MongoDB Technical Administration and Operations Training Course

Module 1: Introduction and MongoDB Architecture (4h)

Topics Covered:

• Evolution and the MongoDB ecosystem
• Typical use cases, advantages, and limitations
• Core architecture: instances, processes, and configuration

Practical Application:

• Interactive exploration: connecting via Mongo Shell/CLI
• Creating a sample database and collection

Module 2: Installation and Initial Configuration (6h)

Topics Covered:

• Hardware and resource requirements
• Installation procedures for Linux (deb/rpm), Windows, and macOS
• YAML configuration files (mongod.conf): dataDir, logDir, bindIp, port
• Startup options and systemd/service management

Practical Application:

• Deploying instances on local VMs or Docker containers
• Tuning configurations for development versus production environments
• Verifying secure remote connectivity

Module 3: Data Modeling and Basic Operations (5h)

Topics Covered:

• BSON documents, collections, and databases
• Modeling strategies: embedding versus referencing; design patterns
• Basic indexes
• Operations via Mongo Shell and driver-based scripting

Practical Application:

• Modeling a specific use case: inventory or billing system
• Implementing CRUD operations
• Schema validation using JSON Schema in MongoDB

Module 4: Indexes and Performance (4h)

Topics Covered:

• Types of indexes: simple, compound, multikey, text, and geospatial
• Utilizing explain() for metric analysis
• Impact of indexes on write performance and memory usage

Practical Application:

• Creating collections with test data
• Testing queries with and without indexes; interpreting explain() output
• Optimizing indexes based on access patterns

Module 5: Security (5h)

Topics Covered:

• Authentication mechanisms: SCRAM, LDAP/Kerberos (overview)
• Defining users and custom roles
• TLS/SSL configuration between clients and servers
• Encryption at rest: key management
• Basic audit logging

Practical Application:

• Creating users with least-privilege access
• Configuring TLS in local instances
• Testing unauthorized access and reviewing audit logs

Module 6: Replication and High Availability (6h)

Topics Covered:

• Replication concepts: Primary, Secondary, oplog
• Replica set configuration: initiation, membership, and arbitration
• Monitoring status and election processes
• Maintenance tasks: adding/removing members and reassigning priorities

Practical Application:

• Deploying a three-node replica set (local or VM-based)
• Simulating primary failure and observing failover behavior
• Rebuilding secondary nodes and restoring replica consistency

Module 7: Sharding and Horizontal Scalability (6h)

Topics Covered:

• Sharding concepts: shard key, config servers, mongos router
• Shard key selection strategies and associated risks
• Deploying config servers, shards, and mongos instances
• Rebalancing and chunk migration

Practical Application:

• Configuring a basic sharded cluster
• Inserting large-scale data and observing distribution
• Exploring shard key changes and understanding their limitations

Module 8: Backup, Restore, and Disaster Recovery (4h)

Topics Covered:

• Native tools: mongodump/mongorestore, filesystem snapshots
• Backup strategies for replica sets and sharded clusters
• Using Cloud Manager/Ops Manager for backup operations
• Disaster Recovery (DR) planning: defining RTO and RPO

Practical Application:

• Executing backup and restore operations on a test database
• Simulating failure scenarios and recovering from backups
• Designing a DR plan for a hypothetical scenario

Module 9: Monitoring and Alerts (4h)

Topics Covered:

• Monitoring tools: mongostat, mongotop, Cloud Manager/Atlas Monitoring
• Integration with Prometheus and Grafana (concepts and examples)
• Key metrics: CPU, memory, I/O, oplog size, and latencies
• Alerting: defining thresholds and notification triggers

Practical Application:

• Deploying local or container-based monitoring agents
• Building basic dashboards with sample metrics
• Simulating load conditions and observing alert responses

Module 10: Maintenance, Upgrades, and Best Practices (4h)

Topics Covered:

• Upgrade strategies for replica sets and sharded clusters
• Data cleanup, compaction, and integrity checks
• Log review and regular auditing practices
• Automating routine tasks using scripts, cronjobs, Ansible, or Terraform
• Data retention and archiving policies

Practical Application:

• Simulating minor and major upgrades in a controlled environment
• Creating automation scripts for backup and monitoring
• Developing a periodic maintenance checklist

Summary and Next Steps