Setting up Mongo DB for developer use with Sitecore

Here are some simple steps to set up Mongo for use with Sitecore.  I used these for a development Sitecore 8 installation:

1. Download and install mongodb from https://www.mongodb.org/downloads?_ga=1.194443182.2054203937.1446139202#production
2. Create a bat file to initialize the mongo db, something like:
   
   "C:\Program Files\MongoDB\Server\3.0\bin\mongod.exe" -dbpath "C:\inetpub\wwwroot\[Sitecore Project]\Databases\Mongo"
   
   N.B. I always have the database created in the Sitecore website's databases folder.
3. Double click the bat file - you can use software like Always Up (http://www.coretechnologies.com/products/AlwaysUp/) to turn the bat file into a pseudo windows service, which means you don't have to kick it off every time you start windows.
4. The analytics part of your connections strings config should look something:

   <add name="analytics" connectionString="mongodb://localhost/analytics"/>
   <add name="tracking.live" connectionString="mongodb://localhost/tracking_live"/>
   <add name="tracking.history" connectionString="mongodb://localhost/tracking_history"/>
   <add name="tracking.contact" connectionString="mongodb://localhost/tracking_contact"/>

5. Login to Sitecore and you should now see the graph (which defaults to Interactions by visits and value per visits) appear at the bottom of the screen:
   
   

   

   Sitecore 8