Tableau Server Certified Associate Exam

Create Performance Recording

"recording_performance=yes" at the end of the URL

Creator License abilities

- All Viewer & Explorer capabilities - Access to Tableau Desktop and Tableau Prep - Create and publish new workbooks from a new data source - Edit embedded data sources in the Data pane - Create and publish new data connections - Create new workbooks using Dashboard Starters (Tableau Online only)

Explorer License abilities

- All Viewer capabilities - Full set of collaborator features - Workbook authoring using web browser

Monitor Desktop License Usage

- Enable reporting on TS (Configurations tab > Notifications > Events >Server health monitoring > Send emails for Tableau Server license reporting) - Configure Desktop for reporting (before or after install)

Identity Store Options

- Local identity store - External identity store (AD, LDAP) - SSO can be added (SAML, Kerberos, OpenID, Mutual SSL, Trusted Auth)

Viewer License abilities

- View and interact with Tableau Server and Tableau Online - Access Tableau Mobile - Add comments to workbooks - Download .png and .pdf versions of workbooks - Download workbook summary data - Create subscriptions for themselves - Receive data-driven alerts

Important Ports to open up to a firewall

80 - Gateway 443 - SSL 8850 - TSM 8060 - PostgreSQL 8061 - PostgreSQL backup 8000-9000 - Range of ports reserved by default for dynamic mapping of Tableau processes 27000-27009 - Range of ports used by Tableau Server for License Service. This range must be open on the node running the License Service and accessible from other nodes

TS Installation Steps

1. Install TSM 2. Activate and Register TS 3. Configure Initial Node Settings 4. Add an Administrator Account

Minimum Hardware Recommendations for Single Node Installation (Processor, CPU, RAM, Free disk space)

64-bit, 8 physical cores (16 vCPU) 2 GHz or higher, 64 GB RAM, 500GB-1TB free disk space

Core-Based Licensing

A Core-Based licence metric imposes no constraints on the number of user accounts in TS. Instead, the license specifies the maximum number of computer cores on which you can run TS. You can install TS on a single computer or across multiple computers as a multi-node cluster, as long as the total number of cores in all the computers does not exceed the total number that the license allows.

Cache Server

A query cache distributed and shared across the server cluster. This in-memory cache speeds user experience across many scenarios. VizQL Server, Backgrounder, and Data Server (and Application Server to a lesser extent) make cache requests to the Cache Server on behalf of users and jobs. The cache a single-threaded, so if you need better performance you should run additional instances of Cache Server.

OpenID

A standard authentication protocol that lets users sign into an IpD, such as Google. After they've successfully signed in to their IdP, they are automatically signed into TS.

Gateway

A web server that handles all requests to TS from browsers, Tableau Desktop, and other clients

SAML Service

Acts as a proxy between Tableau Server and teh SAML Identity Providers (IdPs)

Trusted Tickets

Allows you to set up a trusted relationship between TS and one or more web servers. When TS receives requests from a trusted web server, it assumes the web server has already handled the necessary authentication. TS receives the request with a redeemable ticket or token and presents the user with a personalized view which takes into consideration the user's roles and permissions.

SAML

An external identity provider (IdP) authenticates the user's credentials using SAML 2.0 and then sends a security assertion to TS that provides information about the user's identity.

Anti-virus Concerns

Antivirus software that scans directories used by TS can interfere with installation and ongoing use of TS. In some cases, this can result in installation failures, problems starting TS, or impacts on performance

File Store

Automatically replicates extracts across Data Engine nodes

Backup & Restore Tableau Server

Backup - tsm backup AND tsm maintenance backup Restore - tsm maintenance restore

Configure Email Alerts/Subscriptions

Configuration tab > Notifications > Events

Data Engine

Creates data extracts and processes queries

Load Balancer

Distributes requests across gateways. All gateway processes are active, if one gateway becomes unavailable, the load balancer stop sending requests to it

Difference between File, Relational, and Cube data sources

Files are located on a local file storage, while relational data sources are located on a centralized server. Cube data sources are data sources that have been pre-aggregated and hierarchies ahve been established by the cube's creator. This leads to some missing functionality when connecting to a cube data source in Tableau Desktop

Search and Browse

Handles fast search, filter, retrieval, and display of content metadata on the server

TSM License Manager

Handles licensing

TSM Administration Controller

Handles requests to TSM and orchestrates configuration and topology changes and workflow across service processes. The Controller also serves as the REST API endpoint

Kerberos

Kerberos is a three-way authentication protocol that relies on the use of a trusted third party netrowk service called the Key Distribution Center (KDC) to verify th eidentity of computers and provide for secure connections between computers through the exchange of tickets. These tickets provide mutual authentication between computers or services, verifying that one has permission to access the other. With TS in an AD environment, the AD domain controller also serves as the Kerberos KDC and issues Ticket Granting Tickets to the other nodes in the domain. Users authenticated by the KDC do no t have to authenticate further when connecting to TS.

Live vs Extract Data Sources

Live connections are convenient for real-time updates, though they rely heavily on the database for queries. Extracts are a snapshot of the database that are optimized for aggregation and loaded into the system memory to be quickly recalled for visualization.

VizQL Server

Loads and renders views, computes and executes queries

Data Server

Manages connections to Tableau Server data sources

TSM Client File Service

Manages most shared files in a multinode cluster. For example, authentication related certificates, keys, and files (OpenID, mutual SSL, SAML, and Kerberos) and customization files are managed by CFS

TSM Service Manager

Manages services

Supported OS

Microsoft Windows Server 2019, 2016, 2012 R2, 2008 R2 Amazon Linux 2 Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 7.3+ CentOS 7.3+ Oracle Linux 7.3+ Ubuntu 16.04 LTS & 18.04 LTS on x64 chipsets

TSM Administration Agent

Monitors the Coordination Service for changes to configuration or topology and delivers new configurations for each service or deploys new services and removes old ones

Revision History

On Tableau Server webpage Settings, a Server Admin can set the limit of number of revisions Tableau will hold (default=25)

Enabling Subscriptions

On Tableau Server webpage, sign in as a Server Admin > Settings > Subscriptions

Process Distribution

Over two nodes, can dedicate one node for Backgrounder or Tableau Prep Builder. For 3+ nodes, distribute what tasks the Backgrounder processes run (one node run all, one run only flows, one run all but flows)

Cluster Controller

Responsible for monitoring various components, detecting failures, and running failover when needed.

Tableau Prep Conductor

Runs a flow, checks connection credentials, and sends alerts if a flow fails

Backgrounder

Runs server tasks, including extract refreshes, subscriptions, 'Run Now' tasks, and tasks initiated from tabcmd

Identify SMTP Server

SMTP Configuration is done on the TSM interface or through CLI

Multi-node Hardware requirements

Same as Single Node (64-bit, 8 physical cores (16 vCPU) 2 GHz or higher, 64 GB RAM, 500GB-1TB free disk space) for each node, except in the following scenarios where a node can be configured with 4 physical cores - Dedicated node for Backgrounder - Dedicated node for Tableau Prep Conductor - Move all the licensed process from the initial node to additional nodes

TSM Coordination Service

Serves as a single source of truth

Silent Install

SilentInstaller.py is a community supported Python script used to automate a new install of TS. You can download the script and use it as is or modify it for your specific needs

Working with Log Files

Tableau Server creates log files as a normal part of its activities. You may need to use the server log files when you are troubleshooting issues with Tableau Server or if Tableau Support requests logs from you to help you resolve an issue. You create a zipped log file archive using the "tsm maintenance ziplogs" command

User-Based Licensing

Tableau offers multiple types of user-based term licenses that grant a range of capabilities at various price points, providing flexibility for organizations to pay for the data analysis and visualization capabilities that each type of user in their organization needs. User types = Viewer, Explorer, Creator

REST API

The REST API allows you to manage and change TS resources programmatically

Repository

The main database for TS. It stores workbook and user metadata

Elastic Server

Used by Ask Data to index and cache data

Ask Data

Used by the Ask Data feature

Application Server

VizPortal - handles the web application, REST API calls, and supports browsing and searching

Default number of instances for each TS Process

VizQL Server - 2 instances (# physical cores / 4; 4 maximum) Backgrounder, Cache Server, Data Server - 2 instances All other processes - 1 instance, regardless of hardware

SSL Setup

With mutual SSL, when a client with a valid SSL certificate connects to TS, TS confirms the existence of the client certificate and authenticates the user based on the user name in the client certificate. Configuration tab within TSM interface > User Identity & Access > Authentication Method > Mutual SSL Select User mutual SSL and automatic sign in with client certificates Upload your certificate authority issued certificate

Where to Install Database Drivers?

You must install database drivers for your data sources on the initial node in a TS Cluster. If you install TS on multiple nodes, you must also install drivers on any node that runs the Application Server, Backgrounder, Data Server, or VizQL Server processes

Storage Quotas

tabcmd createsite --storage-quote <value>

Difference between tableau and readonly users for PostgreSQL repository data

tableau user only has access to views readonly user has access to views and tables

Configure Data Cache

tsm data-access caching set -r <value> By default, TS will cache and reuse data for as long as possible, this command will specify how long it will cache data for.

Enable access to the PostgreSQL Repository data

tsm data-access repository-access enable --repository-username readonly --repository-password <PASSWORD>

View Tableau Server Status

tsm status -v TSM interface Tableau Server Status page

Identify Tableau Server version using TSM CLI

tsm version