Day 1: Cassandra Lab Practice – Introduction & Setup:

✅ Day 1: Introduction & Setup

🎯 Objective:

Set up the Cassandra environment and get familiar with basic tools and commands.

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🛠️ 1. Install Apache Cassandra

Choose any one of the following:

Option 1: Using Debian/Ubuntu

sudo apt update
sudo apt install cassandra

Option 2: Using Docker

docker run --name cassandra-lab -p 9042:9042 -d cassandra

To check logs: docker logs -f cassandra-lab

Option 3: Manual Download

• Download from https://cassandra.apache.org/download
• Extract and set environment variables

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🧪 2. Verify Installation

Check Cassandra service status

nodetool status

Expected Output:

Datacenter: datacenter1
=======================
Status=Up/Down
|/ State=Normal/Leaving/Joining/Moving
--  Address    Load       Tokens       Owns (effective)  Host ID
UN  127.0.0.1  123.45 KB  256          100.0%            xxxxxxx

Start the CQL shell

cqlsh

You should see a prompt like:

Connected to Test Cluster at 127.0.0.1:9042.
[cqlsh]>

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🧭 3. Explore Basic Commands in cqlsh

HELP;                          -- View available commands
SHOW VERSION;                  -- Check Cassandra and CQL version
DESCRIBE CLUSTER;              -- Show cluster info
DESCRIBE KEYSPACES;            -- Show existing keyspaces

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📂 4. Explore Cassandra Directory Structure

If installed manually or with package manager:

• conf/ – configuration files (cassandra.yaml)
• data/ – stores actual data
• logs/ – Cassandra logs
• bin/ – start/stop scripts

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🧑‍💻 Day 1 Lab Tasks

1. Install Cassandra (via Docker or manually)

2. Start cqlsh and run:

   • HELP;
   • SHOW VERSION;
   • DESCRIBE KEYSPACES;
3. Use nodetool status to verify health
4. Find where the Cassandra config and data directories are

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✅ Checklist

Task	Done
Installed Cassandra/Docker container	✅
Ran cqlsh and connected successfully	✅
Ran nodetool status	✅
Explored basic commands	✅
Understood directory structure	✅