Edition on Red Hat or CentOS

Install MongoDB Community Edition on Red Hat or CentOS

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Overview

Use this tutorial to install MongoDB 3.6 Community Edition on Red Hat Enterprise Linux, CentOS Linux, or Oracle Linux [1] using the yum package manager.

MongoDB Version

This tutorial installs MongoDB 3.6 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 3.6 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 Enterprise 3.6.17)
RHEL / CentOS / Oracle 7
RHEL / CentOS / Oracle 6

MongoDB only supports the 64-bit versions of these 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

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

Configure the package management system (`yum`).

Create a /etc/yum.repos.d/mongodb-org-3.6.repo file so that you can install MongoDB directly using yum:

Changed in version 3.0: MongoDB Linux packages are in a new repository beginning with 3.0.

For MongoDB 3.6

Use the following repository file:

[mongodb-org-3.6] name=MongoDB Repository baseurl=https://repo.mongodb.org/yum/redhat/$releasever/mongodb-org/3.6/x86\_64/ gpgcheck=1 enabled=1 gpgkey=https://www.mongodb.org/static/pgp/server-3.6.asc

For versions of MongoDB earlier than 3.6

To install the packages from an earlier release series such as 3.4, you can specify the release series in the repository configuration. For example, to restrict your system to the 3.4 release series, create a /etc/yum.repos.d/mongodb-org-3.4.repo file to hold the following configuration information for the MongoDB 3.4 repository:

[mongodb-org-3.4] name=MongoDB 3.4 Repository baseurl=https://repo.mongodb.org/yum/redhat/$releasever/mongodb-org/3.4/x86\_64/ gpgcheck=0 enabled=1

You can also download the .rpm files directly from the MongoDB repository. Downloads are organized by Red Hat / CentOS version (e.g. 7), then MongoDB release version (e.g. 3.6), then architecture (e.g. x86_64). Odd-numbered MongoDB release versions, such as 3.7, are development versions and are unsuitable for production deployment.

Install the MongoDB packages.

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

sudo yum install -y mongodb-org

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-3.6.19 mongodb-org-server-3.6.19 mongodb-org-shell-3.6.19 mongodb-org-mongos-3.6.19 mongodb-org-tools-3.6.19

You can specify any available version of MongoDB. However yum will upgrade the packages when a newer version becomes available. To prevent unintended upgrades, pin the package. To pin a package, add the following exclude directive to your /etc/yum.conf file:

exclude=mongodb-org,mongodb-org-server,mongodb-org-shell,mongodb-org-mongos,mongodb-org-tools

Run MongoDB Community Edition

Prerequisites

ulimit

Most Unix-like operating systems limit the system resources that a session may use. These limits may negatively impact MongoDB operation. See UNIX ulimit Settings for more information.

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:

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:

sudo chown -R mongod:mongod

To Use Non-Default Directories

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

Create the new directory or directories.
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)
Ensure that the user running MongoDB has access to the directory or directories:
sudo chown -R mongod:mongod

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

Ensure your system has the checkpolicy package installed:

sudo yum install checkpolicy
Create a custom policy file mongodb_cgroup_memory.te:
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
Once created, compile and load the custom policy module by running these three commands:

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)

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

semanage fcontext -a -t </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.
Update the SELinux user policy for the new directory:
chcon -Rv -u system_u -t </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
Apply the updated SELinux policies to the directory:

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:
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):
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.

semanage port -a -t mongod_port_t -p tcp

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:

Ensure your system has the checkpolicy package installed:

sudo yum install checkpolicy
Create a custom policy file mongodb_proc_net.te:
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
Once created, compile and load the custom policy module by running these three commands:

Tip

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

checkmodule -M -m -o mongodb_proc_net.mod mongodb_proc_net.te semodule_package -o mongodb_proc_net.pp -m mongodb_proc_net.mod 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.

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.
systemd (systemctl)
System V Init (service)

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.

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

Stop MongoDB.

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

sudo systemctl stop mongod

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.

Begin using MongoDB.

Start a mongo shell on the same host machine as the mongod. Use the --host command line option to specify the localhost address and port that the mongod listens on:

mongo --host 127.0.0.1:27017

Later, to stop MongoDB, press Control+C in the terminal where the mongod instance is running.

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.

Stop MongoDB.

Stop the mongod process by issuing the following command:

sudo service mongod stop

Remove Packages.

Remove any MongoDB packages that you had previously installed.

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

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.

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 MongoDB Configuration Hardening.