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Install on Linux

Install MongoDB Community Edition on Red Hat or CentOS

On this page

  • Overview
  • Considerations
  • Install MongoDB Community Edition
  • Run MongoDB Community Edition
  • Uninstall MongoDB Community Edition
  • Additional Information

Note

MongoDB Atlas

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 install MongoDB 7.0 Community Edition on Red Hat Enterprise Linux, CentOS Linux, or Oracle Linux [1] using the yum package manager.

MongoDB Version

This tutorial installs MongoDB 7.0 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.

Considerations

Platform Support

MongoDB 7.0 Community Edition supports the following 64-bit versions of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), CentOS Linux, Oracle Linux [1], Rocky Linux, and AlmaLinux [2] on x86_64 architecture:

  • RHEL / CentOS Stream / Oracle / Rocky / AlmaLinux 9

  • RHEL / CentOS Stream / Oracle / Rocky / AlmaLinux 8

  • RHEL / CentOS / Oracle 7

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

MongoDB 7.0 Community Edition on RHEL / CentOS / Oracle / Rocky / AlmaLinux also supports the ARM64 architecture on select platforms.

See Platform Support 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).
[2] MongoDB on-premises products released for RHEL version 8.0+ are compatible with and supported on Rocky Linux version 8.0+ and AlmaLinux version 8.0+, contingent upon those distributions meeting their obligation to deliver full RHEL compatibility.

Production Notes

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

Install MongoDB Community Edition

Follow these steps to install MongoDB Community Edition using the yum package manager.

1

Configure the Repository

Create a /etc/yum.repos.d/mongodb-org-7.0.repo file so that you can install MongoDB directly using yum:

[mongodb-org-7.0]
name=MongoDB Repository
baseurl=https://repo.mongodb.org/yum/redhat/9/mongodb-org/7.0/x86_64/
gpgcheck=1
enabled=1
gpgkey=https://pgp.mongodb.com/server-7.0.asc
[mongodb-org-7.0]
name=MongoDB Repository
baseurl=https://repo.mongodb.org/yum/redhat/8/mongodb-org/7.0/x86_64/
gpgcheck=1
enabled=1
gpgkey=https://pgp.mongodb.com/server-7.0.asc
[mongodb-org-7.0]
name=MongoDB Repository
baseurl=https://repo.mongodb.org/yum/redhat/7/mongodb-org/7.0/x86_64/
gpgcheck=1
enabled=1
gpgkey=https://pgp.mongodb.com/server-7.0.asc

You can also download the .rpm files directly from the MongoDB repository. Downloads are organized by Red Hat / CentOS version (e.g. 9), then MongoDB release version (e.g. 7.0), then architecture (e.g. x86_64).

Prior to MongoDB 5.0, odd-numbered MongoDB release versions, such as 4.3, were development releases. Beginning with MongoDB 5.1, MongoDB has quarterly rapid releases. For more information on the differences between rapid and long-term support releases, see MongoDB Versioning.

2

Install MongoDB Community Server

To install the latest stable version of MongoDB, issue the following command:

sudo yum install -y mongodb-org

Alternatively, to install a specific release of MongoDB, specify each component package individually and append the version number to the package name, as in the following example:

sudo yum install -y mongodb-org-7.0.14 mongodb-org-database-7.0.14 mongodb-org-server-7.0.14 mongodb-mongosh mongodb-org-mongos-7.0.14 mongodb-org-tools-7.0.14

Note

yum automatically upgrades packages when newer versions become available. If you want to prevent MongoDB upgrades, pin the package by adding the following exclude directive to your /etc/yum.conf file:

exclude=mongodb-org,mongodb-org-database,mongodb-org-server,mongodb-mongosh,mongodb-org-mongos,mongodb-org-tools

Run MongoDB Community Edition

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 Self-Managed Deployments for the recommended settings for your platform.

Note

If the ulimit value for number of open files is under 64000, MongoDB generates a startup warning.

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)

The package manager creates the default directories during installation. The owner and group name are mongod.

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:

    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

Starting in MongoDB 5.0, a new SELinux policy is available for MongoDB installations that:

  • Use an .rpm installer.

  • Use default configuration settings.

  • Run on RHEL7 or later.

For MongoDB Enterprise installations that use LDAP authentication, the following additional SELinux policies must be in place:

  • For deployments that use LDAP authentication via OS libraries, MongoDB must have access to the tcontext=system_u:object_r:ldap_port_t:s0 LDAP ports. You can enable access by running setsebool -P authlogin_nsswitch_use_ldap 1.

  • For deployments that use LDAP authentication via saslauthd, you must enable cluster mode by running sudo setsebool -P daemons_enable_cluster_mode 1.

If your installation does not meet these requirements, refer to the SELinux Instructions for .tgz packages.

Note

If your MongoDB deployment uses custom settings for any of the following:

You cannot use the MongoDB supplied SELinux policy. An alternative is to create a custom SELinux policy, however an improperly written custom policy may be less secure or may stop your mongod instance from working.

Install the SELinux Policy

  1. Ensure you have the following packages installed:

    • git

    • make

    • checkpolicy

    • policycoreutils

    • selinux-policy-devel

    sudo yum install git make checkpolicy policycoreutils selinux-policy-devel

  2. Download the policy repository.

    git clone https://github.com/mongodb/mongodb-selinux

  3. Build the policy.

    cd mongodb-selinux
    make

  4. Apply the policy.

    sudo make install

Important

Backward-Incompatible Feature

Starting in MongoDB 5.1, you must run the following command from the directory into which the SELinux policy was previously cloned before you can downgrade to an earlier MongoDB version:

sudo make uninstall

SELinux Policy Considerations

  • The SELinux policy is designed to work with the configuration that results from a standard MongoDB .rpm package installation. See standard installation assumptions for more details.

  • The SELinux policy is designed for mongod servers. It does not apply to other MongoDB daemons or tools such as:

  • The reference policy supplied by the SELinux Project includes a mongodb_admin macro. This macro is not included in the MongoDB SELinux policy. An administrator in the unconfined_t domain can manage mongod.

  • To uninstall the policy, go to the directory where you downloaded the policy repository and run:

    sudo make uninstall

Procedure

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

Init System

To run and manage your mongod process, you will be using your operating system's built-in init system. Recent versions of Linux tend to use systemd (which uses the systemctl command), while older versions of Linux tend to use System V init (which uses the service command).

If you are unsure which init system your platform uses, run the following command:

ps --no-headers -o comm 1

Then select the appropriate tab below based on the result:

  • systemd - select the systemd (systemctl) tab below.

  • init - select the System V Init (service) tab below.


1

Start MongoDB.

You can start the mongod process by issuing the following command:

sudo systemctl start mongod

If you receive an error similar to the following when starting mongod:

Failed to start mongod.service: Unit mongod.service not found.

Run the following command first:

sudo systemctl daemon-reload

Then run the start command above again.

2

Verify that MongoDB has started successfully.

You can verify that the mongod process has started successfully by issuing the following command:

sudo systemctl status mongod

You can optionally ensure that MongoDB will start following a system reboot by issuing the following command:

sudo systemctl enable mongod
3

Stop MongoDB.

As needed, you can stop the mongod process by issuing the following command:

sudo systemctl stop mongod
4

Restart MongoDB.

You can restart the mongod process by issuing the following command:

sudo systemctl restart mongod

You can follow the state of the process for errors or important messages by watching the output in the /var/log/mongodb/mongod.log file.

5

Begin using MongoDB.

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

mongosh

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

To help you start using MongoDB, MongoDB provides Getting Started Guides in various driver editions. For the driver documentation, see Start Developing with MongoDB.

1

Start MongoDB.

You can start the mongod process by issuing the following command:

sudo service mongod start
2

Verify that MongoDB has started successfully

You can verify that the mongod process has started successfully by checking the contents of the log file at /var/log/mongodb/mongod.log for a line reading

[initandlisten] waiting for connections on port <port>

where <port> is the port configured in /etc/mongod.conf, 27017 by default.

You can optionally ensure that MongoDB will start following a system reboot by issuing the following command:

sudo chkconfig mongod on
3

Stop MongoDB.

As needed, you can stop the mongod process by issuing the following command:

sudo service mongod stop
4

Restart MongoDB.

You can restart the mongod process by issuing the following command:

sudo service mongod restart

You can follow the state of the process for errors or important messages by watching the output in the /var/log/mongodb/mongod.log file.

5

Begin using MongoDB.

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

mongosh

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

To help you start using MongoDB, MongoDB provides Getting Started Guides in various driver editions. For the driver documentation, see Start Developing with MongoDB.

Uninstall MongoDB Community Edition

To completely remove MongoDB from a system, you must remove the MongoDB applications themselves, the configuration files, and any directories containing data and logs. The following section guides you through the necessary steps.

Warning

This process will completely remove MongoDB, its configuration, and all databases. This process is not reversible, so ensure that all of your configuration and data is backed up before proceeding.

1

Stop MongoDB.

Stop the mongod process by issuing the following command:

sudo service mongod stop
2

Remove Packages.

Remove any MongoDB packages that you had previously installed.

sudo yum erase $(rpm -qa | grep mongodb-org)
3

Remove Data Directories.

Remove MongoDB databases and log files.

sudo rm -r /var/log/mongodb
sudo rm -r /var/lib/mongo

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 which is accessible from the remote clients.

This value can be configured either:

  • in the MongoDB configuration file with bindIp, or

  • via the command-line argument --bind_ip

Warning

Before you bind your instance to a publicly-accessible IP address, you must secure your cluster from unauthorized access. For a complete list of security recommendations, see Security Checklist for Self-Managed Deployments. At minimum, consider enabling authentication and hardening network infrastructure.

For more information on configuring bindIp, see IP Binding in Self-Managed Deployments.

MongoDB Community Edition Packages

MongoDB Community Edition is available from its own dedicated repository, and contains the following officially-supported packages:

Package Name
Description
mongodb-org
A metapackage that automatically installs the component packages listed below.
mongodb-org-database

A metapackage that automatically installs the component packages listed below.

Package Name
Description
mongodb-org-server
Contains the mongod daemon, associated init script, and a configuration file (/etc/mongod.conf). You can use the initialization script to start mongod with the configuration file. For details, see the "Run MongoDB Community Edition" section, above.
mongodb-org-mongos
Contains the mongos daemon.
mongodb-mongosh
Contains the MongoDB Shell (mongosh).
mongodb-org-tools

A metapackage that automatically installs the component packages listed below:

Package Name
Description
mongodb-database-tools
mongodb-org-database-tools-extra
Contains the install_compass script

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