How to Add Failure Email Alerts to MongoDB Backup Using Amazon SES

In the previous post — automated MongoDB backup to AWS S3 — we configured automated MongoDB backups to AWS S3 on Ubuntu.

However, in production systems, backups without monitoring are risky. If a backup fails and nobody knows, your data-protection strategy fails silently.

In this guide we enhance the backup system by adding automatic failure email alerts using Amazon Simple Email Service (SES). Optional but highly recommended for any production environment.

Architecture Overview

MongoDB
→ mongodump
→ Upload to S3
→ If failure occurs
→ Send email alert via Amazon SES

Step 1: Set Up Amazon SES

1. Log in to the AWS Console

2. Open Amazon Simple Email Service (SES)

3. Go to Verified Identities

4. Click Create Identity

5. Choose Email Address

6. Enter sender email (example: alerts@yourdomain.com)

7. Click Create

8. Verify the email from your inbox

Important: If SES is in Sandbox mode, you must also verify the recipient email address. For production systems, request Production Access inside SES.

Step 2: Add SES Permission to the IAM User

Go to: IAM → Users → select your backup IAM user → Attach policy.

Add the following permission:

{
    "Version": "2012-10-17",
    "Statement": [
        {
            "Effect": "Allow",
            "Action": [
                "ses:SendEmail",
                "ses:SendRawEmail"
            ],
            "Resource": "*"
        }
    ]
}

This allows your server to send emails using SES.

Step 3: Test SES from the Ubuntu Server

Run:

aws ses send-email \
    --from alerts@yourdomain.com \
    --destination ToAddresses=your@email.com \
    --message "Subject={Data=SES Test Email},Body={Text={Data=Amazon SES is working successfully}}" \
    --region ap-south-1

If configured correctly, you should receive a test email. If you see an error, check:

• Verified email identities

• IAM permissions

• The correct AWS region

Step 4: Update the MongoDB Backup Script

Edit your script:

nano /home/ubuntu/mongo-backup.sh

Replace its contents with:

#!/bin/bash

MONGO_URI="mongodb://localhost:27017/mydatabase"
BACKUP_DIR="/home/ubuntu/bkp"
DATE=$(date +"%Y-%m-%d_%H-%M-%S")
S3_BUCKET="s3://your-bucket-name"
BACKUP_NAME="backup-$DATE.gz"
RETENTION_DAYS=7

SES_FROM="alerts@yourdomain.com"
SES_TO="your@email.com"
AWS_REGION="ap-south-1"

LOG_FILE="/home/ubuntu/mongo-backup.log"

send_failure_email() {
    aws ses send-email \
        --from "$SES_FROM" \
        --destination ToAddresses="$SES_TO" \
        --message "Subject={Data=Mongo Backup FAILED},Body={Text={Data=Backup failed on $(hostname) at $DATE. Check logs at $LOG_FILE}}" \
        --region "$AWS_REGION"
}

mkdir -p "$BACKUP_DIR"

echo "Starting backup: $DATE" >> "$LOG_FILE"

# Run mongodump
/usr/bin/mongodump --uri="$MONGO_URI" --archive="$BACKUP_DIR/$BACKUP_NAME" --gzip >> "$LOG_FILE" 2>&1

if [ $? -ne 0 ]; then
    echo "Mongo dump failed" >> "$LOG_FILE"
    send_failure_email
    exit 1
fi

# Upload to S3
/snap/bin/aws s3 cp "$BACKUP_DIR/$BACKUP_NAME" "$S3_BUCKET/" >> "$LOG_FILE" 2>&1

if [ $? -ne 0 ]; then
    echo "S3 upload failed" >> "$LOG_FILE"
    send_failure_email
    exit 1
fi

# Cleanup old local backups
find "$BACKUP_DIR" -type f -mtime +$RETENTION_DAYS -delete

echo "Backup completed successfully: $BACKUP_NAME" >> "$LOG_FILE"

Step 5: Make the Script Executable

chmod +x /home/ubuntu/mongo-backup.sh

How It Works

• If mongodump fails → email is sent

• If S3 upload fails → email is sent

• If everything succeeds → no email is sent

This ensures alerts are triggered only when necessary.

Production Best Practices

• Use an IAM role instead of access keys if running on EC2

• Restrict SES permissions to specific verified identities

• Add an S3 lifecycle rule for automatic cleanup

• Periodically test the restore process

• Review logs weekly

Final Result

You now have:

• Automated MongoDB backup

• Cloud storage in S3

• Automatic failure detection

• Email alert system

• Production-ready monitoring