MongoDB Technical Administration and Operations Training Course

Module 1: Introduction and MongoDB Architecture (4 hours)

Content:

• Overview of MongoDB's history and ecosystem
• Common use cases, advantages, and limitations
• Core architecture components: instances, processes, and configuration

Practice:

• Interactive exploration: connecting via Mongo Shell and CLI
• Creating sample databases and collections

Module 2: Installation and Initial Configuration (6 hours)

Content:

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

Practice:

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

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

Content:

• Understanding BSON documents, collections, and databases
• Data modeling strategies: embedding vs. referencing; design patterns
• Introduction to basic indexing
• Executing operations using Mongo Shell and scripting with drivers

Practice:

• Modeling a real-world scenario: inventory or billing system
• Implementing CRUD operations
• Enforcing schema validation using JSON Schema in MongoDB

Module 4: Indexes and Performance Optimization (4 hours)

Content:

• Types of indexes: simple, compound, multikey, text, and geospatial
• Utilizing the explain() function to analyze query performance
• Impact of indexing on write performance and memory usage

Practice:

• Creating collections populated with test data
• Comparing query performance with and without indexes; interpreting explain() output
• Optimizing indexes based on access patterns

Module 5: Security (5 hours)

Content:

• Authentication mechanisms: SCRAM, LDAP/Kerberos (introduction)
• Defining users and custom roles
• Implementing TLS/SSL for client-server communication
• Configuring encryption for data at rest
• Overview of basic audit logging

Practice:

• Creating users with least-privilege permissions
• Configuring TLS for local instances
• Verifying security by attempting unauthorized access and reviewing audit logs

Module 6: Replication and High Availability (6 hours)

Content:

• Replication fundamentals: Primary, Secondary nodes, and oplog
• Configuring replica sets: initiation, membership, and arbitration
• Monitoring cluster status and election processes
• Maintenance tasks: adding/removing members, adjusting priorities

Practice:

• Deploying a three-node replica set (locally or via VMs)
• Simulating primary node failure to observe failover mechanisms
• Rebuilding secondary nodes and recovering replica data

Module 7: Sharding and Horizontal Scalability (6 hours)

Content:

• Sharding fundamentals: shard key, config servers, and mongos router
• Selecting shard keys and associated risks
• Deploying config servers, shards, and mongos instances
• Managing data rebalancing and chunk migration

Practice:

• Configuring a simple sharded cluster
• Inserting large-scale data to observe distribution patterns
• Exploring shard key modifications and understanding limitations

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

Content:

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

Practice:

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

Module 9: Monitoring and Alerts (4 hours)

Content:

• Monitoring tools: mongostat, mongotop, Cloud Manager/Atlas Monitoring
• Integration concepts and examples with Prometheus and Grafana
• Key metrics to track: CPU, memory, I/O, oplog size, and latencies
• Setting up alerts: defining thresholds and notification channels

Practice:

• Deploying monitoring agents locally or in containers
• Constructing basic dashboards with sample metrics
• Simulating workload stress and observing alert responses

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

Content:

• Upgrade strategies for replica sets and sharded clusters
• Data cleanup, compaction, and integrity checks
• Reviewing logs and conducting regular audits
• Automating routine tasks using scripts, cron jobs, Ansible, and Terraform
• Data retention and archiving policies

Practice:

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

Summary and Next Steps