Tableau Server on Windows Help

Important: As of 16 September 2024, Data Management is no longer available as an independent add-on option. Data Management capabilities are only available if you previously purchased Data Management, or if you purchase certain licence editions – either Tableau Enterprise (for Tableau Server or Tableau Cloud) or Tableau+ (for Tableau Cloud).

Data Management includes Tableau Catalog, Tableau Prep Conductor, virtual connections and data policies and is available when you purchase Tableau Enterprise. Contact your account manager (or go to the Tableau pricing(Link opens in a new window) page) for more information.

Data Management can only be activated on a licensed Tableau Server Deployment. A Deployment includes a licensed production Tableau Server installation and licensed non-production Tableau Server installations that support the production installation. For more information on Deployment, see the EULA Documentation(Link opens in a new window).

Tableau Prep Conductor

• When Data Management is active and enabled, you can schedule flows in Tableau Server or Tableau Cloud and monitor flows.
• When Data Management is removed or deactivated, or if the Data Management licence expires, then the ability to schedule flows is disabled.
• If your Tableau Server or Tableau Cloud licence is still active and valid, you can download the flows using the Tableau Server REST API. For more information, see Flow Methods(Link opens in a new window).

Tableau Catalog

• When Data Management is active and enabled, you can use Tableau Catalog to discover data, curate data assets, perform impact analysis and trace the lineage of data used in Tableau content.
• When Data Management is removed or deactivated, or the licence expires, the information remains on the server. The Tableau Catalog-specific information is then only accessible using the Tableau Metadata API; it no longer appears in the product. For more information, see the Metadata API(Link opens in a new window).
• When Data Management is removed or deactivated, or the licence expires, the write APIs for all new Tableau Catalog information (for example, table descriptions, data quality warnings, column descriptions) are disabled. You can still read information using the Metadata API, however permissions on tables and databases can’t be explicitly managed in the product.

Virtual connections and data policies

After you purchase and license Data Management for Tableau, virtual connections and data policies are automatically enabled.

• When Data Management is active and enabled, you can use virtual connections to create sharable resources that provide a central access point to data. You can also create data policies that enable you to filter data for users using centralised row-level security.
• When Data Management is removed or deactivated, or the licence expires, the information remains on the server but is not accessible.
• When Data Management is reactivated, the information is restored on the server and becomes accessible.

How Data Management licensing works

A Tableau Server Deployment may be user-based or core-based, depending on which licence you purchase.

User-Based

A User-Based licence metric allows you to deploy Tableau Server on a single computer or on multiple computers in a cluster. Each user that accesses Tableau Server must be licensed. Administrators add users and license them. The first Creator or Explorer product key that you add to Tableau Server activates Tableau Server and will be used by a Server Administrator.

The Data Management product key enables the included features at the deployment level, and those features are licensed for all the users that are already licensed for Tableau Server.

Core-Based

A Core-Based licence metric imposes no constraints on the number of user accounts in Tableau Server. Instead, the licence specifies the maximum number of computer cores on which you can run Tableau Server.

Note: When you purchase and use core-based licensing, you must apply both the Data Management product key and the Resource Core product key to your Tableau Deployment. The first key allows flows to be run on Tableau Server though the Tableau Prep Conductor and the second key adds the additional cores for the Tableau Prep Conductor nodes. All product keys are available through the Customer Portal(Link opens in a new window).

Typically, the total number of cores in all the computers should not exceed the total number that the Tableau Server licence allows. When you activate the Data Management product key on your Tableau Server deployment, it includes a specific number of Tableau Prep Conductor cores. In this scenario, the total number of cores on all computers should not exceed the total number that the Tableau Server licence and the Data Management licence together allow.

In this topic, we will refer to the cores licensed through Tableau Server licence as Tableau Server cores, and the cores licensed through Data Management as Tableau Prep Conductor cores.

Here are some concepts that apply to how licensing is applied in a Core-Based metric:

• A node can be licensed by only one of type – Tableau Server Cores or Tableau Prep Conductor cores.
• The Tableau Prep Conductor cores are applied to any node that is dedicated to running Tableau Prep Conductor and when the Backgrounder on that node is set to run only flow background jobs. In this case, the total number of cores on this node cannot exceed the number of cores that the Data Management licence allows. If this node has any other licensed process besides Tableau Prep Conductor, Backgrounder and Data Engine enabled, then this node will require and use a Tableau Server core licence.
• As mentioned above, the Backgrounder node role also affects which licence is used by a node. For example, if the Backgrounder node role is set to run jobs of all types (this is the default), then this node will be licensed through the Tableau Server cores. For more information on node roles, see Node Roles in Tableau Server(Link opens in a new window).

  See the following table and decision flow to understand how a node is licensed:

  If a node has...	the core on the node is counted towards...	the node is licensed using...
  one of the following processes enabled: Application Server Backgrounder (node role is set to run all jobs) File Store Data Server VizQL Server	Total count of Tableau Server cores.	Tableau Server cores.
  only the following processes enabled: Tableau Prep Conductor Backgrounder (node role is set to run only flows) Data Engine	Total number of Tableau Prep Cores purchased through Data Management. Note: If there are no Tableau Prep Conductor cores available, but Tableau Server cores are available, then Tableau Server cores are used.	Tableau Prep Cores included in Data Management. Note: If there are no Tableau Prep Conductor cores available, but Tableau Server cores are available, then Tableau Server cores are used.

For more information about licensed processes, see Tableau Server Processes(Link opens in a new window).

To learn more about Tableau Server licensing, see Tableau Server Licensing Overview(Link opens in a new window).