How to Install MongoDB on Rocky Linux 9

MongoDB is an open-source NoSQL document database that stores data in a JSON-like format. To install MongoDB on Rocky Linux 9, you can take advantage of its flexible data model, which allows you to store unstructured data and create documents with different schema while providing full indexing support. It also supports ad-hoc queries, indexing, and database replication for high availability using replica sets.

This guide explains how to install MongoDB on a Rocky Linux 9 server. You will secure the database server and create sample documents to verify the installation.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, you need to:

• Have an existing Rocky Linux 9 server.
• Access your server using SSH as a non-root user with sudo privileges.
• Update the server.

Install MongoDB on Rocky Linux 9

MongoDB is not available in the default Rocky Linux 9 repositories. Follow the steps below to add the MongoDB repository to your DNF package manager sources and install MongoDB on your server.

1. Visit the MongoDB releases page and verify the latest version to install on your server. For example, MongoDB 8.0.

2. Create a new mongodb-org-8.0.repo MongoDB repository configuration file.

   console Copy

   $ sudo nano /etc/yum.repos.d/mongodb-org-8.0.repo
   

3. Add the following configurations to the file.

   ini Copy

   [mongodb-org-8.0]
   name=MongoDB Repository
   baseurl=https://repo.mongodb.org/yum/redhat/9/mongodb-org/8.0/x86_64/
   gpgcheck=1
   enabled=1
   gpgkey=https://pgp.mongodb.com/server-8.0.asc
   

   Save and close the file.

4. Update the server's package index to apply the repository changes.

   console Copy

   $ sudo dnf update
   

5. Install MongoDB.

   console Copy

   $ sudo dnf -y install mongodb-org
   

6. Swap the default mongodb-mongosh shell package with the mongodb-mongosh-shared-openssl3 package.

   console Copy

   $ sudo dnf -y swap mongodb-mongosh mongodb-mongosh-shared-openssl3
   

   OpenSSL 3 is the default OpenSSL version on Rocky Linux 9, and the default mongodb-mongosh MongoDB shell package is not compatible with the version. Installing the mongodb-mongosh-shared-openssl3 package enables MongoDB to use OpenSSL 3 on your server.

Manage the MongoDB System Service

MongoDB uses the mongod system service to manage the database server runtime and processes. Follow the steps below to enable the MongoDB service to start at boot and run it on your server.

1. Enable MongoDB to start automatically at system boot.

   console Copy

   $ sudo systemctl enable mongod
   

2. Start the MongoDB service.

   console Copy

   $ sudo systemctl start mongod
   

3. View the MongoDB service status and verify that it's running.

   console Copy

   $ sudo systemctl status mongod
   

   Output:

   ● mongod.service - MongoDB Database Server
     Loaded: loaded (/usr/lib/systemd/system/mongod.service; enabled; vendor preset: disabled)
     Active: active (running)
       Docs: https://docs.mongodb.org/manual
    Main PID: 6919 (mongod)
     Memory: 149.8M
     CGroup: /system.slice/mongod.service
             └─6919 /usr/bin/mongod --config /etc/mongod.conf

Secure MongoDB

MongoDB uses plain authentication by default and does not require password usage to perform administrative tasks on the server. Follow the steps below to enable secure password authentication to access the MongoDB shell.

1. Access the MongoDB shell.

   console Copy

   $ mongosh
   

2. Switch to the admin database.

   > use admin

3. Create a new mongodbadmin administrative user with full privileges to any database. Then, enter a strong password when prompted.

   > db.createUser( 
    {
      user: "mongodbadmin",
      pwd: passwordPrompt(),
      roles: [ 
       { role: "userAdminAnyDatabase", db: "admin" },
       { role: "readWriteAnyDatabase", db: "admin" },
       { role: "dbAdminAnyDatabase", db: "admin" }
      ]    
    }
   )

   Output:

   Enter password
   ***{ ok: 1 }

4. View all MongoDB users and verify that the mongodbadmin user is available.

   > db.getUsers()

   Output:

   {
     users: [
       {
         _id: 'admin.mongodbadmin',
         userId: UUID('93f37099-85f9-4b6e-a072-09c2b1045462'),
         user: 'mongodbadmin',
         db: 'admin',
         roles: [
           { role: 'dbAdminAnyDatabase', db: 'admin' },
           { role: 'userAdminAnyDatabase', db: 'admin' },
           { role: 'readWriteAnyDatabase', db: 'admin' }
         ],
         mechanisms: [ 'SCRAM-SHA-1', 'SCRAM-SHA-256' ]
       }
     ],
     ok: 1
   }

5. Exit the MongoDB shell.

   > exit

6. Open the main mongod.conf MongoDB configuration file.

   console Copy

   $ sudo nano /etc/mongod.conf
   

7. Add the following security configuration at the end of the file.

   yaml Copy

   security:
       authorization: enabled
   

   Save and close the file.

8. Restart the MongoDB service to apply the changes.

   console Copy

   $ sudo systemctl restart mongod
   

Access MongoDB

Follow the steps below to access the MongoDB shell to create new users, databases, and insert documents to a database.

1. Access the MongoDB shell using the mongodbadmin administrative user you created.

   console Copy

   $ mongosh -u mongodbadmin -p --authenticationDatabase admin
   

   Enter the administrator password you created earlier when prompted.

2. Create a new vultr_test database.

   > use vultr_test

3. Create a new user such as testuser with full privileges to the vultr_test database.

   > db.createUser(
     {
      user: "testuser",
      pwd: passwordPrompt(),
      roles: [ { role: "readWrite", db: "vultr_test" } ]
     }
   )

   Enter a new strong user password when prompted.

   Output:

   Enter password:
   ********{ ok: 1 }

4. Exit the MongoDB shell.

   > exit

5. Access the MongoDB shell as testuser and enter the user password when prompted.

   console Copy

   $ mongosh -u testuser -p --authenticationDatabase vultr_test
   

6. Switch to the vultr_test database.

   > use vultr_test

7. Insert a new document into the database with the message Greetings from Vultr to create a new messages collection.

   > db.messages.insertOne({message: "Greetings from Vultr" })

   Output:

   {
     acknowledged: true,
     insertedId: ObjectId('67750a2667bb6ae4a4fad9e0')
   }

8. View all records in the messages collection and verify that the new document is available.

   > db.messages.find()

   Output:

   [
     {
       _id: ObjectId('67750a2667bb6ae4a4fad9e0'),
       message: 'Greetings from Vultr'
     }
   ]

9. Exit the MongoDB shell.

   > exit

Conclusion

You have installed MongoDB on Rocky Linux 9 and created a new database to verify the installation. You can use MongoDB to create databases, manage users, and store documents to match your application needs. For more information and configuration options, visit the MongoDB documentation.