How to Install MongoDB on Ubuntu 18.04

Introduction

MongoDB is a database application used in web development that provides high performance, high availability, and automatic scaling.

Traditional databases like MySQL are relational while MongoDB stores data as JSON documents. This is especially useful for storing complex data, or modifying documents without affecting existing data structures.

This guide will show you install MongoDB on Ubuntu 18.04.

Prerequisites

• A system running 64-bit Ubuntu 18.04
• A user account on Ubuntu with sudo privileges
• Terminal window/command line access

Install MongoDB from Default Ubuntu Repositories (Easy)

Installing MongoDB

Start by updating and refreshing the package lists:

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get upgrade

Allow the process to finish and then install the MongoDB application:

sudo apt-get install mongodb

The system prompts you to confirm the installation by typing y.

You can verify the installation by checking the version:

mongod ––version

In this example the MongoDB version installed from the repositories is v3.6.3.

Check to make sure the MongoDB service is running and enabled at startup:

sudo systemctl status mongodb

The output shown in the image below, confirms that the service is active.

Manage MongoDB Service

Use these commands to manage the MongoDB service:

To stop MongoDB:

sudo systemctl stop mongodb

To start MongoDB:

sudo systemctl start mongodb

To restart MongoDB when it’s already running (for example, to apply configuration changes):

sudo systemctl restart mongodb

To prevent MongoDB from launching at boot:

sudo systemctl disable mongodb

To set MongoDB to launch at boot:

sudo systemctl enable mongodB

How to Use the MongoDB Shell

To launch the MongoDB shell, enter:

mongo

To exit the Mongo shell, use either the keystroke:

Ctrl-C

or the command:

quit()

How to Uninstall MongoDB

To uninstall MongoDB, enter the commands:

sudo systemctl stop mongodb

sudo apt purge mongodb

sudo apt autoremove

Install MongoDB Community Edition (Complex)

MongoDB Community Edition is hosted on the MongoDB servers. It’s more challenging to install, but the version available from the developers is always up-to-date.

The first step is to import the public key to the Ubuntu Server:

sudo wget -qO - https://www.mongodb.org/static/pgp/server-4.2.asc | sudo apt-key add –

The system confirms that the key is added, as seen below.

sudo apt-get install gnupg

Create a list file and add the MongoDB repository:

echo "deb [ arch=amd64 ] https://repo.mongodb.org/apt/ubuntu bionic/mongodb-org/4.2 multiverse" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mongodb-org-4.2.list

Refresh the package database:

sudo apt-get update

Install MongoDB:

sudo apt-get install mongodb-org

By default, Ubuntu’s package manager will download and install updates as they are released. If you check the MongoDB version, the system confirms that you have installed the latest available version, v4.2.1.

To lock your version, use the following:

echo "mongodb-org hold" | sudo dpkg --set-selections

echo "mongodb-org-server hold" | sudo dpkg --set-selections

echo "mongodb-org-shell hold" | sudo dpkg --set-selections

echo "mongodb-org-mongos hold" | sudo dpkg --set-selections

echo "mongodb-org-tools hold" | sudo dpkg --set-selections

Manage MongoDB Community Edition Service

Use the following commands to manage the MongoDB service:

To stop MongoDB:

sudo systemctl stop mongod

To start MongoDB:

sudo systemctl start mongod

To restart MongoDB when it’s already running (for example, to apply configuration changes):

sudo systemctl restart mongod

To prevent MongoDB from launching at boot:

sudo systemctl disable mongod

To set MongoDB to launch at boot:

sudo systemctl enable mongod

The community edition uses mongod as the service name. This is a significant difference from the version in the default repositories. Otherwise the commands are identical.

How to Use the MongoDB Shell (Community Edition)

To launch the MongoDB shell, enter the following:

mongo

To exit the Mongo shell, use either the keystroke:

Ctrl-C

or enter the following command:

quit()

Uninstall MongoDB Community Edition

To uninstall MongoDB Community Editiion, enter the commands:

sudo service mongod stop

sudo apt-get purge mongodb-org*

sudo rm -r /var/log/mongodb

sudo rm -r /var/lib/mongodb

Configure Firewall for MongoDB

If you are working on the same system that hosts MongoDB, you may skip this step.

MongoDB uses port 27017 to communicate. You can open that port on your firewall, but doing so would allow unrestricted access and is not recommended.

Instead, specify the IP address of a system that will connect to MongoDB, and grant access only to a specific IP address. To do so use the following:

sudo ufw allow from remote_server_IP/32 to any port 27017

Replace remote_server_IP with the actual IP address of the system you’ll be connecting from.

Verify the change by entering:

sudo ufw status

Check the list – you should see traffic allowed on port 27017.

Edit the mongodb configuration file to listen to another IP address:

sudo nano /etc/mongodb.conf

Find the entry labeled bind_ip, and add a comma and the IP address of your remote system:

 bind_ip = 127.0.0.1, remote_server_IP
#port = 27017

Save the file, and restart the MongoDB service as above.

Basic MongoDB Setup

Open a Mongo shell by entering the following:

mongo

Show a list of all available databases:

show dbs

MongoDB comes with authentication turned off. You can secure it by turning on authentication, creating a root user and password. Start by switching to the admin database:

use admin

Create a root user by entering the following:

db.createUser({user:"root", pwd:"complex_password", roles:[{role:"root", db:"admin"}]})

Exit the Mongo shell by pressing CTRL+C. Next, edit the mongodb.service file to enable authentication:

sudo nano /lib/system/system/mongodb.service

Find the Service section, and under that the ExecStart entry.

Add the ––auth immediately after /usr/bin/mongod, so it looks as follows:

ExecStart=/usr/bin/mongod --auth --unixSocketPrefix=${SOCKETPATH} --config ${CONF} $DAEMON_OPTS

Save the file and exit. Reload the system and MongoDB services:

sudo systemctl daemon-reload

sudo systemctl restart mongodb

sudo systemctl status mongodb

In order to log in to Mongo, you need to authenticate your user account. Enter the following:

mongo –u “root” –p ––authenticationDatabase “admin”

When prompted, type the password you set above. The Mongo shell should open as before.

Conclusion

By following this tutorial you should have successfully installed MongoDB on your Ubuntu server. You have also installed tools that enable secure remote access and require additional user authentication.

Ready to create a MongoDB database?

If you are searching for an alternative NoSQL database, you probably came across Cassandra. To find out the differences between these two databases, check out our article on Cassandra Vs. MongoDB.