Cassandra

Definition

Cassandra is a highly scalable, distributed NoSQL database designed to handle large amounts of data across many commodity servers, providing high availability with no single point of failure. This database is known for its ability to manage huge data sets while ensuring fault tolerance and quick data access, making it a popular choice for applications that require fast, real-time responses in various industries.

5 Must Know Facts For Your Next Test

1. Cassandra was originally developed at Facebook to handle their inbox search feature and has since become an open-source project maintained by the Apache Software Foundation.
2. The database uses a peer-to-peer architecture, meaning all nodes are equal and can accept read and write requests, which enhances its fault tolerance.
3. Cassandra supports horizontal scalability, allowing organizations to add more nodes easily without downtime, making it suitable for growing data needs.
4. Data in Cassandra is stored in a column-family format rather than rows, optimizing it for write-heavy applications and offering better performance in certain use cases.
5. It offers tunable consistency levels, allowing users to balance between consistency and availability based on their specific application needs.

Review Questions

• How does the architecture of Cassandra contribute to its scalability and fault tolerance?
  • Cassandra's architecture features a peer-to-peer design where all nodes in the cluster are equal, allowing any node to handle read and write requests. This eliminates single points of failure since there is no master node; if one node goes down, others can continue to serve requests. The system can easily scale horizontally by adding new nodes, which enhances its ability to manage large amounts of data while maintaining high availability and performance.
• Discuss the advantages of using CQL for interacting with Cassandra compared to traditional SQL.
  • CQL provides a familiar syntax for developers accustomed to SQL, making it easier for them to transition to working with Cassandra. Unlike traditional SQL, which requires strict schema adherence and relationships between tables, CQL allows for more flexible data modeling suited for NoSQL databases. This flexibility helps developers optimize their applications for performance and scalability while retaining ease of use in querying data.
• Evaluate the impact of tunable consistency levels on application design when using Cassandra.
  • Tunable consistency levels in Cassandra allow developers to adjust how consistent the data needs to be during reads and writes, which can significantly impact application design. For applications requiring high availability, developers may opt for lower consistency levels that prioritize speed over immediate accuracy. Conversely, applications needing strong consistency can choose higher levels, ensuring that reads return the most recent write. This flexibility enables teams to tailor their applications based on specific requirements for performance, reliability, and user experience.

Related terms

NoSQL: A category of database management systems that are designed to handle unstructured or semi-structured data and provide flexible schemas compared to traditional relational databases.

Distributed Database: A database that is spread across multiple locations or servers, allowing for data to be stored and accessed from various nodes, enhancing reliability and performance.

CQL: Cassandra Query Language (CQL) is the SQL-like language used to interact with Cassandra databases, providing a familiar syntax for developers transitioning from relational databases.