Preparation20% of the exam
User-based license types and site roles
How role-based (user-based) licensing works on Tableau Server: what Creator, Explorer and Viewer licenses allow, which site roles each license supports, how one license is counted across sites, and when users become Unlicensed.
1.6 Licensing: 1.6.1 Understand user-based licensing: 1.6.1.1 Describe the different license types, 1.6.1.2 Describe how license types map to site roles.
~7 min read · 3 practice questions
What the exam expects
- Describe the Creator, Explorer and Viewer license types and what each adds to the one below it.
- Map every site role to the license it uses, including Server Administrator, the two site administrator roles and Explorer (can publish).
- Work out which license a user consumes on a multi-site server from their site roles.
- Explain when a user becomes Unlicensed and what that user can still do.
- Separate what a license allows from what a site role and content permissions allow.
Key terms:
- Role-based (user-based) licensing: every user who accesses Tableau Server must be licensed and assigned a role.
- License type: Creator, Explorer or Viewer, the paid entitlement attached to the user.
- Site role: the maximum level of access a user can have on one site.
- Unlicensed: a site role whose users cannot sign in.
- Permission capability: an action, such as Save or Connect, granted on a specific content asset.
Key facts
Creator-license site roles
- Detail
- Server Administrator, Site Administrator Creator, Creator
Explorer-license site roles
- Detail
- Site Administrator Explorer, Explorer (can publish), Explorer
Multi-site counting
- Detail
- One license per server; highest site role sets its level
Creator-only on Server
- Detail
- New data source from external data; publish new data connections
Site Administrator Explorer
- Detail
- Full site and user configuration; no external data or virtual connections on the web
Server Administrator license
- Detail
- Highest activated license between Creator and Explorer
Removing a content owner
- Detail
- User becomes Unlicensed and keeps ownership
Unlicensed sign-in
- Detail
- Unlicensed users can't sign in
Newly added licenses
- Detail
- Available to all users after a Tableau Server restart
TSM administrator accounts
- Detail
- Don't require licenses
Reassignment order
- Detail
- Most recent login; Viewer, then Explorer, then Creator
- When do role-based licenses newly added to Tableau Server become available to users?
- Why can the license count in the Server Users header differ from the count under the Max User Role filter?
- When several licenses expire at once, in what order are the affected users reassigned?
- Which
tsm licenses listfields show how many licenses exist for each role type?
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 (3 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