Comparing plans and licensing

A Tabular model corresponds to a Power BI Desktop file (.pbix file), a Power BI dataset, or an Analysis Services database. This is a model also for DAX Optimizer.

A VPAX file contains the state of a model at a given point in time. Executing the analysis of a VPAX file consumes one “Run”.

A model is related to a contract type:

• Consumption: The contract corresponds to a one-time purchase of a number of runs that can be executed within 2 years from the purchase date on any model.
• Individual: The contract corresponds to a recurring subscription that provides a number of runs per day on a limited number of models that can be active at the same time.
• Enterprise: not available yet.

You can have multiple versions of the same Tabular model: each version is a different VPAX file.

Usually, you run the analysis of a version only once. You can re-run the analysis of a version already analyzed, for example if a new version of the DAX Optimizer engine can recognize new types of performance issues, but this should be a rare exception: it is likely that in the meantime the model changed, so creating an updated version of the VPAX file is the best practice before a new “run” on the same model.

Consumption contract type

With the Consumption contract type, you can purchase “per model evaluations,” known as “runs.” These runs can be bought individually or in bundles. This option suits users who prefer flexibility and wish to optimize models on demand.

For example, if you get a bundle of 10 runs, you can:

• Run an analysis of model A, B, and C today: total consumption is 3 runs, other 7 runs available.
• After one week, run a second analysis of model A and the first analysis of models D, E, F: total consumption is now 7 runs (4 today, 3 one week before), other 3 runs available.
• After three months, run an analysis of model G: total consumption is now 8 runs, other 2 runs available.
• After five months, run a second analysis of model G: total consumption is now 9 run, 1 run available.
• After 14 months, run a new analysis of model H: total consumption is now 10 runs, no runs available.
• At this point, you need to buy new runs to perform other analyses.

The consumption contract is very flexible because it does not limit the number of different models that can be analyzed in a certain period.

Individual contract type

With the Individual contract type, you activate a recurring subscription that provides you multiple “runs” every day. This contract type has two parameters:

• Daily runs: Number of daily runs available for the contract.
• Models: number of active models that can be analyzed using the daily runs of the contract.

When you assign a contract to a model, that model becomes active for the contract. If you reach the maximum number of models per contract, you can deactivate a model to activate a new one. You can deactivate a model after one month from the activation date.

For example, if you get an individual contract with 5 daily runs for 3 models, you can:

• Run an analysis of model A and B today: you consumed 2 runs in one day, and you have 2 models active.
• The day after, you run 3 analyses of model A and 2 analysis of model B: you consumed all the daily runs, and you have 2 models active.
• One week after, you run 2 analyses of model C: you consumed 2 daily runs and you have 3 models active.
• For one month, you execute one analysis of models A, B, and C: every day you consume 3 daily runs and you have 3 models active.
• Two months after, you deactivate model A and you activate model D, running one analysis of models B, C, and D: you consumed 3 daily runs and you have 3 models active.

If you need regular evaluations or want to demonstrate adherence to best practices to your customers, the subscription model is an excellent choice. Opting for a monthly subscription is convenient if you require more than two evaluations in a month of the same model, as you can perform multiple evaluations in a single day. You can cumulate in the same contract multiple licenses to increase the total of daily runs and active models available.

Enterprise contract type

The Enterprise contract type is not available yet.