February 2021 Summaries

K8ssandra, a combination of Kubernetes and Apache Cassandra™, was introduced at KubeCon in November 2020. It simplifies the DevOps experience when working with stateful Kubernetes-based distributed databases by automating tasks such as version upgrades, configuration file changes, and rolling restarts. Key components include cass-operator, Medusa for backup and restore, Reaper for repair, Prometheus and Grafana for metrics collection and visualization, and Stargate, a data gateway that provides REST, GraphQL, and Document APIs. Enterprise-level support for K8ssandra 1.0.0 is now available through DataStax Luna.

K8ssandra, a combination of Kubernetes and Apache Cassandra™, was introduced at KubeCon in November 2020. It simplifies the DevOps experience when working with stateful Kubernetes-based distributed databases by automating tasks such as version upgrades, configuration file changes, and rolling restarts. The open source project includes components like cass-operator, Medusa for backup and restore, Reaper for repair, Prometheus and Grafana for metrics collection and visualization, and Stargate, a data gateway that provides REST, GraphQL, and Document APIs. Enterprise-level support for K8ssandra 1.0.0 is now available through DataStax Luna.

DataStax Luna is a subscription-based support service for Apache Cassandra, an open-source distributed database management system. Developed by experts who have contributed significantly to the Cassandra codebase, Luna offers health checks and assistance with general and technical questions related to open-source Cassandra deployments. It supports versions 2.1, 2.2, and 3.x of Cassandra (with future versions planned) and provides customizable subscription plans tailored to users' business and technical needs. Users can subscribe to Luna directly via the website using a credit card and receive immediate support from DataStax. Additionally, DataStax has released connectors for Apache Kafka™ and DataStax Bulk Loader for Cassandra to facilitate data loading and synchronization.

DataStax Luna is a subscription-based support service for Apache Cassandra, an open-source distributed database management system. It offers health checks and assistance with general and technical questions related to open-source Cassandra deployments. Supported versions include 2.1, 2.2, and 3.x, with plans designed to meet business and technical needs. Users can subscribe directly via the website using a credit card and receive immediate support from DataStax experts. Additionally, DataStax offers free tools like Apache Kafka™ Connector and DataStax Bulk Loader for Cassandra to simplify and speed up data loading and synchronization.

DataStax Astra and Elixir are powerful tools for building fault-tolerant distributed systems that prioritize scale without sacrificing performance or resilience. Elixir, with its functional approach to programming and OTP toolset, allows developers to create a set of fault-tolerant app servers that can share information and events. Astra, built on Apache Cassandra, provides an ideal datastore for this type of system by prioritizing availability over immediate consistency, eliminating deadlocking behavior that makes systems hard to scale. Together, Astra and Elixir create a platform where developers can build scalable and durable applications without the limitations imposed by traditional architectures. This combination enables the creation of highly available systems capable of supporting complex transactions like major global banking transaction hubs. DataStax recently released an Elixir library for Astra's REST, GraphQL, and Document JSON APIs, including a reference chat app that demonstrates the benefits of using both technologies together.

DataStax Astra and Elixir are powerful tools for building fault-tolerant distributed systems that prioritize scale without sacrificing performance or resilience. Elixir, with its functional approach to programming and OTP tools, allows developers to create a set of fault-tolerant app servers that share information and events. Astra, built on Apache Cassandra, prefers availability over immediate consistency, making it an ideal datastore for this type of system. Together, they form an Availability First (AF) architecture that eliminates deadlocking behavior and supports scalable and durable systems. DataStax recently released an Elixir library for Astra's REST, GraphQL, and Document JSON APIs, including a reference chat app demonstrating the benefits of the Astra + Elixir stack.

DataStax Chief Product Officer Ed Anuff discussed the future of application development and the role that four key elements — Kubernetes, Cassandra, streaming data, and open source — will play in it during a conversation with Stephen O'Grady of RedMonk. He explained how innovations in app development are built off previous ideas, like Heroku and containers, and how Kubernetes brought containers into a standard control plane that could be leveraged in various scenarios. Anuff also highlighted the importance of NoSQL databases for developers building data-driven applications and the role of open source tools and technologies in empowering developers to build powerful cloud-native applications.

DataStax Chief Product Officer Ed Anuff discussed the future of application development and the role that four key elements — Kubernetes, Cassandra, streaming data, and open source — will play in it during a conversation with Stephen O'Grady of RedMonk. He highlighted how innovations in app development are built off previous ideas, like Heroku and containers, and how Kubernetes has brought containers into a standard control plane that can be leveraged in various scenarios. Anuff also emphasized the importance of supporting streaming data for modern data apps and the use of open source tools and technologies to empower developers to build powerful cloud-native applications.

DataStax Enterprise (DSE) users can now use REST, GraphQL, and schemaless Document APIs in addition to CQL when building applications on top of DSE 6.8. Stargate is an open-source data gateway with built-in extensibility that allows developers to integrate APIs of their choice with any persistence layer. With this release, Stargate supports DSE 6.8 as one of its pluggable persistence stores. The addition of these APIs enables modern app development and microservices architecture, aligning with the needs of cloud-native applications.

DataStax Enterprise (DSE) users can now use REST, GraphQL, and schemaless Document APIs in addition to CQL when building applications on top of DSE, thanks to Stargate support. This open-source data gateway allows developers to integrate APIs with any persistence layer and supports DSE 6.8 as one of its pluggable persistence stores. With this release, users can create APIs to connect with various persistence stores, such as DSE. Additionally, Stargate enables schemaless data development using JSON without the need for defining and modifying schemas during the development life cycle. This allows applications to evolve as fast as customer needs change. Modern apps need modern data APIs like REST, Document (JSON), and GraphQL, which are provided by Stargate. It also supports microservices architecture and runs via Kubernetes, mitigating some of the hurdles associated with a microservices architecture like scalability and resiliency.

The author has recently developed an app that uses Machine Learning (ML) to translate bootleg comic books. Despite the growing availability of multilingual comics, there is still a lack of tools for reading them easily. This project aims to introduce new archaeology in comics fandom and provide a simple tool for deciphering translated comics. The app is built using Next.js 10 web framework and relies on Amazon's Amplify CLI and DataStax's Stargate APIs for Apache Cassandra database. The ML functions include handwriting recognition, which is one of the earliest Computer Vision tasks. The CV and NLP models used are often better than 90% accurate, but human correction is still required. The app focuses on creating a solid user experience for editing ML-annotated data while optimizing storage for continuous training and data analysis.

The author has recently deployed some Machine Learning (ML) powered demos and is now working on an app that helps translate bootleg comic books. The project aims to introduce new archaeology to comics fandom and provide a simple tool for deciphering multilingual comics. The app uses Amazon's Amplify CLI and DataStax's Stargate APIs for Apache Cassandra, the database used by Apple, Spotify, Netflix, and eBay. The ML functions of this project include handwriting recognition and natural language processing (NLP) models that are often better than 90% accurate but require human correction. The author plans to optimize storage for continuous training and data analysis while creating a solid user experience for revising the ML-annotated data.