Tableau Server on Windows Help

Allow unencrypted communications with Active Directory

Your Active Directory infrastructure should manage certificates and trust with domain-joined computers. As such, the channel communication between Tableau Server and Active Directory resources should be encrypted. By default, Tableau Server requires an encrypted channel to Active Directory. We do not recommend allowing unencrypted communications with Active Directory, as this configuration is vulnerable to man-in-the-middle attacks. However, in some deployment scenarios, organisations do not encrypt the channel during initial configuration. Should you need to temporarily allow unencrypted communication with Active Directory, you can re-enable enforcement of encrypted communication later by running the tsm command, wgserver.domain.allow_insecure_connection, or by logging into TSM UI and toggling the setting under User Identity & Access > Identity Store.

Run As service account

By default, Tableau Server runs under the Network Service account. To use an account that will accommodate NT authentication with data sources, specify a user name and password. See Run As Service Account to learn more about creating and using a specific user account.

Important: Include the domain name with the user name – for example, example\tableaurunas.

Enter the password that you created for this account.

Product usage data

By default, Tableau Server shares usage data with Tableau that helps us better understand how you use our products, improve your overall experience and build highly intelligent features that make Tableau even more powerful.

Clear this option if you do not want usage data sent to Tableau.

You can also change this setting after installation, on the TSM Maintenance tab in the TSM Web UI, or using the TSM CLI. For more information, see Server Usage Data.

Configure identity store settings

You must configure the identity store settings for the Tableau Server computer.

Important: After you have configured and applied settings for the identity store, it cannot be changed.

Use the json template in identityStore Entity to create a json file. After you have filled in the options with the appropriate values, you can then pass the json file with this command:

tsm settings import -f path-to-file.json.

Configure gateway settings (optional)

Depending on your network requirements, you may need to configure the gateway settings for the Tableau Server computer. For example, if you are enabling SSL or configuring access to Tableau Server with a reverse proxy, you may need to configure gateway settings. See gatewaySettings Entity for more information.

Use the json template in gatewaySettings Entity to create a json file. After you have filled in the options with the appropriate values, you can then pass the json file with this command:

tsm settings import -f path-to-json-file.json.

Configure sample workbook installation (optional)

By default, Tableau Server will install sample workbooks in the Default site when you initialise the server.

If you do not want to install sample workbooks during installation, run the following command:

tsm configuration set -k install.component.samples -v false

You can publish samples after installation by using the publishsamples tabcmd command.

Apply pending configuration changes

Now that you've created and set initial configuration, you must apply them. When you apply configuration changes, tsm will verify the settings you've set before committing them.

To apply configuration changes to Tableau Server, run this command:

tsm pending-changes apply

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 behaviour. If the changes do not require a restart, the changes are applied without a prompt. For more information, see tsm pending-changes apply.

Once this command has completed, TSM processes are running, and Tableau Server is configured but is not running.

Verify LDAP configuration (Optional)

If your identity store uses LDAP, then we recommend verifying LDAP connectivity before proceeding.

To do so, run the following commands before you initialise the server:

tsm user-identity-store verify-user-mappings -v <user name>

tsm user-identity-store verify-group-mappings -v <group name>

User and group names must be valid names that exist in the LDAP server that you are connecting to. If your LDAP connection is set up correctly, then the user or group attributes will be returned to the shell. If your connection is not set up correctly, then an error will be returned.

Initialise and start Tableau Server

• To initialise and start Tableau Server, use the --start-server option:

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

  This saves time by starting the server running after initialisation.

• If you intend to reconfigure Tableau Server after initialisation, leave the --start-server option off:

  tsm initialize --request-timeout 1800

  This stops the server after initialisation.

Start Tableau Server. If you did not use the --start-server option during initialisation and have finished configuring Tableau Server, use this command to start the server:

tsm start --request-timeout 900