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of 35What is the ring architecture in Cassandra?
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Cassandra uses a ring architecture where:
- All nodes are arranged in a logical ring
- Each node is responsible for a range of data (token range)
- Data is distributed using consistent hashing
- No single point of failure as there's no master node
- Nodes communicate using gossip protocol
- Data is replicated to multiple nodes for fault tolerance
Each node knows about every other node in the cluster and can handle any request.
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What are tombstones in Cassandra?
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Tombstones are markers that indicate deleted data. Since Cassandra is distributed:
- Deletes can't remove data immediately from all replicas
- Tombstones ensure deleted data doesn't reappear during read repair
- They have a configurable TTL (gc_grace_seconds, default 10 days)
- Too many tombstones can impact read performance
- Compaction eventually removes tombstones and associated data
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Explain replication in Cassandra.
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Replication provides fault tolerance:
- Replication Factor (RF): Number of copies of each piece of data
- Replication Strategy: Determines which nodes get replicas
- SimpleStrategy: For single datacenter
- NetworkTopologyStrategy: For multiple datacenters
- Coordinator Node: Any node can coordinate a request
- Replica Nodes: Nodes that store copies of the data
Example: RF=3 means each piece of data is stored on 3 different nodes.
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What is the difference between a partition key and clustering key?
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- Partition Key: Determines which node stores the data (distribution)
- Clustering Key: Determines the sort order within a partition (organization)
CREATE TABLE events (
user_id UUID,
event_time TIMESTAMP,
event_type TEXT,
data TEXT,
PRIMARY KEY (user_id, event_time, event_type)
);
user_idis the partition keyevent_timeandevent_typeare clustering keys- All events for a user are stored together, sorted by time and type
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Explain different data types available in Cassandra.
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Cassandra supports various data types:
Primitive Types:
TEXT,VARCHAR: StringsINT,BIGINT,SMALLINT: IntegersFLOAT,DOUBLE,DECIMAL: Floating pointBOOLEAN: True/falseUUID,TIMEUUID: Unique identifiersTIMESTAMP: Date and timeBLOB: Binary data
Collection Types:
SET<type>: Unordered unique valuesLIST<type>: Ordered values (duplicates allowed)MAP<key_type, value_type>: Key-value pairs
Advanced Types:
- User-defined types (UDT)
- Tuples
- Counters
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Explain the role of the coordinator node.
What are the main differences between Cassandra and traditional RDBMS?
Explain the CAP theorem and how Cassandra fits into it.
Explain partitioning in Cassandra and the role of partition keys.
What are the different consistency levels in Cassandra?
Describe the write path in Cassandra.
Explain the read path in Cassandra.
What is compaction in Cassandra and why is it important?
What are the limitations of Cassandra's data model?
Explain the concept of eventually consistent reads.
What is hinted handoff in Cassandra?
What is the gossip protocol in Cassandra?
How do you model a one-to-many relationship in Cassandra?
What is read repair and when does it occur?
What is the difference between SimpleStrategy and NetworkTopologyStrategy?
Explain counter columns in Cassandra.
What are User Defined Types (UDTs) in Cassandra?
How do you implement pagination in Cassandra?
What is the purpose of bloom filters in Cassandra?
How do you backup and restore data in Cassandra?
How does Cassandra handle schema changes?
How do you monitor Cassandra cluster health?
How do you handle large partitions in Cassandra?
How do you handle time-series data in Cassandra?
How do you troubleshoot performance issues in Cassandra?
Explain the concept of vnodes (virtual nodes) in Cassandra.
What are the key factors to consider when designing a Cassandra data model?
What is lightweight transaction (LWT) in Cassandra?
How do you optimize Cassandra for write-heavy workloads?
What is the difference between batches and transactions in Cassandra?
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