Installing DataStax Enterprise 5.1 on Debian-based systems using APT

Learn how to install DataStax Enterprise (DSE) 5.1 on Debian-based systems using APT.

Some things to know about installing DSE

When installed with APT, DataStax Enterprise runs as a service. The service initialization script is located in /etc/init.d/dse. Run levels are not set by the package.
This procedure installs DataStax Enterprise 5.1 and the DataStax Agent. It does not install OpsCenter, Studio, or Graph Loader.
If using OpCenter 6.0, override the default DataStax Agent. However, OpsCenter 6.8 is recommended. See DSE product compatibility. After installation:
```
$ sudo apt-get install datastax-agent-6.0.supported_version-1
```
To install the agent during installation, add datastax-agent-6.0.supported_version-1 to the installation command in 5.

SECURITY RISK

When DSE is installed, it creates a superuser called cassandra in the database and runs as this user. It also creates this same superuser in the operating system. Do not use the cassandra superuser in production. Using the cassandra superuser is a security risk. See Adding a superuser login.

For more information about managing Java, see Managing Java installs.

Prerequisites

Root or sudo access.
A supported platform.
Aptitude Package Management (APT) application.
Configure your operating system to use the latest version of Java 8:
- Recommended. The latest build of a TCK (Technology Compatibility Kit) Certified OpenJDK version 8. For example, OpenJDK 8 (1.8.0_151 minimum). DataStax’s recommendation changed due to the end of public updates for Oracle JRE/JDK 8. See Oracle Java SE Support Roadmap.
- Supported. Oracle Java SE 8 (JRE or JDK) (1.8.0_151 minimum)
Python 3.6 through 3.11, or Python 2.7.x. Each listed version provides support for cqlsh, but DataStax recommends using Python 3.11.

Hardware requirements

See Recommended production settings.

Procedure

In a terminal window:

Verify that a required version of Java is installed:

$ java -version

DataStax recommends the latest build of a Technology Compatibility Kit (TCK) Certified OpenJDK version 8.

If OpenJDK, the results should look like:

openjdk version "1.8.0_171"
OpenJDK Runtime Environment (build 1.8.0_171-8u171-b11-0ubuntu0.16.04.1-b11)
OpenJDK 64-Bit Server VM (build 25.171-b11, mixed mode)

If Oracle Java, the results should look like:

java version "1.8.0_181"
Java(TM) SE Runtime Environment (build 1.8.0_181-b13)
Java HotSpot(TM) 64-Bit Server VM (build 25.181-b13, mixed mode)

If not OpenJDK 8 or Oracle Java 8, see Install the Java Virtual Machine.

Add a DataStax repository file called /etc/apt/sources.list.d/datastax.sources.list:

$ echo "deb https://debian.datastax.com/enterprise stable main" | sudo tee -a /etc/apt/sources.list.d/datastax.sources.list

Add the DataStax repository key:

$ curl -L https://debian.datastax.com/debian/repo_key | sudo apt-key add -

Update apt-get:
```
$ sudo apt-get update
```

Install the DataStax Enterprise packages:

Specify all packages; otherwise, the installation fails.

Install any 5.1.x version:

To view the available versions, see the Release notes.

$ sudo apt-get install dse=version_number-1\
    dse-full=version_number-1 \
    dse-libcassandra=version_number-1 \
    dse-libgraph=version_number-1 \
    dse-libhadoop2-client-native=version_number-1 \
    dse-libhadoop2-client=version_number-1 \
    dse-liblog4j=version_number-1 \
    dse-libsolr=version_number-1 \
    dse-libspark=version_number -1 \
    dse-libtomcat=version_number-1

sudo apt-get install dse=5.1-1 \
    dse-full=5.1-1 \
    dse-libcassandra=5.1-1 \
    dse-libgraph=5.1-1 \
    dse-libhadoop2-client-native=5.1-1 \
    dse-libhadoop2-client=5.1-1 \
    dse-liblog4j=5.1-1 \
    dse-libsolr=5.1-1 \
    dse-libspark=5.1-1 \
    dse-libtomcat=5.1-1

Optional: Install the demos:

Installing the DSE demos is not recommended for production. Only install the demos in development environments to run tutorials.
```
$ sudo apt-get install dse-demos-version_number-1
```

Result

DataStax Enterprise is ready for additional configuration:

For production, be sure to change the cassandra user. Failing to do so is a security risk. See Creating superuser accounts.
DataStax Enterprise provides several types of workloads (default is transactional). See startup options for service or stand-alone installations.
Next steps provides links to related tasks and information.

Optional: Single-node cluster installations only:

Start DataStax Enterprise:
```
$ sudo service dse start
```
For more start options, see Starting DataStax Enterprise as a service.

Verify that DataStax Enterprise is running:

$ nodetool status

Results using vnodes:

Datacenter: Cassandra
=====================
Status=Up/Down
|/ State=Normal/Leaving/Joining/Moving
--  Address    Load       Tokens  Owns    Host ID                               Rack
UN  127.0.0.1  82.43 KB   128     ?       40725dc8-7843-43ae-9c98-7c532b1f517e  rack1

Results not using vnodes:

Datacenter: Analytics
=====================
Status=Up/Down
|/ State=Normal/Leaving/Joining/Moving
--  Address         Load       Owns    Host ID                               Token                 Rack
UN  172.16.222.136  103.24 KB  ?       3c1d0657-0990-4f78-a3c0-3e0c37fc3a06  1647352612226902707   rack1

Next steps

You must change or delete the cassandra user created on installation. See Creating superuser accounts.
Configuring DataStax Enterprise- Settings for DSE Advanced Security, In-Memory, DSE Advanced Replication, DSE Multi-Instance, DSE Tiered Storage, and more.
Configuration and log file locations - Services and package installations.
Configuration and log file locations - No Services and tarball installations.
Changing logging locations after installation.
Starting and stopping DataStax Enterprise.
Preparing DataStax Enterprise for production.
Recommended production settings.