Environments
Environments let you separate your connection details from your model logic. This means a single model can point at different databases and servers depending on whether you're developing, testing, or deploying to production, without changing a single table, measure, or relationship.
Why Use Environments?
Without environments, you'd need to manually swap connection strings every time you want to switch between dev and production databases, or maintain separate copies of the same model for each stage. Environments eliminate that by storing all connection-specific configuration in named profiles.
What's in an Environment?
Each environment stores three things:
- Working Server: The Fabric workspace, Azure AS instance, or SSAS server where Semantic Modeler deploys your model temporarily during development. This is where data preview and DAX queries run.
- Publish Server: The deployment target for your finished model. Keeping this separate from the working server means you can iterate freely without touching production.
- Data Source Connections: The actual database connections. Your dev environment can point at a dev database while production points at a production database. Same model, different data.
Creating an Environment
- Click the Environments icon in the activity bar.
- Click Add Environment.
- Give it a name like "Development," "Staging," or "Production."
- Configure the Working Server and Publish Server.
- Add your data source connections.
- Click Test Connection on each to verify before saving.
Switching Environments
Select a different environment from the dropdown. The model immediately uses the new connections for all data operations. Your tables, measures, and relationships stay exactly the same.
A Typical Setup
| Environment | Working Server | Database |
|---|---|---|
| Development | Personal Fabric workspace | Dev database |
| Staging | Shared staging workspace | Staging database |
| Production | Production workspace | Production database |
Supported Server Types
Both Working Server and Publish Server support:
- Microsoft Fabric: Works on all platforms (Windows, macOS, Linux)
- Azure Analysis Services: Works on all platforms via Azure AD tokens
- SQL Server Analysis Services (SSAS): Works on Windows natively; macOS and Linux require Kerberos configuration
Related Microsoft Documentation
| Topic | Link |
|---|---|
| Microsoft Fabric | What is Microsoft Fabric? |
| Azure Analysis Services | Azure Analysis Services documentation |
| SQL Server Analysis Services | SSAS overview |