Connecting a remote server to Compass?

mj69 · 2022-10-09T02:03:52.960Z

Hello. Since I’m very new to this topic of working with MongoDB on a remote Virtual Private Server, things are a bit more complicated than that on my side.

My Node.JS app and MongoDB Community Edition are both on a remote Ubuntu server.
I remember when working with MongoDB on my local Windows 10 machine, I had to activate it with mongod , first. Only then I could enter the Mongo shell in another PowerShell instance with mongo .

A. What if my website’s end users want to add or remove data to and from my in-server database? Will the server keep mongod command active even if I don’t do that? Is such thing even necessary in this scenario?

This article says I have to use the IP address of my remote server hosting MongoDB when trying to connect to it (from for example a Win10 machine) when using Compass:

TechRepublic – 4 Apr 22

How to install the MongoDB GUI Compass and connect to a remote server

If you want to try MongoDB, here's a GUI to make it much easier. Jack Wallen shows you how to install it.

Est. reading time: 4 minutes

I’ve changed the bind_ip to 0.0.0.0 in /etc/mongodb.conf

B. Is this URI string correct for connecting Compass to the remote server db:

mongodb://<IP address of ubuntu server>:27017/?tls=true

I used this URI string in my app when using the MongoDB cluster:
mongodb+srv://<username>:<password>@<some address>.mongodb.net/?retryWrites=true&w=majority

C. Where is the username and password when MongoDB is installed on a remote server? Do I have to create them in Mongo shell on the remote server? If yes, then how?

D. Does creating a user on in-server database change the URI string for Compass? Does it have something to do with Authentication Method section in Compass?

E. In absence of such user, can Compass access the in-server db directly?

I know that’s a lot. I appreciate your help.

Kushagra_Kesav · 2022-10-17T06:38:53.827Z

Hi @mj69,

Welcome to the MongoDB Community forums

mj69:

A. What if my website’s end users want to add or remove data to and from my in-server database? Will the server keep the mongod command active even if I don’t do that? Is such a thing even necessary in this scenario?

If you start MongoDB as a service on Ubuntu, it will be running in the background and your web server will have access to the database until you shut it down manually - Reference

mj69:

B. Is this URI string correct for connecting Compass to the remote server DB:
mongodb://<IP address of ubuntu server>:27017/?tls=true
I used this URI string in my app when using the MongoDB cluster:
mongodb+srv://<username>:<password>@<some address>.mongodb.net/?retryWrites=true&w=majority

If you are open to using a managed service, I recommend that you consider using MongoDB Atlas before deploying a database manually, as an improperly configured database may pose security risks.

mj69:

C. Where is the username and password when MongoDB is installed on a remote server? Do I have to create them in Mongo shell on the remote server? If yes, then how?

You need to configure security and access control - Please refer to the MongoDB Security Checklist. You should enable authentication, configure a Role-Based Access Control, and configure network encryption with TLS.

mj69:

D. Does creating a user on the in-server database change the URI string for Compass? Does it have something to do with the Authentication Method section in Compass?

This depends on whether you wish to use Compass as a different user. In some cases, you might not want to run Compass as a super user on a regular basis. For this purpose, it would be necessary to create a user with limited permissions and use that user as part of the Compass connection string.

mj69:

E. In absence of the such a user, can Compass access the in-server DB directly?

MongoDB Compass can connect to local or remote deployments.

To gain a deeper understanding of MongoDB, I would recommend you take these courses from MongoDB University.

M001 - MongoDB Basic
M103 - Basic Cluster Administration
M150 - Authorisation and Authentication

I hope it helps!

Thanks,
Kushagra

mj69 · 2022-10-21T13:13:56.359Z

Thank You. How can I connect to MongoDB Community Edition installed on my server without SSH, remotely?

system · 2022-10-26T13:14:45.344Z

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