How the DAX Optimizer service works

DAX Optimizer analyzes a VPAX file that contains information about a Tabular model:

• Table and column names.
• Measure definitions.
• Relationships.
• Statistics about the number of rows in tables and the number of unique values in each column.

Here are the steps for optimizing your model:

1. Create a VPAX file by using tools like DAX Studio, Tabular Editor 3, or Bravo for Power BI.
2. Upload the VPAX file to the DAX Optimizer service. The file is stored as a version of the model in DAX Optimizer.

   NOTE: When you upload a VPAX file to DAX Optimizer, its content is reviewed to verify that the file is compatible and not corrupted. If the VPAX file has been extracted using an old tool version, the validation could produce a warning suggesting you to create the VPAX with a more recent version, before proceeding with the optimization. The validation does not consume any “run” because it does not perform the analysis for the optimization.

3. Run the analysis of the model version. This operation consumes one “Run” from the contract associated with the model.
4. Review the recommendations provided by DAX Optimizer:
   • Start from the issues with the highest relevance.
   • Mark ignored the measures that cannot be optimized.
   • Mark fixed the measures that you modified based on the recommendations.

Once finished, restart the analysis from the beginning to make sure that the measures fixed no longer generate recommendations.

NOTE: You can make a certain number of runs on a model depending on your subscription. Also note that each subscription provides you with the possibility to analyze a different number of models. This means that if you need to analyze multiple models, you have to choose the license accordingly. Please, check the licensing plan for more details.