Configure Client File Service


The Client File Service (CFS) 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.

A single instance of CFS is configured on the initial node when you first install Tableau Services Manager (TSM) and Tableau Server. You can and should configure additional instances on other nodes.

In a cluster, if a node that is running your only instance of CFS fails, any files being managed by CFS will be lost, and you will need to repopulate CFS those files by reimporting certs and custom images, and making any related configuration changes. For a list of files managed by CFS, see Tableau Server Client File Service.

Keep in mind these limitations and recommendations:

  • There must be at least one instance of CFS for any Tableau Server installation. You cannot remove all instances of CFS.
  • We recommend you do not configure more than one instance on any one node. Additional instances would not provide any benefit and would be a waste of resources.

  • We recommend you configure a CFS instance on each node where you deploy the Coordination Service. This provides redundancy and helps safeguard Tableau Server from unexpected errors in case a node fails.

This article explains how to add or remove an instance of CFS. You cannot configure CFS from the Web UI. You must use the CLI to add or remove CFS. The procedure is the same one you use for adding a process to a node.

Configure CFS on additional nodes

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

  2. Find the node ID for the node you are adding CFS to:

    tsm topology list-nodes -v

  3. Add CFS on the node by specifying the node, the process, and a single instance.

    For example, this command adds an instance of CFS to node2:

    tsm topology set-process -n node2 -pr clientfileservice -c 1

    If you attempt to add an instance of CFS to a node that already is configured with CFS, an error message will let you know there is already an instance on the node.

    To add CFS to additional nodes, repeat this step for each node.

  4. Apply the changes:

    tsm pending-changes apply

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