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🚀 MongoDB Golden Path Template

The recommended way to provision production-ready MongoDB infrastructure with a single click

What is a Golden Path?​

A Golden Path is an opinionated, well-architected solution that represents the best practice for a common use case. Instead of making developers choose between dozens of options and potentially making mistakes, the Golden Path provides a pre-validated, production-ready solution.

🎯 What This Template Does​

With one simple request, this template automatically provisions:

Complete Infrastructure Stack​

🆚 Golden Path vs. Individual Components​

❌ The Hard Way (Individual Components)​

# Step 1: Create a cluster
backstage template:create service-cluster-template

# Step 2: Wait for cluster...
# Step 3: Create DNS
backstage template:create service-dnsrecord-template

# Step 4: Configure DNS to point to cluster...
# Step 5: Create firewall rules
backstage template:create service-firewall-template

# Step 6: Configure network policies...
# Step 7: Finally create MongoDB
backstage template:create service-mongodb-template

# Step 8: Wire everything together...
# Step 9: Hope it all works...

Problems:

  • 🔴 7+ manual steps
  • 🔴 Complex dependencies to manage
  • 🔴 Easy to misconfigure
  • 🔴 No guarantee components work together
  • 🔴 Time consuming

✅ The Golden Path (This Template)​

# Step 1: Create everything with proper configuration
backstage template:create service-mongodb-golden-path-template

# Done! ✨

Benefits:

  • 🟢 1 step
  • 🟢 Pre-validated configuration
  • 🟢 Guaranteed compatibility
  • 🟢 Production-ready defaults
  • 🟢 5 minutes to production

📊 Architecture​

System Model in Backstage​

System: mongodb-stack
├── Resource: mongodb (depends on → cluster, dns)
├── Resource: cluster 
├── Resource: dns (depends on → cluster)
└── Resource: firewall (protects → cluster)

Crossplane Composition​

The template uses Crossplane to manage the infrastructure declaratively:

  1. MongoDB XRD defines the API
  2. Composition orchestrates the resource creation:
    • Creates Kubernetes cluster
    • Provisions MongoDB on the cluster
    • Sets up DNS records
    • Configures security rules
  3. Single Claim triggers the entire stack

🚀 Quick Start​

Prerequisites​

  • Backstage instance with this template installed
  • Crossplane installed in your cluster
  • GitHub account for repository creation

Usage​

  1. In Backstage UI:

    • Navigate to "Create Component"
    • Select "🚀 MongoDB Golden Path"
    • Fill in just 3 fields:
      • Stack name
      • Storage size
      • Team owner

  2. Apply Infrastructure:

    kubectl apply -f https://github.com/open-service-portal/[your-repo]/example.yaml

  3. Get Connection String:

    kubectl get mongodb [stack-name] -o jsonpath='{.status.connString}'

📈 Stacked Services Concept​

This template demonstrates the Stacked Services pattern:

Level 1: Base Infrastructure​

  • Kubernetes Cluster
  • Network Security

Level 2: Platform Services​

  • DNS Management
  • Service Discovery

Level 3: Application Services​

  • MongoDB Database
  • Connection Management

Each level depends on the one below, creating a stable, scalable stack.

🎯 When to Use This Template​

Use the Golden Path when:​

  • ✅ You need a production-ready MongoDB quickly
  • ✅ You want best-practice configuration
  • ✅ You prefer convention over configuration
  • ✅ You're building a standard application

Use Individual Templates when:​

  • ⚠️ You have specific infrastructure requirements
  • ⚠️ You need custom networking setup
  • ⚠️ You're integrating with existing infrastructure
  • ⚠️ You need fine-grained control

📖 Backstage Concepts Used​

1. Software Templates​

  • Defined in template.yaml
  • Uses scaffolder actions to create resources
  • Implements the golden path pattern

2. System Model​

  • Groups related components
  • Shows dependencies with dependsOn
  • Creates a system view in the catalog

3. Relations​

  • partOf: Components are part of the system
  • dependsOn: Shows resource dependencies
  • ownedBy: Indicates team ownership

4. Catalog Registration​

  • Automatically registers all components
  • Creates a unified view in Backstage
  • Enables discovery and documentation

🔧 Customization​

While this is an opinionated template, you can customize:

In template.yaml:​

  • Adjust parameter defaults
  • Add more configuration options
  • Modify the UI presentation

In composition.yaml:​

  • Change cluster size/configuration
  • Adjust MongoDB settings
  • Modify network policies

📚 References & Best Practices​

Based on industry best practices and official documentation:

  1. Backstage System Model - How to model infrastructure
  2. Crossplane Compositions - Infrastructure as Code
  3. Golden Path Pattern - Platform engineering concepts
  4. Spotify's Golden Paths - Original concept from Spotify

🤝 Contributing​

We welcome contributions! Areas for improvement:

  • Add more cloud provider options
  • Support for different MongoDB configurations
  • Integration with monitoring/observability
  • Cost optimization options
  • Backup and disaster recovery

📝 License​

MIT License - See LICENSE file

🆘 Support​

Built with ❤️ by the Platform Engineering Team
Making infrastructure simple, one golden path at a time