Zero Downtime Licensing
With zero downtime licensing, which was introduced in Tableau Server version 2021.1, you can apply most licensing changes to Tableau Server without needing to restart when license end dates, capacity, or installed features are changed.
When should you restart Tableau Server?
When you apply a license update that does not require a restart, Tableau Server displays the following message: Updated Licensing details are being applied across Server. However, there are some situations when applying a license update that require you to restart Tableau Server. For example, if you are activating or deactivating a product key that reduces features or changes the allowed data source connections, you'll need to restart Tableau Server after making your changes. When a restart is required, Tableau Server will display the following message: Restart Server to apply updated Licensing details. The following table lists the times when license changes require you to restart Tableau Server.
| License change | Restart required? |
|---|---|
| Extending a license term | No |
| Adding or reducing user license capacity | No |
| Adding core license capacity | No |
| Reducing core license capacity | Yes |
| Adding a Data Management or Advanced Management license | No |
| Removing a Data Management or Advanced Management license | Yes |
| Changing allowed data sources | Yes |
| Expired product key | Yes |