Apache Cassandra

Website

cassandra.apache.org

Categories

#Databases #NoSQL Databases #Relational Databases #Big Data

OpenCensus

Website

opencensus.io

Categories

#Dev Ops #DevOps Tools #Cloud #Performance Monitoring

Apache Cassandra features and specs

• Scalability
  Apache Cassandra is designed for linear scalability and can handle large volumes of data across many commodity servers without a single point of failure.
• High Availability
  Cassandra ensures high availability by replicating data across multiple nodes. Even if some nodes fail, the system remains operational.
• Performance
  It provides fast writes and reads by using a peer-to-peer architecture, making it highly suitable for applications requiring quick data access.
• Flexible Data Model
  Cassandra supports a flexible schema, allowing users to add new columns to a table at any time, making it adaptable for various use cases.
• Geographical Distribution
  Data can be distributed across multiple data centers, ensuring low-latency access for geographically distributed users.
• No Single Point of Failure
  Its decentralized nature ensures there is no single point of failure, which enhances resilience and fault-tolerance.

Possible disadvantages of Apache Cassandra

• Complexity
  Managing and configuring Cassandra can be complex, requiring specialized knowledge and skills for optimal performance.
• Eventual Consistency
  Cassandra follows an eventual consistency model, meaning that there might be a delay before all nodes have the latest data, which may not be suitable for all use cases.
• Write-heavy Operations
  Although Cassandra handles writes efficiently, write-heavy workloads can lead to compaction issues and increased read latency.
• Limited Query Capabilities
  Cassandra's query capabilities are relatively limited compared to traditional RDBMS, lacking support for complex joins and aggregations.
• Maintenance Overhead
  Regular maintenance tasks such as node repair and compaction are necessary to ensure optimal performance, adding to the administrative overhead.
• Tooling and Ecosystem
  While the ecosystem for Cassandra is growing, it is still not as extensive or mature as those for some other database technologies.

OpenCensus features and specs

• Unified Tracing and Metrics
  OpenCensus provides a single API for capturing distributed traces and metrics, allowing developers to instrument their applications without needing to work with multiple different libraries.
• Multiple Language Support
  OpenCensus supports a wide range of programming languages, enabling its use across diverse technology stacks and facilitating easy integration into existing projects.
• Backend Agnostic
  OpenCensus can export data to various backends including Prometheus, Stackdriver, Zipkin, and more, offering flexibility in monitoring and observability solutions.
• Automatically Instrumented Libraries
  It provides automatic instrumentation for many popular libraries and frameworks, reducing the effort required to add observability into an existing codebase.
• Open Source
  As an open-source project, OpenCensus allows for community involvement, continuous improvement, and transparency, with the potential for community-driven innovations and support.

Possible disadvantages of OpenCensus

• Complexity of Configuration
  Configuring OpenCensus can be complex, especially for users who are not familiar with distributed tracing and metrics collection, potentially increasing the learning curve.
• Integration Overhead
  Despite offering automatic instrumentation, integrating OpenCensus into a large existing application may still require significant effort and testing.
• Performance Overhead
  Like any monitoring system, OpenCensus introduces some performance overhead that could impact application performance, particularly if not properly configured.
• Fragmented Documentation
  The documentation for OpenCensus can be fragmented or lacking in certain areas, making it difficult for new users to find comprehensive guides or troubleshooting information.
• Deprecation and Transition to OpenTelemetry
  OpenCensus is being merged into OpenTelemetry, which could lead to deprecation, and users might eventually need to transition to or adopt OpenTelemetry for continued support and updates.

Course Intro | DS101: Introduction to Apache Cassandra™

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Custom metrics with OpenCensus

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