What is MongoDB?

MongoDB is a cross-platform document-oriented database. Classified as a NoSQL database, MongoDB eschews the traditional table-based relational database structure in favor of JSON-like documents with dynamic schemas, making the integration of data in certain types of applications easier and faster.

TLDR

docker run --name mongodb bitnami/mongodb:latest

Docker Compose

mongodb:
  image: bitnami/mongodb:latest

Get this image

The recommended way to get the Bitnami MongoDB Docker Image is to pull the prebuilt image from the Docker Hub Registry.

docker pull bitnami/mongodb:latest

To use a specific version, you can pull a versioned tag. You can view the list of available versions in the Docker Hub Registry.

docker pull bitnami/mongodb:[TAG]

If you wish, you can also build the image yourself.

docker build -t bitnami/mongodb:latest https://github.com/bitnami/bitnami-docker-mongodb.git

Persisting your database

If you remove the container all your data and configurations will be lost, and the next time you run the image the database will be reinitialized. To avoid this loss of data, you should mount a volume that will persist even after the container is removed.

Note! If you have already started using your database, follow the steps on backing up and restoring to pull the data from your running container down to your host.

The image exposes a volume at /bitnami/mongodb for the MongoDB data and configurations. For persistence you can mount a directory at this location from your host. If the mounted directory is empty, it will be initialized on the first run.

docker run -v /path/to/mongodb-persistence:/bitnami/mongodb bitnami/mongodb:latest

or using Docker Compose:

mongodb:
  image: bitnami/mongodb:latest
  volumes:
    - /path/to/mongodb-persistence:/bitnami/mongodb

Linking

If you want to connect to your MongoDB server inside another container, you can use the linking system provided by Docker.

Connecting a Mongo client container to the MongoDB server container

Step 1: Run the MongoDB image with a specific name

The first step is to start our MongoDB server.

Docker's linking system uses container ids or names to reference containers. We can explicitly specify a name for our MongoDB server to make it easier to connect to other containers.

docker run --name mongodb bitnami/mongodb:latest

Step 2: Run MongoDB as a Mongo client and link to our server

Now that we have our MongoDB server running, we can create another container that links to it by giving Docker the --link option. This option takes the id or name of the container we want to link it to as well as a hostname to use inside the container, separated by a colon. For example, to have our MongoDB server accessible in another container with server as it's hostname we would pass --link mongodb:server to the Docker run command.

The Bitnami MongoDB Docker Image also ships with a Mongo client, but by default it will start a server. To start the client instead, we can override the default command Docker runs by stating a different command to run after the image name.

docker run --rm -it --link mongodb:server bitnami/mongodb:latest mongo --host server

We started the Mongo client passing in the --host option that allows us to specify the hostname of the server, which we set to the hostname we created in the link.

Note! You can also run the Mongo client in the same container the server is running in using the Docker exec command.

docker exec -it mongodb mongo

Linking with Docker Compose

Step 1: Add a MongoDB entry in your docker-compose.yml

Copy the snippet below into your docker-compose.yml to add MongoDB to your application.

mongodb:
  image: bitnami/mongodb:latest

Step 2: Link it to another container in your application

Update the definitions for containers you want to access your MongoDB server from to include a link to the mongodb entry you added in Step 1.

myapp:
  image: myapp
  links:
    - mongodb:mongodb

Inside myapp, use mongodb as the hostname for the MongoDB server.

Configuration

Setting the root password on first run

Passing the MONGODB_ROOT_PASSWORD environment variable when running the image for the first time will set the password of the root user to the value of MONGODB_ROOT_PASSWORD and enabled authentication on the MongoDB server.

docker run --name mongodb \
  -e MONGODB_ROOT_PASSWORD=password123 bitnami/mongodb:latest

or using Docker Compose:

mongodb:
  image: bitnami/mongodb:latest
  environment:
    - MONGODB_ROOT_PASSWORD=password123

The root user is configured to have full administrative access to the MongoDB server. When MONGODB_ROOT_PASSWORD is not specified the server allows unauthenticated and unrestricted access.

Creating a user and database on first run

You can create a user with restricted access to a database while starting the container for the first time. To do this, provide the MONGODB_USER, MONGO_PASSWORD and MONGODB_DATABASE environment variables.

docker run --name mongodb \
  -e MONGODB_USER=my_user -e MONGODB_PASSWORD=password123 \
  -e MONGODB_DATABASE=my_database bitnami/mongodb:latest

or using Docker Compose:

mongodb:
  image: bitnami/mongodb:latest
  environment:
    - MONGODB_USER=my_user
    - MONGODB_PASSWORD=password123
    - MONGODB_DATABASE=my_database

Note! Creation of a user enables authentication on the MongoDB server and as a result unauthenticated access by any user is not permitted.

Setting up a replication

A replication cluster can easily be setup with the Bitnami MongoDB Docker Image using the following environment variables:

• MONGODB_REPLICA_SET_MODE: The replication mode. Possible values primary/secondary/arbiter. No defaults.
• MONGODB_REPLICA_SET_NAME: MongoDB replica set name. Default: replicaset
• MONGODB_PRIMARY_HOST: MongoDB primary host. No defaults.
• MONGODB_PRIMARY_PORT: MongoDB primary port. No defaults.

In a replication cluster you can have one primary node, zero or more secondary nodes and zero or one arbiter node.

Note: The total number of nodes on a replica set sceneraio cannot be higher than 8 (1 primary, 6 secondaries and 1 arbiter)

Step 1: Create the replication primary

The first step is to start the MongoDB primary.

docker run --name mongodb-primary \
  -e MONGODB_REPLICA_SET_MODE=primary \
   bitnami/mongodb:latest

In the above command the container is configured as the primary using the MONGODB_REPLICA_SET_MODE parameter.

Step 2: Create the replication secondary node

Next we start a MongoDB secondary container.

docker run --name mongodb-secondary \
  --link mongodb-primary:primary \
  -e MONGODB_REPLICA_SET_MODE=secondary \
  -e MONGODB_PRIMARY_HOST=primary \
  -e MONGODB_PRIMARY_PORT=27017 \
  bitnami/mongodb:latest

In the above command the container is configured as a secondary using the MONGODB_REPLICA_SET_MODE parameter. The MONGODB_PRIMARY_HOST and MONGODB_PRIMARY_PORT parameters are used connect and with the MongoDB primary.

Step 3: Create a replication arbiter node

Finally we start a MongoDB arbiter container.

docker run --name mongodb-arbiter \
  --link mongodb-primary:primary \
  -e MONGODB_REPLICA_SET_MODE=arbiter \
  -e MONGODB_PRIMARY_HOST=primary \
  -e MONGODB_PRIMARY_PORT=27017 \
  bitnami/mongodb:latest

In the above command the container is configured as a arbiter using the MONGODB_REPLICA_SET_MODE parameter. The MONGODB_PRIMARY_HOST and MONGODB_PRIMARY_PORT parameters are used connect and with the MongoDB primary.

You now have a three node MongoDB replication cluster up and running which can be scaled by adding/removing secondarys.

With Docker Compose the primary/secondary/arbiter replication can be setup using:

primary:
  image: bitnami/mongodb:latest
  environment:
    - MONGODB_REPLICA_SET_MODE=primary

secondary:
  image: bitnami/mongodb:latest
  links:
    - primary:primary
  environment:
    - MONGODB_REPLICA_SET_MODE=secondary
    - MONGODB_PRIMARY_HOST=primary
    - MONGODB_PRIMARY_PORT=27017

arbiter:
  image: bitnami/mongodb:latest
  links:
    - primary:primary
  environment:
    - MONGODB_REPLICA_SET_MODE=arbiter
    - MONGODB_PRIMARY_HOST=primary
    - MONGODB_PRIMARY_PORT=27017

Scale the number of secondary nodes using:

docker-compose scale primary=1 secondary=3 arbiter=1

The above command scales up the number of secondary nodes to 3. You can scale down in the same way.

Note: You should not scale up/down the number of primary nodes. Always have only one primary node running.

Configuration file

The image looks for configuration in the conf/ directory of /bitnami/mongodb. As as mentioned in Persisting your database you can mount a volume at this location and copy your own configurations in the conf/ directory. The default configuration will be copied to the conf/ directory if it's empty.

Step 1: Run the MongoDB image

Run the MongoDB image, mounting a directory from your host.

docker run --name mongodb -v /path/to/mongodb-persistence:/bitnami/mongodb bitnami/mongodb:latest

or using Docker Compose:

mongodb:
  image: bitnami/mongodb:latest
  volumes:
    - /path/to/mongodb-persistence:/bitnami/mongodb

Step 2: Edit the configuration

Edit the configuration on your host using your favorite editor.

vi /path/to/mongodb-persistence/conf/mongodb.conf

Step 3: Restart MongoDB

After changing the configuration, restart your MongoDB container for changes to take effect.

docker restart mongodb

or using Docker Compose:

docker-compose restart mongodb

Further Reading:

• Configuration File Options

Logging

The Bitnami MongoDB Docker image sends the container logs to the stdout. To view the logs:

docker logs mongodb

or using Docker Compose:

docker-compose logs mongodb

You can configure the containers logging driver using the --log-driver option if you wish to consume the container logs differently. In the default configuration docker uses the json-file driver.

Maintenance

Backing up your container

To backup your data, configuration and logs, follow these simple steps:

Step 1: Stop the currently running container

docker stop mongodb

or using Docker Compose:

docker-compose stop mongodb

Step 2: Run the backup command

We need to mount two volumes in a container we will use to create the backup: a directory on your host to store the backup in, and the volumes from the container we just stopped so we can access the data.

docker run --rm \
  -v /path/to/mongodb-backups:/backups \
  --volumes-from mongodb busybox \
    cp -a /bitnami/mongodb:latest /backups/latest

or using Docker Compose:

docker run --rm \
  -v /path/to/mongodb-backups:/backups \
  --volumes-from `docker-compose ps -q mongodb` busybox \
    cp -a /bitnami/mongodb:latest /backups/latest

Restoring a backup

Restoring a backup is as simple as mounting the backup as volumes in the container.

docker run \
  -v /path/to/mongodb-backups/latest:/bitnami/mongodb bitnami/mongodb:latest

or using Docker Compose:

mongodb:
  image: bitnami/mongodb:latest
  volumes:
    - /path/to/mongodb-backups/latest:/bitnami/mongodb

Upgrade this image

Bitnami provides up-to-date versions of MongoDB, including security patches, soon after they are made upstream. We recommend that you follow these steps to upgrade your container.

Step 1: Get the updated image

docker pull bitnami/mongodb:latest

or if you're using Docker Compose, update the value of the image property to bitnami/mongodb:latest.

Step 2: Stop and backup the currently running container

Before continuing, you should backup your container's data, configuration and logs.

Follow the steps on creating a backup.

Step 3: Remove the currently running container

docker rm -v mongodb

or using Docker Compose:

docker-compose rm -v mongodb

Step 4: Run the new image

Re-create your container from the new image, restoring your backup if necessary.

docker run --name mongodb bitnami/mongodb:latest

or using Docker Compose:

docker-compose start mongodb

Testing

This image is tested for expected runtime behavior, using the Bats testing framework. You can run the tests on your machine using the bats command.

bats test.sh

Notable Changes

3.2.6-r0

• All volumes have been merged at /bitnami/mongodb. Now you only need to mount a single volume at /bitnami/mongodb for persistence.
• The logs are always sent to the stdout and are no longer collected in the volume.

Contributing

We'd love for you to contribute to this container. You can request new features by creating an issue, or submit a pull request with your contribution.

Issues

If you encountered a problem running this container, you can file an issue. For us to provide better support, be sure to include the following information in your issue:

• Host OS and version
• Docker version (docker version)
• Output of docker info
• Version of this container (echo $BITNAMI_APP_VERSION inside the container)
• The command you used to run the container, and any relevant output you saw (masking any sensitive information)

License

Copyright (c) 2015-2016 Bitnami

Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance with the License. You may obtain a copy of the License at

http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0

Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied. See the License for the specific language governing permissions and limitations under the License.