Set up Power BI and Azure

Detailed below are the Power BI capacity and Azure CLI-related prerequisite steps to set up the LoadFAST.

Power BI capacity

Ensure you have at least one embedded or premium Power BI capacity to use LoadFAST on. If one is not available, follow the steps detailed below to create a capacity:

1. Log into the Azure portal.

2. Type “Power BI Embedded" in the search bar and select said option as it appears.

   
3. Click on Create.

   
4. Fill in the required information and then click on Review + Create.

   

   • PROJECT DETAILS

     • Subscription: Choose the same subscription that will be used to deploy the LoadFAST tool in Azure Marketplace.

     • Resource group: Choose a resource group. The resource group should be inside the same tenant/subscription that will be used to deploy the LoadFAST tool.

   • RESOURCE DETAILS

     • Resource name: Create and enter a name. This is the embed capacity name and will be used for the Assign capacity to your Power BI workspace steps (in pre-deployment) and the steps following it.

     • Location: Choose a location.

     • Size: This is the Power BI embed capacity size. Select the resource size that best meets your needs.

     • Power BI capacity administrator: Enter the relevant user.

Azure CLI

Azure subscription

You need an active Azure subscription to deploy resources.

Owner role within the Azure subscription

You need to grant yourself the “Owner” (Privileged Administrator) role for the subscription to create a managed application. This gives you full ownership and extensive permissions. Follow the steps listed below to assign yourself the Owner role:

1. Type “Subscriptions" in the Azure portal search bar and select said option as it appears.

   
2. Click on your subscription's name to open its overview page.

   
3. Select Access Control (IAM) from the left pane.

   
4. Click on Add and select Add role assignment from the drop-down pane.

   
5. Select the Privileged administrator roles subsection and search for Owner in the search box.

6. Select the Owner role and click on Next at the bottom of the page.

   
7. Click on Select members.

   
8. Search for your account ID in the Select entry field and select it.

9. Review the details. Click on Review + assign to complete the process.

   

Resource group

You need to have a resource group (in the Azure subscription) where all the resources related to this application will be deployed.

• Having Owner access grants you full control over the subscription, allowing you to create, manage, and delete resources.

• You must have Owner access within the Azure subscription to deploy resources (follow the steps detailed in point 2. to assign this access).

• Follow the steps detailed below to create a resource group:

  1. Type “Resource groups" in the Azure portal search bar and select said option as it appears.

     
  2. Click on Create.

     
  3. On the Create a resource group page, provide the following information:

     • Subscription: The subscription where you have Owner access on it.

     • Resource Group: Create and enter a unique name for your resource group. This name could be descriptive and reflect the purpose of the resource group.

     • Region: Choose the Azure region where you want to create the resource group. Note that it can affect billing and management.

     
  4. Click on Review + create to create the resource group. Azure will validate your configuration for any errors.

  5. You can access and manage the resource group by navigating to Resource groups in the left-hand menu of the Azure portal.

Kubernetes regional cores quota

You must have the necessary CPU cores quota inside the subscription for the Kubernetes resource to be deployed successfully. Follow the steps below to check or assign the Kubernetes Regional Cores Quota:

1. Type "Subscriptions" in the Azure portal search bar and select said option as it appears.

   
2. Select Usage + quotas (under Settings) from the left pane. Use the filter next to the search bar to ensure the grid is filtered to Compute.

   

   
3. Search for Standard DASv4 Family vCPU.

   
4. Calculate the available cores needed (maximum concurrent load count * 2).

   Warning: The option selected for the maximum concurrent load count value later in the Deployment section CANNOT be increased after deployment. If an increase is needed, the tool will have to be re-deployed and re-set up from the beginning.

   Take this into consideration as you select an option.

   Example:

   If 100 was selected as the maximum concurrent load count value but...

   • I only need 50 --> The load limit can be reduced directly within the tool.

   • I need 150 --> The tool will have to be re-deployed.

   Note: The maximum concurrent load count value is the largest number that you will enter under Load testing count in the tool. This is the highest number of simulated users you want to test using your Power BI reports/pages.

   In the Deployment section, you will be asked to select your maximum concurrent load count from a list of predetermined options. To ensure the tool runs smoothly and quotas align, the maximum concurrent load count value used in the calculation here needs to be to one of the predetermined options:

   • 30

   • 40

   • 50

   • 75

   • 100

   • 150

   • 200

   Example: If the maximum concurrent load count value needed is 175, we can either round up to 200 or round down to 150. We recommend rounding up for more flexibility but do what best suits your organization's resources.

5. For the region where you want to deploy the LoadFAST tool in, check if the Current usage value meets the available cores needed value (e.g., in the image below, the Current usage value is 40 of 1,500).

   Example:

   Maximum concurrent load count = 200

   Available cores needed = maximum concurrent load count * 2 = 200 * 2 = 400

   If the Current usage value is 50 of 500, it means 450 is available. Since we only need 400, this means that there are enough cores available.

   
6. If your subscription does not have enough cores, then increase the core quota limit by clicking on the pencil icon under the Adjustable column.

   
7. Enter the new limit required (400 is used as an example value in the image). Click on Submit and wait for the request to process.

   
8. A pop-up page, as shown below, will appear once the request is successfully processed.

   

Activate the Power BI Embedded Capacity

To work with APIs related to the export feature, you need to activate the Embedded capacity.

1. Type “Power BI Embedded" in the Azure portal search bar and select said option as it appears.

2. Select the LoadFAST's embed capacity as shown below.

   
3. Click on the Start/play button.

   

You will now be able to run admin/embed apps and execute API endpoints.