Onboarding MongoDB Ops Manager in Nutanix NDB

Modern enterprises demand predictable, scalable, and automated data management across hybrid multicloud environments. Nutanix Database Service (NDB) plays a crucial role in simplifying database lifecycle operations, while MongoDB Ops Manager delivers MongoDB native database config automation, performance insights.

When combined, the two systems unlock a powerful operational model—merging infrastructure automation with native MongoDB intelligence.

In this technical blog, you’ll learn why these systems were integrated, understand the rationale behind separation of operations - Onboard Ops Manager, Associate database and Enable Time Machine workflows, the prerequisites involved, workflow sequencing, and how operations like backups, restores, and scaling are streamlined through this integration.

Note: Once you complete reading this blog, for details on how NDB works along with Ops Manager to perform backups and restore, refer here

Why Integrate MongoDB Ops Manager with Nutanix NDB?

NDB provides comprehensive lifecycle management capabilities for industry leading databases. MongoDB Ops Manager provides automated database configuration management and real time monitoring for MongoDB databases.

Below are key integration benefits of NDB with Ops Manager:

Seamless MongoDB Database Lifecycle Automation

• Manage operational overhead with automated provisioning, scaling, and backup
• Get real-time insights with Performance Advisor and Advanced Monitoring
• Enable seamless cluster-wide restores with a unified backup strategy

Hybrid Capabilities: Best of Both Systems

• NDB: Enterprise-grade infrastructure automation, built-in resilience
• Ops Manager: MongoDB-native monitoring, query tuning, and config automation

Advanced Data Management & Recovery

Backup & Restore

• Cluster-wide, application-consistent backups using Third Party Managed Backup
• Fast restore operations through Ops Manager integration

Architectural Overview

Before we dive into details on Onboarding, let's understand how these components fit within the MongoDB sharded cluster database ecosystem. 

NDB and Ops Manager each run their respective agents on each MongoDB database node. 

NDB is the primary orchestrator for all the workflows invoking interactions with MongoDB Ops Manager and Nutanix infrastructure, over a proven REST communication model.

Workflow execution model

Primarily, all infrastructural and provisioning operations to bring up the database are performed on NDB, whereas the configuration management and its automation, database monitoring, and performance tuning are operations handled natively by Ops Manager.

NDB and Ops Manager work together for all operations involving Backup and Restore of the database.

The below diagram provides a pictorial view and representation of where a specific workflow is executed in the eco-system.

Workflow dependency chart

Operations/workflows in NDB must be executed in specific sequence as detailed below:

Why are these additional steps required for a MongoDB sharded cluster database?

Today, NDB enables Time Machine at the end of the Provisioning step.

However, the integration with third-party components like Ops Manager introduces additional technical complexity and thus introduces more failure points. 

To simplify the user experience, provide clarity, and increase robustness, the system is designed by introducing additional workflows between Provisioning and Time Machine enablement.

Note: Every workflow execution is designed with adequate guard-rails with a fail-fast operation model. This approach improves resiliency and predictability.

Onboard MongoDB Ops Manager

Onboarding (registration) is the foundational step to enable communication between NDB and Ops Manager.

Pre-requisites

Before one registers Ops Manager in NDB, the following actions must be completed.

1. Network Reachability

- Network: NDB server (and, where applicable, NDB agents and DB servers) must be able to reach Ops Manager’s host and port (HTTP/HTTPS).

- Firewall: Allow outbound traffic from NDB and DB server IPs to Ops Manager.

2. API keys in Ops Manager

Create an API key in Ops Manager that NDB will use:

- Public key → maps to apiPublicKey in NDB.

- Private key → maps to apiPrivateKey in NDB.

3. API key roles

The API key must have sufficient privileges. NDB uses these keys for all its REST based communication with Ops Manager. NDB validates that the key has either:

- The Global Owner role or

- All of the following:

- Automation Admin
- Backup Admin
- Monitoring Admin

4. IP allow list (whitelist) in Ops Manager

Ops Manager maintains an IP Access List. For registration to succeed:

- All NDB API server and agent IPs must be in this list (so NDB can call Ops Manager).

- Later, when you associate databases, all DB server IPs that will run MongoDB and Ops Manager agents must also be whitelisted.

5. HTTPS (optional but recommended)

- You can register, Ops Manager with HTTP or HTTPS.

- For HTTPS, ensure NDB can validate the certificate (or provide a CA bundle if you use a private CA).

6. Upload CA Certificate

The CA trusting the Ops Manager must be uploaded to NDB via Certificate Management workflow.

7. Client Certificate Mode

The client certificate mode must be set to either None or Required for Agents Only in Ops Manager.

Register Ops Manager

Once all pre-requisites are met, Ops Manager can be registered with NDB. 

Multiple databases can be registered and thus can be hosted on one Ops Manager.

A single instance of NDB is capable of integration with multiple instances of Ops Manager as well.

When registering Ops Manager in NDB, provide:

• Name & description
• Protocol (HTTP/HTTPS)
• Host & port
• API keys

NDB then validates:

• Connectivity
• API role privileges
• Whitelisted Ips

Once successful, Ops Manager becomes available for database associations.

Note: These above actions are one time activity performed only once per Ops Manager. 

Associate Database

After provisioning a database in NDB and registering Ops Manager with NDB, the next step is to associate the database with Ops Manager for monitoring and automation.

Note: The infrastructure automation capabilities of NDB are leveraged here to simplify the end user experience by automating the complex process of Ops Manager Agent download, configure, and install

Pre-requisites

Before you associate a database with Ops Manager, ensure the following:

1. MongoDB version is available in Ops Manager

- The MongoDB version installed on the NDB database (from the software profile) must exist in Ops Manager’s version manifest (so Ops Manager can manage and, if needed, reinstall compatible binaries).

- If no matching version is found, association fails with: "No compatible MongoDB version was found in Ops Manager."

2. Ops Manager Organization and Group (Project) exist

- In Ops Manager, create an Organization and a Project (often referred to as Group in APIs) where the database will be registered.

Note: For this integration, NDB recommends dedicating a single Ops Manager Project to each NDB-managed MongoDB deployment for simplified experience, even though Ops Manager itself supports multiple deployments per Project.

3. IP allow list (whitelist) in Ops Manager

- All NDB server agent IPs must be in Ops Manager’s IP Access List (required for NDB to call Ops Manager).

- All DB server IPs (the VMs hosting the MongoDB nodes) must also be whitelisted. NDB uses these IPs when installing the Ops Manager agent and when Ops Manager communicates with the agents.

4. HTTPS / certificates (if Ops Manager uses HTTPS)

- If the Ops Manager instance is registered with HTTPS, ensure NDB and the DB servers can validate the Ops Manager certificate.

- If you use a private CA, you may need to provide the CA certificate (e.g. opsmanager_ca_cert.pem) in each database node, so that agent download and API calls succeed.  

5. TLS/SSL encryption enabled

Post database provisioning, if you prefer to enable TLS/SSL encryption for your database, you must have completed this step before associating the database. 

What Happens During Association?

This is where Ops Manager becomes aware of the database, provisioned by NDB. 

NDB:

• Creates automation user
• Automates Ops Manager Agent install - downloads, configures and installs
• Configures and enables automation and monitoring agents
• Creates a separate storage mount for hosting Ops Manager operation logs
• Discovers database topology (shards, replicas, TLS settings)
• Registers the database as a deployment in Ops Manager
• Validates automation health before completing the workflow

Once complete, the database shows up in Ops Manager under the selected project as a deployment.

Resilience: Every task of the workflow is designed to be idempotent and re-entrant, thus making the process resilient and self-healing on retries.

NDB and Ops Manager resource mapping 

The below diagram provides a high-level overview of how resources across NDB and Ops Manager for MongoDB Sharded cluster databases are mapped.

Enable Time Machine

Unlike other databases managed by NDB, MongoDB sharded cluster Time Machine management is unique. 

The Enable Time Machine is a separate operation, unique to a MongoDB sharded cluster in NDB, which is performed on the database post association with Ops Manager.  

NDB orchestrates the backup and restore operations using Ops Manager provided third-party based APIs.

Reference: For further details about Ops Manager third party based backup integration with NDB Time Machine, refer here

Pre-requisites 

Before you enable Time Machine for the database, ensure the following steps are completed on Ops Manager and NDB:

Ops Manager

Global settings 

- Key mms.featureFlag.backup.thirdPartyManaged must be either set to controlled or enabled

- Key brs.thirdparty.baseOplogFilePath must be set to <location> in database nodes where ops manager shall dump the op-logs - Only if continuous op-log backup is required

Project settings

- Flag, Backup Third Party Managed is set/enabled at individual project level – Required only if global settings brs.thirdparty.baseOplogFilePath is set to controlled

NDB

- Nutanix Object Storage configured - Only if continuous op-log backup is required

- Database associated with Ops Manager

What happens during Enable Time Machine?

Enable Time Machine involves interactions with both NDB and Ops Manager to accomplish the below tasks: 

• NDB enables Ops Manager Backup Agent on all data nodes of the database cluster
• Configures Time Machine with suggested schedule and SLA
• If point-in-time recovery (PiTR) SLA is configured:
  • Configures staging drive storage on all data nodes and mounts the staging drive on directory name, as it is configured in Ops Manager
  • Creates the necessary object store constructs (like buckets) corresponding to the Time Machine

• Activates the Time Machine

Note: Enabling Time Machine is a one-time operation per database. After it is enabled, you can update the SLA (e.g., change retention, enable/disable PITR) or perform on-demand backup/restore operations.

Once Time Machine is enabled for the database, schedule snapshots and log-backups are activated as per schedule.

Summary

Onboarding MongoDB Ops Manager into NDB enables a powerful, unified lifecycle management experience for MongoDB sharded clusters, simplifying operational complexity for the end user. 

NDB handles infrastructure automation and database provisioning, while Ops Manager delivers MongoDB‑native monitoring, automation, and backup intelligence. Successful onboarding requires proper networking, API key roles, IP whitelisting, certificate configuration, and version compatibility. The workflow model helps prevent end users from committing common pitfalls.

Once registered, databases can be associated with Ops Manager. Enabling Time Machine completes the integration by activating NDB‑orchestrated backup and restore operations through Ops Manager’s third‑party APIs, supporting snapshots, PITR, and object store based op‑log retention. 

Together, NDB and Ops Manager provide an enterprise‑grade, end‑to‑end operational framework for running MongoDB at scale across varying workload environments.

Feature Availability: The integration of NDB and MongoDB Ops Manager is available from NDB release version 2.10 and MongoDB Ops Manager release version 8.0.19, onwards.

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