Older MongoDB servers (2.6 to 4.0)
What works when you connect to MongoDB servers older than 4.2, and their limits.
Oxys DB Studio talks directly to MongoDB 4.2 and later. Older servers, from 2.6 to 4.0, are reached
through a small relay that the application starts on your own computer, on 127.0.0.1, guarded by a
password of its own. You do not configure anything: create the connection as usual.
Connect to an older server
- Create the connection as for any server (URI or form). Do not turn on TLS: see the limits below.
- Connect. When the server does not answer the modern handshake, the application checks its version and, if it is older than 4.2, goes through the relay. Newer servers never use it.
What works
| Server version | Standalone | Replica set | Sharded cluster | What you can do |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4.0, 3.6 | tested | tested | not tested | Browse, open collections, page, count, insert and edit documents, indexes, Visual Explain. |
| 3.4, 3.2 | tested | not tested | not tested | The same, through a translation of each command into the older wire format. |
| 3.0, 2.6 | tested | not tested | not tested | Connect, list databases, Visual Explain, and IntelliShell with a legacy shell you install yourself. Collections cannot be listed or browsed: these servers lack the commands (the server’s own message says so). |
Limits
- No TLS. The relay needs to read the traffic, so a server older than 4.2 over TLS is refused with a message. On an untrusted network, use an SSH tunnel instead.
- SCRAM only. Users created with the old MONGODB-CR mechanism of 2.6 cannot sign in.
- IntelliShell on 3.4 and older needs the legacy
mongoshell, which is not bundled (its licence does not allow it). Install it yourself and point the connection’s IntelliShell tab, or Edit > Preferences > IntelliShell, to it with Use the following ‘mongo’ or ‘mongosh’ executable:. - Features that need a newer server version are greyed out with the reason in their tooltip.
Troubleshooting
| Message | What to do |
|---|---|
| A refusal that names TLS and an old server | Turn TLS off on the SSL tab and use an SSH tunnel if the network is not trusted. |
| Authentication fails on 2.6 | The user uses MONGODB-CR; create a SCRAM user or use the legacy shell. |
| The server says a command is not found when you browse collections | Expected on 2.6 and 3.0: they predate those commands. |
See Compatible databases for other servers that speak the MongoDB protocol.