TSM and the Tableau Customer Portal License Keys Do Not Match for Tableau Server

Issue

When looking at licenses in the Tableau Customer Portal, the keys are not the same keys that are showing in the TSM UI under Licenses or when reviewing the TSM Licenses List output.

Environment

Tableau Server

Resolution

Review the expiration dates listed in the TSM UI or TSM list. If the expiration dates match the Tableau Customer Portal "Period end" dates then your licenses are up to date. When the licenses in TSM have not expired yet, the old keys will continue to display until the expiration date has occurred. The expiration or maintenance end date is the most important value in the TSM UI to understand if the Tableau Server licenses are current.

Please note that with the new Updatable Subscription License (USL) type that became available at the end of 2022, the key will not change with each new term. A great benefit to this new license option available on new purchases and during renewals. Ask your Tableau Account Team about the USL Tableau Server key.

Cause

Expected behavior when the previous subscription key(s) have not expired and an additional subscription term has been purchased. This can also occur when the licenses need to be refreshed on Tableau Server.

There is a new type of license called an Updatable Subscription License (USL) that will not result in this mismatch error. More information on USL keys are available in the Tableau Online Help.

Additional Information

Tableau Server using the ATR activation process does not require a license key to be refreshed but the behavior described in this article does occur even with the ATR activation service. The licenses listed in the Tableau Customer Portal will match the TSM licenses page when the previous subscription term has expired. Only the USL key activation will not result in the mismatch of the Portal and the Tableau Server.

Tableau Community Blog available on this issue.

Youtube Video on Server Key Management