Using Tableau virtual connections to manage access and security

We were introduced to Tableau virtual connections in Chapter 2. Virtual connections are enabled in Tableau Server and Cloud with Data Management. Virtual connections allow us to create an additional layer between our database(s) and Tableau data models. This feature makes sense when an organization delegates the building of data models to individuals who understand data in organizational content but may not understand database structures. The person who creates the virtual connection can perform tasks such as hiding and renaming columns in the database. The data modeler from the organization can then create a published or embedded data source of the virtual connection.

One of the other features of virtual connections is data policies. Data policies work in a very similar manner to the ones we described in the previous section on entitlement tables. Using a virtual connection in this manner also moves security closer...