Test Database Best Practice, new Cluster or New Database on existing Cluster?

[Ahmed_Chaarani]

Hello

I currently have a database on cluster 0 configured that is my Production Data

I would like to copy this database and use the copied version as a test database to do some testing with my application.

My question is, is it best to create a NEW cluster to do this? Or should I simply just do a mongodump/mongorestore to a new database name.

Again, I just want this database to be like a sandbox where I can read/write/edit/delete some collections

(sorry in advanced as I am VERY new to mongo)

[SourabhBagrecha]

Hi @Ahmed_Chaarani,

@Ahmed_Chaarani

My question is, is it best to create a NEW cluster to do this?

Ideally, you should keep your production and test database in different database deployments because of the following reasons:

1. If you keep both the database in the same deployment you will have a similar connection string except for the database name part of it, which can be confusing and can lead to unexpected data operations in production.
2. On the other hand, if you keep them in different deployments, you will be able to better analyze the performance and other metrics and see how your respective deployments are doing without the side effects of one on another.

If you have any doubts, please feel free to reach out to us.

Thanks and Regards.
Sourabh Bagrecha,
MongoDB