Installing DataStax Enterprise 6.8 using the binary tarball

Instructions for installing DataStax Enterprise (DSE) 6.8 on any supported Linux-based platform using a binary tarball.

Some things to know about installing DataStax Enterprise:

These instructions apply to all versions of DataStax Enterprise 6.8. For specific changes please see the DSE 6.8 release notes.
When installed from the binary tarball:
- DataStax Enterprise runs as a stand-alone process.
- You can install DSE with or without root permissions.

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.

spark-env.sh

The default location of the spark-env.sh file depends on the type of installation:

Package installations

/etc/dse/spark/spark-env.sh

Tarball installations

installation_location/resources/spark/conf/spark-env.sh

cassandra.yaml

The location of the cassandra.yaml file depends on the type of installation:

Package installations

/etc/dse/cassandra/cassandra.yaml

Tarball installations

installation_location/resources/cassandra/conf/cassandra.yaml

Prerequisites

A supported platform.
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_242 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)
RedHat-compatible distributions require EPEL (Extra Packages for Enterprise Linux).
Python 2.7.x

For older RHEL distributions, see Installing Python 2.7 on older RHEL-based package installations.

Hardware requirements

See Recommended production settings.

Procedure

End User License Agreement (EULA). By downloading this DataStax product, you agree to the terms of the EULA.

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_242"
OpenJDK Runtime Environment (build 1.8.0_242-b09)
OpenJDK 64-Bit Server VM (build 25.242-b09, mixed mode)
```
If Oracle Java, the results should look like:
```
java version "1.8.0_241"
Java(TM) SE Runtime Environment (build 1.8.0_241-b13)
Java HotSpot(TM) 64-Bit Server VM (build 25.241-b13, mixed mode)
```
If not OpenJDK 8 or Oracle Java 8, see Installing the JDK.
Install the libaio package. For example:
- RHEL platforms:
  sudo yum install libaio
- Debian platforms:
  sudo apt-get install libaio1
When installing from the binary tarball, you can either download the tarball and then extract the files, or use curl.
- Download and extract the tarball (latest version (6.8.x only):
  1. Download the tarball from Download DataStax Enterprise.
  2. Extract the files. For example:
    
    tar -xzvf dse-6.8.x-bin.tar.gz
- Use curl to install the selected version:
  
  If you choose this method, your password is retained in the shell history. To avoid this security issue, DataStax recommends using curl with the --netrc or --netrc-file option.
  1. Download and extract the tarball using curl:
    
    Latest version:
    
    curl -L https://downloads.datastax.com/enterprise/dse.tar.gz | tar xz
    
    Earlier versions:
    
    curl -L https://downloads.datastax.com/enterprise/dse-version_number-bin.tar.gz | tar xz
    
    For example:
    
    curl -L https://downloads.datastax.com/enterprise/dse-6.8.x-bin.tar.gz | tar xz
    
    The files are downloaded and extracted into the 6.8 directory.

You can use either the default data and logging directory locations or define your locations:

Default directory locations: If you want to use the default data and logging directory locations, create and change ownership for the following:
- /var/lib/cassandra
- /var/log/cassandra
  sudo mkdir -p /var/lib/cassandra; sudo chown -R $USER:$GROUP /var/lib/cassandra && sudo mkdir -p /var/log/cassandra; sudo chown -R $USER:$GROUP /var/log/cassandra

Define your own directory locations: If you want to define your own data and logging directory locations:

In the installation_location, make the directories for data and logging directories. For example:

mkdir dse-data &&
cd dse-data &&
mkdir data &&
mkdir commitlog &&
mkdir saved_caches &&
mkdir hints &&
mkdir cdc_raw

Go the directory containing the cassandra.yaml file:
```
cd installation_location/resources/cassandra/conf
```

Update the following lines in the cassandra.yaml file to match the custom locations:

data_file_directories:
  - full_path_to_installation_location/dse-data/data
  commitlog_directory: full_path_to_installation_location/dse-data/commitlog
  saved_caches_directory: full_path_to_installation_location/dse-data/saved_caches
  hints_directory: full_path_to_installation_location/dse-data/hints
  cdc_raw_directory: full_path_to_installation_location/cdc_raw

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 Adding a superuser login.
DataStax Enterprise provides several types of workloads (default is transactional). See startup options for service or stand-alone installations.
Next Steps below provides links to related tasks and information.

Optional: If using DSE analytics, you can use either the default Spark data and logging directory locations or define your locations:

Default directory locations: If you want to use the default Spark directory locations, create and change ownership for the following:

/var/lib/dsefs
/var/lib/spark

/var/log/spark

sudo mkdir -p /var/lib/dsefs; sudo chown -R $USER:$GROUP /var/lib/dsefs &&
sudo mkdir -p /var/lib/spark; sudo chown -R $USER:$GROUP /var/lib/spark &&
sudo mkdir -p /var/log/spark; sudo chown -R $USER:$GROUP /var/log/spark &&
sudo mkdir -p /var/lib/spark/rdd; sudo chown -R $USER:$GROUP /var/lib/spark/rdd  &&
sudo mkdir -p /var/log/spark/master; sudo chown -R $USER:$GROUP /var/log/spark/master  &&
sudo mkdir -p /var/log/spark/alwayson_sql; sudo chown -R $USER:$GROUP /var/log/spark/alwayson_sql  &&
sudo mkdir -p /var/lib/spark/worker; sudo chown -R $USER:$GROUP /var/lib/spark/worker

Define your own directory locations: If you want to define your own Spark directory locations:

In the installation_location, make the directories for data and logging directories. For example:

mkdir dsefs &&
mkdir spark &&
cd spark &&
mkdir log &&
mkdir rdd &&
mkdir worker &&
cd log &&
mkdir worker &&
mkdir master &&
mkdir alwayson_sql

Go the directory containing the spark-env.sh file:
```
cd installation_location/resources/spark/conf
```

Uncomment and update the following lines in the spark-env.sh file:

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

Go to the directory containing the dsefs_options file:
```
cd installation_location/resources/dse/conf
```
Uncomment and update the DSEFS directory in dse.yaml:
```
work_dir: full_path_to_installation_location/dsefs
```
DataStax Enterprise is ready for additional configuration. See Next Steps.

Single-node cluster installations only:

Start DataStax Enterprise from the installation directory:
```
bin/dse cassandra
```
where the installation directory is the directory where you installed DSE.

For other start options, see Starting DataStax Enterprise as a stand-alone process.

Verify that DataStax Enterprise is running from the installation directory:

bin/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 Adding a superuser login.
Configure startup options: service or stand-alone.
If performing an upgrade, go to the next step in the Upgrade Guide.
Configuring DataStax Enterprise - Settings for DSE Advanced Security, In-Memory, DSE Advanced Replication, DSE Multi-Instance, DSE Tiered Storage, and more.
Default file locations for package installations
Default file locations for tarball installations
Changing logging locations after installation.
Starting and stopping DataStax Enterprise.
Preparing DataStax Enterprise for production.
Recommended production settings.
Planning and testing DSE cluster deployments.
Configuring the heap dump directory to avoid server crashes.
DataStax Studio documentation.
Installing DataStax Enterprise drivers.