Set up the DB
Form.io's data model is driven by MongoDB. Deployments to Azure may use MongoDB Atlas or the Azure-native CosmosDB.
Form.io requires a MongoDB-compatible database to run its platform. Refer to the process that matches the anticipate deployment stack:
MongoDB Atlas
Azure CosmosDB
MongoDB Atlas
Before deployment, create an account at MongoDB.com/atlas. Follow the steps provided by MongoDB to create the cluster while observing the guidelines described below.
Performance
When configuring the performance of the cluster, it may be necessary to review the advanced settings. The particular settings selected may depend on the planned deployment. The following baseline standard may be used when determining the application's needs:
For production environments, the dedicated tier may be required.
Consider enabling multi-region replication to create additional instances for greater availability.
Choose a sufficient cluster tier based on the expected usage. M10 is typically sufficient for development. M20 is the recommended baseline for production.
Security
When configuring the security settings in MongoDB Atlas after clicking Create Cluster, refer to the following guidelines:
Record the username and password for use in the connection string later.
Ensure the IP address of the Azure VM is added to the whitelist.
If the deployment requires additional security that would mandate a private endpoint, refer to the MongoDB Documentation regarding connecting cloud services to a private endpoint.
Connection String
From the MongoDB Atlas Project Overview, open the Connect Menu and generate a legacy (standard) connection string. It will appear similar to the following:
Note the following placeholders:
<node1>... : These will correspond to the individual instances of the DB.
<replicaSetName>: The atlas-generated replica set name.
<appName>: Typically formio.
<dbName>: Typically formio (added by us).
Supplying the required info creates a connection string similar to the following, using the example password badPassword:
Note that the database name formio is added so that the Form.io deployment will initialize with this database instead of the default test database.
Also observe that ?ssl=true indicates a database connection over SSL, &retryWrites=true indicates retryWrites is supported, and uses the admin database rather than IAM to authenticate.
Record this connection string for later.
Cosmos DB
Before continuing please review the Cosmos DB for MongoDB (vCore) compatibility doc.
Follow these instructions to setup a new database.
Go to Cosmos DB in your Azure portal
Create an Azure Cosmos DB for MongoDB (vCore)
We recommend (as does Azure) using a vCore-based DB since it has more comprehensive support for native MongoDB features and certain Form.io functionality may be impaired if using an RU-based DB. Here is documentation regarding migrating from RU to vCore.
Once the DB is created, copy the connection string for use in your Form.io deployment.
After copying it, you'll need to add your Form.io database name (
<db_name>above) and the password. This name (formiofor example) is placed in-betweenformio-cosmos-db.global.mongocluster.cosmos.azure.com/and?tls=true. The filled-in connection string should look like this:
Click here for RU-based documentation
Before continuing please review the feature matrix and compatibility docs below.
Currently, Form.io supports the latest version of Cosmos DB for Mongo DB (RU), which at the time of writing is 7.0.
If you run into any issues as it relates version compatibility please consult the Related Content section of the Azure Documentation (or here for version 7.0) as well as this doc regarding how to Upgrade the API version of your Azure Cosmos DB for MongoDB account.
If you an incompatibility is found, please provide details by contacting [email protected].
When creating the DB, ensure that you don't limit the total RU throughput that can be provisioned.
As with the vCore connection string, you'll need to provide a Form.io database name (i.e. formio), which is placed in-between formio-developer-cosmos-db.mongo.cosmos.azure.com:10255/ and ?ssl=true.
Cosmos DB for MongoDB (RU) Notes
Partial Support for $lookup
Cosmos DB supports basic $lookup operations for equality matches but does not support advanced features like uncorrelated subqueries. For complex join operations, consider restructuring your data model or using alternative methods.
The $lookup aggregation does not yet support the uncorrelated subqueries feature that's introduced in server version 3.6. If you attempt to use the $lookup operator with the let and pipeline fields, an error message that indicates that let is not supported appears. This still applies in version 7.0.
In order to do a sort on a property in version 3.6, there must be an index set. This is different from how MongoDB works as MongoDB allows sorting on any property regardless of an index being set.
To resolve this, a wildcard index can be added to the following collections:
To do a sort on multiple properties, you must create a compound index. While wildcard indexes are a good starting place to enable sorting, documents with many fields may have a high Request Unit (RU) charge for writes and updates. Therefore, if you have a write-heavy workload, you should opt to individually index paths as opposed to using wildcard indexes.
Refer to the primary Microsoft documentation for a complete list of Database Commands.
find
Query and Write Operation
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
insert
Query and Write Operation
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
update
Query and Write Operation
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
delete
Query and Write Operation
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
aggregate
Aggregation Command
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
count
Aggregation Command
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
addFields
Aggregation Stage
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
count
Aggregation Stage
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
group
Aggregation Stage
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
limit
Aggregation Stage
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
lookup
Aggregation Stage
Partial
Partial
Partial
Partial
Partial
match
Aggregation Stage
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
project
Aggregation Stage
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
skip
Aggregation Stage
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
sort
Aggregation Stage
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
unwind
Aggregation Stage
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
and
Boolean Expression
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
or
Boolean Expression
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
setIntersection
Set Expression
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
eq
Comparison Expression
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
gt
Comparison Expression
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
gte
Comparison Expression
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
lt
Comparison Expression
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
lte
Comparison Expression
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
ne
Comparison Expression
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
in
Comparison Expression
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
nin
Comparison Expression
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
concatArrays
Array Expression
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
filter
Array Expression
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
reduce
Array Expression
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
size
Array Expression
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
in
Array Expression
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
sum
Accumulator Expression
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
push
Accumulator Expression
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
addToSet
Accumulator Expression
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
String
Type
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Object
Type
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Array
Type
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
ObjectId
Type
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Boolean
Type
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
and
Logical Operator
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
or
Logical Operator
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
exists
Element Operator
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
regex
Evaluation Query Operator
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
all
Array Operator
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
elemMatch
Array Operator
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
size
Array Operator
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
set
Update Operator
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
rename
Update Operator
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
unset
Update Operator
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
addToSet
Array Update Operator
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
pull
Array Update Operator
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
push
Array Update Operator
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
sort
Update Modifier
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Single Field Index
Indexes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Compound Index
Indexes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Multikey Index
Indexes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Text Index
Indexes
No
No
No
No
No
2dsphere
Indexes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
2d Index
Indexes
No
No
No
No
No
Hashed Index
Indexes
No
No
No
No
No
TTL
Index Properties
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Unique
Index Properties
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Partial
Index Properties
No
Only unique indexes
Only unique indexes
Only unique indexes
Only unique indexes
Case Insensitive
Index Properties
No
No
No
No
No
Sparse
Index Properties
No
No
No
No
No
Background
Index Properties
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
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