Install DataStax Enterprise 6.9 on Debian-based systems using APT

Use these instructions for installing DataStax Enterprise (DSE) 6.9 on Debian-based systems using APT.

Some things to know about installing DataStax Enterprise

These instructions apply to all versions of DSE 6.9. For specific changes please see the DataStax Enterprise 6.9 release notes.
When installed from a package (Yum or APT), DSE 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 DSE 6.9 and the DataStax Agent (for use with DSE OpsCenter). It does not install DSE OpsCenter, DataStax Studio, or DataStax Bulk Loader (DSBulk).
When connecting to DSE 6.9 from DSE OpsCenter, use DSE OpsCenter version 6.8; earlier versions are not supported.

When DSE is installed, it creates a cassandra user in the database. Do not use the cassandra user in production. Failing to do so is a security risk. See Adding a superuser login.

Prerequisites

Root or sudo access.
A supported platform.
Aptitude Package Management (APT) application.
Configure your operating system to use the latest version of Java 11:
- Recommended. The latest build of a TCK (Technology Compatibility Kit) Certified OpenJDK version 11.
- Supported. Oracle Java SE 11 (JRE or JDK).
Python 3.8-3.11 required for running cqlsh.

Hardware requirements

See Recommended production settings.

Install DSE 6.9 on Debian-based systems using APT

Verify that a required version of Java is installed:

java -version

If OpenJDK, the results should look like:

openjdk version "11.0.x" 2024-06-18
OpenJDK Runtime Environment (build 11.0.x+xx)
OpenJDK 64-Bit Server VM (build 11.0.x+xx, mixed mode)

If Oracle Java, the results should look like:

java version "11.0.x" YYYY-MM-DD LTS
Java(TM) SE Runtime Environment 18.9 (build 11.0.x+xx-LTS)
Java HotSpot(TM) 64-Bit Server VM (build 11.0.x+xx-LTS, mixed mode)

DataStax recommends the latest build of a Technology Compatibility Kit (TCK) Certified OpenJDK version 11.

Install the libaio package. For example:
- Debian platforms:
  sudo apt-get install libaio1
- Ubuntu 24.04 and later platforms:
  sudo apt-get install libaio1t64
Find DSE 6.9 on IBM Fix Central:
1. Go to Fix Central.
2. In the Product selector field, begin typing IBM DataStax Enterprise, and then select that option from the menu.
3. In the Release field, select the version that you want to install.
4. Click Continue.
5. On the Identify fixes page, click Continue to use the default Browse for fixes option.
6. On the Select fixes page, select the fix pack (DSE version) you want to install, and then click Continue.
  
  Depending on the product and version, more fix packs might be available if you set the Platform filter to All, and then click Submit.
7. If prompted, sign in with your IBMid.
  
  An IBMid account with MFA enabled is required. If you don’t have one, create an IBMid account. If your organization uses Enterprise Federation (EF) for authentication with corporate credentials, see the IBMid EF documentation.
8. On the Download options page, select Download using your browser (HTTPS), and then click Continue.
9. Review the terms and conditions, and then click I agree to activate the download links.
Click the DSE DEB package link to download the file, for example, dse-6.9.15-deb.zip.
Extract the DEB files from the zip file:
```
sudo unzip dse-6.9.15-deb.zip
```
You can use the package signing public key (dse-deb-signing.pub.key) in the file to set up and verify the DEB packages.
Set up a local APT repository to host the downloaded DSE Debian package.

For more information, see Setting up a Debian repository.
Add a DataStax repository file called /etc/apt/sources.list.d/datastax.sources.list:
```
echo "deb [trusted=yes] file:REPOSITORY_DIRECTORY_PATH ./" | sudo tee -a /etc/apt/sources.list.d/datastax.sources.list
```
Replace REPOSITORY_DIRECTORY_PATH with the path to the repository directory.

The [trusted=yes] option allows APT to use the repository without GPG key verification.
Update the packages:
```
sudo apt-get update
```

Install the DSE packages:

Specify all packages; otherwise, the installation fails.

Install the latest version (6.9.x):
```
sudo apt-get install dse-full
```

Install an earlier DSE 6.9.x version:

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

For example:

sudo apt-get install dse=6.9.0-1 \
    dse-full=6.9.0-1 \
    dse-libcassandra=6.9.0-1 \
    dse-libgraph=6.9.0-1 \
    dse-libhadoop2-client-native=6.9.0-1 \
    dse-libhadoop2-client=6.9.0-1 \
    dse-liblog4j=6.9.0-1 \
    dse-libsolr=6.9.0-1 \
    dse-libspark=6.9.0-1 \
    dse-libtomcat=6.9.0-1

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
```

DSE is ready for additional configuration:

For production, be sure to change the cassandra user. Failing to do so is a security risk. See Adding a superuser login.
DSE 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.

Start DSE

Single-node cluster installations only:

Start DSE:
```
sudo service dse start
```

Verify that DSE is running:

nodetool status

Result

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

Next steps

Change or delete the default cassandra user.
Connect to DSE using the cqlsh tool.
Configure start up options.
If performing an upgrade, go to the next step in the Upgrade Guide.
Configure DataStax Enterprise settings for DSE Advanced Security, DSE In-Memory, DSE Advanced Replication, DSE Multi-Instance, DSE Tiered Storage, and more.
Review the default file locations for package installations.
Change the logging locations after installation.
Start and stop DataStax Enterprise.
Prepare DataStax Enterprise for production.
Review the recommended production settings.
Plan and test DataStax Enterprise cluster deployments.
Configure the heap dump directory to avoid server crashes.
Cassandra driver compatibility.