Install and Configure Additional Nodes

After you install Tableau Server on one computer (or node), the server is functional and ready for use, but it has no redundancy. If there is a problem with a process or a problem with the computer itself, Tableau Server may be unavailable. In addition, all processes are running on a single computer, so there can be contention for resources on that computer.

You can extend your Tableau Server installation by adding Tableau to additional nodes, creating a distributed installation. This article describes the general steps for installing Tableau Server on additional nodes and assumes you have already installed Tableau on an initial node. For more information on installing Tableau on the initial node, see Install TSM.

If you are installing Tableau Server on multiple nodes, you should install and configure one node at a time. This makes it easier to troubleshoot any issues you might run into.

Important: You should add and configure additional nodes when you can fully complete the process by applying pending changes. Adding a node without finishing by applying pending changes can result in users being unable to log into Tableau Server.

Installation location

The installation location for Tableau Server must be the same on all nodes in a cluster. This is true whether you install to the default location or to a non-default location.

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 Local firewall configuration.

  3. On the new node, run the Tableau Server Setup program. This should be the same installer program you ran on the initial node to install Tableau Server. Accept the terms of the license agreement and click Next.

  4. The Install location must be the same on every node in the cluster.

    Enter the Install location, or click Browse to navigate to the Install location. Click Next to continue.

  5. During installation you will be asked to select an installation type.

    Select Add additional node to existing Tableau Server cluster and click Next to continue.

  6. The Use ATR for product activation option which was set for Node 1 will automatically be selected:

    Click Install to continue.

    If you are prompted by Windows Defender Firewall, click Allow access. You may need to do this multiple times for the installation to complete.

  7. In the installer, after the Tableau Server files are copied, you will be prompted to provide the bootstrap file and the name and password of the TSM administrator:

    Enter the location of the bootstrap file, or click Browse to navigate to the location. If the bootstrap file does not include embedded credentials, or those credentials have expired, enter the TSM administrator username and password. These credentials must be the credentials of the user that you used during the installation process on the initial node.

    Click Next to continue.

  8. A browser window opens and you are prompted to sign in to TSM. Enter the TSM administrator user name and password.

    If no browser window opens automatically, open a window and navigate to TSM:

    https://<tsm-computer-name>:8850

  9. In TSM, click Configuration.

    A message displays, telling you the node was added:

  10. Click Continue.

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.

Install drivers

You need to install drivers so that Tableau Server can connect to data and run extracts. Install these drivers on nodes that are running any of the following processes:

  • VizQL Server (vizqlserver)
  • Application Server (vizportal)
  • Data Server (dataserver)
  • Backgrounder (backgrounder)

Drivers and administrative views

If you want to use the built-in administrative views in Tableau Server, you also need to install the PostgreSQL driver on any nodes running any of the above processes.

For more information, see Database Drivers.

Install Tableau Resource Monitoring Tool Agent

If you are using Resource Monitoring Tool to monitor Tableau Server Performance, when you add a new node, you must also install the Resource Monitoring Tool. For more information, see Tableau Server Topology Changes.