MongoDB

This article outlines the integration with the MongoDB connector, enabling streamlined metadata management through features such as crawling, profiling, querying, data preview, and manual lineage building. It also ensures secure authentication via Credential Manager.

Overview

Connector Details

Connector Category	NoSQL
Connector Version	Release7.2.4
Releases Supported (Available from)	Release6.1
Connectivity [How the connection is established with MongoDB]	JDBC driver
Verified MongoDB Version	3.12.11

The MongoDB connector has been validated with the mentioned "Verified MongoDB Versions" and is expected to be compatible with other supported MongoDB versions. If there are any issues with validation or metadata crawling, please submit a support ticket for investigation and feedback.

Connector Features

Feature	Availability
Crawling	✅
Delta Crawling	❌
Profiling	✅
Query Sheet	✅
Data Preview	✅
Auto Lineage	❌
Manual Lineage	✅
Secure Authentication via Credential Manager	✅
Data Quality	✅
DAM (Data Access Management)	❌
Bridge	✅

Metadata Mapping

The following objects are crawled from MongoDB and mapped to the corresponding UI assets.

MongoDB Object	MongoDB Attribute	OvalEdge Attribute	OvalEdge Category	OvalEdge Type
Table	Table Name	Table	Tables	Table
Table	Table Type	Table	Tables	Table
Table	Table Comments	Source Description	Descriptions	Source Description
Columns	Column Name	Column	Table Columns	Columns
Columns	Data Type	Column Type	Table Columns	Columns
Columns	Description	Source Description	Table Columns	Columns
Columns	Ordinal Position	Column Position	Table Columns	Columns
Columns	Length	Data Type Size	Table Columns	Columns

Set up a Connection

Prerequisites

The following are the prerequisites to establish a connection:

Whitelisting Ports

Ensure the inbound port “27017” is whitelisted for OvalEdge to connect to the MongoDB database.

The default port number for MongoDB is 27017. If a different port is used, ensure that the updated port number is specified during connection setup, the port is whitelisted, and communication between the system and MongoDB is properly established.

Service Account User Permissions

It is recommended to use a separate service account to establish the connection to the data source, configured with the following minimum set of permissions.

👨‍💻 Who can provide these permissions? These permissions are typically granted by the MongoDB administrator, as users may not have the required access to assign them independently.

Objects	Sys Tables	Access Permissions
Schema (Database)	listDatabases command	listDatabases privilege on the cluster
Tables (Collections)	listCollections command or system.namespaces collection	listCollections privilege on each database
Columns (Fields)	Derived by sampling documents using the find command	Find privilege on each collection

Connection Configuration Steps

Users are required to have the Connector Creator role in order to configure a new connection.

1. Log into OvalEdge, go to Administration > Connectors, click + (New Connector), search for MongoDB, and complete the required parameters.

Fields marked with an asterisk (*) are mandatory for establishing a connection.

Field Name	Description
Connector Type	By default, "MongoDB" is displayed as the selected connector type.
Authentication	OvalEdge supports the following two types of authentication for MongoDB: Service Standalone

Service

Field Name	Description
Credential Manager*	Select the desired credentials manager from the drop-down list. Relevant parameters will be displayed based on your selection. Supported Credential Managers: OE Credential Manager AWS Secrets Manager HashiCorp Vault Azure Key Vault
Connector Name*	Enter a unique name for the MongoDB connection (Example: "MongoDB_Prod").
Connector Environment	Select the environment (Example: PROD, STG) configured for the connector.
Connector description	Enter a brief description of the connector.
Server*	Enter the MongoDB database server name or IP address (Example: xxxx-xxxx.xxxx4ijtzasl.xx-south-1.rds.xxxxx.com or 1xx.xxx.1.x0).
Database*	Enter the database name to which the service account user has access within the MongoDB.
Driver*	By default, the MongoDB driver details are auto-populated.
Username*	Enter the service account username set up to access the MongoDB database (Example: "oesauser").
Password*	Enter the password associated with the service account user.
Connection String	Configure the connection string for the MongoDB database: Automatic Mode: The system generates a connection string based on the provided credentials. Manual Mode: Enter a valid connection string manually. Replace placeholders with actual database details. {sid} refers to Database Name.
Plugin Server	Enter the server’s name when running as a plugin server.
Plugin Port	Enter the port number on which the plugin is running.

Standalone

Default Governance Roles

Default Governance Roles*	Select the appropriate users or teams for each governance role from the drop-down list. All users and teams configured in OvalEdge Security are displayed for selection.

Admin Roles

Admin Roles*	Select one or more users from the dropdown list for Integration Admin and Security & Governance Admin. All users configured in OvalEdge Security are available for selection.

No of Archive Objects

No Of Archive Objects*	This shows the number of recent metadata changes to a dataset at the source. By default, it is off. To enable it, toggle the Archive button and specify the number of objects to archive. Example: Setting it to 4 retrieves the last four changes, displayed in the 'Version' column of the 'Metadata Changes' module.

Bridge

Select Bridge*	If applicable, select the bridge from the drop-down list. The drop-down list displays all active bridges configured in OvalEdge. These bridges enable communication between data sources and OvalEdge without altering firewall rules.

1. After entering all connection details, the following actions can be performed:

   1. Click Validate to verify the connection.

   2. Click Save to store the connection for future use.

   3. Click Save & Configure to apply additional settings before saving.

2. The saved connection will appear on the Connectors home page.

Manage Connector Operations

Crawl/Profile

To perform crawl and profile operations, users must be assigned the Integration Admin role.

The Crawl/Profile button allows users to select one or more schemas for crawling and profiling.

1. Navigate to the Connectors page and click Crawl/Profile.

2. Select the schemas to crawl.

3. The Crawl option is selected by default. Click the Crawl & Profile radio button to run both operations.

4. Click Run to collect metadata from the connected source and load it into the OvalEdge Data Catalog.

5. After a successful crawl, the information appears in the Data Catalog > Databases tab.

The Schedule checkbox allows automated crawling and profiling at defined intervals, from a minute to a year.

1. Click the Schedule checkbox to enable the Select Period drop-down.

2. Select a time period for the operation from the drop-down menu.

3. Click Schedule to initiate metadata collection from the connected source.

4. The system will automatically execute the selected operation (Crawl or Crawl & Profile) at the scheduled time.

Other Operations

The Connectors page in OvalEdge provides a centralized view of all configured connectors, including their health status.

Managing connectors includes:

• Connectors Health: Displays the current status of each connector using a green icon for active connections and a red icon for inactive connections, helping to monitor the connectivity with data sources.

• Viewing: Click the Eye icon next to the connector name to view connector details, including databases, tables, columns, and codes.

Nine Dots Menu Options:

To view, edit, validate, configure, or delete connectors, click on the Nine Dots menu.

• Edit Connector: Update and revalidate the data source.

• Validate Connector: Check the connection's integrity.

• Settings: Modify connector settings.

  • Crawler: Configure data extraction.

  • Profiler: Customize data profiling rules and methods.

  • Query Policies: Define query execution rules based on roles.

  • Access Instructions: Add notes on how data can be accessed.

  • Business Glossary Settings: Manage term associations at the connector level.

  • Anomaly Detection Settings: Configure anomaly detection preferences at the connector level.

  • Connection Pooling: Allows configuring parameters such as maximum pool size, idle time, and timeouts directly within the application.

  • Others: Configure notification recipients for metadata changes.

• Delete Connector: Remove a connector with confirmation.

Connectivity Troubleshooting

If incorrect parameters are entered, error messages may appear. Ensure all inputs are accurate to resolve these issues. If issues persist, contact the assigned support team.

S.No.	Error Message(s)	Error Description & Resolution
1	Authentication failed	Description: The connection failed because the MongoDB credentials provided are incorrect or not properly configured. Resolution: Verify the username matches the MongoDB user account. Check the password, including case sensitivity and special characters (use URL encoding if needed). Ensure the user account exists and has the required roles. Confirm the authentication database (admin). For MongoDB Atlas, ensure the connection string uses mongodb+srv://. If using a credential manager, verify that stored credentials are correct and accessible.
2	"Communications link failure" or "Connection timeout"	Description: The connection failed due to network connectivity issues between the application and the MongoDB server. Resolution: Verify the server IP/hostname is correct and reachable. Ensure the port is correct (27017 for standalone; no port for Atlas). Check that the MongoDB server is running and accessible. Confirm firewall rules allow traffic on port 27017. For MongoDB Atlas, ensure your IP is whitelisted in Network Access. Test connectivity using ping or telnet <server> <port>. For Atlas, ensure the connection string uses mongodb+srv://.
3	Database does not exist	Description: The connection failed because the database name is incorrect or does not exist in MongoDB. Resolution: Verify the database name (SID) is correct and exists. Ensure the connection string is correctly formatted: Standalone: mongodb://<username>:<password>@<server>:<port>/<database> Atlas: mongodb+srv://<username>:<password>@<server>/<database> Connect using a MongoDB client and run show dbs to confirm the database exists. Ensure the user has read/write permissions on the database. Remember that MongoDB creates databases automatically, but proper permissions are still required.
4	Failed to retrieve DataSource from DataSourceProvider	Description: The issue occurs due to connection pool or data source initialization problems while creating the MongoDB connection. Resolution: Ensure the connection string uses the correct format (mongodb:// or mongodb+srv://). Verify the MongoDB Java driver is present in the classpath. Confirm network connectivity to the MongoDB server. Make sure the selected authentication type (Standalone or Service) matches your MongoDB setup. Remove and re-add the connection to clear cached connection pool state. Note that MongoDB uses MongoClient directly, not traditional JDBC pooling.

FAQs

Why are no databases visible during the crawl process?

This issue commonly occurs due to missing or incomplete access permission privileges. The following validations are required:

• The MongoDB user must have the listDatabases privilege or the readAnyDatabase role.

• The system retrieves database names using mongoClient.listDatabaseNames(), which requires the appropriate privileges.

• The user account must have at least read privileges on the relevant databases.

• MongoDB server logs should be reviewed for any access-related errors.

• The user account must be able to run the show dbs command in the Mongo shell.

• The MongoDB server must be active and reachable.

• For MongoDB Atlas, IP whitelisting and user privileges must be properly configured.

How to switch from database credentials to a credential manager?

To configure the connection using a credential manager, follow these steps:

• Select the required Credential Manager type from the dropdown (e.g., AWS Secrets Manager, HashiCorp Vault).

• Provide the secret name or path where the credentials are stored.

• The system retrieves the username, password, and connection details from the credential manager.

• Ensure the credential manager is correctly configured and accessible.

• Test the connection to confirm successful credential retrieval.

• For MongoDB Atlas, ensure the connection string format remains unchanged.

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