Migration & Upgrade6% of the exam

In-place upgrade preparation and steps

Prepare a Windows Tableau Server for an in-place upgrade (accounts, licensing, backup, configuration record, scheduled tasks, the backup/restore path check), then run Setup, the upgrade-tsm script, verification and the optional cleanup of the earlier version.

Official exam objective
5.1 Understand the upgrade process

~7 min read · 4 practice questions

What the exam expects

  • Choose the Windows account that runs Setup and the upgrade script, including the extra rule when Active Directory or LDAP is the identity store.
  • Sequence an in-place upgrade on a single Windows node: prepare, disable scheduled tasks, run Setup, run upgrade-tsm, start, verify and clean up.
  • Explain what Setup does and does not let you change, and why the earlier version stays on disk.
  • Check the backup/restore file location before the upgrade with the dedicated TSM command.
  • Recover from common upgrade-script failures without starting over.

Key terms:

  • In-place upgrade: installing a newer Tableau Server version on the same computer, beside the existing version, instead of moving to new hardware.
  • upgrade-tsm: the script in the new version's scripts.<version_code> folder that completes the upgrade after Setup.
  • version_code: the long, build-specific version number used in package folder names.
  • Checkpoint Upgrade: the ability to rerun a failed upgrade-tsm, which resumes from the step that failed.
  • basefilepath.backuprestore: the TSM key that sets the folder used by backup and restore.

Key facts

Install account
Detail
Member of the local administrators group
AD/LDAP identity store
Detail
Log on with a domain account; a local admin account causes upgrade-script errors
Install location
Detail
Shown by Setup; new version installs beside the old one and cannot be moved
Command window after Setup
Detail
Open a new administrator prompt; Setup updates the path
Server state for the script
Detail
Tableau Server must be stopped; the script offers to stop it
Earlier version before the script
Detail
Must stay installed and running; uninstalling it first blocks the upgrade
Path permission check
Detail
tsm maintenance validate-backup-basefilepath, added in 2022.1
Backup/restore folder permissions
Detail
NetworkService and Run As account: read/write/execute
Upgrade log
Detail
app-upgrade.log in C:\ProgramData\Tableau\Tableau Server\logs
Setup download
Detail
Latest maintenance release of the target version
Old version removal
Detail
Optional, after verification, to free disk space
Sources for this section (6)
  • Why does a TSM-to-TSM upgrade keep end-user downtime short?
  • When does upgrade-tsm run with credentials other than those of the logged-on administrator?
  • Which two Windows principals need read/write/execute permission on the backup/restore file location?
  • When should you not uninstall a Tableau Server version in Control Panel after an upgrade?

The questions are free to read. Answers with their sources and self-grading are included with the pack.

Keep reading with the Tableau Server Administrator pack

  • Core concepts
  • Exam traps
  • Worked scenario

The pack includes:

  • All 34 lessons of the Tableau Server Administrator guide, with reading progress
  • Interactive decision walks and step-by-step sequence steppers
  • Practice exams purchase adds inline bank questions and topic practice (4 questions for this lesson)
  • An official source cited for every claim
  • An AI tutor that answers from the guide
  • Choose guide-only, practice-only, or save $4 with both

Practice for the Tableau Server Administrator exam