A Direct Lake variant that relies on the SQL analytics endpoint of a single item to discover tables and check permissions. Queries switch to DirectQuery when they hit SQL views, row-level security defined on the endpoint or exceeded guardrails, subject to the DirectLakeBehavior setting.
Also called Direct Lake on SQL analytics endpoints.
Read more: Microsoft Learn
In the Ultra Transcenders books
Each book explains Direct Lake on SQL in context, with comparison tables and the common traps.
Terms in this definition
- Direct Lake
Mode for Fabric semantic models that loads Delta or Parquet files from OneLake straight into VertiPaq, giving almost import-level performance without duplicating data.
- VARIANT
A type for semi-structured data like JSON whose structure isn't fixed, available from Databricks Runtime 15.4. It is preferred to storing JSON as strings but can't serve as a partition column.
- SQL analytics endpoint
Read-only SQL access in Fabric to the data in a lakehouse. Power BI using DirectQuery through it performs more slowly than Direct Lake.
- AGDLP
Nesting pattern: users go into global groups, which go into domain local groups, which receive the permissions. AGUDLP adds universal groups for forests with several domains.
- SWITCH
Checks one expression against several candidate values, returning whichever result pairs with the match (or a fallback otherwise). Writing SWITCH ( TRUE (), ... ) avoids nested IF chains: whichever condition is first true wins.
- DirectQuery
Power BI connection mode in which reports fetch data from the source in real time; Direct Lake outperforms it.
- Serverless
Compute tier for single Azure SQL databases that scales automatically, pauses when idle and charges by the second. It is offered in General Purpose and Hyperscale, not Business Critical, and reserved capacity does not apply.
- RLS
Row-level security: filtering the data each person can see down to permitted rows. Power BI models apply it through DAX rules on roles, which bind just Viewers and anyone holding Read or Build; Fabric Warehouse instead uses a T-SQL policy that calls a predicate function.
Related terms
- DirectLakeBehavior
A property of a semantic model that decides how Direct Lake on SQL handles DirectQuery fallback. Automatic, the default, switches over quietly; DirectLakeOnly raises an error; DirectQueryOnly always uses DirectQuery. Direct Lake on OneLake ignores it.