MongoDB VPS - Getting Started Guide

Software Included

Component	Version
Ubuntu	24.04 LTS
MongoDB	8.0 Community (official APT)
mongosh	included with MongoDB
Node.js	20 LTS
mongo-express	latest (npm)
Apache	2.4 (reverse proxy)
Certbot	latest
Fail2Ban	latest

Step 1 - Get Your Server Credentials

Log in to your client panel and open your VPS service details. You will need:

• IP address of your server
• Root password (for SSH access)

Your MongoDB admin password is the one you entered during the order. Login: admin.

Step 2 - Access mongo-express

mongo-express is a web-based admin interface for MongoDB, available immediately after your VPS is created:

http://your.server.ip/mongo-express

Log in with HTTP Basic Auth credentials:

• Username: admin
• Password: the MongoDB Admin Password you entered during the order

With mongo-express you can browse databases, view and edit documents, run queries and manage collections without using the command line.

Step 3 - Connect to MongoDB Remotely

MongoDB is configured to accept remote connections with authentication. You can connect from any application or tool:

mongosh "mongodb://admin:your_admin_password@your.server.ip:27017/admin"

Connection details for MongoDB GUI tools (MongoDB Compass, Studio 3T, etc.). Note: Port 27017 is the MongoDB wire protocol, not HTTP - it cannot be opened in a browser. Use a database client or the command above.

Parameter	Value
Host	your.server.ip
Port	27017
Username	admin
Password	Admin Password (from order)
Auth Database	admin

Connection string format:

mongodb://admin:your_admin_password@your.server.ip:27017/admin

Step 4 - Enable SSL (Optional)

If you have a domain pointing to this server, you can enable HTTPS for mongo-express with a free Let's Encrypt certificate. Connect via SSH:

ssh root@your.server.ip

/opt/setup/get-ssl.sh db.yourdomain.com

The script will verify DNS, obtain a certificate and configure Apache for HTTPS automatically. After completion, mongo-express is available at https://db.yourdomain.com/mongo-express.

Note: Make sure your domain's A record points to the server IP before running the script. SSL is optional - mongo-express works fine over HTTP with IP address access.

What's Pre-Configured

• Authentication: MongoDB authorization is enabled with SCRAM-SHA-256. Admin user has root privileges
• Remote access: MongoDB accepts connections from any IP on port 27017
• WiredTiger cache: Automatically tuned to 50% of available RAM on first boot
• Security: Fail2Ban protects SSH and mongo-express from brute-force attacks
• Web interface: mongo-express runs behind Apache reverse proxy at /mongo-express

Creating Additional Databases and Users

You can create additional databases and users via mongo-express or SSH:

mongosh -u admin -p --authenticationDatabase admin

use newdb
db.createUser({
    user: "newuser",
    pwd: "strong_password",
    roles: [{ role: "readWrite", db: "newdb" }]
})

Import and Export

Via mongo-express: Use the web interface to view and edit individual documents.

Via command line (recommended for bulk operations):

# Export entire database
mongodump -u admin -p your_admin_password --authenticationDatabase admin -d your_database -o /tmp/backup/

# Import database
mongorestore -u admin -p your_admin_password --authenticationDatabase admin -d your_database /tmp/backup/your_database/

# Export single collection to JSON
mongoexport -u admin -p your_admin_password --authenticationDatabase admin -d your_database -c your_collection -o collection.json

# Import JSON into collection
mongoimport -u admin -p your_admin_password --authenticationDatabase admin -d your_database -c your_collection --file collection.json

Fail2Ban - Brute-Force Protection

Your server comes with Fail2Ban pre-configured to protect both SSH and mongo-express from brute-force attacks.

Rule	Max Attempts	Ban Duration
SSH	5 failed logins	10 minutes
mongo-express	5 failed logins	1 hour

Useful commands:

# Check banned IPs
fail2ban-client status mongo-express
fail2ban-client status sshd

# Unban an IP
fail2ban-client set mongo-express unbanip 1.2.3.4

If you accidentally lock yourself out, connect via VNC console in your client panel and unban your IP.

MongoDB Performance Tuning

WiredTiger cache is automatically set to 50% of RAM on first boot. To check the current value:

mongosh -u admin -p --authenticationDatabase admin --eval "db.serverStatus().wiredTiger.cache"

To adjust manually, edit /etc/mongod.conf (under storage.wiredTiger.engineConfig.cacheSizeGB) and restart MongoDB:

systemctl restart mongod

Server Credentials

MongoDB credentials are stored in /root/.mongo_credentials. This file contains the admin password and mongo-express login credentials.

Updates

MongoDB and the OS don't update automatically. To update manually:

apt update && apt upgrade -y

• MongoDB Documentation: mongodb.com/docs/manual
• mongo-express Documentation: github.com/mongo-express