Learn more about Apache Cassandra
What is Apache Cassandra
Apache Cassandra is a NoSQL, distributed database management system, well suited for hybrid and multi-cloud environments. Cassandra allows for managing massive amounts of data really fast. The Apache Cassandra database is the right choice when you need scalability and high availability without compromising performance.
Cassandra supports a wide range of programming languages: C#, C++, Clojure, Erlang, Go, Haskell, Java, JavaScript info, Perl, PHP, Python, Ruby, Scala.
Also, Cassandra doesn’t have a single point of failure, so, many DBAs consider it as a resilient, fault-tolerant, highly available, secure, and reliable database.
Apache states that Cassandra provides users with the best-in-class scalability and performance compared to other NoSQL platforms. Our DBAs point out that Cassandra allows for operational simplicity, ease of data replication across multiple data centers, and relatively low cost of ownership.
DataStax is one of the leading providers Cassandra deployments. They provide over 80% of the commits to Apache Cassandra Open Source. Moreover, they own a custom distribution of Cassandra with some unique additional features and technical support included.
Typical challenges that we see with Apache Cassandra
Our team has vast experience in managing, maintaining, and optimizing NoSQL databases and Apache Cassandra in particular. You can rely on our expertise in solving these and other challenges.
Challenge |
Benefit |
|---|---|
Using different versions of Cassandra |
Despite Apache Cassandra being initially released in 2008, it still remains a relatively young database. This means that Cassandra is rapidly evolving with new versions appearing on the market very quickly. Because of this, you may experience issues with a lack of features, even with two minor versions of Cassandra. So, developers need to keep track of Apache Cassandra updates and integrate all code and syntax changes into their database applications. |
Designing the Cassandra database |
Typically, the architect designs the database relating solely to the type of stored data. This is not the case for designing Cassandra databases. The architect needs to define the application tasks first, and then design the Cassandra database elements to match. The key reason for this is table denormalization in Apache Cassandra. At the same time, Cassandra is extremely flexible. Cassandra provides users with a wide range of settings and the ability for fine tuning the server. So, in order to take advantage of Cassandra’s benefits, you need really strong DBA experience and skills. |
Running CQL queries |
Apache Cassandra uses its own query language to retrieve data. The syntax of Contextual Query Language (CQL) looks rather limited compared to the traditional SQL queries. To overcome this, users will need to adpot a completely different philosophy for building queries in CQL with many basic SQL features missing. |
Apache Cassandra database migration |
Database migrations has remained the core of ABCloudz expertise for many years. We have experience migrating our customers’ databases to Apache Cassandra and vice versa. The key challenge here lies in validating the migration, which essentially means comparing data between the source and target databases. The task becomes even harder when you need to compare a SQL-based database against a NoSQL Cassandra database. We have substantial experience with these kinds of projects, and the proven algorithms which can help make this comparison happen. |
Our Apache Cassandra services
Managing data and applications is a hard task, especially when it comes to managing data in NoSQL environments. Over the years, ABCloudz has helped hundreds of customers with their database solutions. We know all the required workarounds to deliver uncompromising performance for your Cassandra database, as well as tuning tips and tricks to help you build a truly reliable and resilient system.
According to Brewer’s theorem, a distributed computer system cannot simultaneously provide all three of the following guarantees: consistency, availability, and partition tolerance. Cassandra is typically classified as an AP system, meaning that availability and partition tolerance are generally considered to be more important than consistency. However, we can tune your Cassandra database with replication factor to meet the desired consistency level.
With great experience in managing Cassandra solutions, we can leverage this wide-column store based NoSQL database for your needs, particularly:
- Transaction logging (like purchases or test scores)
- Storing time series data
- Tracking orders, packages, etc.
- Storing Internet of Things data, as well as the health tracking records
- Other apps where writes exceed reads by a large margin, where data can be partitioned, and when there is no need for joins or aggregates
Getting started
With Apple, CERN, Netflix, Reddit, and even Uber using Cassandra to store data, odds are you may also consider using this NoSQL database platform. ABCloudz can help you build a flawless system on Apache Cassandra, considering your needs and enabling application features on top of future-state architecture design.
If you already use a Cassandra database and want to utilize a fully cloud-based solution, we can help you migrate your workloads to Amazon DynamoDB or Azure Cosmos DB.
Alternative solutions to Apache Cassandra
In addition to the above-mentioned, we have expertise with similar NoSQL data solutions from other vendors.