Install DataStax Enterprise (DSE) 6.9 with a binary tarball

You can use a binary tarball to install DataStax Enterprise (DSE) 6.9 on bare metal or a virtual machine (VM) running a supported Linux platform.

For new deployments, DataStax recommends the latest patch release. If you are scaling an existing deployment, install the same patch release as the existing nodes. For a summary of features and changes in each release, see the DSE 6.9 release notes.

When installed from a tarball, DSE runs as a standalone process, with or without root permissions.

When you install DSE, it creates a cassandra superuser role in the database, and DSE runs as this user. Don’t use the default cassandra role in production because it is a security risk. Instead, create a new superuser role for running DSE.

For other installation options, see Choose an installation method.

Prerequisites

Prepare an environment where you want to install DSE, including sufficient hardware and a supported platform.
For RHEL-compatible platforms, enable Extra Packages for Enterprise Linux (EPEL).
Install a supported Java 11 runtime: OpenJDK 11 (recommended) or Oracle Java SE 11.0.x (JDK).

If you install multiple Java versions, set your $JAVA_HOME environment variable to Java 11.
For production installations and simulated production test environments, review the recommended settings.

Some settings can be applied before installing DSE. For settings that require a running DSE instance, plan to apply them after the installation.
Install the libaio package:
RHEL
sudo yum install libaio
Debian
sudo apt-get install libaio1
Ubuntu 24.04 or later
sudo apt-get install libaio1t64
On Ubuntu 24.04 and later, the libaio library was renamed to libaio1t64. DSE requires a symlink from the old library name to the new one to detect it properly. Without this link, DSE issues a warning about the missing library and performance is significantly degraded.
sudo ln -s /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libaio.so.1t64 /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libaio.so.1

Download and extract the tarball

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 tarball link to download the file, for example, dse-6.9.15-bin.tar.gz.
Extract the tarball file into the directory where you want to install DSE:
```
sudo tar -xzvf dse-VERSION-bin.tar.gz -C INSTALL_DIRECTORY
```
The files expand into a dse-VERSION directory, such as dse-6.9.15.

Configure DSE data and log directories

Before starting DSE for the first time, you must create and assign ownership to the DSE data and log directories.

DSE uses the default data and log directory locations unless otherwise configured in cassandra.yaml before startup.

Use default directories

Create DSE data and log directories at the default locations:
```
sudo mkdir -p /var/lib/cassandra /var/log/cassandra
```
Assign ownership to the data and log directories.

To run DSE as a different user, replace cassandra:cassandra with that user and group.
```
sudo chown -R cassandra:cassandra /var/lib/cassandra /var/log/cassandra
```

Use custom directories

Create DSE data and log directories in your preferred locations, specifying the absolute path for each directory:

sudo mkdir -p \
  PATH_TO_CUSTOM_DIRECTORY/dse-data/commitlog \
  PATH_TO_CUSTOM_DIRECTORY/dse-data/saved_caches \
  PATH_TO_CUSTOM_DIRECTORY/dse-data/hints \
  PATH_TO_CUSTOM_DIRECTORY/dse-data/metadata \
  PATH_TO_CUSTOM_DIRECTORY/cdc_raw

Assign ownership to your data and log directories.

To run DSE as a different user, replace cassandra:cassandra with that user and group.
```
sudo chown -R cassandra:cassandra \
  PATH_TO_CUSTOM_DIRECTORY/dse-data \
  PATH_TO_CUSTOM_DIRECTORY/cdc_raw
```

In cassandra.yaml, set the following directory parameters to your custom directory paths.

For tarball installations, the default location of the cassandra.yaml file is INSTALL_DIRECTORY/resources/cassandra/conf.

data_file_directories:
  - PATH_TO_CUSTOM_DIRECTORY/dse-data
commitlog_directory: PATH_TO_CUSTOM_DIRECTORY/dse-data/commitlog
saved_caches_directory: PATH_TO_CUSTOM_DIRECTORY/dse-data/saved_caches
hints_directory: PATH_TO_CUSTOM_DIRECTORY/dse-data/hints
metadata_directory: PATH_TO_CUSTOM_DIRECTORY/dse-data/metadata
cdc_raw_directory: PATH_TO_CUSTOM_DIRECTORY/cdc_raw

In dse-env.sh, set CASSANDRA_LOG_DIR to the absolute path to your custom log directory.

For tarball installations, the default location of the dse-env.sh file is INSTALL_DIRECTORY/bin.
```
export CASSANDRA_LOG_DIR="PATH_TO_CUSTOM_DIRECTORY"
```
You can also change log locations after installation. For more information about this environment variable and configuring the log location, see Changing logging locations.

Configure DSE Analytics data and log directories

If you plan to use DSE Analytics, you must create and assign ownership to the Spark data and log directories before starting DSE.

When you enable DSE Analytics, the Spark components write temporary data and logs to the default Spark data and log directory locations unless otherwise configured in spark-env.sh or dse.yaml before startup.

Use default directories

Create Spark data and log directories at the default locations:

sudo mkdir -p \
  /var/lib/dsefs \
  /var/lib/spark \
  /var/lib/spark/rdd \
  /var/lib/spark/worker \
  /var/log/spark \
  /var/log/spark/master \
  /var/log/spark/alwayson_sql

Assign ownership to the data and log directories.

To run DSE as a different user, replace cassandra:cassandra with that user and group.
```
sudo chown -R cassandra:cassandra /var/lib/dsefs /var/lib/spark /var/log/spark
```

Use custom directories

Create Spark data and log directories in your preferred locations, specifying the absolute path for each directory:

sudo mkdir -p \
  PATH_TO_CUSTOM_DIRECTORY/dsefs \
  PATH_TO_CUSTOM_DIRECTORY/spark/rdd \
  PATH_TO_CUSTOM_DIRECTORY/spark/worker \
  PATH_TO_CUSTOM_DIRECTORY/spark/log/worker \
  PATH_TO_CUSTOM_DIRECTORY/spark/log/master \
  PATH_TO_CUSTOM_DIRECTORY/spark/log/alwayson_sql

Assign ownership to your data and log directories.

To run DSE as a different user, replace cassandra:cassandra with that user and group.
```
sudo chown -R cassandra:cassandra \
  PATH_TO_CUSTOM_DIRECTORY/dsefs \
  PATH_TO_CUSTOM_DIRECTORY/spark
```

In spark-env.sh, set the following environment variables to your custom spark directory paths.

For tarball installations, the default location of the spark-env.sh file is INSTALL_DIRECTORY/resources/spark/conf.

export SPARK_WORKER_DIR="PATH_TO_CUSTOM_DIRECTORY/spark/worker"
export SPARK_EXECUTOR_DIRS="PATH_TO_CUSTOM_DIRECTORY/spark/rdd"
export SPARK_WORKER_LOG_DIR="PATH_TO_CUSTOM_DIRECTORY/spark/log/worker"
export SPARK_MASTER_LOG_DIR="PATH_TO_CUSTOM_DIRECTORY/spark/log/master"
export ALWAYSON_SQL_LOG_DIR="PATH_TO_CUSTOM_DIRECTORY/spark/log/alwayson_sql"

In dse.yaml, set the dsefs_options.work_dir parameter to your custom dsefs directory path.

For tarball installations, the default location of the dse.yaml file is INSTALL_DIRECTORY/resources/dse/conf.
```
dsefs_options:
  work_dir: PATH_TO_CUSTOM_DIRECTORY/dsefs
```
For more information, see DSE file system (DSEFS).

Start DSE

Don’t start DSE if you are upgrading. Return to the upgrade guide to continue reconfiguring your upgraded node before starting DSE:

From the directory where you extracted the tarball files, start DSE as a standalone process:
```
INSTALL_DIRECTORY/bin/dse cassandra
```
For other startup options, see Start DataStax Enterprise as a standalone process.

Run nodetool status to verify that DSE is running:

INSTALL_DIRECTORY/bin/nodetool status

Make sure the node reports UN (Up/Normal) status:

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

If you are deploying multiple nodes or datacenters, repeat the installation process on all nodes.

Next steps

Apply recommended production settings

When testing with simulated production workloads, you must also apply these settings to your test nodes to ensure your tests accurately reflect production environments.

For vector search and SAI, pay particular attention to user resource limits and disabling swap.

Change or delete the default cassandra user
Cassandra driver compatibility
Use CQL shell (cqlsh)