This knowledge article may contain information that does not apply to version 21.05 or later which runs in a container environment. Please refer to Article Number 000385088 for more information about troubleshooting BMC products in containers.

1) What is mongoDB?

mongoDB, is a cross-platform document-oriented database. Classified as a NoSQL database, mongoDB eschews the traditional table-based relational database structure in favor of JSON-like documents with dynamic schemas, making the integration of data in certain types of applications easier and faster.
(https://www.mongoDB.org/)

2) Why BMC is using mongo DB as part of Smart IT and MyIT?

mongoDB is used by MyIT / Smart IT social engine which powers features like user timeline, Ticket timeline, Resource/Asset timeline, Activity stream, User social profile, microblogging, likes, tags, mentions, follow, attachments etc.
mongoDB provides:

- Documents in mongoDB are flexible so you can capture microblog, files/photos, ticket data, check-ins and anything else all in one place.
- Rich query language, indexing and analytics make it easy to serve up the right data to the right user at the right time.
- Horizontal Scaling

More information about mongoDB can be found at: https://www.mongoDB.com/use-cases/social-collaboration-apps

3) Is mongoDB required? Do we have an alternative to using mongoDB – example Oracle, SQL Server

Yes, mongoDB is required as it is an integral part of both MyIT and Smart IT.
No, currently we don’t have any alternatives to mongoDB.

4) How can we setup and configure mongoDB? What versions are supported?

Please refer the following BMC docs: https://docs.bmc.com/docs/display/myit33/Deploying+MongoDB+as+a+replica+set

5) Does mongoDB give enterprise level of security?

Yes – We have some recommendation in BMC docs On this page (link below) https://docs.bmc.com/docs/display/myit33/Deploying+MongoDB+as+a+replica+set
Go to Apply security settings
For more information, please refer https://docs.mongoDB.com/manual/security/

6) Does mongoDB provide enterprise level support?

Yes - https://www.mongoDB.com/products/mongoDB-enterprise-advanced

7) What kind of support can I expect from BMC as part of product deployment?

BMC provides all required documented steps to deploy mongoDB for MyIT/Smart IT (basic deployment/ security recommendations etc). BMC Support can also help in troubleshooting any challenges during the installation process based on our documentation.

8) What will BMC Support provide on an ongoing basis?

BMC Support will provide assistance with upgrade steps in case of change of mongoDB version as per documentation. If you run into product issues, support will debug this to identify BMC product vs 3rd party application errors. BMC product related issues will be addressed by BMC Support. 3rd party product issues (MSSQL, Mongo, Oracle) need to be addressed by the 3rd party vendor.

9) Who will support the customers mongoDB instance?

Customers have an option to procure mongoDB support just like they procure support for other databases like MSSQL & Oracle.

10) Can I backup and archive my mongoDB Data

Yes - http://docs.mongoDB.org/v2.6/tutorial/backup-with-filesystem-snapshots/
We also have tools/scripts to archive old data. Please refer
<<smartit_installation_folder>>/social/scripts/archive.readme

11) How do I configure mongoDB for resilience?

We recommend running mongoDB as a replica set (which provides High Availability). This will ensure your data is replicated over multiple instances.
More information available here
https://docs.mongoDB.com/manual/core/replica-set-architecture-geographically-distributed/

12) The commercial (licensed) version of mongoDB provides advanced security features.

MongoDB is used internally to the application with no direct access to users so the BMC recommended security guidelines should suffice. However, for more advanced support customers can use their discretion to go for mongoDB commercial support if required. mongoDB Enterprise meets security and compliance standards with Kerberos and LDAP authentication, Red Hat Identity Management Certification, and auditing. Standard mongoDB security framework – which includes Role-Based Access Control, PKI certificates, SSL out of the box. They also provide an ops manager to easily manage and deploy mongoDB systems which eases mongoDB Administration.
Note: The enterprise encryption scenario has not been tested by BMC.

13) How to administer/monitor mongoDB software?

The mongoDB needs to be administered by the customer. We have documentation (https://docs.bmc.com/docs/display/myit3 /Deploying+MongoDB+as+a+replica+set)
On how to provision mongoDB for production usage.

More on administration: https://docs.mongoDB.com/manual/administration/

Truesight Operation Management /BPPM (BMC Product) or MMS provided by MongoDB can be used for monitoring.