How to install Redis & Mongo on a «Raspberry pi» using Docker and connect remotely

📘 Introduction

Deploying Redis and MongoDB 4.x on a Raspberry Pi means dealing with ARM compatibility, container networking, and security best practices. Redis is fully multi-architecture, while MongoDB requires using version 4.x on Pi to avoid ARMv8.2-A dependency errors. You’ll install Docker on the Pi, deploy both services with Docker Compose, manage your Pi from Windows 11 using Docker Contexts, set up TLS encryption for Redis, and review secure options for GUI management.

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🔧 Setting Up Docker on Raspberry Pi

Remove old Docker/podman packages:

sudo apt-get remove docker docker-engine docker.io containerd runc podman-docker

Add the official Docker repository and install Docker Engine + Compose

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install ca-certificates curl gnupg lsb-release
curl -fsSL https://download.docker.com/linux/raspbian/gpg \
  | sudo gpg --dearmor -o /usr/share/keyrings/docker-archive-keyring.gpg
echo \
  "deb [arch=$(dpkg --print-architecture) signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/docker-archive-keyring.gpg] \
   https://download.docker.com/linux/raspbian $(lsb_release -cs) stable" \
  | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/docker.list
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install docker-ce docker-ce-cli containerd.io docker-compose-plugin

Enable Docker for non-root use and validate the install:

sudo usermod -aG docker $USER && newgrp docker docker run hello-world docker compose version

(Optional) Enable Docker’s remote TCP API (only use over secure LANs):

# /etc/systemd/system/docker.service.d/override.conf
[Service]
ExecStart=
ExecStart=/usr/bin/dockerd \
  -H fd:// \
  -H tcp://0.0.0.0:2375 \
  --containerd=/run/containerd/containerd.sock

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🛠 Docker Compose for Redis & MongoDB 4.x

Create docker-compose.yml:

version: '3.8'
services:
  redis:
    container_name: redis
    hostname: redis
    image: redis:latest
    volumes:
      - /home/pi/data/redis/db:/data
    ports:
      - 6379:6379
    networks:
      - infra_net

  mongo:
    container_name: mongo
    hostname: mongo
    image: mongo:4.0
    command: ["mongod", "--bind_ip", "0.0.0.0"]
    volumes:
      - /home/pi/data/mongo/db:/data/db
      - /home/pi/data/mongo/conf/mongod.conf:/etc/mongo/mongod.conf:ro
    ports:
      - 27017:27017
    mem_limit: 250m
    mem_reservation: 100m
    networks:
      - infra_net

networks:
  infra_net:
    driver: bridge

Run it:

docker compose up -d

Verify:

docker exec -it redis redis-cli
docker exec -it mongo mongosh

or, you can just run one by one redis and mo

docker run -d --name redis --hostname redis -p 6379:6379 -v /home/pi/data/redis/db:/data --network infra_net redis:latest

docker run -d --name mongo --hostname mongo -p 27017:27017 -v /home/pi/data/mongo/db:/data/db -v /home/pi/data/mongo/conf/mongod.conf:/etc/mongo/mongod.conf:ro --memory=250m --memory-reservation=100m --network infra_net mongo:4.0 mongod --bind_ip 0.0.0.0

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⚙️ ARM Compatibility & Best Practices

• ARM support: Redis works on both ARMv7 and ARMv8; MongoDB requires 4.x on Pi to avoid crashes because newer versions need ARMv8.2-A.
• Troubleshooting tips:
  • Ensure neither port 6379 nor 27017 is occupied.
  • Confirm folder ownership (chown -R pi:pi /home/pi/data).
  • Validate that both services are on the same infra_net network.
• Best practices:
  • Use host volumes for data persistence.
  • Restrict port exposure and use authentication.
  • Apply memory limits, backups, and monitoring (docker stats, htop, etc.).

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🌐 Section 4: Remote Docker Access from Windows 11

Use Docker Contexts in PowerShell:

docker context create rasperry --docker "host=tcp://192.168.1.150:2375"
docker context use rasperry 
docker ps
docker exec -it redis redis-cli
docker context use default

For better security, use an SSH-based context:

docker context create raspberry --docker "host=ssh://pi@192.168.1.150"
docker context use raspberry

At this point, you can create your containers form windows terminal directly as you did before using ssh command. So you can run `docker compose up -d` or the others command.

❗ Note on Docker Desktop UI: Switching contexts works in the CLI but Docker Desktop’s GUI won’t display containers from remote contexts—it only shows the local engine. If you want a GUI to manage your Pi, consider:

• Portainer: run on the Pi or as a Docker Desktop extension—manages multiple hosts over.
• VS Code Remote – Containers: use via SSH to attach to containers on your Pi.

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🔐 Configuring Redis with SSL/TLS

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• Generate certificates in WSL

sudo apt update && sudo apt install openssl
mkdir -p ~/redis-certs && cd ~/redis-certs

openssl genrsa -out ca.key 4096
openssl req -x509 -new -nodes -key ca.key \
-subj "/C=US/ST=State/L=City/O=Org/CN=MyRedisCA" \
-days 365 -out ca.crt

openssl genrsa -out redis.key 4096
openssl req -new -key redis.key \
-subj "/C=US/ST=State/L=City/O=Org/CN=redis" \
-out redis.csr
openssl x509 -req -in redis.csr -CA ca.crt -CAkey ca.key \
-CAcreateserial -out redis.crt -days 365
mv ca.crt redis.crt redis.key /mnt/c/data/redis/certs/

• Update Compose & redis.conf

services:
  redis:
    image: redis:7
    container_name: redis
    ports:
      - "6379:6379"
    volumes:
      - /c/data/redis/db:/data
      - /c/data/redis/certs:/etc/ssl/redis:ro
      - /c/data/redis/redis.conf:/usr/local/etc/redis/redis.conf:ro
    command: ["redis-server", "/usr/local/etc/redis/redis.conf"]
    mem_limit: 1024m
    mem_reservation: 250m
    networks:
      - infra_net

redis.conf

port 0
tls-port 6379
tls-cert-file /etc/ssl/redis/redis.crt
tls-key-file /etc/ssl/redis/redis.key
tls-ca-cert-file /etc/ssl/redis/ca.crt
tls-auth-clients no

• .NET SSL Connection Example

var options = ConfigurationOptions.Parse("localhost:6379");
options.Ssl = true;
options.SslHost = "redis";
var muxer = ConnectionMultiplexer.Connect(options);
...

✅ Conclusion

You now have a full-stack Raspberry Pi setup featuring:

• Docker + Compose and custom networking
• Redis & MongoDB 4.x with ARM compatibility
• Remote Docker management from Windows 11 via CLI contexts
• TLS-secured Redis for encrypted client connections

For a production-grade setup, consider adding TLS for Docker itself, authentication for Redis/MongoDB, automated backup flows, and performance monitoring tools.

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📚 References

• Docker Desktop in Win11 can’t connect to Docker Engine running on remote Ubuntu 24.01 LTS
• Docker GUI to control remote Docker host
• Docker contexts
• Enable Redis TLS in Compose
• MongoDB 4.x compatibility on Pi
• Docker Desktop GUI limitations – Docker Forums
• Using Portainer for multi-host GUIs
• VS Code Remote Containers with SSH