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Introduction to Cassandra

Course Summary

The Introduction to Cassandra training course is designed to demonstrate a solid foundation on Apache Cassandra.

This highly-structured, project-based course takes you through installing Cassandra, defining a database, creating tables, inserting data, modeling data, creating an application, updating data, creating a cluster, adding nodes, repairing nodes, removing nodes, Cassandra's architecture, as well as common use cases.

Purpose
Learn about the functions of Cassandra required to build a Cassandra-based application
Audience
Developers, solution architects, system administrators, and technical managers looking to adopt Cassandra
Role
System Administrator
Skill Level
Introduction
Style
Lecture | Hands-on Activities | Labs
Duration
2 Days
Related Technologies
Big Data Training | Cassandra | NoSQL | Apache

 

Learning Objectives
  • Summarize what Cassandra is used for
  • Describe Cassandra's architecture
  • Install Cassandra
  • Define a Cassandra database and tables
  • Insert, update, and delete data
  • Discover data modeling in Cassandra
  • Create an application
  • Select hardware
  • Create a cluster
  • Add, repair, and remove nodes

What You'll Learn:

In the Introduction to Cassandra training course, you'll learn:

Cassandra Foundation

  • Understanding what Cassandra is
  • Learning what Cassandra is used for

Get Started with the Architecture

  • Understanding that Cassandra is a distributed database
  • Learning what Snitch is for
  • Learning what gossip is for
  • Learning how data Gets distributed and replicated

Cassandra Installation

  • Downloading Cassandra
  • Ensuring Oracle Java 7 is installed
  • Installing Cassandra
  • Viewing the main configuration file
  • Providing Cassandra with permission to directories
  • Starting Cassandra
  • Checking status
  • Accessing the Cassandra system.log file

Communication with Cassandra

  • Understanding Ways to Communicate with Cassandra
  • Using cqlsh

Create a Database

  • Understanding a Cassandra database
  • Defining a keyspace

Create a Table

  • Creating a table
  • Defining columns and data types
  • Defining a primary key
  • Recognizing a partition key
  • Specifying a descending clustering order

Insert Data

  • Understanding ways to write data
  • Using the INSERT INTO command
  • Using the COPY command
  • Seeing how data is stored in Cassandra
  • Seeing how data is stored on disk

Model Data

  • Understanding data modeling in Cassandra
  • Understanding secondary indexes
  • Creating a secondary index
  • Defining a composite partition key

Create an Application

  • Understanding Cassandra drivers
  • Exploring the DataStax Java Driver
  • Setting up a development environment
  • Creating an application page
  • Getting the DataStax Java Driver files
  • Connecting to a Cassandra Cluster
  • Executing a query
  • Displaying query results
  • Using an MVC pattern

Update and Delete Data

  • Updating data
  • Understanding how updating works
  • Deleting data
  • Understanding tombstones
  • Using TTLs

Hardware Selection

  • Understanding hardware choices
  • Understanding RAM and CPU recommendations
  • Selecting storage
  • Deploying in the Cloud

Node Additions to a Cluster

  • Understanding Cassandra Nodes
  • Having a Network Connection
  • Specifying the IP Address of a Node in Cassandra
  • Specifying seed Nodes
  • Bootstrapping a Node
  • Cleaning up a Node
  • Using cassandra-stress

Cluster Monitoring

  • Understanding Cassandra monitoring tools
  • Using Nodetool
  • Using JConsole
  • Learning about OpsCenter

Nodes Repairs

  • Understanding repair
  • Repairing Nodes
  • Understanding consistency
  • Understanding hinted handoff
  • Understanding read repair

Node Removal

  • Decommissioning a Node
  • Putting a Node back into service
  • Removing a dead Node

How to Redefine a Cluster for Multiple Data Centers

  • Redefining for multiple data centers
  • Changing Snitch type
  • Modifying cassandra-rackdc.properties
  • Changing replication strategy
“I appreciated the instructor's technique of writing live code examples rather than using fixed slide decks to present the material.”

VMware

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