How to Install ArangoDB on Ubuntu 20.04

ArangoDB is an open-source NoSQL database used in modern web applications, which supports models for document, graph, and key-value data. It's managed through a web or command-line interface and uses a declarative query language called AQL (ArangoDB Query Language).

Prerequisites

• Deploy a new Ubuntu 20.04 Vultr cloud server.
• Set up a non-root user with sudo privileges.
• Verify your server is up to date.

Install ArangoDB

1. Import repository key.

    $ curl -fsSL https://download.arangodb.com/arangodb38/DEBIAN/Release.key | sudo apt-key add -

2. Update the sources list.

    $ echo 'deb https://download.arangodb.com/arangodb38/DEBIAN/ /' | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/arangodb.list
    $ sudo apt-get update

3. Install ArangoDB.

    $ sudo apt-get install arangodb3

4. Verify the installation was successful.

    $ arangod --version
    server-version: 3.8.x

5. Start ArangoDB.

    $ sudo systemctl start arangodb3

6. Monitor the database with status.

    $ sudo systemctl status arangodb3

Hardening Database

Hardening will make blocking unauthorized use of endpoints more strict.

1. To edit database server settings, navigate and edit the arangod.conf file.

    $ sudo nano /etc/arangodb3/arangod.conf

2. Under the [server] section, append the following text if it's not already there.

    harden = true

3. Under the [javascript] section, append the following text.

    harden = true

4. Restart the database to take effect.

    $ sudo systemctl restart arangodb3

5. Verify changes were successful by checking for errors in status.

    $ sudo systemctl status arangodb3

Access CLI

To access ArangoDB through the command line, use the arangosh command.

$ arangosh

Access Web Interface

This is meant for development or internal network purposes only. For production applications, continue down the doc for configuring the server through a reverse proxy.

By default, the ArangoDB web interface is only available locally.

1. To make the server available on the internet, navigate and edit the arangod.conf file.

    $ sudo nano /etc/arangodb3/arangod.conf

2. Under the [server] section, replace the endpoint URL with your server's IP. For example:

    endpoint = tcp://192.0.2.123:8529

3. Restart the server.

    $ sudo systemctl restart arangodb3

4. Verify changes were successful by checking for errors in status.

    $ sudo systemctl status arangodb3

5. Navigate to your server's IP address at port 8529 in a web browser.

    http://192.0.2.123:8529/

Access Web Interface through Reverse Proxy

For a production application, it is better to host the database locally and access it through a reverse proxy. This makes it easier to manage multiple services, enforce rate-limiting, SSL, and IP-filtering.

1. Install Nginx.

    $ sudo apt-get install nginx

2. Delete default Nginx server block.

    $ sudo rm /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/default 

3. Create a new Nginx server block.

    $ sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/arangodb.conf

4. Add the following text to the file.

    limit_req_zone $binary_remote_addr zone=mylimit:10m rate=10r/s;
    server {
            listen 80; # Listen on ArangoDB port.
            listen [::]:80; # ipv6 support.
   
            server_name _;
   
            location / {
                    limit_req zone=mylimit burst=20 nodelay; # Basic Rate limiting at 10 requests/sec.
                    proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:8529;
            }
    }

   > Adjust the rate-limiting rates and zones according to your application and needs.

5. Restart Nginx for changes to take effect.

    $ sudo systemctl restart nginx

6. Navigate to your server's IP address in a web browser.

    http://192.0.2.123/

You should see the ArangoDB web interface login menu. As a test, try refreshing the page in rapid succession. Soon, the webpage should respond with a 503 HTTP error, which would indicate a successful rate-limited request.

Conclusion

For more information, refer to the official ArangoDB documentation.