Install and Configure Tableau Server on Multi Node

Hardware Recommendations:

INSTALL TYPE PROCESSOR CPU RAM FREE DISK SPACE

64-bit (x64
chipsets) 8-
core,
2.0
32 GB 50 GB
  GHz
or
ARM-based higher
Single node processors are
not supported
If you are adding Tableau Prep Conductor to your Tableau
Server installation, we recommend you add a second node
and dedicate this to running Tableau Server Prep
Conductor. This node should have a minimum of 4 cores
(8 vCPUs), and 16 GB of RAM.

Contact Tableau for technical guidance.

 

Nodes must meet or exceed the minimum hardware

recommendations, except:
Multi-node and  
enterprise
deployments Nodes running backgrounder, where 4 cores may be
acceptable.
 

Dedicated node for Tableau Prep Conductor: Minimum of

4 cores (8 vCPUs), and 16 GB of RAM.
 

Important: The disk space requirement cannot be checked until you initialize TSM.
Hardware Guidelines for High Availability:

 Failover—three computers: To configure a cluster that provides failover support for the file
store and repository processes, you need at least three computers or VMs: one for the initial
Tableau Server node and two for additional nodes.
 Multiple gateways—three computers and a load balancer: Adding multiple Gateway
processes to your Tableau Server installation and using a load balancer to automatically
distribute requests to those gateways enhances the reliability of Tableau further. To
configure a cluster that provides failover support and multiple gateways, you need to add a
load balancer to front your three-node cluster.
 Failover & multiple gateway support—three computers and a load balancer: To configure a
cluster that provides the above plus support for multiple gateways, you need at least three
computers or VMs, and a load balancer to front the cluster.
 Initial computers: If you configure for high availability, the initial Tableau Server node may
be running few or no Tableau Server processes. Therefore, the computer that serves as the
initial node does not need as many cores as the ones running your additional nodes. You
will, however, need adequate disk space for backups because the initial computer is used
during the backup and restore processes.

Software:
1. All nodes in a distributed installation must be running the same version of Tableau
Server.

Note: All nodes in a multi-node cluster must have the same type of operating system. You
cannot install a multi-node instance of Tableau Server on a combination of Linux and Windows
nodes.

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.

Creating a distributed Tableau Server installation:

These are the general steps you follow to create a distributed installation of Tableau Server:

1. Begin by installing Tableau Server on your initial node.

1.1 Install TSM:
After you download the Tableau Server installation file, follow the instructions below to
install the server.
 1.1.1 Sign in as a user with administrator access to the computer where you want to
install Tableau Server and double-click the installation file.

1.1.2 Follow the on-screen instructions to complete Setup and install the application.
The default installation path is C:\Program Files\Tableau\Tableau
server\<version>.
1.1.3 After the installation completes, click Finish. Setup will then open the TSM
configuration web page on the computer where you are installing Tableau
Server.
Note: If you are prompted by Windows Defender Firewall, click Allow access.
You may need to do this multiple times for the installation to complete.
1.2 Activate and Register Tableau Server:
1.2.1 Sign in to Tableau Services Manager Web UI .The account you use must have
administrative privileges on the computer where TSM is installed.
1.2.2 On the Activate page, Enter or paste your product key and click Activate License.
 1.2.3 On the Register page, enter your information into the fields and click Register.

1.3 Configure Initial Node Settings:

After you have activated and registered Tableau Server, the installation program will
display the Setup page.
1.3.1 Identity store settings: You must configure the identity store settings for the
Tableau Server computer. The identity store manages Tableau Server accounts.
You can configure the identity store to synchronize with an external directory
(for example, OpenLDAP or Active Directory) or you can configure the identity
store to manage and store accounts on Tableau Server.
 If
you select Active Directory, Tableau Server will populate the Domain and
NetBIOS fields from the computer on which you are running Setup.
Important: After you have configured and applied settings for the identity
store, it cannot be changed.
1.3.2 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.

Important: Include the domain name with the user name—for example,
example\tableaurunas. Enter the password that you created for this account.
1.3.3 Gateway port: The default port for web access to Tableau Server (via HTTP) is
port 80. If the installation program determines that port 80 is in use when you
first install Tableau Server, an alternate port (for example 8000) is used and
shown in the Port number box.

1.3.4 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.
1.3.5 Sample workbook installation: By default, Tableau Server will install
sample workbooks in the Default site when you initialize the server.

Alternatively, you can publish samples after installation by using the publish
samples tabcmd command.
1.3.6 Initializing install: After you have configured the options on this page, click
Initialize. The initialization process can take a while. When initialization is
complete the following page is displayed:

1.4 Add an Administrator Account:

After Tableau Server is finished initializing, the installation program will display a
page to create the Tableau Server administrator.
 If you configured a local identity store during setup, then specify a name and
password that you want to use.
 If you configured a LDAP or Active Directory identity store during setup, then
you must specify a user account that is a member of the directory.
 If you are installing remotely, then you must sign in to TSM on the physical
computer where Tableau Server is installing, or you can access the computer
remotely and run the tabcmd initial user command from a shell.
2. Generate a node configuration (bootstrap) file on the initial node.
2.1 Open TSM in a browser: https://<tsm-computer-name>:8850
 2.2 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.

3. Install Tableau Server on an additional node using the node bootstrap file.
3.1 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.
3.2 If you are running a local firewall, then you need to configure firewall rules for all the
nodes in the cluster.
3.3 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.
During installation you will be asked to select an installation type. Select Add
additional node to existing Tableau Server cluster:
3.4 Click Next 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.
3.5 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:

Click Next to continue.

3.6 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.
3.7 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
 3.8 In TSM, click Configuration. A message displays, telling you the node was added:

Click Continue.
4. Configure your additional node with the processes you want to run on it.
4.1 open a window and navigate to TSM: https://<tsm-computer-name>:8850
4.2 Click the Configuration tab. A message should tell you that the new node was added.

Click Continue to dismiss the message.

4.3 Cluster Controller is part of the minimum topology and is already selected. Each node
must run Cluster Controller.
4.4 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.
 4.5 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.
5. Repeat Steps 3 and 4 for any additional nodes you want to install.
6. Deploy a new Coordination Service ensemble.
6.1 On the initial node, open a command prompt as administrator.
6.2 Stop Tableau Server: tsm stop. If prompted, sign in as a TSM administrator.
6.3 Confirm there are no pending changes: tsm pending-changes list
6.4 If there are pending changes, you need to either discard the changes or apply them.
Applying pending changes will take some time:
Discard the changes: tsm pending-changes discard OR
Apply the changes: tsm pending-changes apply
6.5 Get the node IDs for each node in the cluster: tsm topology list-nodes –v
6.6 Use the tsm topology deploy-coordination-service command to add a new Coordination
Service ensemble by adding the Coordination Service to specified nodes.
For example, deploy the Coordination Service to all three nodes of a three-node cluster,
where the nodes are node1, node2, and node3:
tsm topology deploy-coordination-service -n node1,node2,node3
6.7 If the deployment fails, you need to run the tsm topology cleanup-coordination-service
command to remove the unsuccessfully deployed ensemble.
6.8 Start Tableau Server: tsm start
7. Add Client File Service to every node that is running the Coordination Service.
7.1 On the initial node, open a command prompt as administrator.
7.2 Find the node ID for the node you are adding CFS to: tsm topology list-nodes –v
7.3 Add CFS on the node by specifying the node, the process, and a single instance.
For example, this command adds an instance of CFS to node2:
tsm topology set-process -n node2 -pr clientfileservice -c 1
NOTE: If you attempt to add an instance of CFS to a node that already is configured with
CFS, an error message will let you know there is already an instance on the node.
To add CFS to additional nodes, repeat this step for each node.
7.4 Apply the changes:
tsm pending-changes apply