Installing Cassandra

Apache Cassandra can be installed on a number of Linux distributions:

AlmaLinux
Amazon Linux Amazon Machine Images (AMIs)
Debian
RedHat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
SUSE Enterprise Linux
Ubuntu

This is not an exhaustive list of operating system platforms, nor is it prescriptive. However, users are well-advised to conduct exhaustive tests if using a less-popular distribution of Linux. Deploying on older Linux versions is not recommended unless you have previous experience with the older distribution in a production environment.

Prerequisites

Install the latest version of Java 11 or Java 17, from one of the following locations:

Verify the version of Java installed. For example:

Command
Result

$ java -version

openjdk version "11.0.20" 2023-07-18
OpenJDK Runtime Environment Temurin-11.0.20+8 (build 11.0.20+8)
OpenJDK 64-Bit Server VM Temurin-11.0.20+8 (build 11.0.20+8, mixed mode)

To use the CQL shell cqlsh, install the latest version of Python 3.8-3.11.

To verify that you have the correct version of Python installed, type python --version.

Support for Python 2.7 is deprecated.

Choosing an installation method

There are three methods of installing Cassandra that are common:

Docker image
Tarball binary file
Package installation (RPM, YUM)

If you are a current Docker user, installing a Docker image is simple. You’ll need to install Docker Desktop for Mac, Docker Desktop for Windows, or have docker installed on Linux. Pull the appropriate image from the Docker Hub and start Cassandra with a docker run command.

For many users, installing the binary tarball is also a simple choice. The tarball unpacks all its contents into a single location with binaries and configuration files located in their own subdirectories. The most obvious advantage of a tarball installation is that it does not require root permissions and can be installed on any Linux distribution.

Packaged installations require root permissions, and are most appropriate for production installs. Install the RPM build on CentOS and RHEL-based distributions if you want to install Cassandra using YUM. Install the Debian build on Ubuntu and other Debian-based distributions if you want to install Cassandra using APT.

Note that both the YUM and APT methods required root permissions and will install the binaries and configuration files as the cassandra OS user.

Install with Docker

Pull the docker image. For the latest image, use:
```
docker pull cassandra:latest
```
This docker pull command will get the latest version of the official Docker Apache Cassandra image available from the Dockerhub.
Start Cassandra with a docker run command:
```
docker run --name cass_cluster cassandra:latest
```
The --name option will be the name of the Cassandra cluster created. This example uses the name cass_cluster.
Start the CQL shell, cqlsh to interact with the Cassandra node created:
```
docker exec -it cass_cluster cqlsh
```

Install tarball file

Verify the version of Java installed. For example:

Command
Result

$ java -version

openjdk version "11.0.20" 2023-07-18
OpenJDK Runtime Environment Temurin-11.0.20+8 (build 11.0.20+8)
OpenJDK 64-Bit Server VM Temurin-11.0.20+8 (build 11.0.20+8, mixed mode)

Download the binary tarball from one of the mirrors on the Apache Cassandra Download site. For example, to download Cassandra 4.0:
```
$ curl -OL http://apache.mirror.digitalpacific.com.au/cassandra/4.0.0/apache-cassandra-4.0.0-bin.tar.gz
```
The mirrors only host the latest versions of each major supported release. To download an earlier version of Cassandra, visit the Apache Archives.

OPTIONAL: Verify the integrity of the downloaded tarball using one of the methods here. For example, to verify the hash of the downloaded file using GPG:

Command
Result

$ gpg --print-md SHA256 apache-cassandra-4.0.0-bin.tar.gz

apache-cassandra-4.0.0-bin.tar.gz: 28757DDE 589F7041 0F9A6A95 C39EE7E6
                                   CDE63440 E2B06B91 AE6B2006 14FA364D

Compare the signature with the SHA256 file from the Downloads site:

Command
Result

$ curl -L https://downloads.apache.org/cassandra/4.0.0/apache-cassandra-4.0.0-bin.tar.gz.sha256

28757dde589f70410f9a6a95c39ee7e6cde63440e2b06b91ae6b200614fa364d

Unpack the tarball:
```
$ tar xzvf apache-cassandra-4.0.0-bin.tar.gz
```
The files will be extracted to the apache-cassandra-4.0.0/ directory. This is the tarball installation location.

Located in the tarball installation location are the directories for the scripts, binaries, utilities, configuration, data and log files:

<tarball_installation>/
    bin/		(1)
    conf/		(2)
    data/		(3)
    doc/
    interface/
    javadoc/
    lib/
    logs/		(4)
    pylib/
    tools/		(5)

1	location of the commands to run cassandra, cqlsh, nodetool, and SSTable tools
2	location of cassandra.yaml and other configuration files
3	location of the commit logs, hints, and SSTables
4	location of system and debug logs <5>location of cassandra-stress tool

Start Cassandra:
```
$ cd apache-cassandra-4.0.0/ && bin/cassandra
```
This will run Cassandra as the authenticated Linux user.
Monitor the progress of the startup with:
- Command
- Result
$ tail -f logs/system.log
Cassandra is ready when you see an entry like this in the system.log:

+
INFO [main] 2019-12-17 03:03:37,526 Server.java:156 - Starting listening for CQL clients on localhost/127.0.0.1:9042 (unencrypted)...
See configuring Cassandra for configuration information.

Check the status of Cassandra:
```
$ bin/nodetool status
```
The status column in the output should report UN which stands for "Up/Normal".

Alternatively, connect to the database with:
```
$ bin/cqlsh
```

Install as Debian package

Verify the version of Java installed. For example:

Command
Result

$ java -version

openjdk version "11.0.20" 2023-07-18
OpenJDK Runtime Environment Temurin-11.0.20+8 (build 11.0.20+8)
OpenJDK 64-Bit Server VM Temurin-11.0.20+8 (build 11.0.20+8, mixed mode)

Add the Apache repository of Cassandra to the file cassandra.sources.list.

The latest major version is {50_version} and the corresponding distribution name is 50x (with an "x" as the suffix). For older releases use:
- 50x for C* {50_version} series
- 41x for C* {41_version} series
- 40x for C* 4.0 series

For example, to add the repository for version {50_version} (50x):

$ echo "deb [signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/apache-cassandra.asc] https://debian.cassandra.apache.org 50x main" | sudo tee -a /etc/apt/sources.list.d/cassandra.sources.list
deb https://debian.cassandra.apache.org 50x main

Add the Apache Cassandra repository keys to the list of trusted keys on the server:

Command
Result

$ curl -o /etc/apt/keyrings/apache-cassandra.asc https://downloads.apache.org/cassandra/KEYS

% Total    % Received % Xferd  Average Speed   Time    Time     Time  Current
                                 Dload  Upload   Total   Spent    Left  Speed
100  266k  100  266k    0     0   320k      0 --:--:-- --:--:-- --:--:--  320k
OK

Update the package index from sources:
```
$ sudo apt-get update
```
Install Cassandra with APT:
```
$ sudo apt-get install cassandra
```
Monitor the progress of the startup with:
- Command
- Result
$ tail -f logs/system.log
Cassandra is ready when you see an entry like this in the system.log:

+
INFO [main] 2019-12-17 03:03:37,526 Server.java:156 - Starting listening for CQL clients on localhost/127.0.0.1:9042 (unencrypted)...
See configuring Cassandra for configuration information.

Check the status of Cassandra:
```
$ nodetool status
```
The status column in the output should report UN which stands for "Up/Normal".

Alternatively, connect to the database with:
```
$ cqlsh
```

Install as RPM package

Verify the version of Java installed. For example:

Command
Result

$ java -version

openjdk version "11.0.20" 2023-07-18
OpenJDK Runtime Environment Temurin-11.0.20+8 (build 11.0.20+8)
OpenJDK 64-Bit Server VM Temurin-11.0.20+8 (build 11.0.20+8, mixed mode)

Add the Apache repository of Cassandra to the file /etc/yum.repos.d/cassandra.repo (as the root user).

The latest major version is {50_version} and the corresponding distribution name is 50x (with an "x" as the suffix). For older releases use:
- 50x for C* {50_version} series
- 41x for C* {41_version} series
- 40x for C* 4.0 series

For example, to add the repository for version {50_version} (50x):

[cassandra]
name=Apache Cassandra
baseurl=https://redhat.cassandra.apache.org/42x/
gpgcheck=1
repo_gpgcheck=1
gpgkey=https://downloads.apache.org/cassandra/KEYS

Update the package index from sources:
```
$ sudo yum update
```
Install Cassandra with YUM:
```
$ sudo yum install cassandra
```
A new Linux user cassandra will get created as part of the installation. The Cassandra service will also be run as this user.
Start the Cassandra service:
```
$ sudo service cassandra start
```
Monitor the progress of the startup with:
- Command
- Result
$ tail -f logs/system.log
Cassandra is ready when you see an entry like this in the system.log:

+
INFO [main] 2019-12-17 03:03:37,526 Server.java:156 - Starting listening for CQL clients on localhost/127.0.0.1:9042 (unencrypted)...
See configuring Cassandra for configuration information.

Check the status of Cassandra:
```
$ nodetool status
```
The status column in the output should report UN which stands for "Up/Normal".

Alternatively, connect to the database with:
```
$ cqlsh
```

Further installation info

For help with installation issues, see the Troubleshooting section.

Cassandra Documentation

Version: