Installation Overview

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to:

• Describe the steps required for a functional single-server installation of Posit Connect
• Explain why Connect needs R, Python, and Quarto to render the content your users publish
• Identify the main directories and files Connect uses on a Linux system
• Describe how license file activation works

Introduction

In the introduction chapter, you learned what Posit Connect is and how data science teams use it to share reports, dashboards, and applications. Before diving into the hands-on installation lab, this lesson provides a high-level overview of what you will install and how the labs in this chapter are organized.

For this training, we install Posit Connect on a single server in a virtual machine running Ubuntu 24.04. These steps give you an overview of what is required to get a functional Connect installation on your own infrastructure. We don’t cover every feature Connect offers in this training. Refer to the Admin Guide to configure other features your team is interested in.

The Road Map for This Chapter

A complete installation proceeds through the following steps:

1. Install Posit Connect: Posit makes installers available for supported Linux distributions.
2. Install R: To render the content data scientists publish, Connect needs a combination of R, Python, and Quarto. You start with R so you can get Connect up and running.
3. Activate your license: After your purchase is complete, you receive a license file from Posit. In this training, you use the license file we provide to learn how license activation works.
4. Install additional system dependencies, Python, and Quarto: To build a data science environment your developers can use with Connect, you install the system dependencies required by many R packages, as well as Python and Quarto.
5. Configure SSL: To secure communication with your server, you configure Connect to use your SSL certificates and verify that they have the appropriate permissions.
6. Configure authentication: Connect integrates with many enterprise authentication systems. In this training, you use OpenID Connect (OIDC).
7. Configure your repositories: Connect needs R and Python repositories configured to create the virtual environments used by published content.
8. Configure email: In production, you will want Connect to use your email system for notifications and scheduled reports. We don’t cover this during this training.
9. Deploy content to Connect: Deploying content confirms that everything is running smoothly.

Lab 1 covers steps 1 to 3, Lab 2 covers step 4, Lab 3 covers step 5, Lab 4 covers step 6, and Lab 5 covers steps 7 and 9.

NoteTimings for this chapter

• Reading time: 10 minutes
• Documentation reading time: 30-50 minutes
• Hands-on exercise time: 30-50 minutes

TipRequired Reading

• Single Server installation
• Installing R. Note that this guide is not part of the Posit Connect Admin Guide, but it is the recommended guide to install R across all Posit products.
• R overview in the Connect Admin Guide, on configuring Connect to interact with the R executables present on the system.
• License Management

What You Will Install

A minimal Posit Connect installation has a few distinct pieces, and it helps to understand each before you begin.

• Posit Connect. Posit distributes Connect through Linux repositories for supported distributions, so installing it looks much like installing any other system package. You will pin the version you install and prevent unintended upgrades during routine system maintenance, so you control when updates happen.
• R. To render the content your data scientists publish, such as Quarto documents with R code, Shiny applications, and R Markdown, Connect needs R installed on the same server. In the lab you install a single version of R; when you set up your own installation, consult with your data scientists, who will most likely need more than one version.
• A license. Connect is a licensed product and must be activated before you can access the web interface. You will use license file activation in this course. There are only rare cases where a license key is preferable to a license file.
• An initial configuration. A fresh installation needs its address, authentication provider, and at least one R executable configured in rstudio-connect.gcfg before it is ready for users. You will expand this configuration file throughout the chapter.

Later labs add the system dependencies, Python, and Quarto that complete the data science environment, and the security, authentication, and repository configuration a production deployment needs.

Files and Locations You Should Know

Throughout the labs you will edit configuration, inspect logs, and run the command-line tools. It helps to know up front where Connect places things on a Linux system. Connect places files in three main directories: /etc, /opt, and /var.

Connect is managed by systemd, just like any other Linux service. The installation package registers a standard rstudio-connect service unit, so you start, stop, restart, and check the status of Connect with the same systemctl commands you already use for the rest of your system (for example, sudo systemctl restart rstudio-connect). Process supervision, automatic restarts, and journal integration all work exactly as you would expect, so Connect fits into your existing operational practices.

What	Path	Notes
Configuration file	/etc/rstudio-connect/rstudio-connect.gcfg	The main config file, in INI-like format. Edit it with sudo, then restart the service for changes to take effect.
Service binary	/opt/rstudio-connect/bin/connect	The Connect service itself. connect --version prints the installed version.
License manager	/opt/rstudio-connect/bin/license-manager	Used to check license status and manage activation.
Admin utility	/opt/rstudio-connect/bin/rscadmin	Command-line utility, for example to encrypt sensitive configuration values.
Application data	/var/lib/rstudio-connect/	Published content, environments, and internal data. This is the directory to back up.
Logs	/var/log/rstudio/rstudio-connect/rstudio-connect.log	The main server log. Access and audit logs live in the same directory.
Diagnostics	/opt/rstudio-connect/scripts/run-diagnostics.sh	Collects diagnostics to include when filing a support ticket.

For the full list of configuration settings, see the Configuration appendix of the Admin Guide.

TipWhy is it relevant to me?

The labs use a training environment so you can focus on the steps themselves. As you work through them, keep your own installation in mind:

• Versions your users need: Which versions of R (and, later, Python and Quarto) will your end users need? Consult your data science teams; they will most likely need more than one version of each.
• Production settings from the start: The labs use password authentication and console-based email to keep the exercises focused. When you install Connect on your own system, we strongly recommend configuring the authentication system and email provider you intend to use in production from the start to avoid problems later.
• System requirements: Review the System Requirements for a single server installation and check that they are acceptable for your infrastructure.

Tip

Note that the environments we provide for these exercises are set up in a way that ensures that, if you are stuck, you can move on to the next step. We encourage you to complete the labs in the order they are presented, to reproduce the steps we recommend taking to install Connect.

In the accompanying lab, you will install Posit Connect, install R, activate your license, and perform the initial configuration of your instance.