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Connecting to AtScale from Tableau Using a TDS File

Tableau data source files (.tds) are shortcuts for quickly connecting to data sources from Tableau Desktop. They do not contain the actual data, but rather the information necessary to connect to a data source.

AtScale generates a .tds file for every model in a deployed catalog.

Download the .tds file​

First, you must download the .tds file for the model you want to connect to:

  1. In Design Center, open the Deployed Catalogs panel, then open the catalog that contains the model you want to connect to.
  2. Click the Connect tab. The Connection Settings page opens.
  3. In the Downloads section, download the .tds file for the model you want to connect to.

If you have Kerberos authentication enabled for Tableau, you must now obtain the Kerberos connection details from the .tds file; for instructions, see the following procedure.

If you do not have Kerberos enabled, you can proceed to Connect to the model from Tableau below.

Getting Kerberos details​

If you use Kerberos authentication with Tableau, you need to obtain the Kerberos connection details from the .tds file before you can connect to the model.

To obtain the Kerberos connection details:

  1. Open the .tds file you downloaded in a text editor.

  2. Locate the connection element within the connection > named-connections > named-connection element.

    This should contain several attributes, like connection-type and authentication-type.

  3. Locate the kerberos-host, kerberos-realm, and kerberos-service attributes and copy their values.

    For example: :

    kerberos-host="kerberos.internal.example.com"
    kerberos-realm="INTERNAL.EXAMPLE.COM"
    kerberos-service="atscaler"

Now, you can connect to the model. For instructions, see the following procedure.

Connect to the model from Tableau​

To connect to the model:

  1. Double-click the .tds file you downloaded. Tableau Desktop opens.

  2. Enter your AtScale username and password.

  3. If you have Kerberos enabled:

    1. Click Edit Connection.
    2. In the Authentication field, select Kerberos.
    3. In the Realm, Host FQDN, and Service Name fields, enter the values you obtained from the .tds file.
    4. Click OK.

  4. Click OK.

If the connection is successful, the Tableau worksheet opens showing the Data available in the model. Drag one dimension and one metric to Columns and Rows to run a test query.

If the connection is not successful, click Edit Connection and make sure that the connection details look correct. If PostgreSQL is not selected automatically for the connection type, the PostgreSQL driver is likely not properly installed.

Next steps​

If you republish a model that is used in a workbook, you must update the workbook's data source to point to the new .tds file. Refer to the Tableau documentation for the steps for replacing a data source.