APACHE CASSANDRA

October 06, 2025

Introduction, Installation and

Basic CQL Commands

AIM

To study Apache Cassandra, install Cassandra on the system, and execute basic CQL commands such as creating a keyspace, table, inserting and retrieving data.

SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS

Operating System: Windows / Linux / Ubuntu
Apache Cassandra 4.x
Java JDK 8 or 11
Python (Optional for cqlsh)
Docker (Optional)

THEORY

1. Apache Cassandra

Apache Cassandra is an open-source, distributed, NoSQL database designed to handle large volumes of data across multiple servers with no single point of failure.

Key Features

Peer-to-peer architecture
High write performance
Column-family based storage
Horizontal scalability
Tunable consistency
Replication across data centers

2. Cassandra Architecture Components

Component	Description
Node	Basic unit of storage
Cluster	Collection of multiple nodes
Data Center	Logical grouping of nodes
Keyspace	Equivalent to database
Column Family (Table)	Structure to store rows
Partition Key	Determines data distribution
Replication Factor	Number of copies of data

3. Installation Procedure

A. Installation on Ubuntu / Linux

Step 1: Update System


sudo apt update

Step 2: Install Java


sudo apt install openjdk-11-jdk -y

Step 3: Add Cassandra Repository


echo "deb https://debian.cassandra.apache.org stable main" | 
sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/cassandra.sources.list

Step 4: Add Repository Key


curl https://downloads.apache.org/cassandra/KEYS | sudo apt-key add -

Step 5: Install Cassandra


sudo apt update
sudo apt install cassandra -y

Step 6: Start Service


sudo systemctl start cassandra

Step 7: Open CQL Shell


cqlsh

B. Installation on Windows

(Not officially supported but works with binaries)

Steps

Install Java 8 or 11
Download Cassandra ZIP
Extract to C:\cassandra
Add C:\cassandra\bin to PATH
Run:
```
cassandra.bat
```
Open shell:
```
cqlsh
```

⭐ Basic Cassandra CQL Commands

AIM

To execute Cassandra Query Language (CQL) commands for keyspace creation, table creation, insertion, updating, deletion, and selection.

COMMANDS & PROCEDURE

1. Create a Keyspace


CREATE KEYSPACE college
WITH replication = {
   'class': 'SimpleStrategy',
   'replication_factor': 1
};

2. Use the Keyspace


USE college;

3. Create a Table


CREATE TABLE student (
   id INT PRIMARY KEY,
   name TEXT,
   age INT,
   marks INT
);

4. Insert Records


INSERT INTO student (id, name, age, marks)
VALUES (1, 'Alice', 20, 88);

INSERT INTO student (id, name, age, marks)
VALUES (2, 'Bob', 22, 91);

5. Select Records


SELECT * FROM student;

6. Update Records


UPDATE student SET marks = 95 WHERE id = 2;

7. Delete a Record


DELETE FROM student WHERE id = 1;

8. Drop Table


DROP TABLE student;

9. Drop Keyspace


DROP KEYSPACE college;

⭐ OBSERVATION

Keyspace was created successfully.
Table was created with columns id, name, age, marks.
Data was inserted and retrieved using CQL commands.
Cassandra shell executed commands without errors.

⭐ RESULT

The installation of Apache Cassandra was completed, and basic CQL commands for creating keyspace, table, inserting, updating, deleting, and retrieving records were successfully executed.