The MonetDB team has been working on ways to simplify the deployment of MonetDB. As a first step, we are releasing a machine image of our MonetDB Analytical Database with R.
As the name suggests, it ships with MonetDB and the R statistical software suite. The VM has the MonetDB/R module set-up, which, as explained in a previous blog post, brings support for integrating UDFs written in R into the MonetDB/SQL layer. In addition, the R environment on the VM has been set-up to use the MonetDB.R connector. The connector enables R users to perform analysis directly on data from a MonetDB database in R statistical software suite or via tools, such as R Studio. MonetDB.R connector also supports the higher-level dplyr data manipulation package. Thanks to this integration, each system is used to its best performance. Both features work out-of-the-box, with no further configuration required.
The virtual appliance comes in the form of a VirtualBox image, so that users can try it out on their own desktop. It is designed to function as a sandbox - you load your data and try out queries. The VM image allows user to try both flavours of the R integration in MonetDB:
We have set-up two user shells for direct access to the MonetDB SQL and R environments.
Log in as either monetdb or rstats user immediately drop you in the respective shell.
These are merely for your convenience, as there is no limitations on how you use the VM, under the
MonetDB Public License.
The MonetDB Solutions team will soon launch MonetDB in the cloud, starting with an Amazon Web Services AMI.
We would also like to thank the MonetDB user and active community member Sergio Ramazzina, for creating a MonetDB Docker container.
We are looking forward to hear from you about your applications and how they can challenge our database system. We are also looking to create showcases for applications, drivers and connectors, which are not developed by the MonetDB core team. If you are interested in being part of our showcases, which will be featured on this website, drop us a line. Oh, yes, there are also free T-shirts for the active community members, as gratitude for helping us build this ecosystem.
Head over to the MonetDB Analytical Database with Rpage for more information on the VirtualBox image, or check out Sergios’s Docker image.