What is pushing filters to source systems?

< 1 min read

Pushing filters to source means applying conditions in the database instead of Power BI.
The source returns only relevant records rather than full table data.
In my project, we filtered last 2 years transactions in SQL view itself.
Power BI then loaded only required 1.2M rows instead of 9M rows.
This works through query folding in Power Query.
It reduces refresh time and network data transfer.
Database engines process filters faster using indexes.
Also lowers gateway memory consumption during refresh.
Without pushing filters, Power BI downloads everything and filters locally.
So it improves performance, stability, and scalability of reports.

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