The DataStax Distribution of Apache Cassandra 3.11 FAQ

Frequently asked questions about DataStax Distribution of Apache Cassandra 3.11.

How do I interact with DataStax Distribution of Apache Cassandra (DDAC)?
Cassandra's architecture allows any authorized user to connect to any node in any datacenter and access data using the Cassandra Query Language (CQL 3.4 + DataStax enhancements). For ease of use, CQL uses a similar syntax to SQL. The most basic way to interact with DDAC is using the CQL create keyspaces and tables, insert and query tables, plus much more. For production, DataStax supplies a number of drivers in various programming languages, so that CQL statements can be passed from client to cluster and back. See What drivers work with DDAC? below.
How is DDAC different from relational databases?
DDAC is a distributed and highly available database that uses peer-to-peer communication. Data modeling in DDAC is similar to relational databases while differing in key areas to provide blazingly fast interaction. Relational databases use joins between tables for relationships. DDAC uses denormalization to achieve more robust querying.
What is NoSQL?
The NoSQL term originally referred to a new generation of databases that shunned SQL for other interfaces. The term NoSQL has recently become a catch-all term for post-relational "not-only SQL" databases that use a method of storage different from a relational, or SQL, database.
How do I move data to and from DataStax Enterprise?
See Migrating data to the DataStax Distribution of Apache Cassandra 3.11. You can use the COPY command to read CSV data to DDAC and write CSV data from DDAC to a file system. The sstableloader provides the ability to bulk load external data into a cluster. However, before moving data to DDAC, you need to consider how your client application will query the tables, and do data modeling first. The paradigm shift between relational databases and NoSQL means that a straight move of data from an RDBMS database to DDAC will fail. See Migrating data to the DataStax Distribution of Apache Cassandra 3.11.
What operational tools are included with DDAC?
How do I test DDAC
What kind of hardware do I need to run DDAC?
See Planning and testing cluster deployments for hardware requirements. The distributed nature of DDAC can actively utilize multiple datacenters across several geographic regions, supporting highly available data under even the most trying circumstances.
How do I install DDAC?
See Installing the DataStax Distribution of Apache Cassandra 3.11.
Note: To install open-source Apache Cassandra, see the Apache Cassandra Documentation.
What tools can I use to load data into DDAC?
How do I configure DDAC?
This guide provides information about using virtual nodes; setting up security; storing and accessing data exclusively from memory; setting up distributed data replication from remote clusters; running multiple DataStax Enterprise nodes on a single host machine; automating the movement of data across different types of storage media; plus much more.
How do I upgrade DDAC?
The Upgrade Guide provides instructions for upgrading DDAC patch releases.
Can I use DDAC on Docker?
See Create a DataStax Distribution of Apache Cassandra (DDAC) database container.
What drivers work with DDAC?
DataStax drivers come in two types: DataStax drivers for DataStax Enterprise 5.0 and later, and DataStax drivers for Apache Cassandra (including DDAC). The DataStax drivers for DSE are enhanced to ease the development of applications powered by DataStax Enterprise, not DDAC. These drivers support full functionality for DSE, including DSE Graph, unified authentication, and geospatial types.

DataStax and Apache Cassandra OSS drivers

Table 1. Available drivers and compatibility with DSE and DDAC
DSE drivers Cassandra OSS and DDAC Compatibility tables
C++ C++ DSE C++ | OSS C++
C# | DSE Graph Extension C# DSE C# | OSS C#
Java (DSE Graph Extension included) Java DSE Java | OSS Java
Node.js | DSE Graph Extension Node.js DSE Node.js | OSS Node.js
Python | DSE Graph Extension Python DSE Python | OSS Python
Maintenance only - Supported by DataStax, but only critical bug fixes will be included in new versions.
PHP PHP DSE PHP | OSS PHP
Ruby Ruby DSE Ruby | OSS Ruby