1- Already bought a creator account
2-Can log into Tableau Server-A
3-Can I "disconnect" from server A, and connect to a new Tableau Server-B
can anyone explain how things work behind scene?
Is product key usage different from the "log-in-to-tableau-server"?
thanks a lot
@Jonathan Lee
Product key usage is different than the "Log into Server" option. When you "log into Server" to activate the Desktop software, you need to pick a Server where you are a Creator and where the Server has been activated with a product key containing the LBLM flag. Tableau Server will have reporting capabilities on Desktop use that is not available when using a product key. This is just the activation step and has nothing to do with publishing or using a different server such as a test server.
When you use a product key, the activation is recorded locally and to our license Server only. The Tableau Customer Portal will record only the Registration data. The product key updates and tracking can be cumbersome and we recommend the "login to server" or LBLM, Login-based license management, when activating the software in order to allow Tableau Server to manage the Desktop use. Users must be Creators in order to use LBLM. Here is a video on LBLM (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHCmZXTzSxc).
You can connect to a different server when in Tableau Desktop. You can "disconnect" from Server A and connect to Server B in order to publish to a different test server. As noted above, there can be only one production server and the other 2 installations allowed can be for testing purposes. The Desktop client software has a Server option when creating your workbook to sign into any Server where you are a named user. To publish content, it will be important to be a Creator on Tableau Server. So if you change servers in Desktop, be sure you are a named user with the correct role on both servers. Let us know if there are any follow-up questions!
