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Prerequisites

  1. System Configuration

a.     Hardware

i.  8 cores

ii. 16 GB memory

iii.  20 GB disk space

b.     Operating System

i.  Windows Server 2016 or higher

  1. Microsoft Azure App Registration

PowerConnect requires authentication via OAuth2 to Microsoft.

For OAuth2 authentication, a Microsoft Azure app API app needs to be registered. The required scope for the app is User.Read. Admin consent needs to be applied

The redirect URL for the app is: https://oauth.powerbi.com/views/oauthredirect.html

An Azure tenant admin usually does the App registration.

For testing purposes, the OAuth2 authentication can be deactivated on the settings.yml.
 

  1. SSL

For OAuth2 authentication, the PowerConnect server must use SSL. For this, the usessl parameter on the settings.yml must be set to true. The cert.pem must contain the full TLS chain. A full chain certificate is a bundle that includes your server certificate, any intermediate certificates and the root certificate from the Certificate Authority (CA) that issued the server certificate.

 

  1. Network Configuration for Outbound Requests

The service component will issue requests on HTTP or HTTPS to IBM Planning Analytics instances. When using OAuth2 authentication, it’s a requisite to always do HTTPS calls.

 

  1. If using IBM Planning Analytics Local

The URLs for outbound requests in your IBM Planning Analytics Local environment are composed by the protocol, the machine name followed by the HTTPPortNumber.

The protocol depends on the UseSSL setting in the tm1s.cfg file for a given instance

If CAM authentication is used, outbound requests are sent to the IBM Cognos Analytics gateway configured in the tm1s.cfg file for a given instance

  1. If using IBM Planning Analytics on Cloud

The URLs that PowerConnect uses can be found in your welcome kit provided by IBM Planning Analytics on Cloud. The outbound port is 443.

It is recommended to use the TM1 non-interactive account.

  1. Microsoft Power BI On-Premises Data Gateway 

The Microsoft Power BI On-premises data gateway can be installed on the same machine where the PowerConnect service is installed. In this case, no additional firewall rules apply.

If the Microsoft Power BI On-premises gateway is installed on a different machine, a firewall for inbound requests must be added for the IP Address or FQN on the port configured for the PowerConnect service

 

  1. Software

To enable the ability to refresh datasets in the Microsoft Power BI Service, a Microsoft Power BI On-premises gateway needs to be installed or configured if one already exists. 

PowerConnect creates a Windows service. This service can be configured to use service credentials if IT policies require it. 

The installation of PowerConnect requires administrator credentials. 

 

  1. Remote Access

To install software and configure a Windows Service, remote access with an administrator account is required.