Introduction to Apache Cassandra Course Syllabus

Overview: This course provides a hands-on, text-based introduction to Apache Cassandra, guiding you through its distributed architecture, data modeling, and query language (CQL) entirely in-browser. With no local setup required, you'll gain practical experience through interactive exercises and quizzes across 9 modules. The course takes approximately 7.5 hours to complete and is ideal for beginners seeking foundational knowledge of Cassandra for scalable, fault-tolerant data management.

Module 1: Getting Started

Estimated time: 0.2 hours

• Course orientation
• Introduction to Apache Cassandra
• History and evolution of Cassandra
• Common use cases and real-world applications

Module 2: Apache Cassandra Overview

Estimated time: 0.5 hours

• Key features of Apache Cassandra
• Understanding ideal workloads for Cassandra
• Foundations of data modeling in distributed databases
• Use case analysis and system requirements

Module 3: Apache Cassandra Architecture

Estimated time: 2 hours

• Cluster topology and node roles
• Partitioning and data distribution strategies
• Replication mechanisms and replication factors
• Using nodetool and shell commands
• Exploring system keyspaces and schema internals

Module 4: Apache Cassandra Data Modeling

Estimated time: 0.75 hours

• Storage structure and SSTable organization
• The Cassandra data modeling process
• Native data types and their usage
• Common data modeling patterns and anti-patterns

Module 5: Apache Cassandra Table

Estimated time: 2.5 hours

• Creating, describing, altering, and dropping tables
• Data Manipulation Language (DML): SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE
• Designing with primary keys and composite keys
• Clustering columns and sort order
• Static columns and filtering techniques

Module 6: Apache Cassandra Data Types

Estimated time: 1 hour

• Working with counter data types
• Using collection types: SET, LIST, MAP
• Defining and using user-defined types (UDTs)
• Implementing tuples in table schemas

Module 7: Tunable Consistency

Estimated time: 0.7 hours

• Understanding consistency levels: ALL, QUORUM, LOCAL_QUORUM, ONE, ANY
• Trade-offs between consistency, availability, and performance
• Best practices for setting consistency per query
• Impact of tunable consistency on read/write paths

Module 8: Apache Cassandra Read & Write Path

Estimated time: 0.5 hours

• Internals of the write path: commit log and memtable
• Memtable flush and SSTable creation
• Read path execution and data retrieval process
• Efficient querying and performance considerations

Module 9: Wrap Up

Estimated time: 0.25 hours

• Course summary and key takeaways
• Performance tuning guidelines
• Best practices for production deployments
• Additional learning resources

Prerequisites

• Basic understanding of databases and SQL
• Familiarity with command-line interfaces (helpful but not required)
• No prior experience with Cassandra or distributed systems required

What You'll Be Able to Do After

• Explain Cassandra’s distributed architecture and its advantages for scalability and fault tolerance
• Write and execute CQL statements for table creation and data manipulation
• Design efficient data models using primary keys, clustering columns, and appropriate data types
• Apply tunable consistency levels based on application requirements
• Understand the internal read and write paths in Cassandra and optimize for performance