On our local cluster, users relatively routinely crash the head node by doing simple and silly things that inadvertently eat all memory and crash the head node. I read a bit about memory limits, but I am still a bit unclear as to whether memory limits can be imposed a the R level under linux. Currently, I see this under help(Memory): "R has a variable-sized workspace. Prior to R 2.15.0 there were (rarely-used) command-line options to control its size, but it is now sized automatically." What approaches can I suggest to our cluster administrators to limit R memory usage (and only R) on the head node (the only node with an outside internet connection)? The goal is to allow a small R instance to run on the head node to allow package installation, but nothing more complicated than that. Thanks, Sean