Roles and Responsibilities in Posit Workbench

Posit Workbench has four types of users:

  1. Workbench Users
  2. Workbench Administrators
  3. Workbench Administrator Superusers
  4. Server Administrators

This user guide focuses on the first user type, Workbench Users. It is important to understand the other types of Workbench users and the roles and responsibilities of each type of user. If you are a Server Administrator, you are likely looking for the Workbench Admin Guide.

Workbench Users

The most common user type is a Workbench User, utilizing Workbench for data science development.

You are responsible for:

  • Organizing and maintaining the files in your user’s home directory.
  • Installing R and Python packages within your user’s home directory.
  • Launching, closing, and suspending sessions for your user.

You are not responsible for and should avoid:

  • Installing new versions of Python or R.
  • Installing R or Python packages in the system libraries.
  • Editing or deleting any files outside of your user’s home directory.

Workbench Administrators

Posit Workbench also can have Workbench Administrators. These users have the additional privilege of accessing the administrative dashboard. The administrative dashboard is accessed at the following URL:

http://<server-address>/admin
Note

The administrative dashboard is disabled by default. To enable the administrative dashboard, contact your Server Administrator. They can enable the dashboard by following the instructions from the Workbench Admin Guide.

Workbench Administrators share all of the same responsibilities as described above for Workbench Users.

Workbench Administrator Superusers

In addition to being able to access the administrative dashboard, Workbench Administrative Superusers have the following additional privileges:

  1. Suspend or terminate active sessions.
  2. Assume control of active sessions (for example, for troubleshooting).
  3. Log in to Workbench as any other server user.

Administrative Superusers do not have root privilege on the system but instead have a narrow set of delegated privileges that are useful in managing and supporting the server.

You are responsible for:

  • Organizing and maintaining the files in your user’s home directory.
  • Installing R and Python packages within your user’s home directory.
  • Launching, closing, and suspending sessions for your user.
  • Helping other users:
    • Manage sessions as required. For example, to help them with troubleshooting.
    • Manage files as required. For example, to help them with troubleshooting.

You are not responsible for and should avoid:

  • Installing new versions of Python or R.
  • Installing R or Python packages in the system library.

For more information on Administrator Superusers, please refer to the Workbench Admin Guide

Server Administrators

A Server Administrator is responsible for installing and maintaining the Workbench server(s). Typically this person has SSH access to the server and root privileges. Often the person in this role may work in IT and is not a Workbench user.

You are responsible for:

  • Installing and updating Workbench.
  • Configuring Workbench settings.
  • Installing and updating R and Python.
  • Determining the package management strategy for R and Python.
  • Configuring network access.
  • And many other tasks! Please refer to the Workbench Admin guide for more details.
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