GossipingPropertyFileSnitch

Automatically updates all nodes using gossip when adding new nodes and is recommended for production.

This snitch is recommended for production. It uses rack and data center information for the local node defined in the cassandra-rackdc.properties file and propagates this information to other nodes via gossip.

The cassandra-rackdc.properties file defines the default data center and rack used by this snitch:
Note: Data center and rack names are case-sensitive.
dc=DC1
rack=RAC1

To save bandwidth, add the prefer_local=true option. This option tells Cassandra to use the local IP address when communication is not across different data centers.

The location of the conf directory depends on the type of installation:
  • Packaged installs: /etc/cassandra/cassandra-rackdc.properties
  • Tarball installs: install_location/conf/cassandra-rackdc.properties

To migrate from the PropertyFileSnitch to the GossipingPropertyFileSnitch, update one node at a time to allow gossip time to propagate. The PropertyFileSnitch is used as a fallback when cassandra-topologies.properties is present.