Welcome to this guide on how to install FerretDB on Ubuntu 22.04|20.04. But before we dive into the nub of this matter, we need to know what FerretDB is!
Databases are majorly categorised as Relational and Non-relational. Today, our key focus is on non-relational databases(also known as NoSQL). These databases do not observe the traditional tabular relational database model of rows and columns with pre-defined schemas, but instead use a variety of data models, such as key-value, document, column-family, and graph models, to store and manage data.
They often store and manage unstructured or semi-structured data, such as text, images, videos, social media posts, and sensor data, that may not fit well into traditional relational databases. They are known for better scalability, performance, and availability than traditional relational databases, particularly for web-scale applications with high volumes of data and traffic. The most popular NoSQL databases are MongoDB, Redis, Couchbase, Cassandra, Neo4j etc.
FerretDB is a free and open-source alternative to MongoDB, built on Postgres. It translates the MongoDB wire protocol queries to SQL with the help of PostgreSQL as the database engine. FerretDB was introduced after the popular MongoDB deviated from its open-source roots and switched to the SSPL license. It acts as a drop-in replacement for MongoDB users looking for an open-source alternative to MongoDB.
One of the amazing features is that FerretDB is compatible with MongoDB drivers and can serve as a direct replacement for MongoDB 6.0+. It is cross-platform as it can be installed on Linux, MacOS and Windows systems. There is also a docker image for those who want to spin it in containers.
To run FerretDB in Docker containers, follow the guide below:
You can also install FerretDB on Rocky / Alma/ CentOS Stream / Fedora Linux using the below guide:
Now let’s plunge in!
Step 1 – Configure PostgreSQL For FerretDB on Ubuntu 22.04|20.04
FerretDB uses PostgreSQL as the database engine. For that reason, we need to install it on our system.
Before we proceed to install FerretDB on Ubuntu 22.04|20.04, you need to ensure that your system and all the installed packages are updated to their latest stable versions:
sudo apt update
sudo apt upgradeOnce the system has been updated, install PostgreSQL
sudo apt install postgresql -yAfter installing, ensure that the service is running:
$ systemctl status postgresql
● postgresql.service - PostgreSQL RDBMS
Loaded: loaded (/lib/systemd/system/postgresql.service; enabled; vendor preset: enabled)
Active: active (exited) since Fri 2023-04-14 18:23:20 EAT; 1min 7s ago
Process: 4519 ExecStart=/bin/true (code=exited, status=0/SUCCESS)
Main PID: 4519 (code=exited, status=0/SUCCESS)
CPU: 1ms
....Connect to the instance:
sudo -u postgres psqlCreate the FerretDB user:
CREATE USER ferretuser WITH PASSWORD 'Passw0rd!';Create a database for the user:
CREATE DATABASE ferretuser OWNER ferretuser;Once created, exit the shell:
\qCreate the user on your system:
sudo adduser ferretuserVerify if you can connect to the database using the user:
$ sudo -u ferretuser psql
could not change directory to "/home/ubuntu22": Permission denied
psql (14.7 (Ubuntu 14.7-0ubuntu0.22.04.1))
Type "help" for help.
ferretuser=> \qStep 2 – Download and Install FerretDB on Ubuntu 22.04|20.04
To download the latest FerretDB release, visit the official GitHub Release page. Now export the latest stable version available:
VER=v1.20.0Proceed and pull the latest release using the command:
##For AMD64
wget https://github.com/FerretDB/FerretDB/releases/download/$VER/ferretdb-linux-amd64.deb
##For ARM64
wget https://github.com/FerretDB/FerretDB/releases/download/$VER/ferretdb-linux-arm64.deb
##For ARMV7
wget https://github.com/FerretDB/FerretDB/releases/download/$VER/ferretdb-linux-armv7.debOnce downloaded, install FerretDB using the command:
sudo apt install ./ferretdb-linux-*debSample Output:
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree
Reading state information... Done
Note, selecting 'ferretdb' instead of './ferretdb.deb'
The following package was automatically installed and is no longer required:
gir1.2-goa-1.0
Use 'sudo apt autoremove' to remove it.
The following NEW packages will be installed:
ferretdb
0 upgraded, 1 newly installed, 0 to remove and 95 not upgraded.
Need to get 0 B/15.1 MB of archives.
After this operation, 30.1 MB of additional disk space will be used.
Get:1 /home/ubuntu/ferretdb.deb ferretdb amd64 0.0.0~rc0 [15.1 MB]
Selecting previously unselected package ferretdb.
(Reading database ... 234140 files and directories currently installed.)
Preparing to unpack /home/ubuntu/ferretdb.deb ...
Unpacking ferretdb (0.0.0~rc0) ...
Setting up ferretdb (0.0.0~rc0) ...Check the installed version:
$ ferretdb --version
version: v1.20.0
commit: d1486f2b5d86eadfa6d148752b14fdde49cb5db9
branch: unknown
dirty: true
package: deb
debugBuild: falseStep 3 – Start and Enable FerretDB on Ubuntu 22.04|20.04
FerretDB takes several arguments that include:
- -h, –help: Show context-sensitive help.
- –version: Print version to stdout and exit.
- –handler=”pg” : Backend handler: ‘dummy’, ‘pg’, ‘tigris’
($FERRETDB_HANDLER). - –-mode=”normal”: Operation mode: ‘normal’, ‘proxy’, ‘diff-normal’,
‘diff-proxy’ ($FERRETDB_MODE). - –state-dir=”.”: Process state directory ($FERRETDB_STATE_DIR).
- –listen-addr=”127.0.0.1:27017″: Listen TCP address ($FERRETDB_LISTEN_ADDR).
- –listen-unix=”” : Listen Unix domain socket path ($FERRETDB_LISTEN_UNIX).
- –listen-tls=””: Listen TLS address ($FERRETDB_LISTEN_TLS).
- –listen-tls-cert-file=”” : TLS cert file path ($FERRETDB_LISTEN_TLS_CERT_FILE).
- –listen-tls-key-file=”” : TLS key file path ($FERRETDB_LISTEN_TLS_KEY_FILE).
- –listen-tls-ca-file=”” : TLS CA file path ($FERRETDB_LISTEN_TLS_CA_FILE).
- –postgresql-url=”postgres://127.0.0.1:5432/ferretdb” : PostgreSQL URL for ‘pg’ handler
Since FerreDB has not been started, we will create a systemd service file with all the desired variables:
sudo vim /etc/systemd/system/ferretdb.serviceIn the file, add the below lines
[Unit]
Description=FerretDB
After=network-online.target
[Service]
Type=simple
ExecStart=/bin/bash -c "ferretdb --mode="normal" --listen-addr="127.0.0.1:27017" --postgresql-url='postgres://ferretuser:Passw0rd!@127.0.0.1:5432/ferretuser'"
Restart=always
RestartSec=2
TimeoutStopSec=5
SyslogIdentifier=ferretdb
[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.targetIn the above command, remember to replace the credentials for PostgreSQL before you proceed with the below command to reload the system daemon:
sudo systemctl daemon-reloadStart and enable the service:
sudo systemctl enable ferretdb
sudo systemctl start ferretdbChekc the status of the service:
$ systemctl status ferretdb
● ferretdb.service - FerretDB
Loaded: loaded (/etc/systemd/system/ferretdb.service; enabled; vendor preset: enabled)
Active: active (running) since Fri 2023-04-14 18:35:07 EAT; 5s ago
Main PID: 9424 (ferretdb)
Tasks: 7 (limit: 4629)
Memory: 3.9M
CPU: 10ms
CGroup: /system.slice/ferretdb.service
└─9424 ferretdb --mode=normal --listen-addr=127.0.0.1:27017 "--postgresql-url=postgres://ferretuser:[email protected]:5432/ferretuser"
Apr 14 18:35:07 tutornix.lab systemd[1]: Started FerretDB.
Apr 14 18:35:07 tutornix.lab ferretdb[9424]: 2023-04-14T18:35:07.544+0300 INFO ferretdb/main.go:231 Starting FerretDB v1.0.0... {"version": "v1.0.0", "commit": ">
Apr 14 18:35:07 tutornix.lab ferretdb[9424]: 2023-04-14T18:35:07.545+0300 INFO listener clientconn/listener.go:95 Listening on TCP 127.0.0.1:27017 ...
Apr 14 18:35:07 tutornix.lab ferretdb[9424]: 2023-04-14T18:35:07.545+0300 INFO listener clientconn/listener.go:183 Waiting for all connections to stop...
Apr 14 18:35:07 tutornix.lab ferretdb[9424]: 2023-04-14T18:35:07.546+0300 INFO debug debug/debug.go:95 Starting debug server on http://127.0.0.1:8088/Step 4 – Use FerretDB on Ubuntu 22.04|20.04
Once installed and started, FerretDB can be used just like MongoDB. You can connect to it using the Mongo shell.
You need to have the Mongo Shell installed on your system before you proceed. First, add the MongoDB repo to your system.
sudo apt install wget curl gnupg2 software-properties-common apt-transport-https ca-certificates lsb-release -y
curl -fsSL https://www.mongodb.org/static/pgp/server-6.0.asc|sudo gpg --dearmor -o /etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d/mongodb-6.gpg
echo "deb [ arch=amd64,arm64 ] https://repo.mongodb.org/apt/ubuntu $(lsb_release -cs)/mongodb-org/6.0 multiverse" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mongodb-org-6.0.listInstall the Mongo Shell on Ubuntu 22.04|20.04:
sudo apt update && sudo apt install mongodb-mongoshNow connect the FerretDB:
mongoshSample Output:
Once connected, switch to the database created on PostgreSQL
test> use ferretuser
switched to db ferretuser
ferretuser> show dbs
public 0 B
ferretuser> Add tables to the database:
db.userdetails.insertOne(
{F_Name: "Tutornix",
L_NAME: "Home",
ID_NO: "124345",
AGE: "70",
TEL: "25465445642"
}
)View the added collections:
> show collections
userdetailsThis added table can also be viewed on the PostgreSQL database:
sudo -u ferretuser psqlNow view if the tables exist here too:
Verdict
That marks the end of this amazing guide on how to install FerretDB MongoDB Alternative on Ubuntu 22.04|20.04. You can now enjoy the awesomeness of FerretDB, a free and open-source alternative to MongoDB. I hope this was helpful.
See more:
Nice work done here.
Thanks @Yannick!