Move Tableau Server to Another Drive

By default Tableau Server on Windows is installed to the system drive (usually C:\). This means that all program and data files are installed to that drive. If you need to move Tableau Server to a different drive (if a new policy requires you to not have application data on your system drive, for example, or you are running out of space on the original drive), you can do this by following the procedure below. The steps are intended as an example for moving Tableau Server from one drive to another drive on the same computer, and may not exactly reflect your installation and configuration. For instructions on moving Tableau Server to a new computer, see Migrate to New Hardware.

Before you start

Before starting, make sure you:

  • Have a current backup of your data and assets from your existing installation as well as a settings export. You'll need these to restore your installation of Tableau Server on the new drive. For details on creating a backup, see Perform a Full Backup and Restore of Tableau Server.

    You can only restore from a backup that has the same type of identity store as the running server. For example, a backup from a server using local authentication can be restored to a Tableau Server initialized with local authentication, but a backup from a server using Active Directory authentication cannot be restored to a server initialized with local authentication.

  • Have administrative credentials to the Tableau Server computer. This is where you will be working and you need to be logged on to the computer as an administrator.

  • Have a copy of the installation program for the version of Tableau Server you are moving. You need this to install Tableau Server to the new drive.

  • Know what authentication methods your current installation is using. For example, if Tableau Server is configured for SSL, SAML, or Kerberos, you will need to back up the related certificate or keytab files separately, and then copy them to the new drive after you reinstall Tableau Server.

  • Know and understand any initial node settings and configuration in your current installation.

When you are ready to move Tableau Server to another drive and have fully backed up your data and all assets and saved those files in a safe location on a different computer:

  1. Open a command prompt as an administrator on the initial Tableau Server computer.

  2. Change to the scripts directory (By default: C:\Program Files\Tableau\Tableau Server\packages\scripts.<version_code>\) and run the obliterate script to completely remove Tableau Server from the computer:

    tableau-server-obliterate.cmd -a -y -y -y 
  3. Restart the computer.

  4. Install Tableau Server to the new drive. Do this by running the Setup program. For details, see Install TSM.

  5. Activate and register Tableau Server. See Activate and Register Tableau Server.

    At the end of the install process a browser window will open and you will be prompted to create an initial administrative user. Close this without creating the user.

  6. Configuring initial node settings. See Configure Initial Node Settings

  7. Copy your backup file .tsbak to the folder location specified by the basefilepath.backuprestore variable. By default this is: C:\ProgramData\Tableau\Tableau Server\data\tabsvc\files\backups\

    Note: You can change the location for the backup file. For more information, see tsm File Paths.

  8. Open a command prompt as an administrator.

  9. Stop Tableau Server:

    tsm stop

  10. Restore your Tableau Server data backup and assets you saved earlier. This includes restoring your database, and any assets that need to be restored manually, and importing the settings you exported from the original installation.

    For details, see Restoring core Tableau Server functionality.

  11. Start Tableau Server:

    tsm start

Tableau Server product key activation

You can activate the same Tableau Server product key up to three times. This allows you to test Tableau Server (in a sandbox or QA environments, for example), as well as use Tableau in production. To maximize your activations, you should deactivate your product key when you remove Tableau Server from a computer, unless you will be reinstalling Tableau on the same computer. Doing this gives you the opportunity to use the activation on a different computer. For example, if you move Tableau Server from one computer or VM to another, deactivate the product key, then remove Tableau from the original computer. When you install Tableau on the new computer, you can activate the key there without any conflict. If you use role-based licensing, be sure to activate a Creator or Explorer key or you may lose administrator access to Tableau. If you are removing Tableau Server to reinstall it on the same computer, you don't need to deactivate the key. Tableau will use the key when reinstalled. For example, if you are moving Tableau from one drive on a computer to a different drive on the same computer. For information on how to deactivate a product key, see tsm licenses deactivate.

When you remove Tableau Server using the obliterate script, you have the option to have the script deactivate and delete the Tableau product key information by using a "-l" switch. This will deactivate and remove all Tableau license information, including Tableau Desktop if you have that installed. If you know you want to deactivate the key, we recommend you deactivate the key before running the script. For more information, see Remove Tableau Server from Your Computer.

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