Runbook #14 – Updating Cassndra Settings, Yugabyte basics, and Snapshots

1. What is a snapshot in Cassandra?

2. How do you take a snapshot of a particular keyspace or table in Cassandra?

3. Where are the snapshots stored in Cassandra?

4. What is the nodetool snapshot command in Cassandra?

5. How can you verify that the snapshot has been created in Cassandra?

6. What is the cassandra.yaml file in Apache Cassandra?

7. Where is the cassandra.yaml file located in Apache Cassandra?

8. How do you update a setting in the cassandra.yaml file in Apache Cassandra?

Cassandra, a distributed NoSQL database management system, stores data on multiple nodes across a network. Snapshots serve as backups, capturing the entire data of a keyspace or table at a specific time point. They are stored in the file system separately from live data, ensuring no impact on cluster performance. To create a snapshot, use the nodetool snapshot command in Cassandra.

The cassandra.yaml file, located in the conf directory of your Cassandra installation, is the main configuration file for Apache Cassandra. It configures cluster-wide, node-specific, performance, and security settings. To update a setting in cassandra.yaml, follow these steps: stop the Cassandra service, create a backup of the configuration file, edit the file to update the desired setting value, start the Cassandra service, and monitor for expected operation.

Yugabyte SQL, a highly scalable, distributed relational database management system based on PostgreSQL, is designed for cloud-native environments.