# Built-in and custom administrative views

*Tableau Server Administrator Study Guide · Administration · Last updated November 13, 2026 · https://www.certifyforce.com/study-guide/tableau-server-administrator/administration/built-in-and-custom-administrative-views*

Which built-in administrative view answers which question about background tasks, load times, traffic and stale content, and how to build custom administrative views from the repository: which tables hold current versus historical data, what auditing.enabled controls, and what repository access commands change.

- Certification: Salesforce Tableau Server Administrator
- Exam section: Administration
- Study guide: https://www.certifyforce.com/study-guide/tableau-server-administrator

**Official exam objective:**

> 3.2 Describe how to: 3.2.1 View server status in multiple ways; 3.2.2 View email alerts; 3.2.3 Set data-driven alerts; 3.2.4 Use built-in administrative views; 3.2.5 Create custom admin views; 3.2.6 Create a performance recording; 3.2.7 Create a nested project; 3.2.8 Work with Sites and Site Admin options.

## What the exam expects

- Pick the built-in administrative view that answers a question about task delays, extract run times, non-extract tasks, view load times, traffic or stale content.
- Read Stats for Load Times and Stale Content correctly, including what each number measures.
- Build custom administrative views from the repository, knowing which tables hold current data and which hold history, and what `auditing.enabled` controls.
- Use a repository custom view to watch for failed data-driven alert checks.
- Enable and disable repository access and predict its scope.

Key terms:
- **Administrative views**: built-in Tableau dashboards on the Status page that monitor server or site activity.
- **Repository**: the PostgreSQL `workgroup` database that stores user interactions, extract refreshes and other server data.
- **Custom administrative view**: a view an administrator builds in Tableau Desktop from repository data.
- **hist_ tables**: repository tables of historical events, kept for a configurable number of days.

## Key facts

| Fact | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Background Task Delay | Scheduled versus actual start for flows, extracts and subscriptions; server administrators only | [Background Task Delay](https://help.tableau.com/current/server/en-us/adminview_background_task_delay.htm) |
| Extract run time | "How Much Time did Extracts Take" graph for the selected task | [Background Tasks for Extracts](https://help.tableau.com/current/server/en-us/adminview_backgrnd.htm) |
| Non-extract runtime | Includes initialization and cleanup overhead | [Background Tasks for Non Extracts](https://help.tableau.com/current/server/en-us/adminview_backgrnd_nonextract.htm) |
| Load times | Measured for the server; browser and network can differ | [Stats for Load Times](https://help.tableau.com/current/server/en-us/adminview_stats_load_time.htm) |
| Traffic to Data Sources | Most-used sources and their most frequent users; last 7 days by default | [Traffic to Data Sources](https://help.tableau.com/current/server/en-us/adminview_datasources.htm) |
| Stale threshold | 1 to 120 days | [Stale Content](https://help.tableau.com/current/server/en-us/adminview-stale-content.htm) |
| Stale Content total | Active plus stale content space | [Stale Content](https://help.tableau.com/current/server/en-us/adminview-stale-content.htm) |
| `hist_` retention | `wgserver.audit_history_expiration_days`, default 183 days | [Create Custom Administrative Views](https://help.tableau.com/current/server/en-us/adminview_postgres.htm) |
| `_background_tasks` | Keeps the last 30 days automatically | [Create Custom Administrative Views](https://help.tableau.com/current/server/en-us/adminview_postgres.htm) |
| `auditing.enabled` | Turns historical activity collection on or off; on by default | [Create Custom Administrative Views](https://help.tableau.com/current/server/en-us/adminview_postgres.htm) |
| Failed alert checks | `background_jobs`, "Check If Data Alert Condition Is True", finish code 1 | [Set Up for Data-Driven Alerts](https://help.tableau.com/current/server/en-us/data_alerts_admin.htm) |
| Repository access disable | Blocks external access for the named user; localhost still works | [tsm data-access](https://help.tableau.com/current/server/en-us/cli_data-access.htm) |

## Check yourself

- What are the smallest and largest Stale Access Threshold values?
- Why does Tableau warn against modifying the repository directly?
- When does the `_background_tasks` table drop old rows?
- Which three task types does Background Task Delay measure?

## Sources

- [Administrative Views](https://help.tableau.com/current/server/en-us/adminview.htm)
- [Background Task Delay](https://help.tableau.com/current/server/en-us/adminview_background_task_delay.htm)
- [Background Tasks for Extracts](https://help.tableau.com/current/server/en-us/adminview_backgrnd.htm)
- [Background Tasks for Non Extracts](https://help.tableau.com/current/server/en-us/adminview_backgrnd_nonextract.htm)
- [Performance of Views](https://help.tableau.com/current/server/en-us/adminview_performance_views.htm)
- [Stats for Load Times](https://help.tableau.com/current/server/en-us/adminview_stats_load_time.htm)
- [Traffic to Data Sources](https://help.tableau.com/current/server/en-us/adminview_datasources.htm)
- [Traffic to Views](https://help.tableau.com/current/server/en-us/adminview_serveract.htm)
- [Actions by All Users](https://help.tableau.com/current/server/en-us/adminview_users_all.htm)
- [Stale Content](https://help.tableau.com/current/server/en-us/adminview-stale-content.htm)
- [Create Custom Administrative Views](https://help.tableau.com/current/server/en-us/adminview_postgres.htm)
- [Collect Data with the Tableau Server Repository](https://help.tableau.com/current/server/en-us/perf_collect_server_repo.htm)
- [tsm data-access](https://help.tableau.com/current/server/en-us/cli_data-access.htm)
- [Set Up for Data-Driven Alerts](https://help.tableau.com/current/server/en-us/data_alerts_admin.htm)

## About the full unit

The "Core concepts", "Exam traps" and "Worked scenario" sections of this unit, its 8 linked practice questions, and unlimited timed mock exams are included with the Tableau Server Administrator pack (USD $19): https://www.certifyforce.com/practice-exams