What's new in DataStax Distribution of Apache Cassandra 3.x for Windows

An overview of new features in the DataStax Distribution of Apache Cassandra 3.x for Windows.

Note: Cassandra is now releasing on a tick-tock schedule.

The latest version of DataStax Distribution of Apache Cassandra 3.x for Windows is 3.9.

The CHANGES.txt describes the changes in detail. You can view all version changes by branch or tag in the drop-down list on the changes page.

New features in Cassandra 3.2 and later

-graph option for cassandra-stress	`cassandra-stress` results can be automatically graphed for data visualization.
TTL for COPY FROM	A TTL value can be specified when copying from CSV files.
bulkloader can use third party authentication	The bulkloader has an option `-ap` for third party authentication.
CREATE TABLE WITH ID	If a table is accidentally dropped, it can be recreated with its ID and the commitlog replayed to regain data.
jvm.options file for GC and some JVM options	Some JVM options have been moved from the cassandra-env.sh file into a new file, jvm.optionsThe cassandra utility.
Static columns can be indexed	In Cassandra 3.4 and later, static columns can be indexed.
New option for nodetool compact	In Cassandra 3.4 and later, addition of `--user-defined` to `nodetool compact` to allow user to submit a list of filescompact. Handy for dealing with low disk space or tombstone purging.
nodetool gettimeout and nodetool settimeout	In Cassandra 3.4 and later, two nodetool commands, nodetool gettimeout and nodetool settimeout to print out or set the value of a timeout in milliseconds.
SSTable Attached Secondary Indexes (SASI)	In Cassandra 3.4 and later, SSTable Attached Secondary Indexes (SASI) have been introduced that improve on the existing secondary index implementation with superior performance for queries that previously required the use of `ALLOW FILTERING`

New features released in Cassandra 3.0

Storage engine refactored	The Storage Engine has been refactored.
Materialized Views	Materialized views handle automated server-side denormalization, with consistency between base and view data.
Support for Windows	Support for Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows Server 2008, and Windows Server 2012. See DataStax Cassandra 3.0 Windows Documentation.
*Operations improvements*
Addition of MAX_WINDOW_SIZE_SECONDS to DTCS compaction settings	Allow DTCS compaction governance based on maximum window size rather than SSTable age.
File-based Hint Storage and Improved Replay	Hints are now stored in files and replay is improved.
Default garbage collector is changed to G1	Default garbage collector is changed from Concurrent-Mark-Sweep (CMS) to G1. G1 performance is better for nodes with heap size of 4GB or greater.
Changed syntax for CREATE TABLE compression options	Made the compression options more consistent for `CREATE TABLE`.
Add nodetool command to force blocking batchlog replay	BatchlogManager can force batchlog replay using nodetool.
Nodetool over SSL	Nodetool can connect using SSL like cqlsh.
New nodetool options for hinted handoffs	Nodetool options `disablehintsfordc` and `enablehintsfordc` added. to selectively disable or enable hinted handoffs for a datacenter.
nodetool stop	Nodetool option added to stop compactions.
*Other notable changes*
Requires Java 8	Java 8 is now required.
nodetool cfstats and nodetool cfhistograms renamed	Renamed `nodetool cfstats` to `nodetool tablestats`. Renamed `nodetool cfhistograms` to `nodetool tablehistograms`.
Native protocol v1 and v2 are dropped	Native protocol v1 and v2 are dropped in Cassandra 3.0.
DataStax AMI does not install Cassandra 3.0 or 3.x	You can install Cassandra 2.1 and earlier versions on Amazon EC2 using the DataStax AMI (Amazon Machine Image) as described in the AMI documentation for Cassandra 2.1. To install Cassandra 3.0 and later on Amazon EC2, use a trusted AMI for your platform and the appropriate install method for that platform.