Apache Cassandra® version 5.0 Beta 1.0 is now available in public preview on the Instaclustr Managed Platform!  

This follows on the heels of the project release of Cassandra version 5.0 Beta 1.0. Instaclustr is proud to be the first managed service platform to release this version for deployment on all major cloud providers or on-premises.  

This release is designed to allow anyone to easily undertake any application-specific testing of Apache Cassandra 5.0 (Beta 1.0) in preparation for the forthcoming GA release of Apache Cassandra 5.0. 

Apache Cassandra 5.0 

The last major version of Apache Cassandra was released about three years ago, bringing numerous advantages with it. Cassandra 5.0 is another significant iteration with exciting features that will revolutionize the future of NoSQL databases.  

Cassandra 5.0 brings enhanced efficiency and scalability, performance, and memory optimizations to your applications. Additionally, it expands functionality support, accelerating your AI/ML journey and playing a pivotal role in the development of AI applications. 

Some of the key new features in Cassandra 5.0 include: 

• Storage-Attached Indexes (SAI): A highly scalable, globally distributed index for Cassandra databases. With SAI, column-level indexes can be added leading to unparalleled I/O throughput for searches across different data types, including vectors. SAI also enables lightning-fast data retrieval through zero-copy streaming of indices, resulting in unprecedented efficiency. 
• Vector Search: This is powerful technique for searching relevant content or discovering connections by comparing similarities in large document collections and is particularly useful for AI applications. It uses storage-attached indexing and dense indexing techniques to enhance data exploration and analysis. 
• Unified Compaction Strategy: This unifies compaction approaches, including leveled, tiered, and time-windowed strategies. The strategy leads to a major reduction in SSTable sizes. Smaller SSTables mean better read and write performance, reduced storage requirements, and improved overall efficiency. 
• Numerous stability and testing improvements: You can read all about these changes here. 

Important: Limitations of Cassandra 5.0 Beta 1 on the Instaclustr Managed Platform 

Customers can provision a cluster on the Instaclustr Platform with Cassandra version 5.0 for testing purposes. Note that while Cassandra version 5.0 Beta 1.0 is supported on our platform, there are some limitations in the functionality available, including:   

• KeySpace/Table-level monitoring and metrics are not available when the vector data type is used. 
• Trie-indexed SSTables and memtables are not yet supported since we do not yet support using the BTI format for SSTables and memtables. 

Apart from the application-specific limitations (read more about them here), the public preview release comes with the following conditions: 

• It is not supported for production usage and is not covered by SLAs. The release should be used for testing purposes only. 
• There is no support for add-ons such as Apache Lucene™, Continuous Backups and others. 
• No PCI-compliant mode. 

What’s Next? 

Instaclustr will continue to conduct performance baselining and additional testing to offer industry-leading support and work on removing existing limitations in preparation for Cassandra 5.0’s GA release. 

How to Get Started 

Ready to try Cassandra 5.0 out yourself? Set up a non-production cluster using the Instaclustr console by following the easy instructions available here. Choose the Apache Cassandra 5.0 Preview version from the public preview category on the Cassandra setup page to begin your exploration. 

Don’t have an Instaclustr account yet? Sign up for a trial or reach out to our sales team to start exploring Cassandra 5.0. With over 300 million node-hours of management experience, Instaclustr offers unparalleled expertise. Visit our website to learn more about the Instaclustr Managed Platform for Apache Cassandra. 

If you have any issues or questions about provisioning your cluster, please contact Instaclustr Support at any time.