SecureAnyCloud
Deployment guide

Rstudio

Overview

RStudio is an integrated development environment (IDE) for R, a programming language widely used for statistical computing, data analysis and data visualization. This SecureAnyCloud AMI gives you RStudio Desktop on Windows Server, ready to use from the AWS Marketplace.

You connect to the instance with any Remote Desktop client and work in a desktop that already has RStudio and R installed.

What you get:

  • RStudio Desktop (latest version)
  • R 4.3.3 runtime environment
  • Windows Server with Remote Desktop access
  • A preconfigured desktop environment, ready for immediate use
  • 24/7 SecureAnyCloud support with guaranteed 24 hour response SLA

Prerequisites

Before you launch this AMI, make sure you have:

  • An active AWS account
  • An active subscription to the RStudio Desktop listing on AWS Marketplace
  • An EC2 key pair for password decryption
  • A Remote Desktop client application (built into Windows, available for macOS and Linux)

Recommended instance type: t3.medium (2 vCPU, 4 GB RAM) or larger. The minimum requirements are 1 vCPU, 1 GB RAM and 30 GB of disk space. For data analysis workloads, consider t3.large or m5.large for better performance.

1

Launch the AMI

  • Open the AWS Marketplace and search for "RStudio SecureAnyCloud"
  • Choose Continue to Subscribe, accept the terms, then choose Continue to Configuration
  • Select your preferred Region and Software Version
  • Choose Continue to Launch
  • Choose Launch through EC2 for full control over instance configuration
  • Select your instance type (t3.medium recommended)
  • Configure storage: 30 GB gp3 minimum. Increase it for large datasets
  • Configure your Security Group with the inbound rule below

Allow port 3389 over TCP from your IP address for Remote Desktop (RDP) access.

Important: Restrict RDP access to your IP address only. Do not open port 3389 to 0.0.0.0/0.

  • Select your EC2 key pair and launch the instance
2

Retrieve the Windows password

Wait for the EC2 instance to pass 2/2 status checks. This can take several minutes for Windows instances.

  • Open the AWS Console and go to EC2 > Instances
  • Select your instance
  • Choose Actions > Security > Get Windows password
  • Choose Browse and upload your EC2 key pair .pem file
  • Choose Decrypt password
  • Note the Username (Administrator) and the decrypted Password

Important: The Windows password can take up to 15 minutes after launch to become available for decryption. If the console says the password is not yet available, wait and try again.

3

Connect via Remote Desktop

Open your Remote Desktop client application:

On Windows: Press Win + R, type mstsc and press Enter. Enter the public IP address of your EC2 instance, then select Connect.

On macOS: Open Microsoft Remote Desktop and select Add PC. Enter the public IP address in the PC name field and select Add. Double-click the connection to connect.

On Linux: Use a client such as Remmina or xfreerdp. For xfreerdp, run xfreerdp /v:<public-ip-address> /u:Administrator /p:YOUR_PASSWORD.

When prompted for credentials, enter:

  • Username: Administrator
  • Password: the decrypted value from Step 2

If a certificate warning appears, select Continue.

4

Launch RStudio

On the Windows desktop, find the RStudio shortcut on the desktop or in the Start menu. Double-click it to launch RStudio Desktop.

RStudio opens with R 4.3.3 ready to use. You can immediately:

  • Write and execute R scripts
  • Install packages from CRAN
  • Create data visualizations
  • Build R Markdown documents

Getting started with R in RStudio

To install a package, type the following in the R console within RStudio:

install.packages("tidyverse")

To load a package:

library(tidyverse)

To create a simple plot:

ggplot(mtcars, aes(x = wt, y = mpg)) + geom_point() + labs(title = "Vehicle Weight vs Fuel Efficiency", x = "Weight (1000 lbs)", y = "Miles per Gallon")

To read a CSV file:

data <- read.csv("C:/Users/Administrator/Documents/mydata.csv") head(data)

Server components

RStudio Desktop: latest version.

R: 4.3.3.

Filesystem layout

The C:\ drive is the system drive. It holds Windows, RStudio and the R installation.

Key directories:

C:\Program Files\RStudio: the RStudio installation.

C:\Program Files\R\R-4.3.3: the R runtime installation.

C:\Users\Administrator\Documents: the default working directory for R scripts.

C:\Users\Administrator\Documents\R\win-library: user-installed R packages.

Transferring files

To upload files to the instance, use the Remote Desktop clipboard to copy and paste small files. For larger files, use one of these methods:

  • S3: Upload files to an S3 bucket and download them from the instance with the AWS CLI: aws s3 cp s3://your-bucket/data.csv C:\Users\Administrator\Documents\
  • SCP/SFTP: Use WinSCP or a similar tool to transfer files over SSH. This requires enabling OpenSSH on the instance
  • Shared drive: Map a network drive if you work within a VPC

Troubleshooting

Cannot connect via RDP

  • Verify the instance has passed 2/2 status checks
  • Check that your security group allows port 3389 from your IP address
  • Make sure the Windows password has been generated (wait up to 15 minutes after launch)
  • Try a different RDP client if your current one does not connect

RStudio does not launch

  • Check that R is installed correctly: open Command Prompt and run R --version
  • Reinstall RStudio from the original installer, if you have it
  • Check Windows Event Viewer for application errors

R packages fail to install

  • Make sure the instance has internet access (public subnet or NAT gateway)
  • Check the available disk space on the C:\ drive
  • Try running RStudio as Administrator
  • Install Rtools from CRAN if a package needs compilation

The Remote Desktop session is slow

  • Reduce the display resolution and color depth in your RDP client settings
  • Disable desktop composition and visual effects
  • Consider moving to a larger instance type
  • Connect from a location with adequate bandwidth

Security recommendations

  • Change the Administrator password. After your first login, press Ctrl+Alt+End and select "Change a password"
  • Restrict RDP access. Allow port 3389 only from your specific IP address
  • Enable Windows Update. Keep the operating system patched with the latest security updates
  • Use strong passwords. Set a complex password for the Administrator account
  • Consider a VPN. For regular access, connect through a VPN rather than exposing RDP directly
  • Enable Windows Firewall. Verify that Windows Firewall is active with appropriate rules
  • Lock the session. Lock your session (Win + L) whenever you step away

Support

For questions about this image or help with your deployment, contact SecureAnyCloud support:

  • Email: sales@secureanycloud.com
  • Website: secureanycloud.com
  • Support hours: 24/7 with guaranteed 24 hour response SLA

Deploy on AWS

Launch RStudio Desktop with 24/7 support from SecureAnyCloud.

View on Marketplace

Need Help?

Our support team is available 24/7.

sales@secureanycloud.com