Tableau Server on Windows Help

This is archived content

Deployments on public clouds continue to be supported but the content for third-party public cloud deployments is no longer updated.

For the latest Tableau Server deployment content, see the Enterprise Deployment Guide(Link opens in a new window) and the Deploy(Link opens in a new window) section of Tableau Server help.

For those customers who have access, we recommend Tableau Cloud. For more details, see:

• Tableau Cloud Manual Migration Guide
• Tableau Cloud Trial for Admin(Link opens in a new window)
• Tableau Cloud: Get Started for Admin(Link opens in a new window)

Introduction

You can install and run Tableau Server on a Google Compute Engine (GCE) virtual machine (VM). Perform the following tasks to install and configure Tableau Server on a Google Compute Engine VM.

Step 1: Set up a Google Compute Engine VM

Create a Google Compute Engine virtual machine (VM) where you'll install Tableau Server.

1. Sign in to the Google Cloud Platform Console(Link opens in a new window) (https://console.cloud.google.com/).

2. If you haven't already, create a new project and set up billing. For more information, see Creating and Managing Projects(Link opens in a new window) at the Google website.

3. On the Google Cloud Platform dashboard, in the navigation pane, under Compute, click Compute Engine.

4. In the Compute Engine VM instances dialog box, click Create.

5. On the Create an instance page, specify the following instance properties:

   1. Name: Enter a name for your virtual machine (VM).

   2. Zone: To help reduce latency, choose the zone closest to your data source and users.

   3. Machine type: Select a VM that meets the system requirements for Tableau Server. For example, select the n1-standard-16 machine type, click Customize, and then increase the memory to 64 GB.

   4. Container: If selected, clear the Deploy a container image to this VM instance check box (the default).

   5. Boot disk: Click Change, and then select Windows Server 2016 Datacenter with a 128 GB SSD persistent disk, and then click Select.

   6. Identity and API access: Use the default setting.

   7. Firewall: Select Allow HTTP traffic and Allow HTTPS traffic.

6. When you've finished the settings, review your selections, and then click Create.

Step 2: Connect to your Google Compute Engine VM

After you create your Google Compute Engine (GCE) virtual machine (VM), you must connect to it and prepare it to install Tableau Server.

1. In the Compute Engine console, click VM instances.

2. In the list of VM instances, select your instance.

3. In the Connect column, click the RDP pop-up menu, click Set Windows password.

4. On the Set new Windows password dialog box, in the Username field, specify a username (or leave the default one). Store the username in a safe place.

5. Click Set to generate a password. It might take several seconds before the New Windows password dialog box appears. Store the password in a safe place.

   Important: This is your only chance to copy the password.

6. On the VM instances page, in the Connect column, click the RDP pop-up menu, and then select Download the RDP file. Save the .rdp file to your computer.

7. Connect to your VM using the .rdp file you saved. Provide the username and password you generated above for the Google Compute Engine VM. (If you're already signed into a Windows network, such as your organization's network, choose Other User and enter your credentials in those boxes.)

   You will see one or more messages telling you that the remote connection can't be identified. This is normal.

   Note: The RDP file references the instance by using an external IP address. By default, this is an ephemeral IP address, which might be renewed when you stop or restart the server. In that case, you'll need to get a new copy of the RDP file. For longer-term use, GCP provides static IP addresses at additional cost.

   Remote Desktop signs you in to the Google Compute Engine VM.

For more information about how to connect to Google Compute Engine VMs, see Connecting to Instances(Link opens in a new window) at the Google website.

Step 3: Install Tableau Server on your Google Compute Engine VM

Installing Tableau Server on a Google Compute Engine (GCE) virtual machine (VM) is similar to installing it on any other server.

Notes:

• You can select local authentication or Active Directory (AD) authentication only during initial installation. AD is only required for multi-worker configurations. For more information, see Setting up Active Directory on Google Compute Engine(Link opens in a new window) at the Google website.

• The Run As user must be a local user on the server instance.

1. Copy the Tableau Server installation program to your VM by doing one of the following:

   • Download the installer directly. While logged into the VM, open a browser, browse to the Tableau Server download page(Link opens in a new window), and download the version of Tableau Server appropriate for your operating system.

     Note: The default enhanced security configuration on Windows Server dictates that Internet Explorer is always set to High for the Internet zone and cannot be changed for that zone. Therefore, as you browse to public sites using Internet Explorer, you must add those sites to the list of trusted sites.

   • Copy the installer to the VM. If you already have a copy of the Tableau Server installer on your computer, copy it to the VM. Create a folder on the VM where you want to put the installer. From your computer, upload the Tableau Server installer file (for example, tableau-server-2020-2-3.x86_64.rpm) to the VM. For more information about how to copy files to a Google Compute Engine VM, see Transferring Files to Instances(Link opens in a new window) at the Google website.

2. Run the Tableau Server installer on the VM to start the server installation process. The installation process works the same as it does on any other server. For more information, see Install and Configure Tableau Server.

Step 4: Access Tableau Server from a remote browser

Make sure that only authorized users can access the Google Compute Platform virtual machine (VM) where you've installed Tableau Server.

1. In the Google Compute Platform console, under Compute, click Compute Engine, and then click VM instances. Find the external IP address associated with the VM.

2. On another computer (not on the VM), open a browser.

3. In the browser, type the external IP address of the Tableau Server you installed on the VM. For example, http://13.64.47.61.

   Note: The external IP is an ephemeral address. It is released when you stop the instance and a new external IP is assigned on restart. If you stop your instance, you may need to retrieve the new external IP address to access the server using your browser. GCP provides persistent static IP addresses. This time the URL resolves correctly and you reach the sign-in page for your instance of Tableau Server.

4. Sign in using the credentials for the administrator user that you created at the end of the installation process. When you've signed in, you see the Tableau Server Content page.

For more information on controlling access to your Tableau Server, see how to configure an identity store(Link opens in a new window).

Step 5: Publish data to Tableau Server on your Google Compute Engine VM

After you set up Tableau Server on a Google Compute Engine (GCE) virtual machine (VM), authorized users in your organization can publish workbooks and data sources to the server. The process works the same way that it does if Tableau Server is installed on premises, except that users must sign in to the server that is running on the VM.

Before you allow users to publish, make sure that each user has been created with the Publisher site role in Tableau Server and that the users have Publisher permissions. For more information, see Add Users to Tableau Server.

To publish workbooks and data sources to Tableau Server, users must sign in to the server by using the cloud server IP address using credentials they've been assigned. For more information, see How to Publish Workbooks to a Tableau Server(Link opens in a new window).

Step 6: Manage Tableau Server licenses

You don’t need to manage your Tableau Server license if you shut down your Google Compute Engine (GCE) virtual machine (VM) using the Google Cloud Platform console or from inside the VM itself. When you stop a Google Compute Engine VM(Link opens in a new window) with persistent SSD disk using the GCP Compute Engine console, the VM does not incur charges(Link opens in a new window), but resources attached to the VM will still incur charges.

Deleting a VM deallocates all of its resources, including external storage. You might delete your VM when you no longer need it. Always deactivate your Tableau Server license before you shut down and delete your VM.

Before you delete your VM, do the following:

1. Sign in to your VM.

2. Create a backup of Tableau Server, and then copy the .tsbak file to another location, such as Google Cloud Storage(Link opens in a new window), that will be accessible after the VM is no longer available. For more information, see Perform a Full Backup and Restore of Tableau Server.

3. Use the tsm licenses deactivate(Link opens in a new window) command to deactivate your Tableau Server product key. You can now shut down and delete your VM.