How to Create a Test Environment for Tableau Server

This article is for customers who have version 6.x of Tableau Server in production and are preparing to upgrade to Tableau Server version 7.0 or 8.0. It describes how to set up a test environment of Tableau Server version 7.0 or 8.0 that uses data from your in-production server.

Follow the pre-upgrade checklist

If you have not already, follow the steps in the Pre-Upgrade Checklist, where the primary Tableau Server is your in-production Tableau Server.

Distributed installations only: Add workers back to the configuration

After you complete all the steps in the Pre-Upgrade Checklist—and if you are running a distributed installation of Tableau Server—add workers back to your in-production version of Tableau Server.

To add workers to your Tableau Server configuration:

Step1

Stop the server on the primary Tableau Server by doing the following:
  • Open a command prompt as an administrator.
  • Type the following: cd “C:\Program Files (x86)\Tableau\Tableau Server\6.1\bin”
  • Type the following to stop the server: tabadmin stop

Step 2

Next, open the configuration utility by selecting Start > All Programs > Tableau Server 6.x > Configure Tableau Server.


Step 3

In the Configuration dialog box, select the Servers tab.

Step 4

Click Add


Step 5

In the next dialog box, type the IP Address for one of the worker machines and specify the number of VizQL, Application Server, Data Server, and Background it was previously running.


INSTALL TABLEAU SERVER IN YOUR TEST ENVIRONMENT

Run Server setup for Tableau Server version 7.0 or 8.0  in your test environment. For steps refer to the Running Server Setup topic in the Server Online Help.
 

Restore production data to your test environment

Now you will use the .tsbak file you created as part of the Pre-Upgrade Checklist task. The data from your backup file will populate your new Tableau database. It will also restore configuration data from your in-production version of Tableau Server.

Step 1

Copy the .tsbak file to the bin directory of your new Tableau Server. For example, C:\Program Files (x86)\Tableau\Tableau Server\8.0\bin.

Step 2

On your Tableau Server version 7.0 or 8.0 primary machine, open a command prompt as an administrator, and then type the following command: tabadmin stop

Step 3

Restore the database by typing the following command: tabadmin restore

Note: Replace  with the name of the .tsbak file. For example: tabadmin restore mybackup.tsbak

Step 4

Start the server by typing the following command: tabadmin start

Verify Tableau Server functionality

After you have created your new Tableau Server test environment, use the procedures below to confirm that the new system is running correctly.

CONFIRM THAT SERVER SERVICES ARE RUNNING

Step 1

For Tableau Server 8.0, log in to Tableau Server as a system administrator, under Admin, click Maintenance.
For Tableau Server 7.0, log in to Tableau Server as a system administrator, and go to Administration > Maintenance.

Step 2

Use the Status table to verify that all server services are running:


CHECK VIEWS

Step 1

For Tableau Server 8.0, under Content, click Views
For Tableau Server 7.0, click the All link under Views.

Step 2

Verify that your views have loaded.

Step 3

Open views that use different data sources.

For example, live database connections vs. data extracts. You may need to install drivers for the data sources to which you are connecting. 

MANUALLY RUN AN EXTRACT REFRESH

If you have refreshes scheduled for data extracts, run a few of them manually to ensure that they can complete successfully.

Step 1

For Tableau Server 8.0, under Admin, click Schedules.
For Tableau Server 7.0, on the Maintenance page, click Schedules:

Step 2

Select a schedule and click Run Now. 


CONFIRM THAT TABLEAU SERVER USERS CAN LOG IN

Verify that Tableau Server users can log in successfully.


PUBLISH FROM DESKTOP

Open Tableau Desktop, create a view, and then publish it to your new Tableau Server installation.