Tableau is a powerful data visualization and business intelligence tool that enables users to create interactive and shareable dashboards, reports, and visualizations from various data sources. The architecture of Tableau involves several components working together to provide a comprehensive data analysis and visualization platform. Here’s an overview of the Tableau architecture:
Tableau Desktop:
Tableau Desktop is the authoring and development tool used to create interactive visualizations and dashboards.
Users can connect to various data sources, design visualizations using a drag-and-drop interface, and define calculated fields and parameters.
Tableau Desktop is where analysts and data professionals design and build the reports and visualizations.
Tableau Server:
Tableau Server is a web-based platform that allows users to publish, share, and collaborate on Tableau content.
Published dashboards and visualizations from Tableau Desktop can be hosted on Tableau Server.
It provides user authentication, access controls, and central management of data sources and content.
Tableau Server allows users to view and interact with dashboards through a web browser or mobile device.
Tableau Online:
Tableau Online is a cloud-based version of Tableau Server, providing similar functionality for publishing and sharing dashboards over the internet.
It is suitable for organizations that prefer a cloud-hosted solution without the need for on-premises infrastructure.
Data Sources:
Tableau can connect to a wide range of data sources, including databases (SQL, NoSQL), spreadsheets, cloud-based data storage, web services, and more.
Data sources can be live connections or extracts (cached copies of data), allowing for efficient data processing and analysis.
Tableau Data Engine (Hyper):
Tableau Data Engine, also known as Hyper, is an in-memory data processing engine that accelerates data query and analysis.
It allows for fast aggregation, filtering, and exploration of data, enabling users to create responsive and interactive visualizations.
Gateway and Load Balancer:
These components manage incoming requests and distribute them to the appropriate instances of Tableau Server.
Load balancers help distribute the user load evenly across multiple server instances for scalability and reliability.
Data Refresh and Extraction:
Tableau provides options to schedule automatic data refreshes or extracts to keep dashboards up-to-date with the latest data.
Extracts can be optimized for performance and cached for faster querying.
Client Applications:
End-users interact with Tableau content through web browsers or mobile apps, enabling them to view and interact with dashboards, apply filters, and drill down into data.
The architecture of Tableau is designed to facilitate data exploration, analysis, and collaboration by providing a seamless flow from data source to interactive visualizations. It empowers users across an organization to gain insights and make data-driven decisions efficiently.