Driving User License Management through Login Based License Management (LBLM) in Tableau

When it comes to business decision software, Tableau self-service BI is the leading analytics solution. With the power to enable dashboards and data insights access, Tableau data analytics platform enables the decision-making process and drives data literacy in the organization. But with usage expansion, license allocation and access base become a challenge. This blog covers all the driving factors for LBLM in Tableau analytics solution and also its importance.

Significance of login-based license management (LBLM)

Login-based license management (LBLM) streamlines the product activation process by eliminating the need for product keys to be distributed throughout an organization when using Tableau Desktop or Tableau Prep Builder. LBLM also eliminates the need for dual licensing management in the Customer Portal and Tableau Server/Online by establishing parity across all Creator, Explorer, and Viewer roles.

With LBLM, creators and developers can activate Tableau Desktop or Tableau Prep Builder simply by logging in to the respective applications using their Tableau Server or Tableau Cloud credentials. Instead of giving out product keys to every end-user, users can have direct access to Tableau Desktop and Tableau Prep Builder just by signing into their Tableau cloud and server site.

Who is LBLM for?

LBLM is now available to all Tableau Cloud analytics solution users with Creator licenses by default. You just have to log in through activation by signing into a cloud or server while setting up the Tableau Desktop. Whereas users of Tableau should confirm whether their Creator keys are LBLM-enabled or not. If you have purchased your Tableau Server for the first time after November 2020, then your LBLM is activated by default and licensed prior to this date must choose to enable LBLM by following the points mentioned below in the blog. Apart from this, LBLM’s major aim was to significantly ease the Tableau license administration process irrespective of whether you are a new or old user of Tableau Cloud or Tableau Server.

Below is the list of Tableau data analytics platform products that support the Login-based licensing management feature:

• Tableau Cloud
• 2020.1 and above Tableau Server
• 2020.1 and above Tableau Desktop
• Tableau Prep Builder 2020.1.3 and above

Working on login-based license management?

Tableau Desktop or Tableau Prep Builder frequently connects with Tableau Server or Tableau Cloud to confirm that the user is a Creator and to receive authorization to execute when login-based license management is in operation. The authorization-to-run (ATR) service which is maintained by Tableau business decision software is contacted by Tableau Server or Tableau Cloud to confirm whether the activation for that user is permitted or not, then the ATR service which is hosted on Amazon Web Services verifies the license and the length of the authorization window of that user and grants permission to Tableau Cloud and Tableau Server to give access to that user.

How can you activate LBLM in your Tableau Cloud Site?

1. Tableau self-service BI will send a site Activation Email which is directly sent to Online Administrator
2. Online Admin Activates Tableau Cloud Site by adding relevant user information
3. Add Users by Email Id or CSV file in Tableau Cloud
4. “You’ve Been Invited” Email is Sent to Added Users in Tableau Cloud
5. Authorized users log in with their Tableau customer account to activate their Desktop by adding their credentials
6. Download Tableau Desktop or Prep Builder
7. Login through the “signing into” option in Tableau Cloud to access Tableau Desktop or Prep without any product key

How can you activate LBLM on your Tableau Server Site?

Here are the steps to check if a Tableau Server customer has LBLM-enabled keys:

1.  Log in to the Customer Portal with administrator access.
2. Go to the Licenses section.
3. Select the “Creator – Server” key.
4. Scroll down to the Login-based License Management field on the License Detail page.
5. If the field is checked, the key is LBLM-enabled.

Some of the advantages of LBLM

The advantages of LBLM are enormous, as a part of business decision software! Instead of distributing license keys to end users through the Customer Portal, Server Administrators now have the capability to manage Tableau Desktop or Tableau Prep access directly from Tableau Server or Tableau Cloud. This includes assigning, monitoring, and revoking access. With the introduction of LBLM, there are no more transferring keys between users and not knowing who is using Tableau Desktop or Tableau Prep. Now if someone leaves your company, no more worry about the previous employee using this asset. Apart from this maximum activation errors will go down, if not be gone completely, and no need to refresh or deactivate any keys at different intervals. One thing to keep in mind while using the LBLM feature is that you should be connected to internet service in your system.

This brings us to the end of our blog post. We hope these inputs could help you learn more about Login Based License Management. Please feel free to leave an inquiry to enable the data journey for your organization. We offer self-service BI data analytics platform solutions, from implementation to migration and managed services.

Keep Vizzing!