# Create a Sharded Database Cluster

This section shows you how to create a MongoDB sharded cluster using the IONOS API. This feature is available only for enterprise clusters.

For information about prerequisites to retrieve the data center UUID, query database status, connect to the cluster, and prepare the network, see [<mark style="color:blue;">Create a Cluster</mark>](https://docs.ionos.com/cloud/~/revisions/1AlFSZBNMIBgs7fiOwFD/managed-services/database-as-a-service/mongodb/api-howtos/create-a-cluster).

### Create the cluster

This request will create a sharded-database cluster with three instances of MongoDB version 6.0.

{% hint style="info" %}
**Note:** The use of `shards` in the request identifies the number of shards, while `type` defines the cluster as a sharded cluster.
{% endhint %}

{% hint style="info" %}
**Note:** Only contract administrators and owners can create and change database clusters. In contrast, the running database cluster can be accessed from all servers in the specified LAN.
{% endhint %}

#### Request

```bash
curl --include \
    --request POST \
    --user "clientname@ionos.com:Mb2.r5oHf-0t" \
    --header "Content-Type: application/json" \
    --data-binary '{
      "metadata": {},
      "properties":
        {
        "mongoDBVersion": "6.0",
        "instances": 3,
        "location": "de/fra",
        "displayName": "a good name for a database",
        "connections": [
          {
            "datacenterId": "b1432c51-c20a-4f83-876f-c3a8a9e1fbec",
            "lanId": "28",
            "cidrList": ["10.1.1.3/24", "10.1.1.4/24", "10.1.1.5/24"]
          }
        ],
        "type": "sharded-cluster",
        "shards": 2,
        "edition": "enterprise",
        "cores": 4,
        "ram": 2048,
        "storageSize": 20000,
        "storageType": "HDD"
      }
    }' \
    https://api.ionos.com/databases/mongodb/clusters
```

#### Response

{% hint style="info" %}
**Note:** We will use <mark style="color:red;">498ae72f-411f-11eb-9d07-046c59cc737e</mark> as example for the cluster ID in following examples.
{% endhint %}

```json
{
  "type": "cluster",
  "id": "498ae72f-411f-11eb-9d07-046c59cc737e",
  "metadata": {
    "state": "BUSY",
    "health": "UNKNOWN",
    "createdDate": "2020-12-10T12:37:50.000Z",
    "createdBy": "clientname@ionos.com",
    "createdByUserId": "012342f-411f-1eeb-9d07-046c59cc737e"
  },
  "properties": {
    "displayName": "a good name for a database",
    "location": "de/fra",
    "connections": [
      {
        "datacenterId": "b1432c51-c20a-4f83-876f-c3a8a9e1fbec",
        "lanId": "28",
        "cidrList": [
          "10.1.1.3/24",
          "10.1.1.4/24",
          "10.1.1.5/24"
        ]
      }
    ],
    "instances": 3,
    "shards": 2,
    "edition": "enterprise",
    "cores": 4,
    "ram": 2048,
    "storageSize": 20000,
    "storageType": "HDD",
    "type": "sharded-cluster",
    "maintenanceWindow": {
      "time": "15:39:01",
      "dayOfTheWeek": "Friday"
    },
    "connectionString": "mongodb+srv://m-65f4a879f126e3c4.mongodb.de-fra.ionos.com"
  }
}
```

At this point, you have created your first MongoDB sharded cluster. The deployment of the database takes several minutes. For more information about determining if your cluster is ready, see [<mark style="color:blue;">Querying database status</mark>](https://docs.ionos.com/cloud/~/revisions/1AlFSZBNMIBgs7fiOwFD/managed-services/database-as-a-service/mongodb/create-a-cluster#querying-database-status).

When the cluster is ready, add the role `enableSharding` to a user in order to allow shard management capabilities. For managing user roles, see [<mark style="color:blue;">Changing the roles</mark>](https://docs.ionos.com/cloud/~/revisions/1AlFSZBNMIBgs7fiOwFD/managed-services/database-as-a-service/mongodb/users-management#changing-the-roles). Only users with `enableSharding` role can shard a collection. For more information, see [<mark style="color:blue;">shardCollection</mark>](https://www.mongodb.com/docs/manual/reference/method/sh.enableSharding/).