Installing and configuring Cassandra on Linux

This page provides the steps you need to install Cassandra and configure the Cassandra node on your machine. You can also download the rpm package first and install Cassandra offline.

How to install Cassandra on Linux

1. Check which version of Java is installed by running the following command: 

   $ java -version

   
   

   Note

   Use Oracle JDK 1.8.0_92.

2. Add a yum repository specification for the Datastax repository in /etc/yum.repos.d
   
   

   $sudo vi /etc/yum.repos.d/datastax.repo

   
   In this file, add the following lines for the Datastax repository:
   
   

   [datastax]
   name = DataStax Repo for Apache Cassandra
   baseurl = http://rpm.datastax.com/community
   enabled = 1
   gpgcheck = 0 

   
   
   

3. Install the packages by using the following command line: 

   $ sudo yum install dsc22-2.2.5-1 cassandra22-2.2.5-1

     4. Configure Cassandra:

4.1 Locate the keys '- seeds', 'listen_address:', and 'broadcast_rpc_address:' in the file in /etc/cassandra/ conf/cassandra.yaml (they are at different locations in the file). If, for example, the node's IP address was 10.1.1.123, the following values would apply:

• • seeds: "10.1.1.123" 

  • listen_address: 10.1.1.123

  • broadcast_rpc_address: 10.1.1.123 

     

4.2 Use the following keys' values to change the existing ones: 

• • thrift_framed_transport_size_in_mb: 100 

  • commitlog_segment_size_in_mb: 64

  • read_request_timeout_in_ms: 600000

  • range_request_timeout_in_ms: 600000

  • write_request_timeout_in_ms: 600000

  • cas_contention_timeout_in_ms: 1000

  • truncate_request_timeout_in_ms: 600000 

  • request_timeout_in_ms: 600000

  • start_rpc: true

  • rpc_address: 0.0.0.0

  • batch_size_warn_threshold_in_kb: 3000

  • batch_size_fail_threshold_in_kb: 5000

     

     5. Verify the installation of Cassandra. 
 

5.1 When installed as above, you can start Cassandra using the following command:

           $ sudo service cassandra start 

5.2 Issue the following command to verify that Cassandra is ready:

           $ tail /var/log/cassandra/cassandra.log 

5.3 Verify that it contains lines similar to the following:

INFO 15:51:58,644 Node/10.1.1.123 state jump to normal 
INFO 15:51:58,650 Waiting for gossip to settle before accepting client requests... 
INFO 15:52:06,650 No gossip backlog; proceeding 

     6. Verify that Cassandra is running:

     $ nodetool status 

Cassandra status.

How to install Cassandra using predownloaded rpm package

1. Check which version of Java is installed by running the following command: 

   $ java -version

   Note

   Use Oracle JDK 1.8.0_92.

2. Download rpm package of Cassandra 2.2.8 from http://rpm.datastax.com/community/noarch/cassandra22-2.2.8-1.noarch.rpm

3. Install the package using the following command line:
   
   

   $ sudo rpm -ivh cassandra22-2.2.8-1.noarch.rpm

   If you already have an older version of cassandra22 installed, use the following command instead.

   $ sudo rpm -Uvh cassandra22-2.2.8-1.noarch.rpm

4. Configure Cassandra:
   4.1 Locate the keys '- seeds', 'listen_address:', and 'broadcast_rpc_address:' in the file in /etc/cassandra/ conf/cassandra.yaml (they are at different locations in the file). If, for example, the node's IP address was 10.1.1.123, the following values would apply:
   
   

   Note

   The IP address 10.1.1.123 is just an example. You need to change it to the IP address of your server.

   • seeds: "10.1.1.123" 

   • listen_address: 10.1.1.123

   • broadcast_rpc_address: 10.1.1.123 

     
     

   Warning

   • There is a space before each IP address for parameters "listen_address" and "broadcast_rpc_address". The space is required for Cassandra to start.
   • When entering the parameters to configure cassandra.yaml, be sure that there is no '#' (pound sign) or 'space' before the parameter name. If there is a #, for example, #broadcast_rpc_address: 10.1.1.123, this value will become a comment. If there is a space before the parameter name, for example, <space>#broadcast_rpc_address: 10.1.1.123, you will get an error after starting Cassandra.

   Tip

   Cassandra nodes exchange information about one another using a mechanism called Gossip. A Seed is a node used as a Gossip contact point for information regarding ring topology. There must be one or more Seed elements for a working cluster. 

   
   4.2 Use the following keys' values to change the existing ones: 

   1. • • thrift_framed_transport_size_in_mb: 100 

        • commitlog_segment_size_in_mb: 64

        • read_request_timeout_in_ms: 600000

        • range_request_timeout_in_ms: 600000

        • write_request_timeout_in_ms: 600000

        • cas_contention_timeout_in_ms: 1000

        • truncate_request_timeout_in_ms: 600000 

        • request_timeout_in_ms: 600000

        • start_rpc: true

        • rpc_address: 0.0.0.0

        • batch_size_warn_threshold_in_kb: 3000

        • batch_size_fail_threshold_in_kb: 5000

5. Verify the installation of Cassandra.

   5.1 When installed as above, you can start Cassandra using the following command:
   
   $ sudo service cassandra start 
   
   5.2 Issue the following command to verify that Cassandra is ready:
   
   $ tail /var/log/cassandra/cassandra.log 
   
   5.3 Verify that it contains lines similar to the following:
   
   INFO 15:51:58,644 Node/10.1.1.123 state jump to normal
   INFO 15:51:58,650 Waiting for gossip to settle before accepting client requests...
   INFO 15:52:06,650 No gossip backlog; proceeding

   Tip

   If you get an out of memory error when starting Cassandra, you need to increase the Java stack size. The instructions for increasing the stack size are given in the section Starting Cassandra on Linux. 

6. Verify that Cassandra is running:
   

   Cassandra status.