ApsaraDB for MongoDB provides replica set instances that are suitable for scenarios in which the number of read operations is larger than the number of write operations or the number of operations surges due to impromptu events. These scenarios are common in websites that provide online reading services and in systems that provide order queries. This topic describes how to create a replica set instance in the ApsaraDB for MongoDB console.

Prerequisites

An Alibaba Cloud account is created. For more information, see Sign up with Alibaba Cloud.

Precautions

If your application is deployed on an Elastic Compute Service (ECS) instance, make sure that your ApsaraDB for MongoDB instance and ECS instance meet the following requirements to ensure network connectivity: For more information about how to view ECS instance information, see View instance information.
  • Your ApsaraDB for MongoDB instance and ECS instance are deployed in the same region, and preferably belong to the same zone. This reduces network latency.
  • Your ApsaraDB for MongoDB instance and ECS instance use the same network type.
    Note
    • VPC is recommended because VPC provides higher security.
    • If the network type is VPC, you must ensure that they use the same VPC ID.
    • If you want to use VPC, but the network type of the ECS instance is classic network, you can change the network type of the ECS instance to VPC. For more information, see Migrate ECS instances from the classic network to a VPC.

Limits

Replica set instances that run MongoDB 5.0 or 4.4 can be created only in the regions and zones listed in the following table.
Region Zone
China (Hangzhou) Hangzhou Zone G, H, or I
China (Shanghai) Shanghai Zone B or G
China (Qingdao) Qingdao Zone C
China (Beijing) Beijing Zone F or H
China (Zhangjiakou) Zhangjiakou Zone A or C
China (Hohhot) Hohhot Zone B
China (Shenzhen) Shenzhen Zone E
China (Heyuan) Heyuan Zone A or B
China (Chengdu) Chengdu Zone A or B
Singapore (Singapore) Singapore Zone A, B, or C
US (Silicon Valley) Silicon Valley Zone B
US (Virginia) Virginia Zone A or B

Billing

ApsaraDB for MongoDB supports the subscription and pay-as-you-go billing methods. You can select a billing method based on your business requirements.
  • Subscription: If you purchase a subscription instance, you must pay an upfront fee for the instance.
  • Pay-as-you-go: A pay-as-you-go instance is charged per hour based on the configurations of the instance. Fees are automatically deducted from your Alibaba Cloud account.

For more information, see Billable items and pricing.

Procedure

After you perform the following steps, ApsaraDB for MongoDB automatically creates one or more standalone instances. No manual interventions are required.

  1. Log on to the ApsaraDB for MongoDB console.
  2. On the Replica Set Instances page, click Create Instance.
  3. Click the Replica Set (Subscription) tab or the Replica Set (Pay-as-you-go) tab.
  4. Configure the following parameters.
    Parameter Description
    Region The region where you want to deploy the replica set instance.
    Note
    • After the replica set instance is created, you cannot change the region of the instance. Proceed with caution.
    • If your application is deployed on an Elastic Compute Service (ECS) instance, we recommend that you deploy the replica set instance in the region where the ECS instance resides. If the replica set instance and the ECS instance belong to different regions, your application cannot communicate with the replica set instance over an internal network.
    • For more information about the regions where replica set instances that run MongoDB 5.0 or 4.4 can be created, see the "Limits" section of this topic.
    Zone The zone where you want to deploy the replica set instance.
    Note
    • If your application is deployed on an ECS instance, we recommend that you deploy the replica set instance in the zone where the ECS instance resides to reduce network latency. If you use a replica set instance that runs MongoDB 4.2 or earlier, you can migrate the instance to a different zone. For more information, see Migrate an ApsaraDB for MongoDB instance to different zones in the same region.
    • You can select multiple zones for the replica set instance to achieve zone-disaster recovery. For more information, see Create a multi-zone replica set instance.
    • For more information about the zones where replica set instances that run MongoDB 5.0 or 4.4 can be created, see the "Limits" section of this topic.
    Engine Version The MongoDB version of the replica set instance. Valid values:
    • MongoDB 5.0
    • MongoDB 4.4
    • MongoDB 4.2
    • MongoDB 4.0
    • MongoDB 3.4
    Note
    • For more information about the regions and zones where replica set instances that run MongoDB 5.0 or 4.4 can be created, see the "Limits" section of this topic.
    • When a replica set instance is in the Running state, you can manually upgrade the MongoDB version of the instance. For more information, see Upgrade MongoDB versions.
    Active-standby Nodes The number of active-standby nodes in the replica set instance. Set this parameter based on your business requirements.
    Note This parameter can be set only to Three Nodes Replicaset if the replica set instance runs MongoDB 5.0 or 4.4.
    Read-only Nodes The number of read-only nodes in the replica set instance. Set this parameter based on your business requirements. For more information about read-only nodes, see ApsaraDB for MongoDB read-only nodes.
    Note The number of read-only nodes cannot be increased for replica set instances that run MongoDB 5.0 or 4.4.
    Storage Engine The storage engine of the replica set instance. This parameter can be set only to WiredTiger.
    Storage Type The storage type of the replica set instance. Set this parameter based on your business requirements.
    • ESSD PL1: This parameter can be set only to ESSD PL1 if the replica set instance runs MongoDB 5.0 or 4.4.
    • Local SSD: This parameter can be set only to Local SSD if the replica set instance runs MongoDB 4.2, 4.0, or 3.4.
    Network Type The network type for which you want to deploy the replica set instance. This parameter can be set only to VPC.
    Note If your application is deployed on an ECS instance, you must make sure that the ECS instance is in a VPC. This ensures network connectivity between your application and the replica set instance.
    VPC The ID of the virtual private cloud (VPC) where you want to deploy the replica set instance. If no VPCs are available, you can create a VPC in the VPC console. For more information, see Create and manage a VPC.
    vSwitch The ID of the vSwitch to which the replica set instance belongs. If no vSwitches are available, you can create a vSwitch in the VPC console. For more information, see Work with vSwitches.
    Specifications The number of CPU cores and memory capacity that are configured for the replica set instance. For more information about the specifications that are supported by replica set instances, see Instance types.
    Storage The storage capacity of each node in the replica set instance.
    Note
    • This parameter specifies the storage capacity of each node, rather than the sum of the storage capacity of all nodes.
    • The storage capacity is used to store the data, system, and log files of the replica set instance.
    Username This parameter can set only to root.
    Note This value indicates the root account of the admin database.
    Set Password The time when you want to set the password of the root account. Valid values:
    • Set Now: You want to immediately set the password of the root account.
    • Set Later: You want to set the password of the root account after the replica set instance is created. For more information, see (Optional) Reset a password.
    Password The password of the root account. If you set the Set Password parameter to Set Now, you must set the password of the root account in compliance with the following rules:
    • The password must contain at least three of the following character types: uppercase letters, lowercase letters, digits, and special characters. The password can contain the following special characters:

      !@#$%^&*()_+-=

    • The password must be 8 to 32 characters in length.
    Duration The subscription duration of the replica set instance. This parameter is displayed only when you specify to create a subscription replica set instance. Valid monthly subscription durations range from one month to nine months. Valid yearly subscription durations range from one year to five years.
    Note If you want to enable auto-renewal for the replica set instance, select Auto-renewal and make sure that you have sufficient balance within your account before the system automatically renews the instance.
    Quantity The number of replica set instances that you want to create. All the created replica set instances have the same specifications. Valid values: 1 to 10.
  5. Purchase the replica set instance based on the billing method of the instance.
    Billing method Procedure
    Subscription
    1. Complete the parameter settings and click Buy Now.
    2. On the Confirm Order page, check the parameter settings. Then, read MongoDB Replica Set (Subscription) Agreement of Service and select I have read and agree to MongoDB Replica Set (Subscription) Agreement of Service.
    3. Click Pay. On the Purchase page, complete the payment.
    Note You can also click Add to Cart to pay for orders in the cart in a lump sum. For more information, see Pay for orders in the cart.
    Pay-as-you-go
    1. Complete the parameter settings and click Buy Now.
    2. On the Confirm Order page, check the parameter settings. Then, read MongoDB Replica Set (Pay-as-you-go) Agreement of Service and select I have read and agree to MongoDB Replica Set (Pay-as-you-go) Agreement of Service.
    3. Click Activate Now.The system collects the amount due within the next hour.
  6. Check whether the replica set instance has been created.
    1. After you complete the payment, click Console to go to the ApsaraDB for MongoDB console.
    2. In the upper-left corner of the page, select the resource group and region to which the instance belongs.
    3. In the left-side navigation pane, click Replica Set Instances.
    4. In the instance list that appears, check whether the standalone instance that you created is displayed.
      • If the standalone instance is displayed, the instance is created. If the standalone instance is in the Running state, the instance is running.
      • If the standalone instance is not displayed, wait for 10 minutes to 15 minutes. Then, refresh the page. If the standalone instance is still not displayed, check whether the issues that are described in the following table occur. If none of the issues occur, contact Alibaba Cloud technical support.
        The following table describes the possible causes of and solutions to the issues due to which the created standalone instance is not displayed.
        Possible cause Solution
        The standalone instance does not belong to the region that you select. In the top navigation bar of the ApsaraDB for MongoDB console, select the resource group and region to which the standalone instance belongs.
        The standalone instance does not belong to the architecture of instance that you select. In the left-side navigation pane of the ApsaraDB for MongoDB console, click Replica Set Instances.
        The standalone instance is not created due to insufficient resources.

        The system may fail to create the instance due to insufficient resources. In this case, your payment is refunded. Go to the Billing Management console and open the Orders page to check whether you receive a refund.

        After you confirm the refund, perform one of the following operations:
        • Select a different zone and try again.
        • Submit a ticket. To submit a ticket, go to the New Ticket page.

Pay for orders in the cart

If you want to purchase a subscription replica set instance, you can also click Add to Cart to pay for orders in the cart in a lump sum after you complete the parameter settings. You can perform the following steps to pay for orders in the cart:
  1. In the lower-right corner of the page, click the Cart icon.
  2. In the Cart panel, select the orders that you want to pay and click Proceed to Checkout.
  3. On the Cart page, check whether the orders that you want to pay are selected.
    Note You can also re-specify the Subscription Cycle and Quantity values.
    • If the orders that you want to pay are selected, click Buy Now.
    • If the orders that you want to pay are not selected, select the orders and click Buy Now.
  4. On the Confirm Order page, read ApsaraDB for MongoDB (Subscription) Service Agreement, select I have read and agreed to the terms, and then click Confirm Purchase.
  5. On the Purchase page, complete the payment.

Related API operations

Operation Description
CreateDBInstance
  • Creates an ApsaraDB for MongoDB standalone instance or replica set instance.
  • Clones an ApsaraDB for MongoDB standalone instance or replica set instance.
DescribeInstanceAutoRenewalAttribute Queries whether auto-renewal is enabled for an ApsaraDB for MongoDB instance.
DescribeDBInstanceAttribute Queries the detailed information of an ApsaraDB for MongoDB instance.

What to do next

After the replica set instance is created, perform the following operations: