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VADEMOS Shiny App Deployment Guide

1. Deployment Overview​

The VADEMOS Shiny App is deployed directly from RStudio to ShinyApps.io, a cloud-based hosting platform for Shiny applications. This eliminates the need for manual server management while ensuring scalability and accessibility.

2. Deployment Environment​

A. Requirements​

  • RStudio (Latest Version)
  • shinyapps.io Account (Account details in the IT-map file)
  • R Packages Required:
    • shiny, shinydashboard, shinyjs
    • dplyr, tidyr, ggplot2
    • leaflet, sf, geojsonsf
    • DT, shinyscreenshot, httr, jsonlite
    • RMariaDB (for AWS MySQL connections)

B. Configuration​

  • shinyapps.io Account Setup

    • Ensure you are logged into the correct shinyapps.io account.
    • Run the deploy button in RStudio. (deploy to correct version currenlty using VADEMOS branch)

  • AWS Database Credentials (MySQL)

    • Stored as environment variables in .Renviron: 
      DB_HOST="your-db-host.amazonaws.com"
      DB_NAME="your-db-name"
      DB_USER="your-username"
      DB_PASSWORD="your-password"
      DB_PORT="3306"
    • Ensure .Renviron is not committed to version control.

    Deployment of VADEMOS Shiny App on AWS Lightsail​

Due to memory limitations on the free tier of shinyapps.io, we opted to deploy the VADEMOS Shiny application on AWS Lightsail, which provides more flexibility and resources for hosting.

Why Lightsail?​

  • Affordable and scalable virtual servers.
  • Full control over the environment (OS, R, Shiny Server).
  • Ability to handle larger apps without hitting free-tier limits.

Quick Deployment Steps​

  1. Create a Lightsail Instance

    • Choose an OS (Ubuntu recommended).
    • Allocate sufficient RAM and CPU for your app.

  2. Install Shiny Server and R

    • SSH into the instance.
    • Install R and Shiny Server using official guides.

  3. Upload Your App

    • Use scp or SFTP to transfer your app folder from local machine to the instance.
    • Place the app under /srv/shiny-server/<app-name>.

  4. Set Permissions and Restart

    • Ensure the app directory is readable by Shiny Server.
    • Restart Shiny Server: 
      sudo systemctl restart shiny-server

  5. Access the App

    • Open your browser and navigate to:
      http://<your-lightsail-public-ip>:3838/<app-name>

This setup allows you to bypass the memory restrictions of shinyapps.io and gives you full control over scaling and updates.

How to Update the VADEMOS Shiny App on AWS Lightsail​

To update the deployed Shiny app, follow these steps:

1. Prepare Your Local Changes​

Ensure your updated app files are ready on your local machine.

2. Connect to Lightsail Using Git Bash​

Open Git Bash and connect via SSH using your .pem key:

ssh -i "/path/to/LightsailKey.pem" ubuntu@<your-lightsail-public-ip>
Replace /path/to/LightsailKey.pem with the actual path to your key file.

3.3. Upload Updated Files with SCP​

From Git Bash, run:

scp -i "/path/to/LightsailKey.pem" -r "/local/path/to/VADEMOS" ubuntu@<your-lightsail-public-ip>:/srv/shiny-server/VADEMOS

This will overwrite the existing app files with your updated version.