MongoDB Atlas Setup Lab Exercise

Welcome to the MongoDB Atlas Setup Lab! In this lab, we will guide you through setting up a MongoDB Atlas account, which is essential for creating and managing non-relational databases. MongoDB Atlas is a leading service for hosting MongoDB databases, offering robust features and an intuitive interface for database management.

This exercise is divided into several steps, starting with account creation, then database deployment, security configuration, and finally, obtaining the connection string for your applications. Each step is clearly outlined with screenshots and detailed instructions to ensure a smooth setup experience. By the end of this lab, you will have a fully functional MongoDB Atlas account and the knowledge to deploy and manage databases effectively for your projects.

Let’s get started!

Create an Atlas account

Not surprisingly, the most popular service for hosting MongoDB databases is MongoDB’s own Atlas. We’ll use it to host all of our MongoDB databases in class.

First, you will need to sign up for a free account here.

As seen in the image above, you will have two different options to sign up:

1. Click Sign up with Google (blue highlighted button)
2. Enter the required information which includes providing an email and a password (red highlighted inputs and button)

It is important that you choose only one of the following two options to proceed:

Option 1: Sign up WITH Google

Click the Sign up with Google button.

Read the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, then agree to them.

Select the Submit button.

Proceed to the Welcome to Atlas section below.

Option 2: Sign up WITHOUT Google

1. Provide the required information (Company is not required). You should store the email address and password you provide somewhere easily accessible and secure (like a password manager).
2. Read the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, then agree to them.
3. Finally select the Create your Atlas acount option.

If you created an account with an email and password, you’ll be taken to a page asking you to verify your email, as shown below.

1. Find the email from MongoDB in your inbox and verify your email.
2. After you’ve verified your email, you’ll be taken to a page informing you that you’ve successfully verified your email and a Continue button.
3. Click the Continue button.

Proceed to the Welcome to Atlas section below.

Welcome to Atlas

1. Answer the marketing questions however you’d like. Some suggestions are shown below, but your selections do not matter and do not impact your experience.
2. Select the Finish button when you’re done.

Deploy your database

It’s time to set up the cluster! Clusters are MongoDB’s way of collecting your databases all in one place.

1. Select the M0 option, which is FREE.
2. Select AWS as the Provider, and select the Region closest to your job market.
3. Name your cluster whatever you want, but know that this name cannot be changed later. We recommend something simple like student-cluster.
4. Ensure that the text directly above the Create button says FREE.
5. Do not select the Create button unless this text says FREE. If it has a dollar amount, review your selections and ensure you have correctly configured the service from this page.
6. Finally, select the Create button.

Security quickstart

Next, you will be taken to a Security Quickstart page. There will be a message at the bottom left stating that the database cluster is being provisioned and the approximate time it will take to complete.

While the cluster is provisioned, create a database user (different from your account user) by following the steps in the How would you like to authenticate your connection? section.

Creating a database user

1. Select a username and password. Do not use the same password shown in the image below. The username and password must be alphanumeric. They cannot contain any characters that are not English letters or numbers. Do not use special characters of any kind, including spaces.
2. Feel free to use the Autogenerate Secure Password option if you would like or use the default selections; it will only build passwords that meet this constraint.
3. Pause - After creating your username and password, save them in a secure yet accessible place, such as a password manager. Use the Copy button provided to copy your password accurately. You’ll need to access these details shortly. The credentials you’ve just created will be incorporated into a connection string - a crucial element for connecting your applications to the database.
4. After you have selected a username and password, select the Create User button.

After creating a database user

The page should look something like this after you have the above step:

Specifying access from anywhere

Scroll down to the second step: Where would you like to connect from?

1. In the IP Address field, enter the text 0.0.0.0/0 exactly as shown here.
2. In the description, write Anywhere.
3. Then click the Add Entry button.

❗️ IMPORTANT: This is NOT a suitable setting in a production environment and means that your database can be accessed from any device with the correct username and password combination. We use this setting to ensure you can easily develop and deploy to aid your educational experience. For this reason (among others), it is imperative that you not store personally identifying information (phone numbers, addresses, credit card numbers or details, insurance identification, your lucky numbers, and so on) in your database.

After specifying access from anywhere

The page should look like this after the above step.

You may receive an email from MongoDB Atlas with a subject of You’ve added “Allow access from anywhere (0.0.0.0/0)” to your Network Permission List. This is normal and is ok!

Select the Finish and Close button and then the Go to Overview button in the pop-up.

Obtain the Connection String

A connection string is a line of text that specifies the necessary parameters to establish a secure connection to a database. It includes critical information such as the database’s location, username, and password. This string is essential for your application to communicate with the database.

❗️ IMPORTANT: Database connection strings contain the username and password for connecting to the database. NEVER include the connection string in the project’s source code - use a .env file to secure this sensitive information.

1. Once you arrive on the Overview page, click the Connect button as shown below:

1. Select the only option under the Connect to your application header, Drivers:

1. Click the copy button to add the connection string to your clipboard. You do not need to do anything else on this page.

Use the connection string in your app

❗️ Please do not attempt to use any of the connection strings below; they will not function in your applications.

We’re almost done, but you’ll need to make a couple of changes in your connection string before it can be used:

1. Add Password: Replace <password> (including the < and the >) with the password of the database user you created earlier.

   For example, using the password my2Tacos, a properly formatted connection string would look like this:

    mongodb+srv://student:my2Tacos@student-cluster.uwdsn12.mongodb.net/?retryWrites=true&w=majority
   

2. Add Database Name: It is important to note that the connection string does not include a database name by default. You’ll need to add an appropriate database name between the / and ? part of the connection string for each project. For example, if you have a project named my-project, you could give the database the same name:

    mongodb+srv://student:my2Tacos@student-cluster.uwdsn12.mongodb.net/my-project?retryWrites=true&w=majority
   

3. With your password and database name added, your connection string is now ready to use.

4. Paste the connection string into your application’s .env file, assigning it to a MONGODB_URI environment variable.

   As an example:

    MONGODB_URI=mongodb+srv://student:my2Tacos@student-cluster.uwdsn12.mongodb.net/my-project?retryWrites=true&w=majority
   

❗️ If you do not have an application built yet, paste your connection string somewhere safe on your computer for future use.

Reusing the connection string for multiple projects

The database connection string you’ve created can be used for various projects. Remember to securely store this string for easy access in the future.

When using the same connection string for different projects, replace the database name within the string. For instance:

For a flights app, the string might be:

mongodb+srv://student:my2Tacos@student-cluster.uwdsn12.mongodb.net/flights?retryWrites=true&w=majority

For a tacos app, it could be:

mongodb+srv://student:my2Tacos@student-cluster.uwdsn12.mongodb.net/tacos?retryWrites=true&w=majority

The only change needed is the database name, which is the text between the / and ? in the connection string.

Viewing and editing data

You can use Atlas to view and edit data by clicking on the Browse Collections button on the Database Deployments page, as shown below.

MongoDB also maintains an application called Compass that lets you browse your data on Atlas with just your connection string. You can download Compass here.

Congrats, you are now ready to create databases in MongoDB Atlas! 🎉