[R] Running R Remotely on LINUX

[Pütz, Benno]

Hi Michael,


> On 14 Apr 2015, at 18:59, Michael Haenlein <haenlein at escpeurope.eu> wrote:
> 
> Dear all,
> 
> I am used to running R locally on my Windows-based PC. Since some of my
> computations are taking a lot of time I am now trying to move to a remote R
> session on a LINUX server but I am having trouble to getting things work.
> 
> I am able to access the LINUX server using PuTTY and SSH. Once I have
> access I can log in with my username and password (which is asked through
> keyboard-interactive authentication). I can then open an R session.
> 
> Since I am not used to working with LINUX, I have several questions:
> 
> (1) Ideally I am looking for a Windows-based software that would allow me
> to work on R as I am used to with the difference that the computations are
> run remotely on the LINUX server. Does a software like this exist? Please
> note that I do not think that I can install any software on the LINUX
> server. But I can install stuff on my Windows-based PC.
> 
Can't help you on the windows side

> (2) I am running an extensive simulation that takes about one week to run.
> Right now it seems that when I log out of R on LINUX and close PuTTY, the R
> session closes as well. Is there a way to let R run in the background for
> the week and just check into the progress 1-2 times a day?
There is "screen", a utility that acts as a layer between your login and the actual shell(s) you open.
It allows to detach from and reattach to a session and would nicely fit this requirement.
I'll assume you are not producing any graphics output to screen, that would be difficult.

> 
> (3) Can I open several instances of R in parallel? On my PC I sometimes
> have 2-3 windows open in parallel that work on different calculations to
> save time. Not sure to which extent this is possible on LINUX.
2 or 3 should be no problem - you'll only be limited by memory (and cores to stay efficient).
open as many connections (or consoles in screen) as needed and start an R in each.

> 
> I assume that this questions are very naïve. But since I’m only used to
> working with Windows I’m quite stuck at the moment. Any help would be very
> appreciated!
> 
> Thanks in advance,
> 
> Michael
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Michael Haenlein
> Professor of Marketing
> ESCP Europe
> 
>    [[alternative HTML version deleted]]
> 
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