docker-r-command-line

A repository for multi-arch (AMD64 / ARM64) command-line R containers accessible via ssh.

Running the Image

The follwing can be used to pull and run the image from DockerHub, without needing to build locally:

docker \
    run \
    --rm \
    --name r-command-line \
    -d \
    -v /tmp:/HostData \
    -p 2200:22 \
    -e CONTAINER_USER_USERNAME=test \
    -e CONTAINER_USER_PASSWORD=test \
    hmsccb/r-command-line:4.2.0

Building the Image

If you wish to build this image yourself, carefully review the instructions below and substitute place-holder arguments appropriately.

While it is possible to perform multi-arch builds on a single Docker instance using buildx and emulation, the process is at best slow and and worst buggy, with some steps failing under emulation but completing correctly on native architecture. We recommend using buildx to perform a multi-node build, where the ARM64 image is built on an ARM64 host, and the AMD64 image is built on an AMD64 host. The images are then bundled by buildx in a Docker manifest list. When pushed to a registry and deployed, the Docker client will automatically execute the image that matches its native architecture.

Setting up Multi-Arch Distributed Build

Substitute REMOTE_USER@REMOTE_HOST appropriate to your environment.

# from an ARM64 host with AMD64 remote
# (reverse arm64 and amd64 platforms in the next two buildx commands if
# executing from AMD64 host with ARM64 remote)

# create the buildx node on the localhost
docker buildx create --name distributed_builder --node distributed_builder_arm64 --platform linux/arm64  --driver-opt env.BUILDKIT_STEP_LOG_MAX_SIZE=10000000 --driver-opt env.BUILDKIT_STEP_LOG_MAX_SPEED=10000000

# this assumes password-less ssh authentication has been set up for 
# REMOTE_USER@REMOTE_HOST
# eg:

ssh-keygen -t rsa -b 4096 -C "YOUR_EMAIL"
ssh-copy-id REMOTE_USER@REMOTE_HOST

# create the remote buildx node
docker buildx create --name distributed_builder --append --node distributed_builder_amd64 --platform linux/amd64 ssh://REMOTE_USER@REMOTE_HOST --driver-opt env.BUILDKIT_STEP_LOG_MAX_SIZE=10000000 --driver-opt env.BUILDKIT_STEP_LOG_MAX_SPEED=10000000

# tell buildx to use the new builder
docker buildx use distributed_builder

# initialize the buildx images
docker buildx inspect --bootstrap

Building the Image

Substitute NEW_TAG as appropriate for your use case.

docker buildx build --platform linux/arm64,linux/amd64 --progress=plain --push --tag NEW_TAG -f 4.2.0.Dockerfile .

To load the image directly into Docker without pushing to a registry (select the appropriate platform specification for your architecture):

docker buildx build --platform linux/arm64 --progress=plain --load --tag NEW_TAG -f 4.2.0.Dockerfile .