MongoDB Technical Administration and Operations Training Course

Module 1: Introduction and MongoDB Architecture (4h)

Curriculum:

• Historical context and the MongoDB ecosystem.
• Typical application scenarios, along with their advantages and limitations.
• Core architectural components: instances, processes, and configuration layers.

Practical Application:

• Interactive exploration via Mongo Shell and CLI connections.
• Creation of a sample database and collection.

Module 2: Installation and Initial Configuration (6h)

Curriculum:

• Hardware and resource prerequisites.
• Deployment procedures on Linux (deb/rpm), Windows, and macOS.
• Configuration via YAML files (mongod.conf): managing dataDir, logDir, bindIp, and port settings.
• Startup parameters and systemd/service management protocols.

Practical Application:

• Provisioning instances on local VMs or Docker containers.
• Tuning configurations for both development and production contexts.
• Validating secure remote connectivity protocols.

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

Curriculum:

• Understanding BSON documents, collections, and database structures.
• Modeling strategies: embedding versus referencing; data design patterns.
• Foundations of basic indexing (introduced previously).
• Executing operations via Mongo Shell and scripting examples using native drivers.

Practical Application:

• Modeling a specific use case, such as an inventory or billing system.
• Implementing standard CRUD operations.
• Applying schema validation using JSON Schema within MongoDB.

Module 4: Indexes and Performance (4h)

Curriculum:

• Types of indexes: simple, compound, multikey, text, and geospatial.
• Utilizing explain() to analyze query metrics.
• Evaluating the impact of indexes on write performance and memory usage.

Practical Application:

• Populating collections with test data.
• Testing query performance with and without indexes; interpreting explain() outputs.
• Optimizing index strategies based on observed access patterns.

Module 5: Security (5h)

Curriculum:

• Authentication mechanisms: SCRAM, and introductory LDAP/Kerberos integration.
• Defining user accounts and custom roles.
• Implementing TLS/SSL encryption between clients and servers.
• Configuring at-rest encryption keys.
• Setting up basic audit logging.

Practical Application:

• Creating user accounts with least-privilege access.
• Configuring TLS on local instances.
• Testing unauthorized access attempts and reviewing generated audit logs.

Module 6: Replication and High Availability (6h)

Curriculum:

• Core replication concepts: Primary nodes, Secondary nodes, and oplogs.
• Replica set configuration: initiation, membership management, and arbitration.
• Monitoring cluster status and election processes.
• Maintenance tasks: adding or removing members and reassigning priorities.

Practical Application:

• Deploying a three-node replica set (locally or on VMs).
• Simulating a primary node failure to observe failover behavior.
• Rebuilding secondary nodes and recovering replica states.

Module 7: Sharding and Horizontal Scalability (6h)

Curriculum:

• Sharding fundamentals: shard keys, config servers, and mongos routers.
• Shard key selection strategies and associated risks.
• Deploying config servers, shards, and mongos instances.
• Managing rebalancing and chunk migration.

Practical Application:

• Configuring a basic sharded cluster.
• Inserting large datasets to observe data distribution.
• Exploring shard key modification and understanding its limitations.

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

Curriculum:

• Utilizing native tools: mongodump/mongorestore and filesystem snapshots.
• Executing backups across replica sets and sharded clusters.
• Basic backup management using Cloud Manager or Ops Manager.
• Disaster Recovery (DR) planning: defining RTO and RPO.

Practical Application:

• Performing backup and restore cycles on a test database.
• Simulating system failures and recovering from backups.
• Designing a DR plan for a hypothetical scenario.

Module 9: Monitoring and Alerts (4h)

Curriculum:

• Monitoring tools: mongostat, mongotop, and Cloud Manager/Atlas Monitoring.
• Integration concepts with Prometheus and Grafana.
• Tracking key metrics: CPU, memory, I/O, oplog size, and latencies.
• Configuring alerts: defining thresholds and notification routes.

Practical Application:

• Deploying local or container-based monitoring agents.
• Setting up basic dashboards with sample metrics.
• Simulating load scenarios to observe alert triggers.

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

Curriculum:

• Upgrade strategies for both replica sets and sharded clusters.
• Data cleanup, compaction, and integrity checks.
• Reviewing logs and conducting regular security audits.
• Automating routine tasks using scripts, cronjobs, Ansible, or Terraform.
• Establishing data retention and archiving policies.

Practical Application:

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

Summary and Next Steps