Connect MongoDB via SSH Tunnel

To connect your MongoDB database to MBI via an SSH tunnel, you (or your team, if you are not a techie) will need to do a few things:

1. Retrieve the MBI public key
2. Allow access to the MBI IP address
3. Create a Linux user for MBI
4. Create a MongoDB user for MBI
5. Enter the connection and user info into MBI

Retrieving the MBI public key

The public key is used to authorize the MBI Linux user. In the next section, we create the user and import the key.

1. Go to Data > Connections and click Add New Data Source.
2. Click the MONGODB icon.
3. After the MongoDB credentials page opens, change the Encrypted toggle to Yes. This will display the SSH setup form.
4. The public key is located underneath this form.

Leave this page open throughout the tutorial - you will need it in the next section and at the end.

If you are a bit lost, Here is how to navigate through MBI to retrieve the key:

Allow access to the MBI IP address

For the connection to be successful, your must configure your firewall to allow access from our IP addresses. They are 54.88.76.97 and 34.250.211.151, but it is also on the MongoDB credentials page:

Creating a Linux user for MBI

This can be a production or secondary machine, as long as it contains real-time (or frequently updated) data. You may restrict this user any way you like as long as it retains the right to connect to the MongoDB server.

To add the new user, run the following commands as root on your Linux server:

    adduser rjmetric -p
    mkdir /home/rjmetric
    mkdir /home/rjmetric/.ssh

Remember the public key we retrieved in the first section? To ensure the user has access to the database, we need to import the key into authorized_keys. Copy the entire key into the authorized_keys file as follows:

    touch /home/rjmetric/.ssh/authorized_keys
    "< PASTE KEY HERE >" >> /home/rjmetric/.ssh/authorized_keys

To finish creating the user, alter the permissions on the /home/rjmetric directory to allow access via SSH:

    chown -R rjmetric:rjmetric /home/rjmetric
    chmod -R 700 /home/rjmetric/.ssh

Creating an MBI MongoDB user

MongoDB servers have two run modes - one with the “auth” option (mongod -- auth) and one without, which is the default. The steps for creating a MongoDB user will vary a bit depending on what mode your server is using, so be sure to verify the mode before continuing.

If your server uses the Auth Option:

When connecting to multiple databases, you can add the user by logging into MongoDB as an admin user and running the following commands.

This command will grant the MBI user access to all databases:

    use admin
    db.createUser('rjmetric', '< secure password here >', true)

Use this command to grant the MBI user access to a single database:

    use < database name >
    db.createUser('rjmetric', '< secure password here >', true)

This will print a response that looks like this:

    {
    "id": ObjectId("< some object id here >"),
    "user": "rjmetric",
    "readOnly": true,
    "pwd": "< some hash here >"
    }

If your server uses the default option

If your server does not use auth mode, your MongoDB server will still be accessible even without a username and password. However, you should ensure the mongodb.conf file (/etc/mongodb.conf) has the following lines - if not, restart your server after you add them.

    bind_ip = 127.0.0.1
    noauth = true

To bind your MongoDB server to a different address, adjust the database hostname in the next step accordingly.

Entering the connection and user info into MBI

To wrap things up, we need to enter the connection and user info into MBI. Did you leave the MongoDB credentials page open? If not, go to Data > Connections and click Add New Data Source, then the MongoDB icon. do not forget to change the Encrypted toggle to Yes.

Enter the following info into this page, starting with the Database Connection section:

• Host: 127.0.0.1
• Username: The MBI MongoDB username (should be rjmetric)
• Password: The MBI MongoDB password
• Port: MongoDB’s port on your server (27017 by default)
• Database Name (Optional): If you only allowed access to one database, specify the name of that database here.

Under the SSH Connection section:

• Remote Address: The IP address or hostname of the server we will SSH into
• Username: The MBI Linux (SSH) username (should be rjmetric)
• SSH Port: The SSH port on your server (22 by default)

That is it! When you are finished, click Save Test to complete the setup.

Related

• Reauthenticating integrations

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