MongoDB Backup and Restore Using Utilites

In this Post, we’ll walk through how to back up and restore a MongoDB database using the mongodump and mongorestore tools.

MongoDB Backup and Restore Using Utility

MongoDB Backup

Though MongoDB is a popular NoSQL database and known for its flexibility and scalability. However, with great data comes great responsibility. Regular backups are crucial to ensure data safety and disaster recovery. MongoDB offers several tools for this, and one of the most widely used is the mongodump utility.

What is mongodump?

mongodump is a command-line tool that creates a binary export (BSON format) of the contents of a MongoDB database. It connects to a running MongoDB instance and dumps data into specified directories.

Backup with mongo dump commands

Basic Syntax

 mongodump --uri="mongodb://host:port"  

This command dumps all databases from the local MongoDB instance into a default dump directory.

Backup a Specific Database

 mongodump --uri="mongodb://localhost:27017" --db=mydatabase  

Backup a Specific Collection

 mongodump --uri="mongodb://localhost:27017" --db=mydatabase --collection=mycollection  

Specify Output Directory

 mongodump --uri="mongodb://localhost:27017" --out=/path/to/backup  

Include Authentication

 mongodump --uri="mongodb://username:password@localhost:27017" --authenticationDatabase=admin --db=mydatabase  

MongoDB Restore

Restoring data in MongoDB typically involves using the mongorestore utility. Here's a concise guide to help you do it, based on different use cases.

What is mongorestore?

mongorestore is the complementary tool that imports content from a binary database dump into a MongoDB instance, restoring the data as it was when the dump was created.

Restore with mongorestore

Basic Syntax

 mongorestore --uri="mongodb://host:port" /path/to/backup  

Restore a Specific Database

 mongorestore --uri="mongodb://localhost:27017" --db=mydatabase /path/to/backup/mydatabase  

Restore a Collection

 mongorestore --uri="mongodb://localhost:27017" --db=mydatabase --collection=mycollection /path/to/backup/mydatabase/mycollection.bson  

If Auth Is Enabled

 mongorestore --username <user> --password <pass> --authenticationDatabase admin /path/to/backup/  

Restore to a Remote Server

 mongorestore --host <hostname or IP> --port <port> /path/to/backup/  

Summary

Backing up and restoring MongoDB databases using mongodump and mongorestore is straightforward and effective for most use cases, these tools are essential parts of a MongoDB administrator’s toolkit.

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