1. Axis — Load into Lakehouse Files

1.1 OneLake Shortcut (SharePoint / OneDrive)

Description
Logical link exposing SharePoint folders in OneLake without data duplication.

Functioning

• Shortcut points to a SharePoint folder (folder-level only)
• Data remains in SharePoint and is accessed virtually
• Accessible across Fabric workloads

Key capabilities

• Data virtualization (no physical copy)
• Automatic synchronization with source changes
• Unified access through OneLake

Advantages

• No pipelines or ETL required
• No data duplication
• Fast implementation
• Unified access layer

Limitations (decision drivers)

• Folder-level granularity only
• Performance dependent on SharePoint (latency, throttling)
• No control over ingestion (no filtering, no incremental logic)
• Runtime dependency on source availability
• Not suitable when strong data isolation or historization is required

1.2 Custom ingestion — API (Notebook or Pipeline) → Files

Description
Extraction via Microsoft Graph or SharePoint REST API and storage in Lakehouse Files.

Execution models

• Notebook (Spark / Python)
• Data Pipeline:
• Web Activity (REST calls)
• Copy Activity with API source

Functioning

• API calls to retrieve files or metadata
• Data written into OneLake Files

Key capabilities

• Supports full SharePoint surface (files, folders, metadata)
• Custom ingestion logic (filtering, incremental, structuring)
• Can be orchestrated via pipelines

Advantages

• Full flexibility on ingestion logic
• Ability to implement incremental loads (delta, watermark) at bronze layer
• Can handle complex folder structures and edge cases
• Works even when no native connector exists

Limitations (decision drivers)

• Requires handling:
• authentication (OAuth / Service Principal)
• pagination (@odata.nextLink)
• API rate limits / throttling
• More complex error handling and retry logic
• Development and maintenance effort
• Pipeline Web Activity is stateless (no built-in transformation)
• Copy Activity / Web Activity require manual schema handling

2. Axis — Load into Lakehouse Tables

2.1 Shortcut with transformation → Delta Tables

Description
Use of SharePoint shortcut with transformation to project files into Delta tables.

Functioning

• Shortcut exposes files
• Transformation step converts them into structured tables
• Tables remain synchronized with source

Key capabilities

• Automatic file-to-table conversion
• Continuous synchronization
• Direct consumption in SQL / BI

Advantages

• No pipeline required
• Direct analytical usability
• Integrated with OneLake

Limitations (decision drivers)

• Strong dependency on source file structure and quality
• Limited transformation capabilities compared to ETL
• Limited control over schema evolution
• Debugging and lineage less explicit than pipeline-based ingestion

2.2 Mirroring (SharePoint Lists)

Description
Replication of SharePoint Lists into OneLake as Delta tables.

Functioning

• Connection to SharePoint list
• Continuous replication into Fabric tables
• Automatic synchronization

Key capabilities

• Near real-time data replication
• Native Delta format
• No ETL required

Advantages

• Continuous synchronization
• Simplified ingestion architecture
• Direct usability for analytics

Limitations (decision drivers)

• Limited to structured data (lists only)
• Limited transformation capabilities during ingestion
• Dependency on mirroring feature availability and scope
• Limited control over ingestion logic (filters, enrichment)
• Schema evolution handled automatically but with limited customization

2.3 Custom ingestion — API (Notebook or Pipeline) → Tables

Description
API-based extraction with transformation and direct load into Delta tables.

Same comments from Section 1.2 Custom ingestion — API (Notebook or Pipeline) → Files

3. Considerations

API usage (Notebook vs Pipeline)

Notebook

• Better suited for:
• complex transformations
• large data processing
• advanced logic (joins, enrichment)

Pipeline (Web / Copy Activity)

• Better suited for:
• orchestration
• simple ingestion patterns
• metadata-driven ingestion

Security

• Authentication methods:
• Organizational account
• Workspace identity

Service principal recommended

• API-based approaches require:
• token management
• permission configuration (e.g. Sites.Read.All)

4. MATRIX(s)

Synthesis

Criteria

4. Technical solutions (recommended - SharePoint Shortcuts)

• P1 : SharePoint Shortcuts, ​
  • Triggers on OneLake Events ? -> Trigger Events not working for shortcuts. 
• Directly to Silver Tables Lakehouse with auto transform in delta (see Référence) -> newly working for .xlsx to delta table 
• or to files zone Lakehouse (csv shortcut) then transformation to silver tables
• Prerequisites : folder hierarchy for files & Service Principal (or Workspace Identity). One shortcut = one folder
• See also Limitations  : https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/fabric/onelake/create-onedrive-sharepoint-shortcut#limitations

Limitations

The following limitations apply to SharePoint shortcuts:

• OneLake doesn't support shortcuts to personal or OnPremise SharePoint sites. Shortcuts can only connect to enterprise SharePoint sites and OneDrive for Business.

• Based on Azure ACS retirement, Service Principal authentication will not work for SharePoint tenants created after Nov 1st, 2024.

• SharePoint and OneDrive Shortcuts are supported only at folder level and not at file levev

5. Security & Authentication Guide

SharePoint ↔ Microsoft Fabric (Shortcuts)

1. Authentication Overview

SharePoint / OneDrive shortcuts in Fabric support three authentication methods:

• Organizational account
• Workspace Identity
• Service Principal

This guide focuses on the two recommended enterprise patterns:

• Workspace identity : To use workspace identity authentication for OneDrive or SharePoint shortcuts, you need to grant your workspace identity access to the OneDrive or SharePoint site. 

• Service Principal :To use service principal authentication, register an application in Microsoft Entra ID and create a client secret. Then, grant the service principal access to your SharePoint site using Microsoft Graph. The service principal needs at least read permission on the SharePoint site

2. Summary — Workspace Identity vs Service Principal

3. Workspace Identity

3.1 Description

A Workspace Identity is a Fabric-managed service principal automatically created and maintained by the platform.

It allows Fabric to authenticate to external systems (including SharePoint) without managing credentials.

3.2 Configuration Steps (Shortcut context)

1. Create a Workspace Identity in Fabric
   • Workspace settings → Workspace Identity
   • Requires admin role
2. Retrieve the identity in Entra ID
   • Same name as workspace
   • Copy Application ID
3. Grant access to SharePoint site
   • Add the identity to the site permissions
   • Minimum: read access
4. Create the Shortcut
   • Select Workspace Identity as authentication method

3.3 Best Practices

• Use Workspace Identity when supported by the connector
• Restrict access to specific SharePoint sites (least privilege)
• Limit who can manage the workspace identity (admin role only)
• Monitor identity usage via Entra audit logs

3.4 Limitations (important for design)

• Not supported in all connectors or scenarios
• Not compatible with cross-tenant access
• Lifecycle tied to workspace (deletion = identity loss)
• Limited governance outside Fabric
• Must be excluded from certain Conditional Access policies to function properly

4. Service Principal

4.1 Description

A Service Principal is a non-interactive identity registered in Microsoft Entra ID, used for application-to-application authentication.

It provides full control over permissions and lifecycle, making it suitable for enterprise scenarios.

4.2 Configuration Steps (Shortcut context)

1. Create an App Registration in Entra ID
   • Generate:
     • Client ID
     • Client Secret or Certificate
2. Assign API permissions
   • SharePoint / Graph permissions
   • Prefer Sites.Selected
3. Grant access to SharePoint site
   • Explicitly authorize the Service Principal
   • Required in addition to API permissions
4. Configure authentication in Fabric
   • Select Service Principal in Shortcut
   • Provide credentials

4.3 Best Practices

• Use Sites.Selected instead of tenant-wide permissions
• Prefer certificate-based authentication over client secrets
• Store credentials in Azure Key Vault
• Rotate secrets regularly
• Use dedicated Service Principals per environment (Dev / Prod)

4.4 Limitations (important for design)

• Requires credential lifecycle management
• Higher setup complexity
• Risk of misconfiguration (permissions or secrets)
• Requires dual configuration:
  • Entra ID permissions
  • SharePoint site-level authorization
• SharePoint has its own authorization layer → API permission alone is not sufficient

5. Key Design Considerations

5.1 Authentication vs Authorization

• Authentication = identity (Workspace Identity / Service Principal)
• Authorization = access granted in SharePoint

Both must be configured correctly.

5.2 Choosing between Workspace Identity and Service Principal

Key decision drivers:

• Need for centralized governance → Service Principal
• Need for low operational overhead → Workspace Identity
• Need for cross-platform reuse → Service Principal
• Need for simplified setup → Workspace Identity