicky found that when it’s paused, all items within a Fabric workspace, including Power BI-only items, become inaccessible for interactive use. However, you can still download import datasets and access the Fabric Capacity Metrics App. To ensure access to Power BI-only items when the capacity is paused, separate Fabric and non-Fabric items into different workspaces. Keep in mind that these findings are based on the current state of Power BI’s Fabric capacity, which may evolve with future updates. |
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Nikola Ilic (Twitter/X: @DataMozart) Blog post: Augmenting Gold Layer with Semantic Link and SparkSQL in Microsoft Fabric Description: Have you ever dreamed of writing SQL to query the data from the PowerBI semantic model? Thanks to the brand-new Semantic Link feature it’s now a dream come true! In this article, Nikola is showing you possibilities to augment the gold layer of the lakehouse and extend beyond predefined Power BI semantic models. |
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Pragati Jain (Twitter/X: @pragati1187) Blog post: Exploring Fabric SQL Endpoint – Data & Model View Description: This blog covers the Microsoft Fabric SQL Endpoint and how one can start creating the data model in the Fabric cloud. The blog shows in detail how to step-by-step create the data model in the web view. |
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Renato Lira (Twitter/X: @RenatoLira1986) Blog post: Exploring Alternative Methods for Implementing Workspace-Level Refresh in Power BI and Fabric Description: The article delves into methods for achieving workspace-level refresh in Power BI and Fabric. It highlights the capabilities of Fabric’s Data Pipeline item as an orchestration tool and explores the use of Power Automate as an effective alternative for this refresh functionality. |
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Soheil Bakhshi (Twitter/X: @_SoheilBakhshi) Blog post: Unveiling Microsoft Fabric’s Impact on Power BI Developers and Analysts Description: In this blog post, you’ll find an insightful exploration of how Microsoft Fabric impacts Power BI developers and analysts. It begins with an introduction to Microsoft Fabric, provides a historical perspective on Power BI’s journey, and highlights the wide-reaching user base it serves. The blog post then delves into the various types of Power BI users and the relationship between different roles in the industry and these types. The overarching aim of this blog post is to shed light on the imminent changes that Power BI developers and analysts may encounter in their roles as organizations embrace Microsoft Fabric. |
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Štěpán Rešl (Twitter/X: @tpnRel1) Blog post: How can I automate usage metrics without Admin APIs? Description: This blog post is describing an approach to automated collection of Usage Metrics across many workspaces, without using the Admin APIs. This is highlighting a free solution that Štěpán has created to automate this workflow. |
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Thomas Martens (Twitter/X: @tommartens68) Description: How the Python package semantic-link-sempy blends the two worlds of the lakehouse and Power BI datasets into one. Enabling a close collaboration of the data scientist/data engineer and the business analyst is only one of many benefits of SemPy. |
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Thomas Martens (Twitter/X: @tommartens68) Blog post: Select, Detect, Act, or why I consider Reflex being a watchdog Description: How Reflex can monitor your Power BI dataset and act when a defined condition is met. |
Call to action
- Read or watch the content listed above.
- If you like the content, subscribe to the blogs or YouTube channels of the MVPs.
- Follow the MVPs mentioned above on Twitter.
- Stay tuned for more “MVP Corner” blog posts!
