Tableau Server on Linux Help

Generate the node bootstrap file

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 in the Add a Node box, click Download Bootstrap File.

   

   The bootstrap file is created and copied to your local computer.

   Embedded credentials are included in the bootstrap file by default. If you don't want credentials embedded in the bootstrap file, clear the Include temporary credentials in file option. If you want to completely disable the ability to include embedded credentials in node bootstrap files, you can set a configuration option for the server. See features.PasswordlessBootstrapInit for more details.

Install and initialize an additional node

Before you begin, verify that your node bootstrap file is recent. For example, if you have run tsm security regenerate-internal-tokens after you generated a bootstrap file, then initialization will fail.

1. Copy the original installer you used on the first computer along with the bootstrap file you generated and put them in a location accessible from the new computer you are adding Tableau Server to. This could be a mounted network share, or directly on the new computer.

2. If you are running a local firewall, then you need to configure firewall rules for all the nodes in the cluster. For more information, see Configure Local Firewall.

3. On the new node, run the Tableau Server Setup program:

   Use the package manager to install the Tableau Server package.

   You must install the new version to the same location as the existing version. The install location must be the same on all nodes. Do not install to a location using a symbolic link or to a directory on a Network File System (NFS) volume.

   • On RHEL-like distributions, including CentOS, you have the option to install Tableau to a non-default location.

     • Default location—To install to the default location (/opt/tableau/tableau_server), run the following commands, where <version> is formatted as major-minor-maintenance (ex: 2019-2-5):

       sudo yum update

       sudo yum install tableau-server-<version>.x86_64.rpm

     • Non-default location—To install to a non-default location, you must use rpm -i. You will also need to install all dependent packages. See the note below.

       Run the following command:

       sudo rpm -i --prefix /preferred/install/path tableau-server.rpm

     Note: When you use yum to install Tableau Server, all dependent packages are automatically downloaded and installed. This is the preferred method for installing Tableau. If you want to install to a non-default location, or your organization does not allow you to use yum and you must install using rpm -i, you must also install all dependent packages separately. For information about installing dependent packages, see Installing Tableau Server on an Air-Gapped Computer Running Linux.

   • On Ubuntu, run the following commands, where <version> is formatted as major-minor-maintenance (ex: 2019-2-5):

     sudo apt-get update
     sudo apt-get upgrade
     sudo apt-get -y install gdebi-core
     sudo gdebi -n tableau-server-<version>_amd64.deb
     

4. To initialize communications between your new node and the initial node, run the initialize-tsm script that is installed when you install Tableau Server.

   Navigate to the scripts directory:

   cd /opt/tableau/tableau_server/packages/scripts.<version_code>/

5. Run the initialize-tsm script:

   sudo ./initialize-tsm -b /path/to/<bootstrap>.json --accepteula

   • Use the -b flag to provide the path to the bootstrap file that you copied to the computer. If you have encrypted the bootstrap file, then you must pipe the file as described in Securing secrets for import and export operations.

   • If the bootstrap file was generated without embedded credentials, use the -u flag to specify the user name of the administrative user on the initial node. This is the name of an administrative user on the computer, not the Tableau Server administrator. You will be prompted for the user password. For more information, see tsm topology nodes get-bootstrap-file.

     sudo ./initialize-tsm -b /path/to/<bootstrap>.json -u <admin-user-on-first-node> --accepteula

     Important: You must enter the credentials of the same user that you used during the installation process on the initial node.

   • The --accepteula flag accepts the Tableau Server End User License Agreement (EULA). The EULA is available in the following location: End User License Agreement. (Link opens in a new window)

Configure the additional node with Cluster Controller

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. A message should tell you that the new node was added.

   

   Click Continue to dismiss the message.

3. Cluster Controller is part of the minimum topology and is already selected. Each node must run Cluster Controller.

   If you only want to set the minimum topology for the node, go to Step 4 below. You might do this if you will be adding additional nodes and are not ready to configure this node beyond the minimum.

   If you want to add additional processes to the minimum topology, specify the processes that should run on the node. Do this by selecting the processes you want, or specifying the number of processes that should run on the node.

   For example, to add a Gateway and two instances of the Backgrounder on the node:

   1. Select Gateway.

   2. Set the Backgrounder count to 2.

      Adding Backgrounder to a node will also add an instance of Data Engine if one is not already on the node.

   The specific processes and process counts you set will depend on your organizational environment and needs. Some processes are added automatically when you add another process. For more information, see Configure Nodes and Tableau Server Processes.

   Note: The TSM Web UI limits you to a maximum of 8 instances of processes that allow you to select the number of instances. To configure more instances than this, use the command line and the TSM topology set-process command. For more information, see tsm topology set-process.

4. Click Pending Changes at the top of the page:

   

   If you are configuring a cluster with three or more nodes, a Coordination Service ensemble warning displays. You can continue. You will deploy a Coordination Service ensemble in a separate step.

5. Click Apply Changes and Restart and Confirm to confirm a restart of Tableau Server.

   After Tableau Server restarts, the node is included with the minimum topology necessary and any additional processes you configured.

Generate the node bootstrap file

To install Tableau Server on additional computers you use the same installer you did for the initial node, along with a "bootstrap" file you generate on the initial node.

1. After installing Tableau Server on the initial node, generate the node bootstrap file.

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

3. Type this command to generate the bootstrap file:

   tsm topology nodes get-bootstrap-file --file <path\file>.json

   Embedded credentials are included in the bootstrap file by default. If you don't want the bootstrap file to include credentials, use the -nec or --no-embedded-credentials option:

   tsm topology nodes get-bootstrap-file --file <path\file>.json --no-embedded-credentials.

   If you want to completely disable the ability to include embedded credentials in node bootstrap files, you can set a configuration option for the server. See features.PasswordlessBootstrapInit for more details.

Install and initialize an additional node

1. Copy the original installer you used on the first computer along with the bootstrap file you generated and put them in a location accessible from the new computer you are adding Tableau Server to. This could be a mounted network share, or directly on the new computer.

2. If you are running a local firewall, then you need to configure firewall rules for all the nodes in the cluster. For more information, see Configure Local Firewall.

3. On the new node, run the Tableau Server Setup program:

   Use the package manager to install the Tableau Server package.

   You must install the new version to the same location as the existing version. The install location must be the same on all nodes. Do not install to a location using a symbolic link or to a directory on a Network File System (NFS) volume.

   • On RHEL-like distributions, including CentOS, you have the option to install Tableau to a non-default location.

     • Default location—To install to the default location (/opt/tableau/tableau_server), run the following commands, where <version> is formatted as major-minor-maintenance (ex: 2019-2-5):

       sudo yum update

       sudo yum install tableau-server-<version>.x86_64.rpm

     • Non-default location—To install to a non-default location, you must use rpm -i. You will also need to install all dependent packages. See the note below.

       Run the following command:

       sudo rpm -i --prefix /preferred/install/path tableau-server.rpm

     Note: When you use yum to install Tableau Server, all dependent packages are automatically downloaded and installed. This is the preferred method for installing Tableau. If you want to install to a non-default location, or your organization does not allow you to use yum and you must install using rpm -i, you must also install all dependent packages separately. For information about installing dependent packages, see Installing Tableau Server on an Air-Gapped Computer Running Linux.

   • On Ubuntu, run the following commands, where <version> is formatted as major-minor-maintenance (ex: 2019-2-5):

     sudo apt-get update
     sudo apt-get upgrade
     sudo apt-get -y install gdebi-core
     sudo gdebi -n tableau-server-<version>_amd64.deb
     

4. To initialize communications between your new node and the initial node, run the initialize-tsm script that is installed when you install Tableau Server.

   On the new node:

   Navigate to the scripts directory:

   cd /opt/tableau/tableau_server/packages/scripts.<version_code>/

5. Run the initialize-tsm script:

   sudo ./initialize-tsm -b /path/to/<bootstrap>.json --accepteula

   • Use the -b flag to provide the path to the bootstrap file that you copied to the computer. If you have encrypted the bootstrap file, then you must pipe the file as described in Securing secrets for import and export operations.

   • If the bootstrap file was generated without embedded credentials, use the -u flag to specify the user name of the administrative user on the initial node. This is the name of an administrative user on the computer, not the Tableau Server administrator. You will be prompted for the user password. For more information, see tsm topology nodes get-bootstrap-file.

     sudo ./initialize-tsm -b /path/to/<bootstrap>.json -u <admin-user-on-first-node> --accepteula

     Important: You must enter the credentials of the same user that you used during the installation process on the initial node.

   • The --accepteula flag accepts the Tableau Server End User License Agreement (EULA). The EULA is available in the following location:

     /opt/tableau/tableau_server/packages/docs.<version_code>/EULA.rtf

Configure the additional node

Note: This basic example illustrates how to set the topology on a node. For a more detailed, working multi-node example, see Example: Install and Configure a Three-Node HA Cluster.

On the initial (original) node, set the topology for the newly added node. The topology specifies which processes should run on the node, and how many instances of each process should run. The topology for the node will depend on your environment and organizational needs. The below are just examples of setting the topology.

1. On the initial (original) node, open a terminal session.

2. Get the node-id for the new node:

   tsm topology list-nodes -v

   The -v option lists the nodes and the processes they are currently running. You can identify the newly added node because it will not have any processes on it.

3. Specify the individual processes that should run on this node.

   Do this with the following command:

   tsm topology set-process -n <nodeID> -pr <processname> -c <n>

   You must add an instance of the Cluster Controller to each node.

   For example, to add the Cluster Controller, two instances of the Backgrounder, and a Gateway to node2:

   tsm topology set-process -n node2 -pr clustercontroller -c 1
   tsm topology set-process -n node2 -pr backgrounder -c 2
   tsm topology set-process -n node2 -pr gateway -c 1

   The specific processes and process counts you set will depend on your organizational environment and needs. Some processes are added automatically when you add another process. For more information, see Configure Nodes and Tableau Server Processes.

4. Apply the node configuration. If the pending changes require a server restart, the pending-changes apply command will display a prompt to let you know a restart will occur. This prompt displays even if the server is stopped, but in that case there is no restart. You can suppress the prompt using the --ignore-prompt option, but this does not change the restart behavior. If the changes do not require a restart, the changes are applied without a prompt. For more information, see tsm pending-changes apply.

   tsm pending-changes apply

   A warning about deploying a Coordination Service ensemble displays if you have deployed a three- or five-node cluster. If this is the only warning, you can safely override it using the --ignore-warnings option to apply the configuration changes in spite of the warning.

   tsm pending-changes apply --ignore-warnings