[R] installing R packages in a networked lab?

[Michael Friendly]

Our support staff will be installing R 2.7.1 on a Windows Novell network 
where R will reside on the server
rather than on the local lab machines or at best will be in an image 
that is copied to the local machines.
I want to suggest a set of additional packages that should be installed 
as part of the image beyond
the base and recommended packages. 

Once this is done, the image will be frozen for some time,
so I want to make sure it gets done right. Moreover, the support staff 
who will do this are not familiar
with R, so I need to make it as easy as possible, telling them to do 
steps A, B, ...

I can think of two methods, but there isn't an easy way for me to test 
them out, so I'd appreciate any
advice.  In particular, I want to make sure that all compiled help files 
(.chm) are also available.  Some
of these, like rgl, will have .dll files in a ../libs directory. 

1:  Copy the packages I want from those already installed in my 
C:\R\R-2.7.1\library to a folder
on the server and tell them:
  A.  copy those folders to \\server\R\R-2.7.1\library
  B.  start R, and from the R Console, choose Packages -> Update packages...

2. I download all the Windows binary packages (.zip) I want, copy them 
to a folder on the server, and
tell them
  A. start R, and from the R Console, choose Packages -> Install 
packages from local zip file(s)...
  B. select all, OK, have a coffee.

what is most likely to be fool-proof?

thanks,
-Michael


-- 
Michael Friendly     Email: friendly AT yorku DOT ca 
Professor, Psychology Dept.
York University      Voice: 416 736-5115 x66249 Fax: 416 736-5814
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