Design a Tableau Infrastructure22% of the exam
Deployment requirements, licensing, ATR and add-ons
Turn user, workload, growth and availability requirements into a Tableau Server design: role-based versus core-based licensing, Server ATR leases, the cluster constraints behind high availability, recovery objectives, and what Advanced Management needs and provides.
1.1 Gather requirements for implementing a complex Tableau deployment: 1.1.1 Evaluate requirements for users and their role distributions; 1.1.2 Identify relevant constraints and requirements, including future growth; 1.1.3 Identify requirements for and recommend a strategy for licensing, including Authorization-to-Run (ATR); 1.1.4 Assess the need for high availability and disaster recovery; 1.1.5 Map the features and capabilities of the Tableau Server Add-Ons to requirements.
~8 min read · 14 practice questions
What the exam expects
- Evaluate users, role distributions and workload change (not just headcount), including future growth.
- Recommend role-based or core-based licensing, predict which accounts consume licenses, and count cores.
- Plan Server Authorization-to-Run (ATR): lease trade-offs, the permanent activation choice, and USL updates.
- Decide whether a requirement needs high availability, disaster recovery or both, and name the constraints on each.
- Map Advanced Management and Data Management capabilities to requirements and state their prerequisites.
Key terms:
- Licensed process: a process that needs a valid license; its node's cores count under core licensing.
- Server ATR: activation through short-term leases from a Tableau-hosted service.
- USL (Updatable Subscription License): one product key for all roles and features.
- RPO / RTO: how much data loss, and how much downtime, the business can tolerate.
- Advanced Management: Server features plus two separately installed tools (Content Migration Tool, Resource Monitoring Tool).
Key facts
Core count basis
- Detail
- All cores on any computer running a licensed process
Core licensing alone
- Detail
- No Creator seats; Guest User account allowed
Server Administrators
- Detail
- Always consume the highest role available
TSM administrators
- Detail
- Do not require licenses
USL with Server ATR
- Detail
- Same key; updates obtained automatically, no refresh
ATR duration
- Detail
- Default 432000 s (5 days); 3600 s to 7776000 s
Activation type
- Detail
- Permanent; change by backup, remove, reinstall
Cluster operating systems
- Detail
- Same type and major version on every node
Initial-node-only processes
- Detail
- License Service, Activation Service, TSM Controller
HA minimum
- Detail
- Three nodes; two-node baselines are not HA
RPO floor
- Detail
- No shorter than a full backup takes to complete
Advanced Management order
- Detail
- Base user- or core-based key first
Content Migration Tool licensing
- Detail
- Advanced Management on source and target Server
Sources for this section (5)
- License Models and Product Keyshelp.tableau.com (opens in a new tab)
- ATR Servicehelp.tableau.com (opens in a new tab)
- Distributed and HA Installationshelp.tableau.com (opens in a new tab)
- Baseline Configurationshelp.tableau.com (opens in a new tab)
- About Advanced Managementhelp.tableau.com (opens in a new tab)
- What is the default Server ATR duration on a non-container installation, and what range does it accept?
- When the ATR duration is set to 48 hours, how often does Tableau Server attempt an authorization check?
- Why does Tableau advise keeping an ATR-activated server running as much as possible?
- When the initial node fails, for how long can licensed processes keep running before the missing licensing service affects them?
The questions are free to read. Answers with their sources and self-grading are included with the pack.
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