Connectivity with Bridge

Applies to: Tableau Cloud

When data sources or virtual connections connect to private network data that Tableau Cloud can't reach directly, Tableau Bridge is used to facilitate connectivity.

Connection types

Tableau Bridge supports on-premise data or data in a virtual cloud that is behind the firewall. The data can range from CSV files on your private network or data stored in a data warehouse.

For cloud data that Tableau Cloud can reach directly, setting up refresh schedules directly with Tableau Cloud is almost always a better choice. For example, you might be able to connect to a MySQL database hosted on a cloud platform. In a scenario like this, you can set up a refresh schedule for extracts that connect to this type of data directly with Tableau Cloud.

Extract refreshes

When data sources or virtual connections use extracts to connect to private network data, Bridge can be used to perform scheduled refreshes of those extracts. Refreshes can be scheduled, in most cases, by the content owner as part of the publishing process. For extract refresh requirements, see Additional requirements for extract connections.

Live connections

Bridge supports data sources or virtual connections with live connections to private network data using a feature called live queries. If the content owner publishes a data source or virtual connection that uses a live connection to data that Tableau Cloud detects that it can't reach directly, live queries are automatically used. For live query requirements, see Additional requirements for live connections.

  • Bridge doesn't support live connections for some cloud data sources. These include Google Cloud SQL, OData, and Progress OpenEdge. Use extract connections to keep data fresh.
  • Bridge doesn't support live connections for some private cloud-based data sources. These include Google Drive, Box, OneDrive, Dropbox, and Azure Data Lake Storage Gen2. Use extract connections to keep data fresh.
  • Live connections to file-based data such as CSV, text, Excel, statistical (.sas7bdat) isn’t supported.

Virtual connections

Bridge supports virtual connections, which provide a sharable central access point to data.

File data

The latest version of Windows client and Bridge for Linux for Containers support file data including CSV, Excel, text, statistical (.sas7bdat), PDF, and spatial files.

  • Extract refreshes for published data source files are supported. If you are connecting to a local file path, you must use the Default pool.

  • Extract refreshes for embedded data source files are supported. You must use a configured pool for embedded data sources and the file path must use the UNC format.

  • Extract refreshes and live query of Hyper files on a file share are not supported.

  • Live connections to file-based data aren’t supported.

Connections to cube-based data

Cube-based data is not supported.

Embedded data sources

Tableau Bridge supports data sources that are embedded in workbooks.

  • Live connections for files data such as CSV, text, Excel, statistical (.sas7bdat) aren’t supported.

  • The default pool does not support embedded data sources. You must use a pool that has been configured. For more information, see Configure the Bridge Client Pool.

Published data sources

Scheduled extracts of published data sources don’t support multiple pools.

Tableau Prep Builder

Private network connections for Tableau Prep through Tableau Bridge are not supported.

Connectors and data types

Bridge supports a combination of connectors that Tableau Desktop and Tableau Cloud(Link opens in a new window) supports. Unsupported connectors and limitations for connectors and data types are listed below.

Include External Files

Include External Files is not supported for Published Data Sources. To refresh published flat files, change the connection information so that the data source references a full UNC path. For example, rather than connecting to D:\datasource.xls, you would connect to \\filesrv\datasource.xls.

Private cloud data

In most cases, Tableau Cloud will automatically detect the Bridge client. In some cases, you might need to manually configure your connection to ensure that Bridge is used. For more information, see Connect to Private Cloud Data.

Unsupported connectors

  • Connectors built by third parties that are not on the Tableau Exchange are not supported.
  • Some Exchange Connectors are not supported. See section below.
  • Microsoft Analysis Services.
  • Microsoft PowerPivot.
  • Oracle Essbase.
  • SAP NetWeaver Business Warehouse.

Exchange Connectors

Tableau Bridge can be used to query data using the select connectors available on the Tableau Exchange connector page(Link opens in a new window). The Exchange connectors that are supported are Actian JDBC, Altinity Connector for ClickHouse, Guidanz BI Connector, Couchbase Analytics, Stratio Crossdata, Data Virtuality JDBC, Jethro ODBC, Oracle NetSuite, SAP SuccessFactors, ServiceNow, and SingleStoreDB JDBC.

To use Exchange Connectors with Tableau Bridge, follow these steps for each Exchange connector and each Bridge client in the pool that will access the target data source.

  1. Download the .taco file from the Tableau Exchange connector page(Link opens in a new window).

  2. Add the .taco file to the Tableau repository connector directory:

    • On Windows: C:\Users[Windows User]\Documents\My Tableau Bridge Repository\Connectors

    • On Linux: /root/Documents/My_Tableau_Bridge_Repository/Connectors

    • For Data Connect, run the following command to create the Connector directory in your base image: mkdir -p /home/tableau/Documents/My_Tableau_Bridge_Repository/Connectors

  3. Follow the instructions on the Tableau Exchange for your connector to download the required driver.

  4. Install the driver on the Bridge client.

  5. Restart the Bridge client.

Connectors that don’t support Live connections

  • Google Cloud SQL
  • OData
  • Progress OpenEdge
  • Flat files

 

SAP HANA

To connect to SAP HANA using live connections, parameters and variables must be disabled.

Snowflake

Snowflake isn’t supported when used with virtual connections.

Data used in a multi-connection data source

Tableau Bridge can be used to refresh cross-database joined data sources. The database connections defined in the workbook or data source determine how you can publish and keep the data fresh on Tableau Cloud. As long as all the individual data connections are of a type that Tableau Bridge can refresh, then the cross-database joined data source can be refreshed.

Other Databases

Web data connectors

Bridge for Linux

Tableau Bridge supports a Linux-based operating system designed for container workloads. Limitations and differences include:

  • Bridge for Linux does not support legacy schedules.
  • Bridge for Linux runs in the background, which is the equivalent to Service mode in Tableau Bridge on Windows.
  • To save log files, copy the files or folders between your docker container and your local file system.
  • Currently, Bridge for Linux is installed by running commands in a running container using Docker executables.
  • Bridge for Linux does not support Window integrated authentication

Connecting to flat files and file-based extracts

As of February 2025 release, you can configure Bridge for Linux to connect to remote shares.

  1. Create and set access permissions on the remote share. For example, SharedWB_1. The resulting UNC path for this computer, host1, would be //host1/SharedWB_1.

  2. On the host computer where you are running the Bridge client, mount the remote share on the local file system. For example, /mnt/remotes/H1_WB.

  3. In a text file create a UNC map using the format: //<remote UNC>:/<local mount>. For example, //host1/SharedWB_1:/mnt/remotes/H1_WB.

  4. Configure the remote share for the Docker contain by including the following content in the Docker file. The example remote share configuration below corresponds to the diagram above. 

    apt-get install cifs-utils
export CRED=/mnt/remotes/creds/
mkdir -p $CRED && chmod 700 $CRED

# Prepare credential files for host_1 ($CRED/.h1) and host_2 ($CRED/.h2)
#    credential file format should be:
#          username=...
#          password=...
chmod 600 $CRED/.h1
chmod 600 $CRED/.h2

# Add these CIFS entries to /etc/fstab (this will be automatically mounted on
# reboot)
cat >> /etc/fstab << EOE
//host_1/SharedWB_1    /mnt/remotes/H1_WB    cifs    credentials=/mnt/remotes/creds/.h1    0    0
//host_1/SharedDS_1    /mnt/remotes/H1_DS    cifs    credentials=/mnt/remotes/creds/.h1    0    0
//host_2/SharedWB_1    /mnt/remotes/H2_WB    cifs    credentials=/mnt/remotes/creds/.h2    0    0
//host_2/SharedDS_1    /mnt/remotes/H2_DS    cifs    credentials=/mnt/remotes/creds/.h2    0    0
EOE

# and mount fstab entries
mount /mnt/remotes/H1_WB
mount /mnt/remotes/H1_DS
mount /mnt/remotes/H2_WB
mount /mnt/remotes/H2_DS

# Create the UNC map file
cat > /mnt/remotes/uncmap << EOM
//host_1/SharedWB_1:/mnt/remotes/H1_WB
//host_1/SharedDS_1:/mnt/remotes/H1_DS
//host_2/SharedWB_1:/mnt/remotes/H2_WB
//host_2/SharedDS_1:/mnt/remotes/H2_DS
EOM

    The Bridge client periodically reads from the UNC map file to check for changes. To avoid Bridge restarting after changes, keep your mounted directories and location of the UNC map file in the same directory.

  5. Run the following to finish the configuration:

    docker container run \
...
-e TABLEAU_BRIDGE_UNC_MAP_OVERRIDE='/mnt/remotes/uncmap' \
--mount type=bind,source="/mnt/remotes",target=/mnt/remotes \
...

Authentication

The connected client option must be enabled for the site to allow Bridge clients to run unattended and, if enabled, support multi-factor authentication with Tableau authentication. If connected clients are disabled for the site, Bridge can only support Tableau username and password authentication.

OAuth

  • Tableau Bridge for Windows and Bridge for Linux do not support OAuth for Azure SQL, Azure Synapse, and Dremio.

  • OAuth with embedded data sources and pubished data sources for Google Drive and OneDrive is supported.

  • When using your own identity provider (IdP) with the Amazon Athena connector, you must set up the OAuth client configuration file. See Use your own identity provider with Amazon Athena.

Windows Authentication

The Windows user account must be a member of the local admin group to run the client in service mode. If the user isn’t a local admin, they can run the Bridge client in Application mode, but they must remain logged in to the Windows machine.

Kerberos

Bridge on Windows supports Integrated Windows authentication through the "run-as" account, for both files and some databases

 

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