MongoDB 8.0

MongoDB is a general-purpose, document-oriented NoSQL database that stores data as flexible JSON-like documents. It is well suited for applications that need rich queries, horizontal scaling, or schemas that evolve over time.

Software included

Component	Version
MongoDB Community	8.0.x
Ubuntu	24.04 LTS

Getting started

1. Connect to your VM

ssh ubuntu@<your-vm-ip>

2. Wait for first-boot configuration

On the first boot, a setup script runs automatically. It creates an admin superuser with a randomly generated password and enables authentication. This takes under 60 seconds.

Track progress:

journalctl -u mongodb-first-boot.service -f

Wait for the service to exit, then disconnect and reconnect. The MOTD on login shows MONGODB 8.0.x — READY when the setup is complete.

3. Retrieve credentials

sudo cat /etc/mongodb/credentials.txt

This file contains the admin username, password, and connection instructions. It is only readable by root.

4. Connect to MongoDB

MONGO_PASS=$(sudo awk '/^Password:/{print $NF}' /etc/mongodb/credentials.txt)
mongosh -u admin -p "$MONGO_PASS" --authenticationDatabase admin

Expected output:

test>

Managing MongoDB

# Check service status
systemctl status mongod

# Restart
sudo systemctl restart mongod

# View logs
sudo journalctl -u mongod -f

Configuration file: /etc/mongod.conf

Security

Port 27017 is not open externally by default. UFW is enabled and allows SSH (port 22) only.

To allow access from a specific IP:

sudo ufw allow from <trusted-ip> to any port 27017

To connect without opening the firewall (recommended), use an SSH tunnel:

# Run this on your local machine
ssh -L 27017:localhost:27017 ubuntu@<your-vm-ip>

# Then connect locally
mongosh -u admin -p "<password>" --authenticationDatabase admin