Database Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 2
Installing MongoDB
In Chapter 1, you got a taste of what MongoDB can do for you. In this chapter, you will learn how to install and expand
MongoDB to do even more, enabling you to use it in combination with your favorite programming language.
MongoDB is a cross-platform database, and you can find a significant list of available packages to download from
the MongoDB website (
www.mongodb.org
)
. The wealth of available versions might make it difficult to decide which
version is the right one for you. The right choice for you probably depends on the operating system your server uses,
the kind of processor in your server, and whether you prefer a stable release or would like to take a dive into a version that
is still in development but offers exciting new features. Perhaps you'd like to install both a stable and a forward-looking
version of the database. It's also possible you're not entirely sure which version you should choose yet. In any case,
read on!
Choosing Your Version
When you look at the Download section on the MongoDB website, you will see a rather straightforward overview of
the packages available for download. The first thing you need to pay attention to is the operating system you are going
to run the MongoDB software on. Currently, there are precompiled packages available for Windows, various flavors of
the Linux operating system, Mac OS, and Solaris.
■
An important thing to remember here is the difference between the 32-bit release and the 64-bit release of
the product. The 32-bit and 64-bit versions of the database currently have the same functionality, with one exception:
the 32-bit release is limited to a total dataset size of approximately 2GB per server. The 64-bit version does not carry this
restriction, however, so it's generally preferred over the 32-bit version for production environments. Also, the differences
between these versions are subject to change.
Note
You will also need to pay attention to the
version
of the MongoDB software itself: there are production releases,
previous releases, and development releases. The
production
release indicates that it's the most recent stable version
available. When a newer and generally improved or enhanced version is released, the prior most recent stable version
will be made available as a
previous release
. This designation means the release is stable and reliable, but it usually
has fewer features available in it. Finally, there's the
development release
. This release is generally referred to as the
unstable version. This version is still in development, and it will include many changes, including significant new
features. Although it has not been fully developed and tested yet, the developers of MongoDB have made it available
to the public to test or otherwise try out.
