Hi everyone,

I wanted to share a new package we created called Mongalayer. We built it to replace the “Data Model” and “Data Access Permissions” components of Atlas App Services, giving you the ability to query MongoDB collections from a client application exactly as you would in a Node.js environment.

Why We Built It

We manage multiple SaaS environments that relied on App Services, and we needed a way to transition away without having to completely rewrite our client codebases. Mongalayer solves this by letting us maintain the exact same MongoDB querying experience on the client side.

How It Works

The package is split into two distinct parts:

• Server (Self-Hosted): Manages your data models and access permissions, making the actual connection to your MongoDB instance via the native Node.js driver.
• Client: A lightweight wrapper that handles communication with the server, functioning very similarly to the Realm Web SDK.

Bring Your Own Auth

By design, Mongalayer does not handle authentication or authorization for incoming HTTP requests—that part is up to you. For context, we secure our own Mongalayer API (running on AWS Lambda) using AWS Cognito in combination with API Gateway.

When to Use It (And When Not To)

Mongalayer is designed for basic CRUD applications where access control and data integrity are more important than raw throughput. Because every operation goes through access control checks, there is some inherent overhead. If you need maximum write throughput without access control restrictions, we highly recommend using the MongoDB driver directly via a custom implementation.

Kind regards,
Klaas

Hey guys, I took my MongoDB Certified Database Administrator exam today (October 15) through ProctorU, and honestly, I'm pretty stressed about what happened.

Near the end of the exam, the proctor suddenly terminated my session, saying I was looking beside the screen. I'm worried about whether this could lead to a permanent ban.

Here's what happened.

There were around four proctor changes during my exam. At one point, they asked me to show a room in front of me. My parents were inside, but the door was locked from the inside, and they weren't responding when I tried to open it. I showed the proctor what was happening, and they said it was fine and let me continue.

Later, another proctor warned me about looking away from the screen. I explained that I was reading the questions across the screen and looking at the Submit button in the bottom-right corner. She said I could read the questions, and I told her I'd be careful and make sure I wasn't looking elsewhere.

I continued the exam, but near the end, the final proctor suddenly suspended it for looking beside the screen.

I wasn't looking at my phone, notes, or another monitor. I genuinely believe the movements were just me reading the questions and looking at different parts of the screen.

I emailed the MongoDB certification team explaining everything and requested a manual review of the video footage. I also asked if they could reverse the suspension and provide a retake voucher. It's been a couple of hours, and I haven't received any response yet...

Edit - I got a mail which stated that they did not find any evidence of cheating or whatsoever. They gave me another voucher for the exam. I am supposed to reschedule it. Thank you for the support, guys...