MongoDB Backup and Restore Guide

This guide provides comprehensive instructions for backing up and restoring MongoDB databases in Docker containers.

Data Backups Repository Structure

Backups are stored in a structured repository following this hierarchy:

data-backups/
├── README.md
└── opengin
    ├── development
    │   ├── mongodb
    │   │   └── opengin.tar.gz
    │   ├── neo4j
    │   │   └── neo4j.dump
    │   └── postgres
    │       └── opengin.tar.gz
    ├── production
    │   ├── mongodb
    │   └── neo4j
    └── staging
        ├── mongodb
        └── neo4j

This structure allows for:

Environment separation: development, staging, production
Database type organization: mongodb, neo4j, postgres
Version management: 0.0.1, 0.0.2, etc.
Consistent naming: All backups follow the same pattern

Prerequisites

Docker installed and running
MongoDB container running (using docker-compose)
Access to MongoDB container
MongoDB credentials (replace <your_username> and <your_password> in commands below)

Backup and Restore Commands

Method 1: Direct Docker Commands (Recommended)

1.1 Create MongoDB Backup

# Create backup directory
mkdir -p ./backups/mongodb

# Create MongoDB dump
docker exec mongodb mongodump \
    --host=localhost:27017 \
    --username=<your_username> \
    --password=<your_password> \
    --authenticationDatabase=admin \
    --db=opengin \
    --out=/data/backup/mongodb_backup_$(date +%Y%m%d_%H%M%S)

# Copy backup from container to host
docker cp mongodb:/data/backup/mongodb_backup_$(date +%Y%m%d_%H%M%S) ./backups/mongodb/

# Create compressed archive
cd ./backups/mongodb
tar -czf mongodb_backup_$(date +%Y%m%d_%H%M%S).tar.gz mongodb_backup_*
rm -rf mongodb_backup_*

# Clean up container backup
docker exec mongodb rm -rf /data/backup/mongodb_backup_*

1.2 Restore MongoDB from Backup

# Extract backup file
tar -xzf mongodb_backup_20241215_143022.tar.gz

# Copy backup to container
docker cp mongodb_backup_20241215_143022 mongodb:/data/backup/

# Restore database
docker exec mongodb mongorestore \
    --host=localhost:27017 \
    --username=<your_username> \
    --password=<your_password> \
    --authenticationDatabase=admin \
    --db=opengin \
    --drop \
    /data/backup/mongodb_backup_20241215_143022/opengin

# Clean up
docker exec mongodb rm -rf /data/backup/mongodb_backup_20241215_143022
rm -rf mongodb_backup_20241215_143022

Method 2: Using Docker Volume Mounts

2.1 Create Backup with Volume Mount

# Create backup directory
mkdir -p ./backups/mongodb

# Run mongodump with volume mount
docker run --rm \
    --network=ldf-network \
    --volume=mongodb_data:/data/db \
    --volume=$(pwd)/backups/mongodb:/backups \
    mongo:4.4 \
    mongodump \
    --host=mongodb:27017 \
    --username=<your_username> \
    --password=<your_password> \
    --authenticationDatabase=admin \
    --db=opengin \
    --out=/backups/mongodb_backup_$(date +%Y%m%d_%H%M%S)

# Create compressed archive
cd ./backups/mongodb
tar -czf mongodb_backup_$(date +%Y%m%d_%H%M%S).tar.gz mongodb_backup_*
rm -rf mongodb_backup_*

2.2 Restore with Volume Mount

# Extract backup file
tar -xzf mongodb_backup_20241215_143022.tar.gz

# Run mongorestore with volume mount
docker run --rm \
    --network=ldf-network \
    --volume=mongodb_data:/data/db \
    --volume=$(pwd)/backups/mongodb:/backups \
    mongo:4.4 \
    mongorestore \
    --host=mongodb:27017 \
    --username=<your_username> \
    --password=<your_password> \
    --authenticationDatabase=admin \
    --db=opengin \
    --drop \
    /backups/mongodb_backup_20241215_143022/opengin

# Clean up
rm -rf mongodb_backup_20241215_143022

Configuration

Environment Variables

Configure your backup settings in configs/backup.env:

# MongoDB Backup Configuration
MONGODB_BACKUP_DIR=/path/to/your/backups/mongodb

# MongoDB Credentials
MONGO_USER=admin
MONGO_PASSWORD=admin123
MONGO_DATABASE=opengin

Docker Compose Volumes

The MongoDB service uses the following volumes:

volumes:
  - mongodb_data:/data/db          # Database data
  - mongodb_config:/data/configdb  # Configuration
  - mongodb_backup:/data/backup    # Backup storage

Backup Strategies

1. Full Database Backup

# Backup entire database
docker exec mongodb mongodump \
    --host=localhost:27017 \
    --username=<your_username> \
    --password=<your_password> \
    --authenticationDatabase=admin \
    --db=opengin \
    --out=/data/backup/mongodb_backup_$(date +%Y%m%d_%H%M%S)

2. Specific Collection Backup

# Backup specific collection
docker exec mongodb mongodump \
    --host=localhost:27017 \
    --username=<your_username> \
    --password=<your_password> \
    --authenticationDatabase=admin \
    --db=opengin \
    --collection=your_collection \
    --out=/data/backup/collection_backup

3. Compressed Backup

# Create compressed backup
docker exec mongodb mongodump \
    --host=localhost:27017 \
    --username=<your_username> \
    --password=<your_password> \
    --authenticationDatabase=admin \
    --db=opengin \
    --archive=/data/backup/mongodb_backup.gz \
    --gzip

Restore Strategies

1. Full Database Restore

# Restore entire database
docker exec mongodb mongorestore \
    --host=localhost:27017 \
    --username=<your_username> \
    --password=<your_password> \
    --authenticationDatabase=admin \
    --db=opengin \
    --drop \
    /data/backup/mongodb_backup_20241215_143022/opengin

2. Specific Collection Restore

# Restore specific collection
docker exec mongodb mongorestore \
    --host=localhost:27017 \
    --username=<your_username> \
    --password=<your_password> \
    --authenticationDatabase=admin \
    --db=opengin \
    --collection=your_collection \
    /data/backup/collection_backup/opengin/your_collection.bson

3. Compressed Restore

# Restore from compressed backup
docker exec mongodb mongorestore \
    --host=localhost:27017 \
    --username=<your_username> \
    --password=<your_password> \
    --authenticationDatabase=admin \
    --db=opengin \
    --archive=/data/backup/mongodb_backup.gz \
    --gzip

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

1. Permission Denied

# Check container permissions
docker exec mongodb ls -la /data/backup

# Fix permissions if needed
docker exec mongodb chown -R mongodb:mongodb /data/backup

2. Authentication Failed

# Verify MongoDB is running
docker exec mongodb mongo --eval "db.adminCommand('ping')"

# Check credentials
docker exec mongodb mongo -u admin -p admin123 --authenticationDatabase=admin

3. Backup Directory Not Found

# Create backup directory
docker exec mongodb mkdir -p /data/backup

# Set proper permissions
docker exec mongodb chown -R mongodb:mongodb /data/backup

Verification Commands

Check Backup Integrity

# List backup contents
tar -tzf mongodb_backup_20241215_143022.tar.gz

# Verify database structure
docker exec mongodb mongo --eval "db.adminCommand('listCollections')"

Check Restore Success

# Verify data was restored
docker exec mongodb mongo --eval "db.stats()"

# Check specific collections
docker exec mongodb mongo --eval "db.your_collection.count()"

Restore to Mongodb Atlas

Note that this dump must be taken from OpenGIN dump program.

mongorestore --uri="<mongodb-service-uri>" --db=opengin --drop "<path-to-the-dump-folder>"

Best Practices

1. Regular Backups

Schedule daily backups using cron
Keep multiple backup versions
Test restore procedures regularly

2. Backup Storage

Store backups in multiple locations
Use compression to save space
Encrypt sensitive backup data

3. Monitoring

Monitor backup success/failure
Set up alerts for backup failures
Log backup activities

4. Security

Use strong authentication credentials
Limit backup access permissions
Encrypt backup files

Backup Script Example

#!/bin/bash
# Daily MongoDB backup script

BACKUP_DIR="/path/to/backups/mongodb"
LOG_FILE="/var/log/mongodb_backup.log"

# Create backup
/path/to/deployment/development/init.sh backup_mongodb >> $LOG_FILE 2>&1

# Clean up old backups (keep last 7 days)
find $BACKUP_DIR -name "*.tar.gz" -mtime +7 -delete

# Send notification
echo "MongoDB backup completed on $(date)" | mail -s "MongoDB Backup" admin@example.com

Support

For issues or questions regarding MongoDB backup and restore:

Check the troubleshooting section above
Review MongoDB documentation
Check container logs: docker logs mongodb
Verify network connectivity: docker network ls

Data Backups Repository Structure​

Prerequisites​

Backup and Restore Commands​

Method 1: Direct Docker Commands (Recommended)​

1.1 Create MongoDB Backup​

1.2 Restore MongoDB from Backup​

Method 2: Using Docker Volume Mounts​

2.1 Create Backup with Volume Mount​

2.2 Restore with Volume Mount​

Configuration​

Environment Variables​

Docker Compose Volumes​

Backup Strategies​

1. Full Database Backup​

2. Specific Collection Backup​

3. Compressed Backup​

Restore Strategies​

1. Full Database Restore​

2. Specific Collection Restore​

3. Compressed Restore​

Troubleshooting​

Common Issues​

1. Permission Denied​

2. Authentication Failed​

3. Backup Directory Not Found​

Verification Commands​

Check Backup Integrity​

Check Restore Success​

Restore to Mongodb Atlas​

Best Practices​

1. Regular Backups​

2. Backup Storage​

3. Monitoring​

4. Security​

Backup Script Example​

Support​