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Install MongoDB Community on Red Hat or CentOS using .tgz Tarball

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MongoDB Atlas is a hosted MongoDB service option in the cloud which requires no installation overhead and offers a free tier to get started.

Overview

Use this tutorial to manually install MongoDB 4.4 Community Edition on Red Hat Enterprise Linux, CentOS Linux, or Oracle Linux [1] using a downloaded .tgz tarball.

MongoDB Version

This tutorial installs MongoDB 4.4 Community Edition. To install a different version of MongoDB Community, use the version drop-down menu in the upper-left corner of this page to select the documentation for that version.

Installation Method

While MongoDB can be installed manually via a downloaded .tgz tarball as described in this document, it is recommended to use the yum package manager on your system to install MongoDB if possible. Using a package manager automatically installs all needed dependencies, provides an example mongod.conf file to get you started, and simplifies future upgrade and maintenance tasks.

➤ See Install MongoDB using the yum Package Manager for instructions.

Considerations

Platform Support

MongoDB 4.4 Community Edition supports the following 64-bit versions of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), CentOS Linux, and Oracle Linux [1] on x86_64 architecture:

  • RHEL / CentOS / Oracle 8 (Starting in MongoDB Community 4.2.1)
  • RHEL / CentOS / Oracle 7
  • RHEL / CentOS / Oracle 6

MongoDB only supports the 64-bit versions of these platforms.

MongoDB 4.4 Community Edition on RHEL / CentOS / Oracle also supports the s390x architecture on select platforms.

See Supported Platforms for more information.

[1](1, 2) MongoDB only supports Oracle Linux running the Red Hat Compatible Kernel (RHCK). MongoDB does not support the Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel (UEK).

Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) - Unsupported

MongoDB does not support the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL).

Production Notes

Before deploying MongoDB in a production environment, consider the Production Notes document which offers performance considerations and configuration recommendations for production MongoDB deployments.

Install MongoDB Community Edition

Prerequisites

Use the following command to install the dependencies required for the MongoDB Community .tgz tarball:

copy 
sudo yum install libcurl openssl xz-libs

Procedure

Follow these steps to manually install MongoDB Community Edition from the .tgz.

1

Download the tarball.

After you have installed the required prerequisite packages, download the MongoDB Community tgz tarball from the following link:

➤ MongoDB Download Center

  1. In the Version dropdown, select the version of MongoDB to download.
  2. In the Platform dropdown, select your operating system version and architecture.
  3. In the Package dropdown, select tgz.
  4. Click Download.
2

Extract the files from the downloaded archive.

For example, from a system shell, you can extract using the tar command:

copy 
tar -zxvf mongodb-linux-*-4.4.0-rc8.tgz
3

Ensure the binaries are in a directory listed in your PATH environment variable.

The MongoDB binaries are in the bin/ directory of the tarball. You can either:

  • Copy the binaries into a directory listed in your PATH variable, such as /usr/local/bin (Update /path/to/the/mongodb-directory/ with your installation directory as appropriate)

    copy 
    sudo cp /path/to/the/mongodb-directory/bin/* /usr/local/bin/

  • Create symbolic links to the binaries from a directory listed in your PATH variable, such as /usr/local/bin (Update /path/to/the/mongodb-directory/ with your installation directory as appropriate):

    copy 
    sudo ln -s  /path/to/the/mongodb-directory/bin/* /usr/local/bin/

Run MongoDB Community Edition

Prerequisites

ulimit

Most Unix-like operating systems limit the system resources that a process may use. These limits may negatively impact MongoDB operation, and should be adjusted. See UNIX ulimit Settings for the recommended settings for your platform.

Note

Starting in MongoDB 4.4, a startup error is generated if the ulimit value for number of open files is under 64000.

Directory Paths

To Use Default Directories

By default, MongoDB runs using the mongod user account and uses the following default directories:

  • /var/lib/mongo (the data directory)
  • /var/log/mongodb (the log directory)
➤ If you installed via the package manager,
The default directories are created, and the owner and group for these directories are set to mongod.
➤ If you installed by downloading the tarballs,

The default MongoDB directories are not created. To create the MongoDB data and log directories:

copy 
sudo mkdir -p /var/lib/mongo
sudo mkdir -p /var/log/mongodb

By default, MongoDB runs using the mongod user account. Once created, set the owner and group of these directories to mongod:

copy 
sudo chown -R mongod:mongod <directory>
To Use Non-Default Directories

To use a data directory and/or log directory other than the default directories:

  1. Create the new directory or directories.

  2. Edit the configuration file /etc/mongod.conf and modify the following fields accordingly:

    • storage.dbPath to specify a new data directory path (e.g. /some/data/directory)
    • systemLog.path to specify a new log file path (e.g. /some/log/directory/mongod.log)

  3. Ensure that the user running MongoDB has access to the directory or directories:

    copy 
    sudo chown -R mongod:mongod <directory>

    If you change the user that runs the MongoDB process, you must give the new user access to these directories.

  4. Configure SELinux if enforced. See Configure SELinux.

Configure SELinux

Important

If SELinux is in enforcing mode, you must customize your SELinux policy for MongoDB.

The current SELinux Policy does not allow the MongoDB process to access /sys/fs/cgroup, which is required to determine the available memory on your system. If you intend to run SELinux in enforcing mode, you will need to make the following adjustment to your SELinux policy:

  1. Ensure your system has the checkpolicy package installed:

    copy 
    sudo yum install checkpolicy

  2. Create a custom policy file mongodb_cgroup_memory.te:

    copy 
    cat > mongodb_cgroup_memory.te <<EOF
module mongodb_cgroup_memory 1.0;

require {
    type cgroup_t;
    type mongod_t;
    class dir search;
    class file { getattr open read };
}

#============= mongod_t ==============
allow mongod_t cgroup_t:dir search;
allow mongod_t cgroup_t:file { getattr open read };
EOF

  3. Once created, compile and load the custom policy module by running these three commands:

    copy 
    checkmodule -M -m -o mongodb_cgroup_memory.mod mongodb_cgroup_memory.te
semodule_package -o mongodb_cgroup_memory.pp -m mongodb_cgroup_memory.mod
sudo semodule -i mongodb_cgroup_memory.pp

The MongoDB process is now able to access the correct files with SELinux set to enforcing.

Important

You will also need to further customize your SELinux policy in the following two cases if SELinux is in enforcing mode:

  • You are not using the default MongoDB directories (for RHEL 7.0), and/or
  • You are not using default MongoDB ports.
Non-Default MongoDB Directory Path(s)

  1. Update the SELinux policy to allow the mongod service to use the new directory:

    copy 
    semanage fcontext -a -t <type> </some/MongoDB/directory.*>

    where specify one of the following types as appropriate:

    • mongod_var_lib_t for data directory
    • mongod_log_t for log file directory
    • mongod_var_run_t for pid file directory

    Note

    Be sure to include the .* at the end of the directory.

  2. Update the SELinux user policy for the new directory:

    copy 
    chcon -Rv -u system_u -t <type> </some/MongoDB/directory>

    where specify one of the following types as appropriate:

    • mongod_var_lib_t for data directory
    • mongod_log_t for log directory
    • mongod_var_run_t for pid file directory

  3. Apply the updated SELinux policies to the directory:

    copy 
    restorecon -R -v </some/MongoDB/directory>

For examples:

Tip

  • Depending on your user permission, you may need to use sudo to perform these operations.
  • Be sure to include the .* at the end of the directory for the semanage fcontext operations.

  • If using a non-default MongoDB data path of /mongodb/data:

    copy 
    semanage fcontext -a -t mongod_var_lib_t '/mongodb/data.*'
chcon -Rv -u system_u -t mongod_var_lib_t '/mongodb/data'
restorecon -R -v '/mongodb/data'

  • If using a non-default MongoDB log directory of /mongodb/log (e.g. if the log file path is /mongodb/log/mongod.log):

    copy 
    semanage fcontext -a -t mongod_log_t '/mongodb/log.*'
chcon -Rv -u system_u -t mongod_log_t '/mongodb/log'
restorecon -R -v '/mongodb/log'
Non-Default MongoDB Ports

Tip

Depending on your user permission, you may need to use sudo to perform the operation.

copy 
semanage port -a -t mongod_port_t -p tcp <portnumber>
Optional. Suppress FTDC Warnings

The current SELinux Policy does not allow the MongoDB process to open and read /proc/net/netstat for Diagnostic Parameters (FTDC). As such, the audit log may include numerous messages regarding lack of access to this path.

To track the proposed fix, see https://github.com/fedora-selinux/selinux-policy-contrib/pull/79.

Optionally, as a temporary fix, you can manually adjust the SELinux Policy:

  1. Ensure your system has the checkpolicy package installed:

    copy 
    sudo yum install checkpolicy

  2. Create a custom policy file mongodb_proc_net.te:

    copy 
    cat > mongodb_proc_net.te <<EOF
module mongodb_proc_net 1.0;

require {
    type proc_net_t;
    type mongod_t;
    class file { open read };
}

#============= mongod_t ==============
allow mongod_t proc_net_t:file { open read };
EOF

  3. Once created, compile and load the custom policy module by running these three commands:

    copy 
    checkmodule -M -m -o mongodb_proc_net.mod mongodb_proc_net.te
semodule_package -o mongodb_proc_net.pp -m mongodb_proc_net.mod
sudo semodule -i mongodb_proc_net.pp

Procedure

Follow these steps to run MongoDB Community Edition on your system. These instructions assume that you are using the default settings.

1

Create the data and log directories.

Create a directory where the MongoDB instance stores its data. For example:

copy 
sudo mkdir -p /var/lib/mongo

Create a directory where the MongoDB instance stores its log. For example:

copy 
sudo mkdir -p /var/log/mongodb

The user that starts the MongoDB process must have read and write permission to these directories. For example, if you intend to run MongoDB as yourself:

copy 
sudo chown `whoami` /var/lib/mongo     # Or substitute another user
sudo chown `whoami` /var/log/mongodb   # Or substitute another user
2

Run MongoDB.

To run MongoDB, run the mongod process at the system prompt.

copy 
mongod --dbpath /var/lib/mongo --logpath /var/log/mongodb/mongod.log --fork

For details on the command-line options --dbpath and --logpath, see Options.

3

Verify that MongoDB has started successfully.

Verify that MongoDB has started successfully by checking the process output for the following line in the log file /var/log/mongodb/mongod.log:

[initandlisten] waiting for connections on port 27017

You may see non-critical warnings in the process output. As long as you see the log line shown above, you can safely ignore these warnings during your initial evaluation of MongoDB.

4

Begin using MongoDB.

Start a mongo shell on the same host machine as the mongod. You can run the mongo shell without any command-line options to connect to a mongod that is running on your localhost with default port 27017:

copy 
mongo

For more information on connecting using the mongo shell, such as to connect to a mongod instance running on a different host and/or port, see The mongo Shell.

To help you start using MongoDB, MongoDB provides Getting Started Guides in various driver editions. See Getting Started for the available editions.

Additional Information

Localhost Binding by Default

By default, MongoDB launches with bindIp set to 127.0.0.1, which binds to the localhost network interface. This means that the mongod can only accept connections from clients that are running on the same machine. Remote clients will not be able to connect to the mongod, and the mongod will not be able to initialize a replica set unless this value is set to a valid network interface.

This value can be configured either:

  • in the MongoDB configuration file with bindIp, or
  • via the command-line argument --bind_ip

Warning

Before binding to a non-localhost (e.g. publicly accessible) IP address, ensure you have secured your cluster from unauthorized access. For a complete list of security recommendations, see Security Checklist. At minimum, consider enabling authentication and hardening network infrastructure.

For more information on configuring bindIp, see IP Binding.

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