Deploying MongoDB NoSQL Document Database on Ubuntu 24.04

MongoDB is an open-source NoSQL document database that stores data as flexible BSON documents and scales horizontally through sharding. This guide deploys MongoDB using Docker Compose with persistent volume storage and a root user, then verifies it with the mongosh shell. By the end, you'll have a MongoDB instance ready for application use on your server.

Set Up the Directory Structure

1. Create the project directory structure:

$ mkdir -p ~/mongodb-logging/mongodb-data
$ cd ~/mongodb-logging

2. Create the environment file:

$ nano .env

MONGO_ROOT_USERNAME=admin
MONGO_ROOT_PASSWORD=changeme

Pick a strong password before deploying.

Deploy with Docker Compose

1. Create the Docker Compose manifest:

$ nano docker-compose.yaml

services:
  mongodb:
    image: mongo:latest
    container_name: mongodb
    hostname: mongodb
    ports:
      - "27017:27017"
    volumes:
      - "./mongodb-data:/data/db"
    environment:
      - MONGO_INITDB_ROOT_USERNAME=${MONGO_ROOT_USERNAME}
      - MONGO_INITDB_ROOT_PASSWORD=${MONGO_ROOT_PASSWORD}
    restart: unless-stopped

2. Start the service:

$ docker compose up -d

3. Verify the service is running:

$ docker compose ps

4. View the logs:

$ docker compose logs

Access MongoDB

1. Open a mongosh shell inside the container:

$ docker exec -it mongodb mongosh -u admin -p changeme

2. Switch to an application database and insert a document:

use logs
db.application_logs.insertOne({ level: "info", message: "first entry", timestamp: new Date() })

3. Query and index the collection:

db.application_logs.find()
db.application_logs.createIndex({ timestamp: -1 })
show collections
exit

Next Steps

MongoDB is running with persistent storage and authenticated access. From here you can:

• Create application-scoped users with db.createUser() instead of using root
• Enable TLS by mounting certificates and adding --tlsMode requireTLS
• Bind the port to 127.0.0.1 and front MongoDB with a VPN for remote access

For the full guide with additional tips, visit the original article on Vultr Docs.