What RLS means in data modeling

As mentioned previously, RLS is a mechanism to control user access over data so that the relevant data is accessible only to the relevant user or group of users. This is merely possible by filtering the data based on the users' usernames and the role(s) assigned to them by writing simple Data Analysis Expressions (DAX) or, in more complex scenarios, by making changes in the data model. Therefore, the relationships between tables and the direction of cross-filtering within these relationships are vital.

At the time of writing this book, developing RLS is only possible within Power BI Desktop.

What RLS is not

As mentioned earlier, RLS is simply nothing but filtering data across an entire data model. At the time of writing this book, object-level security (OLS) is made available for public preview. We will look at OLS in more detail in Chapter 12, Extra Options and Features Available for Data Modeling.

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