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Connecting to Microsoft Fabric Data Agent MCP Server: Overview

To enable seamless interaction with the Microsoft Fabric Data Agent AI tool directly from Concierge, Metric Insights supports integration through a Model Context Protocol (MCP) Server. This connection provides Users with access to Fabric’s Conversational Analytics and other AI-powered capabilities, allowing them to ask natural-language questions about their data from within Concierge — without switching platforms.

Difference Between Fabric Data Agents and Copilot

Microsoft Copilot is an AI tool that is available within the Microsoft Power BI infrastructure. However, it can not be used outside of Power BI. That is why Fabric Data Agents are used for integration with Concierge. Connection via MCP Server allows interacting with your data through Fabric Data Agents from the Concierge service.

Integrating Fabric Data Agent with Concierge

There are two options for integration with Fabric Data Agent. It can be connected to Metric Insights via the native Fabric Managed MCP Server or Metric Insights MCP Server for Microsoft Fabric. There are some differences between them:

  • Microsoft Fabric Managed MCP Server: Each agent you want to connect will need a separate External Resource Configuration in Metric Insights. The benefit of using a Fabric Managed MCP Server is that it does not require additional setup or deployment on a separate server. It is recommended to use this server when connecting only a few Agents to Metric Insights.
  • Metric Insights MCP Server for Microsoft Fabric: It can connect to multiple Agents without requiring separate External Resource Configurations.  This allows the Concierge to process requests faster. However, this requires additional set up steps and deployment to a separate server. It is recommended to use this server when you want to connect many Agents to Metric Insights.

Architectural Diagram for Fabric MCP Server Integration with Concierge

These diagrams shows an example, where Microsoft Fabric was configured to have Financial Data and Sales Data as Data Agents. Each Agent is associated with a Domain in Metric Insights Concierge.  When a user asks a financial question, Concierge uses domain metadata to route that question through the MCP Server to the relevant Fabric Data Agent.

Prerequisites

To perform all the steps necessary for connecting Concierge and Fabric, you need the following:

  • Microsoft Power BI Administrator account;
  • Azure Administrator account;
  • The Item.Execute.All permission for the Azure Fabric App;
  • Metric Insights Administrator account.

Also, if you use MI Custom MCP Server you will need server space. The required specs:

  • Python 3.12 or higher;
  • 256MB RAM and 1 vCPU;
  • Required Python packages (see requirements.txt in git repository).

Steps to Connect Concierge and Fabric Data Agent

  1. Decide how Concierge will perform authentication when connecting to Fabric.  Metric Insights supports per user authentication to Microsoft Fabric. This preserves user level identity for enforcing row level security.  This can be done one of two ways:
    • Inherited from Plugin: If there is already a Metric Insights Data Source connecting to Power BI via OAuth, this data source can be reused for connecting Concierge to Microsoft Fabric. The Fabric Application used in that connection will need to have Power BI Service: Item.Execute.All delegated permission. More information about that can be found in this documentation.
    • User OAuth: Use this method to create a new connection to the Fabric Application used for the Fabric Data Agent(s).
  2. If not already created, create one or more Data Agents.  See Microsofts documentation here: Data Agents.
  3. Collect connection information and configure PowerBI account: Locate and copy connection information for the MCP Server setup.
    • Add users to the Power BI Workspace with Member Access:
      • Individual users can be added to the Power BI workspace where the Data Agents were created.  Users must have at least Member access to use the Data Agent(s).
      • An Azure Group can also be added to the Power BI Workspace to access the Data Agents.  Again this group should have at least Member access.
  4. Set up the Metric Insights MCP Server for Fabric or set the native Fabric MCP Server: Install and run the MCP Server.
  5. Configure Azure Fabric App: Register an App, request the required Permission, and, if using "User OAuth" for authentication, gather the credentials.
  6. Configure an External Resource in Metric Insights: Set up Concierge to connect to the Fabric Data Agent(s).
  7. Create a Domain: Create a new Domain or use an existing one and associate it with External Resource. External Resources are not directly shown in the All Sources menu of the Concierge panel.  Instead, they are associated with a Domain and the Domains are listed in the All Sources menu.
    • NOTE: You can only associate one Domain per External Resource when using the Microsoft Fabric Managed MCP Server.