Cannot connect remote SQL Express server (Linux) to power BI using DirectQuery

Question

Dear stackoverflow community,

I have a problem using Direct Query connect in Power BI. I have an SQL Express server running on a remote server with a Linux operating system. I connect to this server using a VPN. I can connect to this SQL server with my local MS SQL Express installation no problem. I can also import the data to my local Power BI desktop installation using Get Data>SQL Server>Import.

However when I try to use Direct Query, it fails after executing for a while and setting up the Direct Query connections. I receive the following Error Message:

"A network-related or instance-specific error occurred while establishing a connection to SQL Server. The server was not found or was not accessible. Verify that the instance name is correct and that SQL Server is configured to allow remote connections. (provider: Named Pipes Provider, error: 40 - Could not open a connection to SQL Server);The network path was not found. The exception was raised by the IDbConnection interface."

It's also interesting that it appears like something is loading in the fields pane

I feel it could be a problem with allowing remote connections in the Linux remote MS SQL Express Server, but have found no way of allowing this in Linux. On my Windows installation it's no problem.

I'm really excited to solve this issue and start building my dashboard. But I need a live connection for that...

Thank you for your time reading this and your replies in advance.

Answer 1

This was solved by using the 64 bit version Power BI from the microsoft store and not adding the portnumber when making the sql connection. I recommend admins not to delete this as finding this solution wasn't too straightforward.