Document Center

All Products

Document Center

ApsaraDB for MongoDB:Limitations

Last Updated:Jul 17, 2026

Different ApsaraDB for MongoDB instance types have specific constraints. Understanding these limitations helps you select the right instance for your business.

Standalone instance

Feature	Constraint
Instance deployment	Not all regions and zones support standalone instances. For details, see Supported regions and zones.
Database version	Only ApsaraDB for MongoDB 3.4 and 4.0 support standalone instances. Important ApsaraDB for MongoDB 3.4 has been unavailable for purchase since January 1, 2023. For more information, see [Notice] End of sale for MongoDB 3.4 instances as of January 1, 2023.
Database connection	You cannot enable or disable encryption for private connections.
Data backup	Only Snapshot Backup is supported. Note A snapshot backup preserves the disk data state at a specific point in time.
Data restoration	You can only restore data from a backup point to a new instance. For more information, see Restore data from a backup point to a new instance. Point-in-time restoration is not supported.
Service availability	High availability features such as primary/secondary switchover, role switchover, and cross-zone migration are not supported.
Data security	Only VPC is supported. To create a VPC, see Create and manage a VPC. Only whitelists are supported. For configuration instructions, see Configure a whitelist for an instance. audit log, SSL, and TDE are not supported.
Log management	Log management is not supported, including Slow Query Logs, Error Logs, and Running Logs.
CloudDBA	Only Performance is supported. Real-time Performance, Sessions, Storage Analysis, and Slow Query Logs are not supported.
Data migration and synchronization	You can migrate data to a standalone instance by using the following methods: Migrate data from a self-managed database to ApsaraDB for MongoDB. Migrate data from an ECS-hosted self-managed MongoDB standalone or replica set instance to the cloud Use DTS to migrate data from a self-managed MongoDB standalone database to the cloud Use MongoDB tools to migrate a self-managed database to a standalone instance Migrate data between ApsaraDB for MongoDB instances. Migrate data from a standalone instance to a replica set or sharded cluster instance Migrate a MongoDB instance across Alibaba Cloud accounts Migrate a MongoDB instance to another region Standalone instances do not support incremental data migration or synchronization.

Replica set instance

Feature	Constraint
Instance deployment	Not all regions and zones support replica set instances. For details, see Supported regions and zones.
Minor version	The system automatically upgrades expired or unmaintained minor versions to the latest version during major version upgrades, data migration, configuration changes, or data restoration.
Database connection	For replica set instances that run MongoDB 4.4 or later, you cannot switch the network type from classic network to VPC.
Data backup	Replica set instances that run MongoDB 3.4, 4.0, and 4.2 support Physical Backup and Logical Backup. Note For an instance running MongoDB 3.4, the total number of collections and indexes must be less than 10,000. Otherwise, physical backups may fail. If you expect to exceed this limit, we recommend that you create an instance that runs MongoDB 4.0 or 4.2, or upgrade the database version to 4.0 or 4.2. For more information, see Upgrade the major version of an instance. Replica set instances that run MongoDB 4.4 or later support Snapshot Backup. Note A snapshot backup preserves the disk data state at a specific point in time.
Data security	Whitelists are supported. For configuration instructions, see Configure a whitelist for an instance. SSL encryption is supported. For configuration instructions, see Configure SSL encryption for an instance. TDE is supported only for replica set instances that run MongoDB 4.2 or earlier. For configuration instructions, see Configure TDE for an instance. The Audit Log feature is supported. To enable it, see Enable the audit log feature.
Log management	No limitations.
CloudDBA	No limitations.
Data migration and synchronization	You can migrate data to a replica set instance by using the following methods: Migrate data from a self-managed database to ApsaraDB for MongoDB. Migrate data from an ECS-hosted self-managed MongoDB standalone or replica set instance to the cloud Use DTS to migrate data from a self-managed MongoDB replica set database to the cloud Use MongoDB tools to migrate a self-managed database to a replica set instance Migrate data from a third-party cloud database to ApsaraDB for MongoDB. Use NimoShake to migrate data from Amazon DynamoDB to Alibaba Cloud Use MongoDB tools to migrate data from MongoDB Atlas to Alibaba Cloud Use DTS to migrate a MongoDB Atlas database to Alibaba Cloud Migrate data between ApsaraDB for MongoDB instances. Migrate data from a replica set instance to a sharded cluster instance Migrate a MongoDB instance across Alibaba Cloud accounts Migrate a MongoDB instance to another region Migrate data from ApsaraDB for MongoDB to a self-managed MongoDB database. Restore a logical backup to a self-managed database Restore a physical backup file of a MongoDB database to a self-managed database You can synchronize data from a replica set instance by using the following methods: Synchronize data from an ApsaraDB for MongoDB replica set instance to a replica set or sharded cluster instance Use MongoShake to implement one-way synchronization between MongoDB replica sets Use MongoShake to implement delayed synchronization between MongoDB instances

Sharded cluster instance

Feature	Constraint
Instance deployment	Not all regions and zones support sharded cluster instances. For details, see Supported regions and zones.
Minor version	The system automatically upgrades expired or unmaintained minor versions to the latest version during major version upgrades, data migration, configuration changes, or data restoration.
Data reads and writes	The admin database in a sharded cluster instance is read-only.
Data backup	Sharded cluster instances support Physical Backup and Logical Backup.
Data restoration	Only point-in-time restoration to a new instance is supported. For more information, see Restore data to a new instance by point in time.
Data security	Whitelists are supported. For configuration instructions, see Configure a whitelist for an instance. TDE is supported. For configuration instructions, see Configure TDE for an instance. The audit log feature is supported. To enable it, see Enable the audit log feature. SSL encryption is not supported. Note DynamoDB-compatible sharded cluster instances support only VPC. To create a VPC, see Create and manage a VPC.
CloudDBA	DynamoDB-compatible sharded cluster instances do not support CloudDBA, including Performance, Real-time Performance, Sessions, Storage Analysis, and Slow Query Logs.
Data migration and synchronization	You can migrate data to a sharded cluster instance by using the following methods: Migrate data from a self-managed database to ApsaraDB for MongoDB. Migrate data from an ECS-hosted self-managed MongoDB sharded cluster instance to the cloud Use DTS to migrate data from a self-managed MongoDB sharded cluster database to the cloud Use MongoDB tools to migrate a self-managed database to a sharded cluster instance Migrate data from a third-party cloud database to ApsaraDB for MongoDB. Use NimoShake to migrate data from Amazon DynamoDB to Alibaba Cloud Use MongoDB tools to migrate data from MongoDB Atlas to Alibaba Cloud Use DTS to migrate a MongoDB Atlas database to Alibaba Cloud Migrate data between ApsaraDB for MongoDB instances. Migrate a MongoDB instance to another region You can synchronize data from a sharded cluster instance by using the following method: Two-way synchronization between ApsaraDB for MongoDB sharded cluster instances
Recycle bin	The recycle bin feature is not supported.