Tips for success
Following are some tips you may need while using Cassandra:
Run Cassandra on Linux
Cassandra may work on Windows, but remember that this is a fairly new development in the Cassandra world. If you want the best chance of building a successful cluster, build it on Linux.
Open ports 7199, 7000, 7001, and 9042
Cassandra needs 7199 for JMX (nodetool), 7000 for gossip, 7001 for gossip over SSL, and 9042 for native binary (client connections). You shouldn't need Thrift (port 9160), so don't open the port or enable the protocol unless you have a reason to.
Enable security
At the very least, you should enable authorization and authentication.
Use solid state drives (SSDs) if possible
The primary bottleneck on Cassandra is disk I/O, and SSDs will help you to mitigate that. The cassandra.yaml file also contains some specific settings for optimizing an instance backed by SSDs, so be sure to look those up and activate them where appropriate. Never use a NAS or SAN for Cassandra.
