Architecture FAQs

General

Do you have any infrastructure as code (IaC) examples for the reference architectures in this guide?

No. Posit does not provide IaC examples for reference architectures. Each customer’s environment and tooling requirements are unique, making a one-size-fits-all IaC solution impractical. Additionally, maintaining numerous IaC examples is prohibitive.

Can I use Spot Instances / Spot Virtual Machines?

No. Many cloud service providers offer Spot Instances or Spot Virtual Machines (VMs) that let you leverage under-utilized VM capacity at a reduced cost. However, Posit Workbench does not support the use of Spot instances or VMs. As a long-lived, stateful application, Workbench cannot tolerate the sudden termination of user sessions and loss of work that can occur with Spot instances or VMs.

Can I deploy in AWS ECS?

Yes. You can deploy Posit Workbench as a container on ECS, but it should run as a long-lived container on On-Demand or Reserved instances. Architecturally, Workbench and all user sessions exist within the same container; user sessions do not launch into separate ECS containers. This setup closely models the reference architecture for AWS Single Server.

Components

Do I need to actively maintain the SQLite database or have a Database Administrator (DBA)?

No. A single-server architecture for Posit Workbench uses an internal SQLite database for product metadata by default. Workbench handles all database updates and maintenance, so you do not need a database administrator to manage it.

Integrations

Can I access data that exists outside of the VPC where Posit Workbench is installed?

Yes. Users may need to access data in a database, fileshare, or other data store for their analytical work. Networking can control access to these resources. However, be aware of potential latency issues if the external data store is not located near Posit Workbench. In some cases, consider moving the external data and Workbench closer together, using caching, or mirroring the data.