Performance Recording at Tableau Server Level
Performance Tuning at Server
Analyzing performance is crucial for optimizing Tableau Server efficiency and ensuring a smooth user experience. Tableau offers a powerful performance recording feature that captures key events as users interact with workbooks. This blog post focuses on leveraging performance recording at the Tableau Server level to diagnose and resolve performance bottlenecks & how it is different from Tableau Desktop recording.
Understanding Tableau Performance Recording
Whether initiated from Tableau Desktop or Server, performance recording generates a Tableau workbook containing three key dashboards:
- Timeline: This dashboard visually represents the duration of various events, allowing you to quickly identify the longest-running processes.
- Events: This sheet provides a detailed list of events sorted by their execution time, offering a granular view of performance.
- Query: When you select a specific event in the “Events” sheet, this dashboard displays the underlying SQL query associated with it (if applicable). Events like extract generation or data source connection will not have associated queries.
This consistent output across both Desktop and Server recording simplifies analysis, enabling you to apply the same diagnostic techniques regardless of the recording source. However, Server-level recording specifically captures interactions with server components.
Watch video for better understanding
Unlocking Peak Tableau Server Performance with In-Depth Recording
Analyzing the performance of your Tableau Server is paramount for ensuring optimal efficiency and a seamless user experience for everyone. Tableau’s robust performance recording feature allows you to meticulously capture key events as users interact with their workbooks. This blog post provides a comprehensive guide to leveraging performance recording specifically at the Tableau Server level, empowering you to effectively diagnose and resolve any performance bottlenecks you encounter.
Deep Dive into Tableau Performance Recording for Server Optimization
Whether you initiate it from Tableau Desktop or directly on the Server, the performance recording tool generates a standardized Tableau workbook containing three essential dashboards for analysis:
- Performance Timeline: This visual dashboard displays the duration of various performance-related events over time. This allows for quick identification of the longest-running processes impacting dashboard load times and interactivity.
- Detailed Performance Events: This sheet presents a granular list of all recorded events, meticulously sorted by their execution time. This detailed view provides a deeper understanding of the sequence and duration of each operation.
- Query Performance Analysis: When you select a specific event within the “Detailed Performance Events” sheet, this dashboard reveals the underlying SQL query associated with it (where applicable). It’s important to note that certain administrative or internal Tableau Server events, such as extract creation or data source connection establishment, will not have associated SQL queries.
This consistent output format, regardless of whether you record from Desktop or Server, streamlines your analysis workflow. The core diagnostic techniques remain the same, while Server-level recording specifically captures interactions and processes occurring within the Tableau Server environment.
Understanding Critical Performance Events Tracked on Tableau Server
Tableau Server’s performance recording diligently monitors a series of crucial events that transpire when a user interacts with a dashboard hosted on the server. These key events include:
- Optimizing Data Source Connections: This tracks the time required for Tableau Server to establish a connection with the underlying data source. Slow connection times can indicate network issues or inefficient connection configurations.
- Analyzing Tableau Extract Generation Performance: This measures the duration needed for Tableau Server to create or refresh a Tableau data extract. Long extract generation times can point to large datasets or inefficient extract configurations.
- Server-Side Data Blending Efficiency: This captures performance metrics specifically related to data blending operations performed directly on the Tableau Server. Inefficient blending can significantly impact dashboard performance.
- Improving Query Execution Speed: This monitors the time spent executing database queries to retrieve the necessary data for visualizations. Slow queries are a common cause of performance bottlenecks.
- Geocoding Performance for Map Visualizations: This tracks the processing time for Tableau Server to convert geographic data into map coordinates. Inefficient geocoding can slow down the rendering of map-based dashboards.
- Optimizing Layout Computations on the Server: This measures the time taken by Tableau Server to arrange and render the visual elements of a dashboard for display. Complex layouts or a large number of marks can impact this.
Enabling and Initiating Performance Recording on Tableau Server
Unlike Tableau Desktop, enabling performance recording on Tableau Server requires administrative privileges. Only a Tableau Server Administrator can perform the initial enablement for a site.
Once enabled at the site level, individual users can initiate performance recording for their specific sessions using a simple URL modification. To start recording, append the following string to the end of the view URL, immediately before the session ID:
:record_performance=yes&:end
For example, if your dashboard URL looks like this:
https://your_tableau_server/views/SalesDashboard/Overview?::session_id=abcdefg12345
You would modify it to:
https://your_tableau_server/views/SalesDashboard/Overview?:record_performance=yes&:end::session_id=abcdefg12345
Visual Indicator: Upon correctly appending the parameter, you will notice a clock icon appear on the Tableau Server interface. Clicking this clock initiates the performance recording for your current session.
After interacting with the dashboard to reproduce the performance issue you want to analyze, click the clock icon again to stop the recording. Tableau Server will then generate the performance summary workbook, which you can download and analyze.
Analyzing the Performance Summary Workbook
The generated performance summary workbook provides invaluable insights into the performance characteristics of your dashboard as experienced on Tableau Server. Focus your analysis on the “Performance Timeline” and “Detailed Performance Events” dashboards to quickly identify the most time-consuming operations. Subsequently, delve into the “Query Performance Analysis” dashboard to examine specific database queries that might be exhibiting unexpectedly long execution times.
By meticulously correlating the recorded events and their corresponding durations with your specific interactions on the dashboard, you can gain a clear and actionable understanding of the underlying performance bottlenecks within your Tableau Server environment. This crucial information empowers you to implement targeted optimization strategies, such as refining data extracts, streamlining complex calculations, or optimizing underlying database queries, ultimately leading to significant improvements in the overall performance and responsiveness of your Tableau Server deployments.
Conclusion
Leveraging Tableau Server performance recording is an indispensable technique for effectively diagnosing and resolving performance challenges. By thoroughly understanding the critical performance events that are tracked and following the straightforward steps to initiate recording, you can unlock crucial insights into server-side processing dynamics. This knowledge empowers you to strategically optimize your Tableau Server environment for enhanced speed, improved efficiency, and a consistently superior user experience. Remember that the initial enablement of this powerful feature requires Tableau Server Administrator privileges, but individual users can readily utilize it to gain granular insights into the performance of their specific dashboard interactions. Do check the first part of this video here where you can analyse performance recording with “Computing Layout”
