HOWTO: Install MongoDB on Opalstack

sean

Here's how to get an instance of MongoDB up and running on your Opalstack server:

Create a shell user and make a note of the shell username. I'll use myuser as the username in the remainder of this procedure.
Create a "proxy port" application and make a note of the app name its port assignment. I'll use mongoapp and port 55555 in the remainder of this procedure.

SSH to your shell user from step 1 and run the following commands:

cd ~/apps/mongoapp
wget https://fastdl.mongodb.org/linux/mongodb-linux-x86_64-rhel70-4.4.1.tgz
tar zxf mongodb-linux-x86_64-rhel70-4.4.1.tgz
ln -s $PWD/mongodb-linux-x86_64-rhel70-4.4.1 mongodb
wget https://downloads.mongodb.com/compass/mongosh-1.8.0-linux-x64.tgz
tar zxf mongosh-1.8.0-linux-x64.tgz
ln -s $PWD/mongosh-1.8.0-linux-x64 mongosh
mkdir data
./mongodb/bin/mongod --dbpath $PWD/data --port 55555 --logpath $HOME/logs/apps/mongoapp/mongo.log --pidfilepath $PWD/pid --fork

The MongoDB server is now running in the background. Connect to it and create your Mongo superuser with the following commands:

~/apps/mongoapp/mongosh/bin/mongosh localhost:55555/admin
# you're now in the mongo shell, next command creates your mongo superuser
# replace USERNAME and PASSWORD with your desired mongo username and pw
db.createUser({user: "USERNAME", pwd: "PASSWORD", roles: [ "root" ]})
# verify that it was created
show users
# then exit
exit

Finally, stop the running mongodb process and restart it with auth enabled:

kill $( cat $HOME/apps/mongoapp/pid)
$HOME/apps/mongoapp/mongodb/bin/mongod --dbpath $HOME/apps/mongoapp/data --port 55555 --logpath $HOME/logs/apps/mongoapp/mongo.log --pidfilepath $HOME/apps/mongoapp/pid --fork --auth

Your MongoDB instance is now running in the background waiting for authenticated connections.

You'll probably want to reconnect as your superuser from step 4 above to create less-privileged users with the roles necessary for your application:

~/apps/mongoapp/mongodb/bin/mongo localhost:55555/admin --username USERNAME

Please refer to the MongoDB docs for how to create additional users: MongoDB: Add Users

Here are the commands to start and stop it:

Start: $HOME/apps/mongoapp/mongodb/bin/mongod --dbpath $HOME/apps/mongoapp/data --port 55555 --logpath $HOME/logs/apps/mongoapp/mongo.log --pidfilepath $HOME/apps/mongoapp/pid --fork --auth
Stop: kill $( cat $HOME/apps/mongoapp/pid)

That's it - now go forth and Mongo! 🍃

webtweakers

sean This could be added to those nice new docs. 😀

batlles

These instructions are great!! Thanks for sharing
I've tried them and they are perfect - now it's time to link with the Node.js app 🙂

BTW, I would say there is small typo on Step 5:

ORIGINAL is:

$HOME/apps/mongodb/bin/mongod --dbpath $HOME/apps/mongodb/data --port 55555 --logpath $HOME/logs/apps/appname/mongo.log --pidfilepath $HOME/apps/mongodb/pid --fork --auth

And for me it worked after adding the mongoapp at the beginning of the command - as follows:

$HOME/apps/MONGOAPP/mongodb/bin/mongod --dbpath $HOME/apps/mongoapp/data --port 55555 --logpath $HOME/logs/apps/mongoapp/mongo.log --pidfilepath $HOME/apps/mongoapp/pid --fork --auth

sean

batlles Wow, yep I botched that towards the end. Should be correct now, thanks for letting me know! ❤️

ruiorey

Worked very well on my case too. Thank you.
@sean is there any way to add a ssh user and restrict it's access to the mongo db only?

sean

ruiorey Yes, step 1 of the procedure does exactly that.

ruiorey

I think I did not formulate my question correctly. That user still has access to the apps folder and all the projects inside, how can I restrict that?

sean

ruiorey What I mean is that you create a separate shell user exclusively for MongoDB, with no other apps installed.

When that is done:

Your MongoDB shell user will have access only to its own home directory
Your other shell users and their app will be able to connect to MongoDB on its port, with no need for access to the MongDB user's home directory.

ruiorey

sean ok great, had the idea it was giving access to the other application's folders. thank you!

db122

FYI, these procedures seem to work fine w/mongodb 5 just recently released. I was able to upgrade my 4.x install in place, no problem. https://fastdl.mongodb.org/linux/mongodb-linux-x86_64-rhel70-5.0.0.tgz

anjanesh

Is there some sort of interface we can use to view the mongoDB database ? At mongodb.com they have their own interface. Or like we have phpMyAdmin for MySQL.

sean

anjanesh Opalstack doesn't provide any GUI for MongoDB at this time, but you should be able to connect to a MongoDB instance here using any MongoDB client you choose.

To use an external client, you'll need to either connect through a SSH tunnel (some GUIs have this capability built-in) or have Opalstack open up your MongoDB port assignment so that you can connect directly.

I do not have a recommendation for a particular client, as I don't use MongoDB myself.

anjanesh

I can see MongoDB Compass is free for all. But I can't seem to figure out if Compass is only meant for databases hosted at mondodb.com or can it be used to self-hosted databases.

sean

anjanesh it should be able to connect to any MongoDB instance.

Compass connections are documented here: https://docs.mongodb.com/compass/master/connect/

The doc does include this statement...

Compass displays a warning message when connected to non-genuine MongoDB instances as these instances may behave differently from the official MongoDB instances; e.g. missing or incomplete features, different feature behaviors, etc.

... but I suspect this is just MongoDB Inc. trying to sell Atlas to you.

designingsean

FYI, the mongo shell script is no longer included in the tarball from 6.0 onward. If you want to follow step 4 of the original instructions to set your username and password, then you should do the following between steps 3 and 4:

wget https://downloads.mongodb.com/compass/mongosh-1.8.0-linux-x64.tgz
tar zxf mongosh-1.8.0-linux-x64.tgz
ln -s $PWD/mongosh-1.8.0-linux-x64 mongosh

Then in step 4, replace the first line with:

~/apps/mongoapp/mongosh/bin/mongosh localhost:55555/admin

sean

designingsean Thanks! I've updated the procedure to include your steps.