Remove a Node


If your Tableau Server installation includes a node you no longer need, you can remove it to simplify your installation, and to free up the hardware resources on that node.

Prerequisites for removing a node

There are prerequisites you must satisfy before you can remove a node from your Tableau Server cluster. If your node has one of a number of limitations, you need to address these before you can remove the node. The limitations include confirm that the node has been added with at least one process, and that the node does not include any process that is not also installed on another node.

If one of the following configuration limitations applies, you must take action before you can remove the node:

  • If the node was just added using the Web UI, you need to apply pending changes before you can remove it. If you added it using the command line, you need to configure it with at least one process before you can remove it.

  • If the node includes the only Repository instance, you need to move the Repository to another node. See Move the Repository Process.

  • If the node is running the only instance of the File Store, you need to move the File Store to another node. See Move the File Store Process.

  • If the node is running an instance of the Coordination Service, you must deploy a new Coordination Service ensemble that does not include the node. See Deploy a Coordination Service Ensemble.

  • If the node is running the Messaging Service, you need to move the Messaging Service to another node. See Move the Messaging Service Process.

Important: Do not use the tableau-server-obliterate script to remove a node. First remove the node using the TSM UI or the tsm topology remove-nodes command. This leaves the rest of the cluster in a good state. Later, if you want to re-add the node to the cluster, run the tableau-server-obliterate script on the node to completely remove Tableau. After removing Tableau from the node, restart the computer and then re-add the node using the normal steps for adding and configuring a node. For details on running the script, see Remove Tableau Server from Your Computer.

  1. Open TSM in a browser:

    https://<tsm-computer-name>:8850

    For more information, see Sign in to Tableau Services Manager Web UI.

  2. Click the Configuration tab and, under the node you want to remove, click Remove Node:

    If a configuration limitation does not allow you to remove the node (if, for example, it includes a File Store that must first be decommissioned), a message will display letting you know this. See Prerequisites above for more information.

    Note: If you just added the node, and have not configured it, you must first apply pending changes before you can remove the node.

  3. Click Pending Changes at the top right, and Apply Changes and Restart.

Use the tsm topology remove-nodes command to remove a node from a cluster.

To remove a node from a cluster it must have been configured with a process at some point in the past. If you added a node using the CLI and want to remove it but have not configured any processes, you must add a process on it, run the tsm pending-changes apply command, and then remove the node. For example, you might add one instance of Cluster Controller to the node: tsm topology set-process -n <nodeID> -pr clustercontroller -c 1.

If you are removing a node you added using the Web UI, the Cluster Controller process is automatically added so you do not need to add it before removing the node.

  1. On the initial node, open a terminal session.

  2. Find the node ID for the node you are changing:

    tsm topology list-nodes -v

  3. Remove a node using the remove-nodes command.

    For example, to remove node2 from an existing cluster:

    tsm topology remove-nodes --node-names "node2"

    If a configuration limitation does not allow you to remove the node (if, for example, it includes a File Store that must first be decommissioned), a message will display letting you know this. See Prerequisites above for more information.

  4. Apply the changes:

    tsm pending-changes apply

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