Purpose

This document describes how to log-on and use Penn State’s RStudio Server instance from a web browser.

Prerequisites

  1. A Penn State Access Account user ID (e.g. rog1).
  2. A web browser.
  3. A computer that is connected to the Penn State network via PSU wifi, or a physical network connection, or a connection to Penn State’s network via a Virtual Private Network (VPN) application like Cisco AnyConnect.

Procedure

  1. Connect to the Penn State network (wifi ssid: psu).

  2. Start your web browser.

  3. Connect to https://lxclusterapps.tlt.psu.edu:8787 or to https://lxclusterapps-bygone.tlt.psu.edu:8788

    • You should see the following login page:
knitr::include_graphics("../img/rstudio-login.jpg")
RStudio Server Pro login window

RStudio Server Pro login window

  1. Enter your PSU access ID (e.g., rog1) in the Username field (Do not add @psu.edu), and enter your PSU password in the Password field. The use of a password manager like LastPass, 1Password, or DashLane is highly recommended.

  2. Hit the Sign In button or press return on your keyboard. You should see an RStudio window that looks very much like this one.

knitr::include_graphics("../img/rstudio-server-startup.jpg")
RStudio Server Pro login window

RStudio Server Pro login window

You are now ready to use RStudio Server!

RStudio Server and PASS space

The RStudio Server application uses your PASS space for file storage.

To access your PASS space and upload files to it (like data),

  1. Visit https://webfiles.psu.edu/. You will see a login window like this:
knitr::include_graphics("../img/webfiles.psu.edu-login.jpg")
RStudio Server Pro login window

RStudio Server Pro login window

  1. Enter your Penn State Access ID (e.g. rog1) and password. You should see the WebFiles interface:
knitr::include_graphics("../img/webfiles-window.jpg")
RStudio Server Pro login window

RStudio Server Pro login window

  1. Click on the PASS Personal (X) text or the + icon in the left panel. This will open a window on the right that shows the contents of your PASS space.

  2. You may create new folders, upload, and download files using the WebFiles application.

  3. Press the logout button in the upper right to logout when you are finished.