Setting Up R On Aws

Introduction

Amazon Web Services (AWS) provides a robust cloud platform that allows users to run R, a powerful programming language for statistical computing and graphics, in a scalable environment. In this tutorial, we will guide you through the steps to set up R on AWS, including creating an EC2 instance, installing R, and verifying the installation.

Prerequisites

Before you start, ensure you have the following:

An AWS account. If you don't have one, you can sign up at aws.amazon.com.
Basic understanding of cloud computing and command-line interface.

Step 1: Launch an EC2 Instance

To run R on AWS, you need to launch an EC2 instance. Follow the steps below:

Log in to your AWS Management Console.
Navigate to the EC2 Dashboard.
Click on the "Launch Instance" button.
Choose an Amazon Machine Image (AMI). We recommend using the Amazon Linux 2 AMI.
Select an instance type. The t2.micro instance type is often sufficient for basic R tasks and is eligible for the free tier.
Configure instance details, add storage, and configure security group settings to allow SSH access (port 22).
Review and launch the instance. Make sure to create or use an existing key pair for SSH access.

Step 2: Connect to Your Instance

Once your instance is running, connect to it using SSH:

Open your terminal or command prompt and run the following command:

ssh -i "your-key-pair.pem" ec2-user@your-instance-public-dns

Replace your-key-pair.pem with the path to your key pair file and your-instance-public-dns with the public DNS of your EC2 instance.

Step 3: Update the Package Repository

After logging in, it is advisable to update the package repository:

sudo yum update -y

This command updates all the installed packages to their latest versions.

Step 4: Install R

Now, we will install R on the EC2 instance:

sudo amazon-linux-extras install R3.4 -y

This command installs R version 3.4. You can check the available versions using amazon-linux-extras list.

Step 5: Verify the Installation

To ensure that R has been installed correctly, run the following command:

R --version

If installed successfully, you should see the version of R displayed in the output.

R version 3.4.4 (2018-03-15) -- "Someone to Lean On"

Step 6: Install Additional R Packages

You can install additional R packages using the R console. Start R by entering:

R

Then, within the R console, you can install packages using the following command:

install.packages("ggplot2")

Replace ggplot2 with any package you wish to install. You can also exit R by typing q().

Conclusion

Congratulations! You have successfully set up R on AWS. You can now leverage the power of R in the cloud for your data analysis and statistical computing tasks. Remember to manage your AWS resources to avoid unexpected charges.