Gateways and Connections¶
What MetaMiner reads about your data gateways and connections, what it needs for that, and why you install nothing on your gateway machines.
How it works¶
MetaMiner reads the gateway and connection inventory from the Fabric REST API with its service principal. It does not install an agent on gateway machines, does not connect to the gateways themselves, and never reads stored credentials.
| Collector | Reads | Interval |
|---|---|---|
| Gateways | On-premises, personal-mode and virtual network data gateways known to Fabric | 3 hours |
| Connections | Gateway and cloud connections, with their type and connection details | 1 hour |
| Workspace scan | The data sources each semantic model and dataflow uses, with their details, and their link to gateways | With each scan |
Together these let you see which reports depend on which source system and through which gateway or connection. See Data Sources and Impact Analysis.
Before you begin¶
- The tenant setting Service principals can use Fabric APIs enabled for MetaMiner's security group. See Tenant Settings.
Microsoft returns only what the caller may see
The Fabric gateway and connection APIs return the gateways and connections the calling identity has permission for. If MetaMiner shows fewer gateways or connections than you expect, give the service principal (or its security group) a role on the missing gateways and connections.
TODO: confirm the minimum gateway and connection role for a complete inventory
Source to check: Microsoft Learn, Fabric REST API "Gateways - List Gateways" and "Connections - List Connections", and gateway role documentation. Test which role (for example Connection Creator or User) is enough for a service principal to be listed.
Steps¶
- Enable Service principals can use Fabric APIs for MetaMiner's security group.
- Run Test Connection in the MetaMiner Administrator and check that the Fabric API step passes. This step calls the gateways API.
- If gateways or connections are missing after the next collection, add the service principal's security group to them in Manage connections and gateways in the Fabric portal.
TODO: re-check the Fabric portal path to Manage connections and gateways against current Microsoft Learn
Source to check: Microsoft Learn, "Manage connections and gateways".
Image of the Fabric Manage connections and gateways page with the MetaMiner security group added to a gateway
../images/microsoft-setup/fabric-gateway-users.png
Verify¶
- Test Connection passes the Fabric API step.
- After the collectors have run, gateways and connections appear in MetaMiner, for example in Meta Query or the Data Sources dashboard.
Troubleshooting¶
Fabric API fails with 401 Unauthorized
The Fabric API tenant setting is off for MetaMiner's group, or Microsoft has not applied the change yet. Every other step can still pass.
Gateways appear but some connections are missing
The service principal has no permission on those connections. Add its group to them.