Using MongoDB

We assume you already have MongoDB installed. If not, please refer to the MongoDB download pages.

Firely Server can work with MongoDb 4.0 and higher. Since Firely Server (Vonk) version 3.7.0 Firely Server uses the MongoDb Aggregation Framework heavily, and you are advised to upgrade to MongoDb 4.4 (or newer). In this version issue SERVER-7568 <https://jira.mongodb.org/browse/SERVER-7568> is solved, so the most selective index is used more often.

• Navigate to your Firely Server working directory

• Changing a setting means overriding it as described in Changing the settings.

• Find the Repository setting:

  "Repository": "SQLite",

• Change the setting to MongoDb

• If you have your own database in MongoDB already, change the MongoDbOptions to reflect your settings:

  "MongoDbOptions": {
      "ConnectionString": "mongodb://localhost/vonkdata",
      "EntryCollection": "vonkentries",
      "SimulateTransactions": "false"
  },
  

• If MongoDB does not have a database and/or collection by this name, Firely Server will create it for you.

• Find the section called PipelineOptions. Make sure it contains the MongoDB repository in the root path for Firely Server Data:

  "PipelineOptions" :
  {
      "Branches" : [
          "/" : {
              "Include" : [
                  "Vonk.Repository.MongoDb.MongoDbVonkConfiguration"
                  //...
              ]
          }
      ]
  }
  

• You can set SimulateTransactions to “true” if you want to experiment with FHIR transactions. MongoDB does not support real transactions across documents, so in case of an error already processed entries will NOT be rolled back.

Using MongoDB for the Administration API database

Although we encourage you to use SQLite for Firely Server Administration, you can still use MongoDB for Firely Server Administration as well.

This works the same as with the normal Firely Server database, except that you:

• put the settings within the Administration section

• provide a different ConnectionString and/or EntryCollection, e.g.:

  "Administration": {
      "Repository": "MongoDB",
      "MongoDbOptions": {
          "ConnectionString": "mongodb://localhost/vonkadmin",
          "EntryCollection": "vonkadmin",
          "SimulateTransactions": "false"
      }
  }
  

• Find the section called PipelineOptions. Make sure it contains the MongoDB repository in the administration path for Firely Server Administration:

  "PipelineOptions" :
  {
      "Branches" : [
          "/administration" : {
              "Include" : [
                  "Vonk.Repository.MongoDb.MongoDbAdministrationConfiguration"
                  //...
              ]
          }
      ]
  }
  

Attention

For MongoDb it is essential to retain the .vonk-import-history.json file. Please read Retain the import history for details.

Tips and hints for using MongoDb for Firely Server

1. If searches and/or creates and updates are excessively slow, you may be limited by the IOPS on your MongoDb deployment (e.g. MongoDb Atlas). Try upgrading it and check the timings again.

2. If for any reason you would like to see how Firely Server is interacting with MongoDb, make the following adjustments to the Log settings:

   1. In the section Serilog.MinimumLevel.Override add "Vonk.Repository.DocumentDb": "Verbose". Add it before any broader namespaces like Vonk.

   2. In the section on the File sink, change the restrictedToMinimumLevel to Verbose.

3. With regards to Firely Server version and MongoDB version:

   1. If you are on a Firely Server (Vonk) version < v3.6, you can keep using MongoDB v4.0 or higher.

   2. If you are on Firely Server (Vonk) v3.6 or higher and are unable to migrate to MongoDB 4.4 (relatively soon), please contact us if you need assistance.