Tableau Server on Linux Help

This topic describes how to install and configure Tableau Server to use an external service for Tableau Server Repository.

Before you install

• You must have the Advanced Management licence activated on your Tableau Server to make sure your environment has the appropriate licence to use external repository. For more information about Advanced Management, see About Tableau Advanced Management on Tableau Server.

• Your Tableau Server environment must be one of the following:

  • Public Cloud Services:
    • AWS cloud services. For more information on Tableau Server installation on AWS, see Install Tableau Server on Amazon Web Services.
    • Azure cloud services. For more information on Tableau Server installation on Azure, see Install Tableau Server on Microsoft Azure.
    • Google Cloud services. For more information on Tableau Server installation on Google Cloud, see Install Tableau Server for Healthcare on the Google Cloud Platform.
  • On-premises: This is Tableau Server running on the hardware located in your organisation or company and not on a public cloud.

• You must have an instance of PostgreSQL database install and ready. You will also need the endpoint of your PostgreSQL DB instance.

  • Tableau Server on AWS
    • For a fully managed Server option, using Amazon RDS, follow the guidance detailed in Create a PostgreSQL DB Instance on AWS Relational Database Service (RDS).
    • For a self-managed Server option: Use AWS EC2, and Create a PostgreSQL Database as a Stand-Alone Installation
  • Tableau Server on Azure:
    • For a fully managed Server option using Azure DB, see Create an Azure Database PostgreSQL Instance on Azure.
    • For a self-managed Server option, use Azure VM, and Create a PostgreSQL Database as a Stand-Alone Installation.
  • Tableau Server on Google Cloud:
    • For a fully managed Server option using Google Cloud PostgreSQL instance, follow the guidance in Create a PostgreSQL Instance on Google Cloud
    • For a self-managed Server option, use Google Cloud VM, and Create a PostgreSQL Database as a Stand-Alone Installation
  • If you are installing this on-premises, see Create a PostgreSQL Database as a Stand-Alone Installation

• Download the SSL certificate:

  Secure connections between Tableau Server and the External Repository are not required, but recommended.

  If you want to set up SSL connections for communications between Tableau Server and the External Repository, do the following:

  • Amazon RDS: See Using SSL to Encrypt the Connection to a DB Instance(Link opens in a new window).
  • Azure Database for PostgreSQL: See Configure TLS connectivity for Azure Database for PostgreSQL(Link opens in a new window).
  • Google Cloud database: See Configure SSL/TLS certificates(Link opens in a new window).
  • Stand-alone PostgreSQL database: The CA certificate that you used to configure SSL for the database should be copied to the Tableau Server initial node. For more information on configuring SSL for your PostgreSQL database, see Configure SSL.

Install and Configure Tableau Server

Step 1: Create a configuration file

Create a json file with the following configuration settings:

{
 "flavor":"<flavor name>",
 "masterUsername":"<admin user name>",
 "masterPassword":"<password>", 
 "host":"<instance host name>",
 "port":5432
}

• flavour: This is the type of external service you are going to use for Tableau Server repository.

  • Amazon RDS: use “rds”
  • Azure Database: use "azure"
  • Google Cloud Database: use "gcp"
  • Stand-alone PostgreSQL database: use "generic"

• masterUsername:

  • Amazon RDS: Use "rails" for the username. This is the user that you specified when creating the RDS instance.

    You must use "rails" as the masterUsername. This is required for the external repository to work with Tableau Server properly.

  • Azure Database, Google Cloud PostgreSQL instance or Stand-alone PostgreSQL Database: Choose a username that meets your requirements. We recommend using postgres as the Administrator username. If you choose to use a different username, make sure that the username does not start with pg or azure. The username also cannot be rails, tblwgadmin, tableau, readonly or tbladminviews.

• masterPassword: This is the same password you specified when creating the PostgreSQL database instance.

• host: This is the endpoint of your PostgreSQL database instance.

• port: The database port you specified when creating the PostgreSQL DB instance.

Step 2: Install Tableau Server and Configure the External Repository

Using TSM CLI:

1. Install and Initialise TSM: Follow the instructions provided in this topic and complete steps 1-5 which runs the setup program and installs TSM.

2. Activate and Register Tableau Server: Provide the Tableau Server Key and the Advanced Management key in the activate step. You will need to run the following command twice, first with the Tableau Server product key and then with the Advanced Management product key:

   tsm licenses activate -k <product key>

3. Configure Initial Node Settings: Follow the instructions provided in the topic to configure the initial node settings.

   Important! Do not run the Initialise and Start Tableau Server step when you configure the initial node. After completing the other steps in the Configure Initial Node Settings topic, return to this page and follow the rest of the instructions.

4. Configure Tableau Server to use the external repository by using the following commands:

• Specify the external repository settings using the json file that you created in the previous step:

  tsm topology external-services repository enable -f <filename>.json -c <ssl certificate file>

  The json file is the file that you created in the first step with the configuration settings.

  Note: The SSL certificate is needed only if you are using encrypted connections between Tableau Server and the External Repository. If this is not a must for you, you must specify the --no-ssl option. In this case, the tsm command would look like this:
  tsm topology external-services repository enable -f <filename>.json --no-ssl
  

• Apply the changes:

  tsm pending-changes apply

Step 3: Complete tsm Initialise

To initialise and start Tableau Server:

tsm initialize --start-server --request-timeout 1800

Step 4: Complete the install

Add an Administrator Account and complete the installation.

Who can do this

Tableau Server Administrators can install and configure Tableau Server.