Use Power BI to visualize data

Use Microsoft Power BI Desktop with the InfluxDB 3 custom connector to query and visualize data from InfluxDB Clustered.

Note: The Microsoft Power BI Connector for InfluxDB is currently in BETA

Microsoft Power BI is a collection of software services, apps, and connectors that work together to turn your unrelated sources of data into coherent, visually immersive, and interactive insights.

– Microsoft Power BI documentation

• Prerequisites
• Install the Power BI connector
• Install the Arrow Flight SQL ODBC Driver
• Enable the connector in Power BI
• Connect Power BI to InfluxDB
• Query and visualize data

Prerequisites

• Windows operating system: The custom connector requires Windows (macOS users can use virtualization software like Parallels)
• Power BI Desktop: Download and install Power BI Desktop (A free trial is available)
• InfluxDB Clustered: A running instance with data to query
• Database token: Your

The following steps guide you through downloading and installing the Arrow Flight SQL ODBC Driver and the InfluxDB 3 custom connector.

Install the Power BI connector

The InfluxDB 3 custom connector for Power BI Desktop enables you to connect to InfluxDB Clustered and query data using SQL.

Install the Arrow Flight SQL ODBC Driver

The custom connector requires the Arrow Flight SQL ODBC Driver.

Download the Arrow Flight SQL ODBC driver

Or use PowerShell to download and install:

# Download the driver
Invoke-WebRequest -Uri "https://docs.influxdata.com/downloads/arrow-flight-sql-odbc-0.9.7.1195-win64.msi" `
  -OutFile "C:\Users\
YOUR_USER
\Downloads\arrow-flight-sql-odbc-0.9.7.1195-win64.msi"

# Mark as trusted
Unblock-File "C:\Users\
YOUR_USER
\Downloads\arrow-flight-sql-odbc-0.9.7.1195-win64.msi"

# Install
Start-Process msiexec.exe -Wait -ArgumentList '/i "C:\Users\
YOUR_USER
\Downloads\arrow-flight-sql-odbc-0.9.7.1195-win64.msi"'

Replace the following:

• YOUR_USER: Your Windows username

Follow the installation wizard using default settings.

Install the Power BI connector file

Download the InfluxDB 3 Power BI connector

Or use PowerShell to download:

# Download the connector
Invoke-WebRequest -Uri "https://docs.influxdata.com/downloads/InfluxDB.pqx" `
  -OutFile "C:\Users\
YOUR_USER
\Downloads\InfluxDB.pqx"

Replace the following:

• YOUR_USER: Your Windows username

Install the connector

Move the .pqx connector file to the Power BI custom connectors directory:

1. Create the custom connectors folder if it doesn’t exist:

   mkdir "$env:USERPROFILE\Documents\Power BI Desktop\Custom Connectors"

2. Move the connector file to the custom connectors folder:

Move-Item "C:\Users\
YOUR_USER
\Downloads\InfluxDB.pqx" `
  "$env:USERPROFILE\Documents\Power BI Desktop\Custom Connectors\"

Replace the following:

• YOUR_USER: Your Windows username

Enable the connector in Power BI

To use custom connectors, you must adjust Power BI Desktop’s security settings:

1. Open Power BI Desktop
2. Select File > Options and settings > Options
3. Navigate to Security under GLOBAL
4. Under Data Extensions, select (Not Recommended) Allow any extension to load without validation or warning
5. Click OK
6. Restart Power BI Desktop for the changes to take effect

Connect Power BI to InfluxDB

After installing the connector and restarting Power BI Desktop:

1. Open Power BI Desktop

2. Click Get Data > More

3. Search for InfluxDB 3 and select it

4. Click Connect

5. In the InfluxDB 3 connection dialog, configure the following:

   • Server: Your InfluxDB Clustered URL without the port, (for example, https://cluster-host.com)
   • Database: Your database name
   • Port: Your server port (for example, 443 (HTTPS))
   • Native Query (optional): Enter a SQL query to limit the data loaded

6. Select DirectQuery as the Data Connectivity mode

7. Click OK

8. When prompted for credentials:

   • Select Basic authentication
   • Username: Leave blank or enter any value
   • Password: Enter your

9. Click Connect

10. Preview your data and click Load

Query and visualize data

Use Native Queries

When connecting to InfluxDB 3, you can use the Native Query option to execute custom SQL queries:

1. In the connection dialog, enable Native Query

2. Enter your query in the provided field:

   SELECT
     time,
     temp,
     room
   FROM
     home
   WHERE
     time >= now() - INTERVAL '7 days'
   ORDER BY
     time DESC
   LIMIT 1000

3. Select DirectQuery as the connectivity mode

4. Click OK to load the data

Create visualizations

After loading data, Power BI displays your dataset in the Fields pane.

View data in a table

1. In the Visualizations pane, select the Table visualization
2. In the Fields pane, select the columns to display:
   • time: Timestamp column
   • room: Tag column
   • temp: Field column
3. By default, Power BI summarizes numeric fields. To display raw values:
   • Select the field in the Fields or Visualizations pane
   • Go to the Modeling tab
   • Change Default Summarization to Don’t Summarize

Create time series visualizations

1. In the Visualizations pane, select a visualization type (for example, Line chart)
2. Drag fields to the appropriate areas:
   • X-axis: time field
   • Y-axis: Measurement fields (for example, temp)
   • Legend: Tag fields (for example, room)
3. Use the Filters pane to apply additional filters
4. Configure visualization properties in the Format pane
5. Save your report

Time series best practices

• Always include time range filters in your queries to limit data volume
• Use the time column for time-based visualizations
• Apply Power BI’s date hierarchy features with the time column
• Select only the columns you need to improve query performance
• Use the LIMIT clause to restrict the number of rows returned

Troubleshooting

Connector not found

If Power BI Desktop doesn’t show the InfluxDB 3 connector:

• Verify the .pqx file is in the correct location: Documents\Power BI Desktop\Custom Connectors\
• Ensure you enabled custom connectors in Power BI security settings
• Restart Power BI Desktop after copying the connector file

Connection errors

If you encounter connection errors:

• Verify your InfluxDB Clustered instance is accessible
• Check that the host URL and port are correct
  • Local instances typically use http://localhost:8181
• Ensure your token has query permissions for the specified database
• Verify firewall rules allow connections on the specified port

Authentication errors

If authentication fails:

• Verify your database token is valid and not expired
• Check that you entered the token in the Password field
• Leave the Username field blank or enter any value

Query performance

For better query performance:

• Always use WHERE clauses to filter data before loading
• Include time range filters to limit the data scanned
• Select only the columns you need
• Use the LIMIT clause to restrict result size
• Consider using DirectQuery mode instead of Import for large datasets