Install Write-Back Server

Owned by Ricardo Pires
Last updated: Mar 01, 2024 by Bruno Gomes
2 min read

Before you Begin

Hardware Pre-Requisites

Write-Back acts as a broker for manual inputs, hence the necessary hardware requirements depend on the number of inputs placed by users concurrently. The following minimum hardware requirements and recommendations apply to all computers running the Write-Back including physical hardware and virtual machines (VMs):

  • CPU: dual-core or 2 vCPUs
  • RAM: 8GB
  • Disk: 30GB
  • Architecture: 64bits - x86_64
  • Networking:
    • Users should be able to reach the Write-Back Server from their browser or Tableau Desktop
    • Write-Back server needs to be able to reach the chosen database

We heavily recommend differentiating the machines where you run your database instance and the machine where the extension (server) will be as well as not installing Write-Back in the same server as Tableau.

When installing on a specific server this should have a fixed ip allowing easier remote access. 

Software Pre-Requisites

  • Operative System:
    • Windows:
      • Windows 10
      • Windows Server 2016 or higher
    • Linux
      • RHEL-like distributions: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.9,  CentOS
      • Ubuntu 18.04, 20.04
      • Debian 
  • No applications running on ports: 8190, 8105, 8106, 8180, 8585, 8543, 8143, 8141 and 5435 (none of these are standard)
  • Java 8 installed
    • System Variables (Java): You need to add to PATH system variable the corresponding path to the javapath folder. If you're missing this one it should prompt when starting the installation a dialog for you to download it, anyway, this should be the url https://www.java.com/en/download/ to download this content which will setup the PATH automatically.
  • When installing on a separate box if possible please use a fixed ip, this will allow testing the extension from different PCs using the self-signed certificate. 
  • OpenSSL is required to be installed when installing on Linux.


If you don't have yet a valid license key go to https://writeback4t.com/ and click on "Start a trial >", this will take you through the process of getting a trial license.

Infrastructure Pre-requisites

If you are looking to do a trial or proof of concept please carry on with this page for a basic installation. On the other hand if you are planning a more comprehensive deployments that allows you to take advantage of all Write-Back configuration and tailor it according to your environment and needs please check the Advanced Installation Pre-Requisites of Write-Back Server.

Installing Write-Back 

The installer allows deploying in minutes everything you need to get started right away with all Write-back awesome capabilities. Start trying right away by downloading the latest version.

The components and corresponding services installed through this executable are:


Component

Service Name


Description



Port

WindowsLinux
Write-Back ManagerWriteBackManagerServerwriteback-manager-serverWrite-Back Manager server where the setup & configuration tool is running8543
Write-BackWriteBackServerwriteback-serverWrite-Back server where the Tableau extension is running8143
Internal DatabaseWriteBackDatabasewriteback-database

Postgres instance that provides the database needed for the application configuration.

Basic installation is also used to store data and thus the port must be accessible so it can be used on Tableau

5435

Notes:

  • A redirect is defined to redirect 8180 port requests to the 8141 and then to 8143 port in Write-Back and from 8185 to 8543 with the Write-Back Manager.
  • Write-Back default port can be changed with Write-Back manager configuration, for instance to the standard 443 port

Let's now follow the installer step by step for a new installation: