Back Up and Restore MongoDB via SSH Tunnel

Need to back up a MongoDB database on Sliplane? This guide shows you how to securely create and restore backups using an SSH tunnel. This method keeps your database private while giving you full access without exposing it publicly.

What You'll Learn

In this guide, you'll:

• Set up an SSH tunnel service in Sliplane
• Create backups using mongodump over the tunnel
• Restore databases using mongorestore
• Handle different backup formats and restore options

Note: If your database is already public and your IP is whitelisted, you can connect directly without an SSH tunnel.

Prerequisites

Before you start, make sure you have:

• MongoDB client tools installed: mongodump, mongorestore, mongosh
• Your Sliplane MongoDB database credentials
• A Sliplane project with a running MongoDB service

Step 1: Create an SSH Tunnel Service

First, create a dedicated SSH tunnel service in your Sliplane project:

1. In your Sliplane dashboard, go to your project
2. Click Add Service → Presets → SSH Tunnel
3. Use these settings:
   • Image: ghcr.io/sliplane/docker-ssh:latest
   • Environment Variables:
     • HOST=0.0.0.0
     • PORT=2222
     • ROOT_PASSWORD=choose a strong password
4. Deploy the service and note its public domain (e.g., ssh-tunnel-123.sliplane.app)

Step 2: Establish the SSH Tunnel

Open a terminal and create a local tunnel to your Sliplane database:

ssh -p 2222 \
  [email protected] \
  -L 27017:mongodb-service-name.internal:27017 \
  -N

Replace mongodb-service-name.internal with your MongoDB service's internal hostname. Keep this terminal window open during the backup/restore process.

Step 3: Test the Connection

Verify that the tunnel works before creating backups:

mongosh "mongodb://your-user:[email protected]:27017/your-database?authSource=your-database" \
--eval 'db.runCommand({ping: 1})'

If you see { ok: 1 }, your tunnel is working correctly.

Step 4: Create a Backup

Now that your SSH tunnel is working, it's time to create a backup. MongoDB offers multiple backup options through mongodump, each with different use cases and advantages.

Full Database Backup (Recommended)

This format creates a complete binary backup of your database:

mongodump \
  --host 127.0.0.1 --port 27017 \
  --username your-user --password your-password \
  --authenticationDatabase your-database \
  --out backup-$(date +%F)

Specific Database Backup

Backup only a specific database:

mongodump \
  --host 127.0.0.1 --port 27017 \
  --username your-user --password your-password \
  --authenticationDatabase your-database \
  --db your-database \
  --out backup-$(date +%F)

Specific Collection Backup

Backup only specific collections:

mongodump \
  --host 127.0.0.1 --port 27017 \
  --username your-user --password your-password \
  --authenticationDatabase your-database \
  --db your-database \
  --collection your-collection \
  --out backup-$(date +%F)

Archive Format

Create a single archive file:

mongodump \
  --host 127.0.0.1 --port 27017 \
  --username your-user --password your-password \
  --authenticationDatabase your-database \
  --archive=backup-$(date +%F).archive \
  --gzip

Step 5: Restore the Backup

With your backup file ready, you can now restore it to your MongoDB database. The restore process depends on your backup format and whether you're restoring to an existing database or creating a new one.

Restore Full Database

From directory backup:

mongorestore \
  --host 127.0.0.1 --port 27017 \
  --username your-user --password your-password \
  --authenticationDatabase your-database \
  --drop backup-YYYY-MM-DD

Restore Archive Format

From archive file:

mongorestore \
  --host 127.0.0.1 --port 27017 \
  --username your-user --password your-password \
  --authenticationDatabase your-database \
  --archive=backup-YYYY-MM-DD.archive \
  --gzip

Restore to Different Database

mongorestore \
  --host 127.0.0.1 --port 27017 \
  --username your-user --password your-password \
  --authenticationDatabase your-database \
  --db target-database \
  --drop backup-YYYY-MM-DD/your-database

Restore Specific Collection

mongorestore \
  --host 127.0.0.1 --port 27017 \
  --username your-user --password your-password \
  --authenticationDatabase your-database \
  --db your-database \
  --collection target-collection \
  --drop backup-YYYY-MM-DD/your-database/your-collection.bson

This method gives you secure, reliable access to your MongoDB database on Sliplane for backups and restores while keeping your infrastructure secure.