How to backup MongoDB in a setup with multiple Docker containers?

Question

I have an application which is split into multiple Docker containers:

• Container 1 contains a MongoDB database
• Container 2 contains a python script which performs some operations on a daily basis and stores the results in the MongoDB of Container 1 using pymongo.

Previously to using Docker, ie, having the MongoDB and the python app on the same machine, I could use mongoexport right after the daily scripts finished to backup my database. However, in the Docker setup, I can not use mongoexport in Container 2 because MongoDB is not installed, ie, the command is unknown.

From my point of view, the only option would be using a cronjob in Container 1 running a script which performs the backup on a preset time. However, I would prefer a solution in which Container 2 triggers the backup since the runtime of the daily scripts can vary considerably.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions!

Answer 1

You can download mongodb binaries on docker 2 form here . That way you can get rid of the command is unknown

You can export mongodb collection from mongodb running on container 1 using mongoexport or take dump using mongodump from container 2 using --host and --port options.

Note: mongoexport does not export indexes from collection.