MongoDB Connection Types

MongoDash supports all MongoDB deployment architectures including standalone instances, replica sets, sharded clusters, and MongoDB Atlas. Understanding your deployment type helps you configure connections correctly and optimize performance.

Connection String Overview

MongoDB connection strings use the URI format:

mongodb://[username:password@]host1[:port1][,...hostN[:portN]][/[defaultauthdb][?options]]
mongodb+srv://[username:password@]cluster.domain[/[defaultauthdb][?options]]

The mongodb+srv:// protocol automatically discovers replica set members via DNS SRV records and is recommended for MongoDB Atlas.

Standalone Instances

Standalone MongoDB instances are single-server deployments suitable for development and testing.

Connection Format

mongodb://username:password@localhost:27017/myDatabase

Configuration Example

Enter connection details

Name: Development MongoDB
Host: localhost or server IP
Port: 27017 (default)
Database: Your default database name

Add authentication

Username: Database user
Password: User password
Auth Database: admin (default)

Test connection - Click Test Connection to verify connectivity

When to Use

Local development environments
Testing and staging servers
Small-scale applications
Non-critical workloads

Standalone instances lack redundancy. For production workloads, use replica sets or sharded clusters.

Replica Sets

Replica sets provide high availability through data replication across multiple MongoDB servers.

Connection Format

mongodb://username:password@host1:27017,host2:27017,host3:27017/myDatabase?replicaSet=myReplicaSet

Configuration Example

Enter replica set members

List all replica set members separated by commas
Include all available members for automatic failover
MongoDash will connect to the primary automatically

Specify replica set name

Add ?replicaSet=yourSetName to the connection string
Replica set name must match your MongoDB configuration

Configure read preference (optional)

primary - Read from primary only (default)
primaryPreferred - Read from primary, fall back to secondary
secondary - Read from secondary only
secondaryPreferred - Read from secondary, fall back to primary
nearest - Read from lowest latency member

Read Preference Configuration

Add read preference to your connection string:

mongodb://user:pass@host1,host2,host3/db?replicaSet=rs0&readPreference=secondaryPreferred

When to Use

Production applications requiring high availability
Workloads needing automatic failover
Applications with read-heavy operations
Geographic distribution of data

For read-heavy dashboards, use secondaryPreferred to reduce load on the primary node.

Sharded Clusters

Sharded clusters distribute data across multiple shards for horizontal scaling and high throughput.

Connection Format

mongodb://username:password@mongos1:27017,mongos2:27017/myDatabase

Configuration Example

Connect to mongos routers

List all mongos instances (not individual shards)
MongoDash automatically routes queries through mongos
Include multiple mongos for redundancy

Configure read concern (optional)

local - Default, fastest reads
majority - Read data acknowledged by majority
linearizable - Strongest consistency guarantee

Set write concern (optional)

w: 1 - Acknowledge from primary only
w: majority - Acknowledge from majority of nodes
w: <number> - Acknowledge from specific number of nodes

Advanced Options

mongodb://user:pass@mongos1,mongos2/db?readConcernLevel=majority&w=majority

When to Use

Large-scale applications with high throughput
Datasets exceeding single server capacity
Applications requiring horizontal scaling
Geographically distributed deployments

Always connect to mongos routers, never directly to shard replica sets. Direct shard connections bypass query routing and can cause data inconsistency.

MongoDB Atlas

MongoDB Atlas is the fully managed cloud database service with automatic scaling, backups, and monitoring.

Connection Format

mongodb+srv://username:password@cluster0.mongodb.net/myDatabase?retryWrites=true&w=majority

Configuration Example

Get Atlas connection string

Log into MongoDB Atlas dashboard
Click Connect on your cluster
Select Connect your application
Copy the connection string

Replace credentials

Replace <username> with your database user
Replace <password> with user password
Replace <database> with your database name

Whitelist IP addresses

Add MongoDash IP addresses to Atlas IP whitelist
Or use 0.0.0.0/0 for testing (not recommended for production)

Test connection - Verify connectivity in MongoDash

Atlas-Specific Features

Automatic DNS Discovery - mongodb+srv:// resolves all cluster members
Retry Writes - Built-in retry logic for transient failures
TLS/SSL - Automatically enabled and enforced
Connection Pooling - Optimized connection management

IP Whitelisting

Atlas requires IP whitelisting for security:

Navigate to Network Access in Atlas
Click Add IP Address
Add MongoDash static IP addresses (contact support)
Or add your current IP for testing

MongoDash Enterprise customers receive dedicated static IP addresses for Atlas whitelisting. Contact support for your IP ranges.

Connection String Options

Common options for all connection types:

Authentication

authSource=admin - Specify authentication database
authMechanism=SCRAM-SHA-256 - Authentication mechanism
authMechanism=MONGODB-X509 - Certificate-based auth

SSL/TLS

ssl=true - Enable SSL/TLS
tlsAllowInvalidCertificates=true - Skip certificate validation (development only)
tlsCAFile=/path/to/ca.pem - Custom CA certificate

Connection Pooling

maxPoolSize=50 - Maximum connections in pool
minPoolSize=10 - Minimum connections maintained
maxIdleTimeMS=60000 - Idle connection timeout

Timeout Settings

connectTimeoutMS=10000 - Initial connection timeout (10s default)
socketTimeoutMS=30000 - Socket timeout for operations
serverSelectionTimeoutMS=30000 - Timeout for selecting a server

Example with Options

mongodb://user:pass@host:27017/db?authSource=admin&ssl=true&maxPoolSize=50&connectTimeoutMS=10000

Testing Connections

Before saving, always test your connection:

Click Test Connection - Initiates connection attempt

Review test results - Check for successful authentication and network connectivity

Verify permissions - Ensure your user has required privileges

Check latency - Review connection latency metrics

Common Test Failures

Authentication failed - Incorrect username/password or auth database
Connection timeout - Firewall blocking connection or incorrect host/port
SSL/TLS error - Certificate validation failure
Replica set name mismatch - Incorrect replica set name in connection string

Use the connection test latency indicator to identify network performance issues before they impact your dashboards.

What's Next?

MongoDB Connection Types

Connection String Overview

MongoDB connection strings use the URI format:

mongodb://[username:password@]host1[:port1][,...hostN[:portN]][/[defaultauthdb][?options]]
mongodb+srv://[username:password@]cluster.domain[/[defaultauthdb][?options]]

The mongodb+srv:// protocol automatically discovers replica set members via DNS SRV records and is recommended for MongoDB Atlas.

Standalone Instances

Standalone MongoDB instances are single-server deployments suitable for development and testing.

Connection Format

mongodb://username:password@localhost:27017/myDatabase

Configuration Example

Enter connection details

Name: Development MongoDB
Host: localhost or server IP
Port: 27017 (default)
Database: Your default database name

Add authentication

Username: Database user
Password: User password
Auth Database: admin (default)

Test connection - Click Test Connection to verify connectivity

When to Use

Local development environments
Testing and staging servers
Small-scale applications
Non-critical workloads

Standalone instances lack redundancy. For production workloads, use replica sets or sharded clusters.

Replica Sets

Replica sets provide high availability through data replication across multiple MongoDB servers.

Connection Format

mongodb://username:password@host1:27017,host2:27017,host3:27017/myDatabase?replicaSet=myReplicaSet

Configuration Example

Enter replica set members

List all replica set members separated by commas
Include all available members for automatic failover
MongoDash will connect to the primary automatically

Specify replica set name

Add ?replicaSet=yourSetName to the connection string
Replica set name must match your MongoDB configuration

Configure read preference (optional)

primary - Read from primary only (default)
primaryPreferred - Read from primary, fall back to secondary
secondary - Read from secondary only
secondaryPreferred - Read from secondary, fall back to primary
nearest - Read from lowest latency member

Read Preference Configuration

Add read preference to your connection string:

mongodb://user:pass@host1,host2,host3/db?replicaSet=rs0&readPreference=secondaryPreferred

When to Use

Production applications requiring high availability
Workloads needing automatic failover
Applications with read-heavy operations
Geographic distribution of data

For read-heavy dashboards, use secondaryPreferred to reduce load on the primary node.

Sharded Clusters

Sharded clusters distribute data across multiple shards for horizontal scaling and high throughput.

Connection Format

mongodb://username:password@mongos1:27017,mongos2:27017/myDatabase

Configuration Example

Connect to mongos routers

List all mongos instances (not individual shards)
MongoDash automatically routes queries through mongos
Include multiple mongos for redundancy

Configure read concern (optional)

local - Default, fastest reads
majority - Read data acknowledged by majority
linearizable - Strongest consistency guarantee

Set write concern (optional)

w: 1 - Acknowledge from primary only
w: majority - Acknowledge from majority of nodes
w: <number> - Acknowledge from specific number of nodes

Advanced Options

mongodb://user:pass@mongos1,mongos2/db?readConcernLevel=majority&w=majority

When to Use

Large-scale applications with high throughput
Datasets exceeding single server capacity
Applications requiring horizontal scaling
Geographically distributed deployments

Always connect to mongos routers, never directly to shard replica sets. Direct shard connections bypass query routing and can cause data inconsistency.

MongoDB Atlas

MongoDB Atlas is the fully managed cloud database service with automatic scaling, backups, and monitoring.

Connection Format

mongodb+srv://username:password@cluster0.mongodb.net/myDatabase?retryWrites=true&w=majority

Configuration Example

Get Atlas connection string

Log into MongoDB Atlas dashboard
Click Connect on your cluster
Select Connect your application
Copy the connection string

Replace credentials

Replace <username> with your database user
Replace <password> with user password
Replace <database> with your database name

Whitelist IP addresses

Add MongoDash IP addresses to Atlas IP whitelist
Or use 0.0.0.0/0 for testing (not recommended for production)

Test connection - Verify connectivity in MongoDash

Atlas-Specific Features

Automatic DNS Discovery - mongodb+srv:// resolves all cluster members
Retry Writes - Built-in retry logic for transient failures
TLS/SSL - Automatically enabled and enforced
Connection Pooling - Optimized connection management

IP Whitelisting

Atlas requires IP whitelisting for security:

Navigate to Network Access in Atlas
Click Add IP Address
Add MongoDash static IP addresses (contact support)
Or add your current IP for testing

MongoDash Enterprise customers receive dedicated static IP addresses for Atlas whitelisting. Contact support for your IP ranges.

Connection String Options

Common options for all connection types:

Authentication

authSource=admin - Specify authentication database
authMechanism=SCRAM-SHA-256 - Authentication mechanism
authMechanism=MONGODB-X509 - Certificate-based auth

SSL/TLS

ssl=true - Enable SSL/TLS
tlsAllowInvalidCertificates=true - Skip certificate validation (development only)
tlsCAFile=/path/to/ca.pem - Custom CA certificate

Connection Pooling

maxPoolSize=50 - Maximum connections in pool
minPoolSize=10 - Minimum connections maintained
maxIdleTimeMS=60000 - Idle connection timeout

Timeout Settings

connectTimeoutMS=10000 - Initial connection timeout (10s default)
socketTimeoutMS=30000 - Socket timeout for operations
serverSelectionTimeoutMS=30000 - Timeout for selecting a server

Example with Options

mongodb://user:pass@host:27017/db?authSource=admin&ssl=true&maxPoolSize=50&connectTimeoutMS=10000

Testing Connections

Before saving, always test your connection:

Click Test Connection - Initiates connection attempt

Review test results - Check for successful authentication and network connectivity

Verify permissions - Ensure your user has required privileges

Check latency - Review connection latency metrics

Common Test Failures

Authentication failed - Incorrect username/password or auth database
Connection timeout - Firewall blocking connection or incorrect host/port
SSL/TLS error - Certificate validation failure
Replica set name mismatch - Incorrect replica set name in connection string

Use the connection test latency indicator to identify network performance issues before they impact your dashboards.

MongoDB Connection Types

MongoDB Connection Types

Connection String Overview

Standalone Instances

Connection Format

Configuration Example

When to Use

Replica Sets

Connection Format

Configuration Example

Read Preference Configuration

When to Use

Sharded Clusters

Connection Format

Configuration Example

Advanced Options

When to Use

MongoDB Atlas

Connection Format

Configuration Example

Atlas-Specific Features

IP Whitelisting

Connection String Options

Authentication

SSL/TLS

Connection Pooling

Timeout Settings

Example with Options

Testing Connections

Common Test Failures

What's Next?

On this page

MongoDB Connection Types

MongoDB Connection Types

Connection String Overview

Standalone Instances

Connection Format

Configuration Example

When to Use

Replica Sets

Connection Format

Configuration Example

Read Preference Configuration

When to Use

Sharded Clusters

Connection Format

Configuration Example

Advanced Options

When to Use

MongoDB Atlas

Connection Format

Configuration Example

Atlas-Specific Features

IP Whitelisting

Connection String Options

Authentication

SSL/TLS

Connection Pooling

Timeout Settings

Example with Options

Testing Connections

Common Test Failures

What's Next?

On this page