Astra DB Serverless Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Astra Portal

What are considered Recent Resources?

Recent Resources include the five most recent databases and streaming tenants resources used by someone in your organization.

Where do I find the organization ID, database ID, or region ID?

To get your organization ID in Astra DB Serverless, view any URL within the current organization:

astra.datastax.com/ORGANIZATION_ID

To get your database ID, select the database from your Dashboard to view the URL for the selected database:

astra.datastax.com/org/ORGANIZATION_ID/database/DATABASE_ID

Alternatively, you can view your database ID in the Databases listing on the database dashboard. content_paste Clipboard to copy the database ID.

For the region ID, click the database name to see its details. Locate the ID of each region next to its name in the list.

Can I use strict security settings, such as an ad blocker, with the Astra Portal?

To ensure you have the best experience with the Astra Portal, add Astra DB Serverless as an approved page for your ad blocker.

If you are using strict security settings in your web browser, you might not see everything in the Astra Portal, such as messages and certain functionalities that simplify your experience.

What can I update with my Astra DB avatar?

Click your avatar to review your current account settings, update your username, and reset your password.

While you can run DataStax Enterprise (DSE) on premises and in the cloud, Astra DB allows you to create databases in minutes, with reduced complexity, fewer operational concerns, and an approachable entry point for developing your applications. Astra DB is a true database-as-a-service (DBaaS) offering that provides simplified database management with flexible pricing.

DSE includes Advanced Workloads (DSE Search, Analytics, and Graph), which are not available in Astra DB. Read Astra DB: Designing A Serverless Cloud-Native DBaaS for an in-depth understanding of the cloud-native architecture of Astra DB Serverless.

Which cloud vendors does Astra DB Serverless support?

Astra DB Serverless supports creating databases on Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud, and Microsoft Azure.

Which DataStax drivers work with Astra DB Serverless?

The following DataStax drivers are compatible with Astra DB Serverless:

What is the practical limit for the amount of data stored in an Astra DB Serverless database?

There is no practical limit to the number of bytes an Astra DB Serverless database can store.

Can I restore my data if my database is suspended?

Yes, your data will be restored when your database becomes active again. If your database is suspended, you must add a credit card or wait for your credits to be renewed before your database will be active again.

For more information, see Backup and restore.

Can I use `cfstats` or `nodetool`?

No, Astra DB Serverless is a zero-operations database-as-a-service (DBaaS) offering. Some operational Apache Cassandra® tools are not relevant. For more information, see the Database limits.

Astra DB Serverless offers access to a limited set of database metrics, which you can view in the Health tab in the Astra Portal. For more information, see View and export metrics.

Which ports does Astra DB Serverless use?

If you need to make firewall exceptions, Astra DB Serverless uses the following ports:

Ports
Port	Description
`443`	APIs such as REST and GraphQL, and the Astra DB Health dashboard
`29042`	CQL
`29080`	Metadata service

Is VPC peering possible for Astra DB Serverless databases?

VPC peering is not supported for Astra DB Serverless databases. Private endpoints are available.

Can I change a namespace or keyspace name?

No, you cannot alter the namespace or keyspace name. You can create a new namespace or keyspace with a different name.

For more about namespaces and keyspaces, see Namespaces versus keyspaces.

I created my table in Astra Portal. When I run a `SELECT` statement I get an error. What do I do?

This is the common error:

Invalid Request: Error from server: code=2200 [Invalid query] message="table TABLE_NAME does not exist"

When you create a table through the Astra Portal, the table name, keyspace name, or column name is case-sensitive. You can access case-sensitive characters using double quotes.

For example, see the SELECT statement below:

token@cqlsh:test> desc tables;
token@cqlsh:test> select * from "**Case_Sensitive**";

CQL

When I try to create a keyspace in the CQL shell, I get an error. How do I fix this?

Keyspaces must be created in the Astra Portal. For more information, see Add a keyspace.

Can I delete a keyspace using CQL?

To prevent accidental deletion of your data, you cannot delete the last keyspace in your database.

The following error appears if you try to delete the last keyspace in the CQL shell:

token@cqlsh> drop keyspace *KEYSPACE_NAME*;
Unauthorized: Error from server: code=2100
[Unauthorized] message="Missing correct permission on *DATABASE_NAME*."

To avoid any storage costs associated with the keyspace, you can drop tables from the keyspace by running:

drop table *TABLE_NAME*

Should I use Storage Attached Indexing (SAI)?

Storage Attached Indexing (SAI) is a highly-scalable, globally-distributed index for Apache Cassandra® that is available for Astra DB Serverless databases.

Explore this deep dive on Storage Attached Indexing.

How can I fix a “Missing Correct Permission Error”?

A permission error occurs for two reasons:

Astra DB Serverless places certain limitations on the user with Database limits.
Inadequate user permissions on your account.

token@cqlsh> select * from test_db.data
Unauthorized: Error from server: code=2100
[Unauthorized] message="No SELECT permission on <table test_db.data>"

Billing

What happens when my monthly credit runs out?

If you are on a free tier, Astra DB Serverless prompts you to add a credit card when your credit limit is running low. DataStax will also notify you by email and in the Astra Portal.

If your application uses all $25 in credit, the database temporarily pauses until you add a credit card to re-start the database. Alternatively, you can wait until the next month for the $25 credit to refresh.

Unused credits do not roll over. Your $25 credit refreshes for your organization on the first of every month.

View your credit balance in the Billing details:

Use this product documentation to learn about the capabilities of your Astra DB Serverless database and how to use your databases.
Start using Astra DB with the quickstart and integrations.
To send us feedback or get additional help, use the chat feature in the Astra Portal.

For more information, see Submit a support ticket and View and subscribe to Astra status updates.