High Performance R

Are you using R but wondering if your R code makes the best use of the computing resources available? Would you like to learn to speed up R analyses by parallel computing, identify bottlenecks in your R scripts, or get tips on handling large datasets in R? Join our course that focuses on using R efficiently and making most of R in a high performance computing environment.

Topics of the course include:

• Making use of the properties of R as a programming language to write efficient R code
• Exploring performance issues of R code by benchmarking and profiling processes and memory usage
• Parallel and distributed computing with R on both local and supercomputing resources

The topics will be covered using short lectures and/or demonstrations followed by hands-on exercises using RStudio and batch jobs on the supercomputer Roihu.

Advanced participants are welcome to bring their own R code (short script section you are already familiar with) and a small data set (maximum 5 GB) to go with the script to be used in the some of the exercises. We expect that you are able to read the data into R and run the script.

Target audience:

This course is meant for anyone familiar with the basics of R and wanting to learn how to make their analyses in R more efficient and how to use R in a high performance computing environment.
For example:

• Current users of RStudio in CSC’s Roihu (or Puhti) web interface: move beyond RStudio and make most of the computing resources of the supercomputer
• R users running R on their own computer so far: use your computer’s resources efficiently and learn to use R in a high performance computing environment
• Experienced users of another programming language and/or high performance computing: get familiar with the functional nature of the R language and its resource management

Where & when:

This is a two-day course from 9:00 to 16:00. The course will be offered on-site at the CSC Training Facilities (Keilaranta 14, Espoo, Finland) and online (Zoom). If you anticipate needing a lot of support with the course exercises, we recommend on-site participation. Lunch is not included, but coffee/tea will be served for on-site participants.

Learning outcomes:

After attending this course, participants will be able to:

• explore potential R code performance issues with benchmarking and profiling
• Understand the key properties of the R language and how they relate to the computer’s resource management
• Run R scripts with the batch job system on the supercomputer Roihu
• Get started with parallel and distributed computing with R

Pre-requisites:

Required:

Basics of R
‘Basics of R’ can mean many things, but if you have done some data wrangling, plotting or for example statistical analyses in R on your own data, or taken a course covering these points, you should be fine.

If you are a complete beginner with R and programming in general, we recommend the course Data Analysis with R (https://csc.fi/en/training-calendar/data-analysis-with-r-7/) instead.

Useful to make the most of the course content but not required:

Basics of Linux 
(for example: https://csc-training.github.io/csc-env-eff/part-1/prerequisites/)
Some experience in using a supercomputer, for example using the RStudio in the Roihu (or Puhti) web interface (roihu.csc.fi), or the course CSC Computing Environment, Part 1: Basics or the corresponding self-learning materials (https://csc-training.github.io/csc-env-eff/).

Lecturers:

Heli Juottonen and Maciej Janicki (CSC)

Information on registration:

This course is offered free of charge, but registration is required (deadline: 2.9.2026; please register earlier if possible).

To use Roihu, you need a CSC account with a sufficient level of identity assurance. If you do not yet have a CSC account, instructions for applying for one will be provided about a week before the course. Users applying for a CSC account through HAKA or VIRTU (from Finnish universities or public administration) typically have the required level of assurance. Other users need to raise the level of assurance following the instructions in: https://docs.csc.fi/accounts/strong-identification/

For questions on course contents and practicalities, contact heli.juottonen@csc.fi. For questions on registrations, contact training@csc.fi. If you later find out that you cannot attend the course, please cancel your registration using the link in the registration confirmation email or by emailing training@csc.fi.