CODEWITHSUNDEEP
tableau-api
Shivi Bhatia
Shivi Bhatia

Reputation: 189

Replacing Data Source from one Server to Another

We are deploying Tableau for a bank.
We had created 6 test dashboards using dummy data on a staging data base using sql connection and lets say has an ip 10.10.10.10.

Now we need to use the same view we had used with the dummy data on Live data but using a different connection which is again an sql engine & IP lets say as 20.20.20.20. All the variable names and other properties are the same, not difference is that the Live data would not have calculated fields which we can deploy on the Live environment.

The challenge is: the LIVE data being of a bank is highly confidential and cannot be used from outside operations site rather we need to deploy it from an ODC [restricted environment]. Hence we simply cannot do a replace data source.
Hence we are planning to move twbx files and data extracts for each of these views using a shared folder to the ODC.
Then the process would be like below:

  1. As the LIVE sql data base is different from the dummy sql we will get error
  2. We will select edit data connection
  3. Will select tableau data extract for each sheet and dashboard
  4. Will then select the option of replace data source and select LIVE SQL database
  5. Will extract the new data
  6. The visualization should work fine

Earlier we had just moved TWBX files hence it failed. Is there a different approach to it.

Upvotes: 1

Views: 1799

Answers (2)

Sam M
Sam M

Reputation: 4166

One method would be to modify your hosts file on your local computer, pointing the production server name the staging instance of the database. For example, let's say your production database is prod.url.com and you have a reporting staging db server instance called reportstage.otherurl.com

  1. Open your hosts file. Add an entry for prod.url.com. Point it to reportstage.otherurl.com
  2. Develop the report in Desktop, with the db connection string to prod.url.com.
  3. When you publish the twb file to Server, no connection string changes are needed.

Another easier way is to publish the twb to Server with your staging connection string but edit the connection string in the data source in Server.

  1. Develop the twb file on your local computer against your staging database.
  2. Publish the twb file to Server.
  3. Go to the workbook on Server and instead of looking at the views, click on Data Sources.
  4. Edit the data source(s) connection information. This allows you to edit the server name, port, username, or password.

I've used this second method quite a bit. We have an environment where we can't hit the production db outside of the data center. Our staging environment doesn't have that restriction. We develop against the stage db, deploy, and edit the server name in the data source.

Upvotes: 1

Vishal Gupta
Vishal Gupta

Reputation: 326

I did something similar to it For that, you must have

  1. same schema as of Live database and dummy database

  2. do not change name of any source table or column

  3. create your viz

  4. send it in the .tbw form which is editable HTML format

  5. Now the hard part- open your tbw in notepad and replace all connection details to new one

  6. save and open in the tableau

tell me if it didn't worked

Upvotes: 1

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