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Tableau Prep Flow Fails with "JAXBContext.createMarshaller() context is null" Error on SAP HANA View Connection

Publish Date: May 13, 2026
Description
  • Flow fails on first run with the error: System error: Cannot invoke "jakarta.xml.bind.JAXBContext.createMarshaller()" because "context" is null
  • Flow may succeed on a second manual GUI attempt but fails consistently via CLI
  • Other input sources (e.g., AWS Redshift) in the same flow are unaffected
  • Updating the ngdbc.jar JDBC driver does not resolve the issue
  • The issue occurred specifically when using a direct view connection from SAP HANA as the input source.
  • When a SAP HANA view is added to a Tableau Prep flow by dragging it directly from the schema/side pane, Tableau Prep initializes a JAXBContext to process the view's XML metadata. This initialization fails intermittently, leaving the context null and causing the createMarshaller() call to throw a system error at runtime.
Resolution
Replace the direct SAP HANA view connection with a Custom SQL query:
  1. Remove the existing direct view input step from the flow.
  2. Re-add the SAP HANA connection and select Custom SQL.
  3. Enter: SELECT * FROM <schema_name>.<view_name>
  4. Save and re-run the flow.


Workaround: Use Custom SQL instead of direct view drag-and-drop for SAP HANA inputs in Tableau Prep.

Replace the direct view connection from SAP HANA with a Custom SQL query using the format 'select * from view_name'. 2. Monitor the flow for a few days to ensure continued stability after implementing the Custom SQL query.

Knowledge Article Number

005336061

 
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