What is this?

Here is a bunch of files which together create a MongoDB Docker container with db data accessible from the host and a custom Mongo config file.

Prerequisites and installation

You need Docker. For Ubuntu installation, click here.

1. SSH to your instance and execute: git clone https://github.com/adsalpha/docker-mongo-config/ && cd docker-mongo-config.
2. Edit the mongod.conf according to your needs. You can take mine, which opens access to the database from remote computers.
3. Build the image using docker build -t <imagename> .
4. Create a running container with docker run -p 27017:27017 --name mongo -it <imagename>

Why not pull from Docker Hub?

Your config file may be different from mine. You could've pulled the image, added your config to /var/lib/volumes/.../_data, but it's not that straighforward. However, if you think your image could be useful to someone, you're welcome to commit it.

Accessing the database

Access your Mongo shell remotely thru mongo <hostip>:27017 from a client computer or use a programming language driver. To get a bash shell into the container, execute docker exec -it mongo bash. To view server logs, do docker attach mongo.

Since your server is accessible from the outside, it'd also be a good idea to configure your server firewall to allow access from certain IP(s). I use UFW on Ubuntu, opening port 27017 for my VPN and 22 for my Mac and VPN.