10 Tips: How to Run MongoDB at Scale

We all know that MongoDB is web scale, but how, exactly, does one run MongoDB at scale? Asya Kamsky, Principal Solutions Architect at MongoDB, has published a list of ten tips for doing so over at High Scalability. Each tip Kamsky provides includes a brief explanation, outlining potential pitfalls and optimization tricks for each. The topics covered are as follows:

1. The role of DevOps
2. The importance of monitoring and preparing for growth
3. Unexpected obstacles
4. Using a single replica set
5. When your data doesn't fit in RAM
6. Flushing to disk
7. The importance of backups
8. Replica set health
9. Knowing your security needs
10. When (not) to tinker under the hood

Ultimately, many of Kamsky's conclusions echo what we hear often hear about NoSQL solutions: don't get so caught up in the shiny-and-new idea of something that you fail to tailor it to your specific needs. That can have some negative consequences, after all. So, if you're in need of some tips on how to run MongoDB at scale while maximizing efficiency, check out Kamsky's full post.