Install RStudio Server on Lab Server

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1

Hi all!

I'm managing the lab computer (OS: Ubuntu) and try to set up some basic softwares. My lab has a variety of research fields so I'm trying to install as few as possible softwares as root user to the root path. One feature I'm trying to do is using RStudio Server on the server so that people can use the server's resources to run RStudio. I wonder if I should install the RStudio Server as root user or let them install it for each user separately, because we also have anaconda installed for each user separately so that we have the maximum separation for doing analysis.

I appreciate very much if anyone can contribute some ideas. I just started to take over the job to manage the server and would really need some advices.

Best,
Zexuan

2

There might be a point for doing such thing if you are using the open source version that doesn't allow for seamless use of different R versions, but installing natively for each user would be a nightmare to manage, if you want to go this way I think you should look into using containers and an orchestrator like Kubernetes but be aware that this adds a great deal of complexity, specially if you are using open source software that lacks pro features. I would avoid such a setup if possible.

I have heard of using conda environments with the RStudio IDE to manage "separation" of environments and reproducibility but this is not officially supported.