Tableau Cloud Environment Migrations Using the Content Migration Tool

Published: 18 Mar 2021
Last Modified Date: 08 Jun 2022

Question

How to use the Content Migration Tool to move between Tableau environments, including migrations from:

Tableau Server to Tableau Cloud
Tableau Cloud Sites to Tableau Cloud Sites (partner and region migrations)
Tableau Cloud to Tableau Server

Environment

Tableau Cloud
Tableau Server
Content Migration Tool

Answer

Follow the Below Steps for Your Migration Scenario

Migrating From Tableau Server to Tableau Cloud

Important Consideration: If your environment meets the below criteria, for the best experience migrating your content, we strongly recommend engaging your Account Manager for help determining whether Professional Services should assist with your migration.

Multiple Sites.
More than 250 data sources and workbooks (combined).
More than 100 data sources and workbooks (combined) and require Tableau Bridge to refresh on-premises data.

Note: Tableau Bridge is needed to connect to on-premises databases that are not reachable directly from Tableau Cloud. See Keep Data Fresh and Use Bridge to Keep Data Fresh for more information.

Contact your Sales Account Manager for assistance creating your Tableau Cloud site. If needed, your Account Manager can assist with transferring your license subscriptions from Tableau Server to Tableau Cloud.
Migrate your content using the Content Migration Tool.

Migrating From One Tableau Cloud Site to Another Tableau Cloud Site

Contact your Sales Account Manager to create the Tableau Cloud site in the desired region and to initiate the migration request.
Migrate your content using the Content Migration Tool.

Note: If you would like to keep the same original site name, contact your Sales Account Manager with this request after completing the migration.

Migrating From Tableau Cloud to Tableau Server

Install and configure Tableau Server using the same version which Tableau Cloud is running. If needed, your Account Manager can assist with transferring your license subscriptions from Tableau Cloud to Tableau Server.
Migrate your content using the Content Migration Tool.

Download and Install the Content Migration Tool

Go to https://prerelease.tableau.com/key/EnvironmentMigration and login using your TableauID credentials.
Under DOWNLOAD, select Tableau Environment Migrations.
Download and install the application.
Under FEATURES TO TEST, select Tableau Environment Migrations and follow the steps under MIGRATION WALKTHROUGH to activate the tool.

Use the Below Resources for Instructions to Migrate Your Environment

Go to the prerelease page, under FEATURES TO TEST, select Tableau Environment Migrations.
Follow the instructions under MIGRATION WALKTHROUGH on activating CMT.
For detailed product instruction, see the Migration Plan Overview guide.

Additional Information

Notes & Known Issues

CMT is under active development and has known limitations. For more information, see Migration Limitations.
CMT does not support workbooks or datasources before 2018.1. For more information, see FAQ and Troubleshooting.
Prerelease version of CMT supports versions of Tableau Server from 2019.3 to 2022.1 and Tableau Cloud.
For Tableau Cloud to Tableau Server Migrations, the source and destination servers should be running the same version of Tableau.
If your Tableau Cloud site has been suspended, reach out to your Sales Account Manager for assistance to get the site reactivated.
If you have trouble activating the tool, see Error "Valid license required for source server. Verify that the Server Management Add-on license is enabled and try again." When Using the Content Migration Tool for information.

FAQ & Troubleshooting

What types of content does the Content Migration Tool support? CMT currently can be used to migrate data sources, workbooks, and permissions. The tool supports workbooks and data sources from the previous 8 versions of Tableau (starting from content with the 2018.1 version). Permissions can be migrated even when the source and destination have different usernames, group names, or domains.
What types of content are unsupported in the tool? Please see Migration Limitations for unsupported content types and other limitations. Any unsupported content and metadata will need to be migrated outside of the tool manually.
The tool is giving me an error when I sign in – what should I do? When you download the tool, if you see a Connection Failure for reason ‘Unknown product version’, you will need to download a new version of the tool that matches your newest deployment of Tableau (if Online, it will be the most recent available version).
The tool is giving me a version error – what should I do? If you see the following error: [ERR]: Published data source document version isn't compatible with the destination. This means that content on your source is too old to move with Content Migration Tool. We will improve compatibility going forward. For now, the best workaround download and publish this content using Tableau Desktop.
I’m having trouble with the "none" permission – what should I do? The tool currently does not maintain the Permission state of ‘None’ between source and destination, and will instead default to the standard ‘All Users’ group permissions when you use the ‘None’ state. This is a known issue that we are addressing in a future version.