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343 changes: 343 additions & 0 deletions source/connection-troubleshooting.txt
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.. _node-connection-troubleshooting:

==========================
Connection Troubleshooting
==========================

.. contents:: On this page
:local:
:backlinks: none
:depth: 2
:class: singlecol

This page offers potential solutions to issues you might encounter when
using the {+driver-long+} to connect to a MongoDB deployment.

.. note::

This page addresses only connection issues. If you encounter any other issues
with MongoDB or the driver, visit the following resources:

- The :ref:`Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) <node-faq>` for the
{+driver-short+}
- The :ref:`Issues & Help <node-issues-help>` page, which has
information about reporting bugs, contributing to the driver, and
finding additional resources
- The `MongoDB Community Forums <https://community.mongodb.com>`__ for
questions, discussions, or general technical support

Connection Error
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The following error message is a general message indicating that the driver
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Question:

Is this directly related to an issue with being able to resolve the address? If so, I think it would be great to explain that detail since the issue could come from a temporary/intentional DNS change which could help some people find the culprit of the issue.

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Unfortunately not. While that is one of the reasons this error can be generated, this is also a catch all that gets generated if there is not a more specific message to filter up. Since this can be generated for a number of reasons as a general catch-all, I can't go into detail for all the reasons it can be generated.

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Suggestion:
I think it would make sense then to omit "general" and add an explanation that the error has many potential causes to avoid confusion about what "general message" means.

Maybe the adjective "generic" might fit, but would avoid that for any potential negative connotation, unless describing the programming term "generics/generic types".

cannot connect to a server on the specified hostname or port. In this sample
error message, the hostname is ``127.0.0.1`` and the port is ``27017``:

.. code-block:: none
:copyable: false

Error: couldn't connect to server 127.0.0.1:27017

The following sections describe actions you can take to potentially resolve the
issue.

.. _node-troubleshooting-connection-string-port:

Check Your Connection String
----------------------------

Verify that the hostname and port number in the connection string are both
accurate. The default port value for a MongoDB instance is
``27017``, but you can configure MongoDB to communicate on another port.

.. _node-troubleshooting-connection-firewall:

Configure Your Firewall
-----------------------

Verify that the ports your MongoDB deployment listens on are not blocked by a
firewall on the same network. MongoDB uses port ``27017`` by default. To learn
more about the default ports MongoDB uses and how to change them, see
:manual:`Default MongoDB Port </reference/default-mongodb-port/>`.

.. warning::

Do not open a port in your firewall unless you are sure it's the port
used by your MongoDB deployment.

ECONNREFUSED Error
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If the connection is refused when the driver attempts to connect to the MongoDB
instance, it generates this error message:

.. code-block:: none
:copyable: false

MongoServerSelectionError: connect ECONNREFUSED ::<IP address>:<port>

The following sections describe actions you can take to potentially resolve the
issue.

Start MongoDB in IPv6 Mode
--------------------------

In Node.js v17 and later, the DNS resolver uses ``IPv6`` by default when both
the client and host support both. You can configure your MongoDB deployment
to use ``IPv6`` mode when starting with ``mongod`` or ``mongos``. For more
information about how to specify ``IPv6`` mode, see
:manual:`IP Binding </core/security-mongodb-configuration/>` in the server
manual.

Use IPv4 with Your Mongo Client
-------------------------------

In Node.js v17 and later, the DNS resolver uses ``IPv6`` by default when both
the client and host support both. You can explicitly use ``IPv4`` with your
client by specifying ``family: 4`` as an
`option to your MongoClient <{+api+}/interfaces/MongoClientOptions.html#family>`__.

.. code-block:: js

const client = new MongoClient(uri, {
family: 4,
});

ECONNRESET Error
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If the connection is reset when the driver calls ``client.connect()``, it
generates this error message:

.. code-block:: none
:copyable: false

MongoServerSelectionError: connect ECONNRESET ::<IP address>:<port>

The following section describes a method that may help resolve the issue.

Increase the Number of File Descriptors
---------------------------------------

A file descriptor is a unique identifier associated with an open process. In most
operating systems, each open connection from the driver is associated with a
file descriptor. Operating systems typically have a limit on the number of file
descriptors used by a single process. An ``ECONNRESET`` error can occur
if the number of connections exceeds this limit.

Consider the following example that creates a client and attempts to connect to
a local deployment:

.. literalinclude:: /code-snippets/faq/econnresetWithClientConnect-example.js
:language: javascript
:linenos:

This operation can create a maximum number of 5000 connections as indicated by
the inclusion of ``maxPoolSize`` on the URI. If the operating system has a file
descriptor limit of 4000, this can cause an ``ECONNRESET`` error.

To resolve this error, you can decrease the number of maximum allowed connections
by setting the value of ``maxPoolSize``. Alternatively, you could increase the
file descriptor limit in your operating system.

.. warning::

Changing the configuration of your operating system should always be done
with caution.

Authentication Error
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The {+driver-short+} can fail to connect to a MongoDB instance if
the authorization is not configured correctly. If you are using ``SCRAM-SHA-256``
for authentication and the driver fails to connect, the driver might raise an
error message similar to one of the following messages:

.. code-block:: none
:copyable: false

Command failed with error 18 (AuthenticationFailed): 'Authentication
failed.' on server <hostname>:<port>.

.. code-block:: none
:copyable: false

connection() error occurred during connection handshake: auth error:
sasl conversation error: unable to authenticate using mechanism
"SCRAM-SHA-256": (AuthenticationFailed) Authentication failed.

The following sections describe actions you can take to potentially resolve the
issue.

.. _node-troubleshooting-connection-string-auth:

Check Your Connection String
----------------------------

An invalid connection string is the most common cause of authentication
issues when attempting to connect to MongoDB using ``SCRAM-SHA-256``.

.. tip::

For more information about connection strings,
see :ref:`Connection URI <node-connection-uri>` in the Connection Guide.

If your connection string contains a username and password, ensure that they
are in the correct format.

.. note::

If the username or password includes any of the following characters, they
must be `percent encoded <https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc3986#section-2.1>`__:

.. code-block:: none

: / ? # [ ] @

The following example shows how to percent encode "P@assword":

.. code-block:: none

password = "P%40ssword"
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Suggestion:

Recommend using encodeURI in the code example and show the output in a comment.


.. _node-troubleshooting-connection-admin:

Verify the User Is in the Authentication Database
-------------------------------------------------

To successfully authenticate a connection by using a username and password with
``SCRAM-SHA-256``, the username must be defined in the authentication database.
The default authentication database is the ``admin`` database. To use a different
database for authentication, specify the ``authSource`` in the connection string.
The following example instructs the driver to use ``users`` as the authentication
database:

.. code-block:: javascript
:copyable: true

const { MongoClient } = require("mongodb");
const uri = "mongodb://<username>:<password>@<hostname>:<port>/?authSource=users";
const client = new MongoClient(uri);

You can check if this is the issue by attempting to connect to a MongoDB
instance hosted on the local machine with the same code. A deployment on
the same machine doesn't require any authorization to connect.

Error Sending Message
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When the driver fails to send a command after you make a request,
it may display the following error message:

.. code-block:: none
:copyable: false

com.mongodb.MongoSocketWriteException: Exception sending message

The following sections describe actions you can take to potentially resolve the
issue.

Check User Permissions
----------------------

Verify that you've accessed the MongoDB deployment with the correct user. The driver
might generate an error message if you are using a user that does not have
permissions to send the message.
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Question:
While the error message is "Exception sending message", it's not clear to me what the "message" refers to. Does "message" refer to a command such as findOne or dropCollection? I think it could be important to clarify whether "message" is a "command" or whatever else it could be to the user. This can impact what the reader should be looking for in the user permissions db.

If "message" is the same as "command", I would suggest explaining that connection.

E.g. (not satisfied with my wording)

"The exception refers to a message which is the command that you sent by using the driver."


Also ensure that the user has the appropriate permissions for the message you
are sending. MongoDB uses Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) to control access
to a MongoDB system. For more information about how to configure RBAC in MongoDB,
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Suggested change
to a MongoDB system. For more information about how to configure RBAC in MongoDB,
to a MongoDB deployment. For more information about how to configure RBAC in MongoDB,

see :manual:`Default MongoDB Port </core/authorization/>`.

Verify the User Is in the Authentication Database
-------------------------------------------------

Verify the user is in the correct authentication database. For more
information about the authentication database, see
:ref:`Authentication Error <node-troubleshooting-connection-admin>`.

Configure Your Firewall
-----------------------

The firewall needs to have an open port for communicating with the MongoDB
instance. For more information about configuring the firewall, see
:ref:`Connection Error <node-troubleshooting-connection-firewall>`.

.. _node-troubleshooting-connection-number-connections:

Check the Number of Connections
-------------------------------

Each ``MongoClient`` instance supports a maximum number of concurrent open
connections in its connection pool. You can configure the parameter ``maxPoolSize``
which defines this limit. The default value is ``100``. If there are already a
number of open connections equal to ``maxPoolSize``, the server waits until
a connection becomes available. If this wait time exceeds the ``maxIdleTimeMS``
value, the driver responds with an error.

For more information about how connection pooling works, see
:ref:`How Does Connection Pooling Work in the Node Driver? <node-faq-connection-pool>`
in the FAQ.

Too Many Open Connections
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The driver creates the following error message when it attempts to open a
connection, but it's reached the maximum number of connections:

.. code-block:: none
:copyable: false

connection refused because too many open connections

The following section describes a method that may help resolve the issue.

Check the Number of Connections
-------------------------------

If you need to create more open connections, increase ``maxPoolSize``. For more
information about checking the number of connections, see
:ref:`Error Sending Message <node-troubleshooting-connection-number-connections>`.

Timeout Error
~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sometimes when you send a request through the driver to the server, the request
times out. When this happens, you might receive an error message
similar to the following message:

.. code-block:: none
:copyable: false

timed out while checking out a connection from connection pool: context canceled

If you receive this error, try the following action to resolve the
issue.

Set connectTimeoutMS
--------------------

To prevent the driver from hanging during connection or to prevent the
driver from spending too much time attempting to reach unreachable replica set
nodes, you can set the ``connectTimeoutMS`` option of your
:ref:`connection options <node-connection-options>`.
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Issue:

I think it's better to refer to a link by title and location rather than omit it per the style guide's recommendations.

The linked text should correspond to the title of the guide.

Perhaps changing the first sentence to explain the problem and solution before introducing the option.

E.g.

"The driver may hang when it is unable to to establish a connection because it spends too much time attempting to reach unreachable replica set nodes. To prevent the driver from spending too much time attempting to establish the connection, you can set a timeout by using the connectTimeMS setting. To learn more about this setting, see the :ref:`connection options ` guide."

You should ensure the ``connectTimeoutMS`` setting is not lower than
the highest network latency you have to a member of the set. If one of the
secondary members is on the other side of the planet and has a latency of 10000
milliseconds, setting the ``connectTimeoutMS`` to 9000 prevents the driver from
ever connecting to that member.

The following example sets ``connectTimeoutMS`` to 10000 milliseconds.

.. code-block:: javascript

const client = new MongoClient(uri, {
connectTimeoutMS: 10000,
});

Check the Number of Connections
-------------------------------

The number of connections to the server may exceed ``maxPoolSize``. For more
information about checking the number of connections, see
:ref:`Error Sending Message <node-troubleshooting-connection-number-connections>`.
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