Apache's Cassandra database is a powerful, scalable Big Data solution for storing and processing large amounts of data, often using hundreds of nodes split over multiple worldwide locations. It's a great tool and we like it, but too often we see teams run into trouble using it. We recommend using Cassandra carefully. Teams often misunderstand the use case for Cassandra, attempting to use it as a general-purpose data store when in fact it is optimized for fast reads on large data sets based on predefined keys or indexes. Its dependence on the storage schema can also make it difficult to evolve over time. Cassandra also has significant operational complexity and some rough edges, so unless you absolutely need the scaling it provides, a simpler solution is usually better. If you don't need Cassandra's specific use-case and scaling characteristics, you might just be choosing it out of Big Data envy. Careful use of Cassandra will include extensive automated testing, and we're happy to recommend CassandraUnit as part of your testing strategy.
Apache’s Cassandra database is a powerful, scalable Big Data solution for storing and processing large amounts of data, often using hundreds of nodes split over multiple worldwide locations. It’s a great tool and we like it, but too often we see teams run into trouble using it. We recommend using Cassandra carefully. Teams often misunderstand the use case for Cassandra, attempting to use it as a general-purpose data store when in fact it is optimized for fast reads on large data sets based on predefined keys or indexes. Its dependence on the storage schema can also make it difficult to evolve over time. Cassandra also has significant operational complexity and some rough edges, so unless you absolutely need the scaling it provides, a simpler solution is usually better. If you don’t need Cassandra’s specific use-case and scaling characteristics, you might just be choosing it out of Big Data envy. Careful use of Cassandra will include extensive automated testing, and we’re happy to recommend CassandraUnit as part of your testing strategy.
