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  • MongoDB – (No-SQL)

MongoDB – (No-SQL)

Curriculum

  • 10 Sections
  • 31 Lessons
  • 10 Weeks
Expand all sectionsCollapse all sections
  • Introduction to MongoDB
    MongoDB is a NoSQL database that is designed for handling large volumes of unstructured or semi-structured data. Unlike traditional relational databases (RDBMS) that use tables and rows to organize data, MongoDB stores data in a flexible document-oriented format using JSON-like documents (BSON - Binary JSON). This makes it highly scalable, flexible, and performant for applications that need to handle varying types of data with complex structures.
    5
    • 1.1
      What is MongoDB?
    • 1.2
      Why MongoDB?
    • 1.3
      When to use MongoDB?
    • 1.4
      Key Features of MongoDB
    • 1.5
      Installing MongoDB
  • MongoDB Basic Operations
    MongoDB provides a rich set of basic operations for interacting with the database, including creating, reading, updating, and deleting data (often abbreviated as CRUD operations). Below are the basic operations that you can perform with MongoDB.
    2
    • 2.0
      Database and Collection Basics
    • 2.1
      CRUD Operations
  • Advanced Querying Techniques
    MongoDB offers a rich set of querying capabilities, and as you work with larger datasets and more complex application requirements, you’ll often need to use advanced querying techniques. These techniques help you optimize performance, execute sophisticated queries, and leverage MongoDB’s powerful indexing and aggregation features.
    4
    • 3.1
      Query Filters and Operators
    • 3.2
      Advanced Querying
    • 3.3
      Sorting and Limiting Results
    • 3.4
      Aggregation Framework
  • Data Modeling and Schema Design
    Data modeling and schema design are critical when using MongoDB (or any NoSQL database) to ensure efficient data storage, fast queries, and scalability. Unlike relational databases, MongoDB is schema-less, which means you are not required to define a fixed schema upfront. However, making the right design decisions from the beginning is essential for maintaining performance and avoid complications as your data grows.
    4
    • 4.1
      Data Modeling
    • 4.2
      Document Structure
    • 4.3
      Schema Design Patterns
    • 4.4
      MongoDB and Relationships
  • Indexing and Performance Optimization
    In MongoDB, indexing is a critical part of performance optimization. Without proper indexes, MongoDB has to scan every document in a collection to satisfy queries, which can be very inefficient for large datasets. Indexes are used to quickly locate data without scanning every document, making reads faster and more efficient.
    3
    • 5.0
      Creating Indexes
    • 5.1
      Using Text Search
    • 5.2
      Performance Optimization
  • Integrating MongoDB with a Web Application (Node.js)
    Integrating MongoDB with a web application built using Node.js is a common and powerful combination for building scalable and efficient web apps. MongoDB’s flexibility with JSON-like data and Node.js's asynchronous event-driven architecture work well together. In this guide, I'll walk you through the steps for integrating MongoDB with a Node.js web application, covering the essentials of setting up the connection, performing CRUD operations, and using popular libraries.
    3
    • 6.0
      Setting Up MongoDB with Node.js
    • 6.1
      CRUD Operations with Mongoose
    • 6.2
      Error Handling and Validation
  • Security in MongoDB
    Security is an essential aspect when working with MongoDB, especially when handling sensitive data in production environments. MongoDB provides a variety of security features to help protect your data against unauthorized access, injection attacks, and other vulnerabilities. Here’s a guide on securing MongoDB and your Node.js application when interacting with MongoDB.
    2
    • 7.0
      Authentication and Authorization
    • 7.1
      Data Encryption
  • Working with MongoDB in Production
    3
    • 8.0
      MongoDB Backup and Restore
    • 8.1
      MongoDB Scaling and Sharding
    • 8.2
      MongoDB Replication
  • Deploying and Monitoring MongoDB
    Working with MongoDB in a production environment requires careful planning, attention to detail, and best practices to ensure optimal performance, security, reliability, and scalability.
    3
    • 9.0
      Deploying MongoDB to Production
    • 9.1
      Monitoring and Management
    • 9.2
      Summary for MongoDB deployment on Production
  • Building a Web App with MongoDB (Final Project)
    Demo Project (OneStopShop)
    2
    • 10.0
      Building the Application
    • 10.1
      Final Project Features

Data Encryption

Data encryption is a crucial aspect of securing sensitive data both at rest (when stored on disk) and in transit (when transmitted over networks). MongoDB provides several built-in mechanisms to ensure that your data is protected by encryption in different scenarios. This section will cover data encryption at rest and data encryption in transit in MongoDB.

1. Encryption at Rest

Encryption at rest protects your stored data from unauthorized access by encrypting data when it is saved to disk. This ensures that, even if someone gains access to the raw database files, the data is unreadable without the appropriate decryption key.

a. Enabling Encryption at Rest (MongoDB Enterprise)

MongoDB’s Enterprise edition supports encryption at rest using WiredTiger storage engine, which encrypts the data files using an encryption key.

  1. Generate a Key for Encryption: MongoDB uses a key management system (KMS) to manage the encryption keys. You can generate a key using the openssl command, or you can use an external KMS service such as AWS KMS, Azure Key Vault, or Google Cloud KMS.Example: Generate a Key Using OpenSSL:bashCopy codeopenssl rand -base64 32 > /path/to/your/keyfile
  2. Configure MongoDB to Use Encryption at Rest:In the mongod.conf file, you can enable encryption by adding the following configuration:yamlCopy codesecurity: encryption: enabled: true keyFile: /path/to/your/keyfile # Specify the path to the keyfile
    • enabled: true: Enables encryption at rest.
    • keyFile: Specifies the location of the encryption key.
  3. MongoDB Cloud (Atlas):
    • MongoDB Atlas, the managed database service, automatically encrypts data at rest. All data is encrypted using AES-256 encryption, with no action required from the user. You can manage the encryption keys using the AWS KMS, Azure Key Vault, or Google Cloud KMS.
    • If you are using Atlas for your MongoDB deployment, encryption at rest is enabled by default.
  4. Key Management:
    • Automatic Key Management: MongoDB supports integration with external Key Management Systems (KMS), including AWS KMS, Azure Key Vault, and Google Cloud KMS. This allows you to centralize key management and rotate encryption keys periodically.
    • Automatic Key Rotation: MongoDB supports automatic encryption key rotation. You can configure key rotation policies to automatically rotate encryption keys every 90 days, which is a recommended security practice.

b. Key Management in MongoDB

Key management is an essential part of the encryption process. MongoDB allows you to manage encryption keys using master keys and integrate with external KMS providers. These external systems can provide centralized key management, auditing, and key rotation.

  1. MongoDB Key Management:
    • In MongoDB, encryption keys are stored in a key vault (either managed locally or by a KMS). It’s important to manage the keys securely because the encryption is only as secure as the key management process.
    • You can configure your MongoDB deployment to rotate keys periodically, either manually or automatically.
  2. External Key Management Systems (KMS): MongoDB can integrate with KMS services from cloud providers:
    • AWS KMS (Amazon Web Services)
    • Azure Key Vault (Microsoft Azure)
    • Google Cloud KMS (Google Cloud)
    These services provide secure storage and management of keys, allowing you to enforce policies such as key rotation and access controls.

c. Performance Considerations

Encryption can have an impact on performance because the system has to encrypt and decrypt data during read and write operations. The WiredTiger storage engine in MongoDB performs encryption in a way that minimizes the performance impact. However, when deciding whether to enable encryption at rest, consider the following:

  • Disk I/O: Encrypting and decrypting data introduces some CPU overhead, so you should monitor performance and adjust resources accordingly.
  • Key Management: The overhead of integrating with external key management services can also impact performance, especially if frequent key rotations or network requests are involved.

2. Encryption in Transit

Encryption in transit ensures that the data transmitted between clients (such as your Node.js application) and the MongoDB server is encrypted. This is especially important when MongoDB is accessed over the network (e.g., in a cloud environment) to prevent data interception or eavesdropping.

a. Enabling TLS/SSL Encryption for Data in Transit

To ensure that data is encrypted during transmission, MongoDB supports TLS/SSL encryption. This prevents unauthorized parties from intercepting or tampering with the data while it is being transmitted.

  1. Generate SSL/TLS Certificates: You can create self-signed certificates for testing purposes, but for production, it is recommended to use certificates issued by a trusted Certificate Authority (CA).Example using openssl:bashCopy code# Generate a new private key and certificate signing request (CSR) openssl req -new -newkey rsa:2048 -days 365 -nodes -keyout mongodb.key -out mongodb.csr # Generate the public certificate using the private key and CSR openssl x509 -req -in mongodb.csr -signkey mongodb.key -out mongodb.crt
  2. Configure MongoDB to Use TLS/SSL: In the mongod.conf file, configure MongoDB to use SSL by adding the following lines:yamlCopy codenet: ssl: mode: requireSSL PEMKeyFile: /path/to/mongodb.crt PEMKeyPassword: your_key_password CAFile: /path/to/ca.crt # Optional, for client authentication
    • PEMKeyFile: Specifies the path to the server’s SSL certificate.
    • PEMKeyPassword: Password for the server’s private key (if needed).
    • CAFile: Specifies the Certificate Authority (CA) file, which is optional if you are using client authentication.
  3. Client Configuration (Node.js with Mongoose):To connect to MongoDB securely using SSL in a Node.js application, you need to ensure that your Mongoose connection specifies the SSL configuration.Example using Mongoose:javascriptCopy codeconst mongoose = require('mongoose'); mongoose.connect('mongodb://yourUser:yourPassword@localhost:27017/myappDB', { useNewUrlParser: true, useUnifiedTopology: true, ssl: true, // Enable SSL connection sslValidate: true, // Validate server certificate sslCA: '/path/to/ca.pem' // Provide the CA certificate if necessary }) .then(() => { console.log("Connected to MongoDB with SSL encryption."); }) .catch(err => { console.error("Error connecting to MongoDB", err); });
  4. Enforce SSL Connections: You can enforce SSL connections for all clients connecting to the MongoDB server by setting the mode: requireSSL option in the mongod.conf file, as shown in the previous step.

b. Securing MongoDB Authentication Over SSL

When using SSL, you can also ensure that authentication credentials are transmitted securely by enforcing SSL for authentication. This protects the authentication process from man-in-the-middle (MITM) attacks.

  • MongoDB supports client authentication over SSL, where the client presents a certificate to authenticate with the MongoDB server, adding an extra layer of security.

3. MongoDB Atlas Encryption

MongoDB Atlas, the fully managed cloud database service, provides built-in encryption both at rest and in transit:

  • Encryption at Rest: All data stored in MongoDB Atlas is automatically encrypted using AES-256 encryption. Atlas uses industry-standard encryption techniques and integrates with cloud provider KMS services for key management and key rotation.
  • Encryption in Transit: By default, all communication with MongoDB Atlas is encrypted using TLS/SSL. You do not need to manually configure TLS, as it’s enabled by default for all connections.
  • Key Management: MongoDB Atlas provides options for customer-managed encryption keys (CMEK), allowing you to control the encryption keys used for your database encryption. Atlas integrates with cloud KMS providers like AWS KMS, Google Cloud KMS, and Azure Key Vault for key management.

4. Best Practices for MongoDB Encryption

  1. Use Strong Encryption Algorithms: Always use AES-256 for encryption at rest. For encryption in transit, ensure TLS 1.2 or higher is used.
  2. Use Valid Certificates: When enabling SSL/TLS, use certificates signed by a trusted certificate authority (CA). Self-signed certificates should only be used for testing or development purposes.
  3. Regular Key Rotation: Enable automatic key rotation for encryption at rest, and periodically rotate your encryption keys.
  4. Secure Your Key Management System: Ensure that encryption keys are stored securely. If using external KMS providers, ensure proper access control and auditing of key usage.
  5. Enforce SSL Connections: Always enforce SSL/TLS for all connections to prevent man-in-the-middle (MITM) attacks.
  6. Monitor Encryption Logs: Enable auditing and monitoring to keep track of encryption-related activities, such as key management and certificate usage.

Conclusion

Encryption is a critical component of securing your MongoDB deployment and protecting sensitive data. MongoDB offers robust solutions for both encryption at rest and encryption in transit:

  • Encryption at Rest protects your stored data with AES-256 encryption and key management.
  • Encryption in Transit ensures secure communication between MongoDB and clients using SSL/TLS.

By following best practices for encryption and utilizing MongoDB’s features for secure key management, you can safeguard your data against unauthorized access and ensure compliance with security standards.

Authentication and Authorization
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