Book Review: Cassandra the Definitive Guide

Chances are either you, one of your friends, or possibly a co-worker have created–or worked with a database–over the past decade. Most likely, it was a relational database, such as Microsoft Access, SQL Server, Oracle or mySQL. For many years, relational databases have been the foundation for applications as diverse as home finance and space exploration.

Now, with the explosion of web-based services relying upon greater and greater concepts of scale, the relational database has hit a wall. Supplanting it are several “no-sql” databases that are significantly different in scope and features, which can be challenging for both database administrators and system architects to implement.

“Cassandra: The Definitive Guide” by Eben Hewitt covers these newcomers to the database world briefly, but focuses mostly on Cassandra itself, a database built to scale. The key concepts and divergences from traditional relational database management system are all clearly explained, and within a few chapters seasoned database admins should be able to grasp most of the basic features of Cassandra.

The tone of the book is fairly light but perfect for the new Cassandra administrator. Because the key benefits of Cassandra can only be realized *after* implementation on a platform, playing around is key to gaining skills, and the book targets that environment.

If you’re reaching the end of your performance rope with SQL, we highly recommend this book. It may not be for most organizations, but for those that are pushing the limits of the web, it’s a must-read.

Contact New Signature today if you are looking to learn more about how highly scalable distributed database management systems, like Cassandra, can help your business.