Written in a clear, step-by-step manner, this 400-page course provides an excellent starting point for people that want to get into Apache Cassandra and learn best by doing.

A high-quality, project-based, hands-on training courseware book, Apache Cassandra Hands-On Training Level One is designed to be used as the student book for a 2-day introductory level Cassandra course delivered by a Cassandra instructor. Having said that, this book can also be done as a self-paced training course.

Recommended prerequisites for this training book are experience with databases, SQL, and programming.

This hands-on training book takes people through the basics of working with Cassandra as they learn how to install Cassandra, create a database, create tables, insert, update, and delete data, and create an application, as well as create and modify a multiple-node cluster.

Unit 1: Understanding What Cassandra is For
Unit 2: Getting Started with the Architecture
Unit 3: Installing Cassandra
Unit 4: Communicating with Cassandra
Unit 5: Creating a Database
Unit 6: Creating a Table
Unit 7: Inserting Data
Unit 8: Modeling Data
Unit 9: Creating an Application
Unit 10: Updating and Deleting Data
Unit 11: Selecting Hardware
Unit 12: Adding Nodes to a Cluster
Unit 13: Repairing Nodes
Unit 14: Removing a Node
Unit 15: Monitoring a Cluster
Unit 16: Adding a Data Center

As virtual machine images are used extensively throughout this hands-on course, including for the creation of a multiple-node Cassandra cluster, any computer used for the exercises in this course needs to be relatively high spec. Specifically, a computer with the following is needed:

64-bit operating system (Mac, Windows, or Linux)
8GB (or more) of RAM
30GB (or more) of free hard drive space
Latest version of VMware Player installed and working
A way to unzip files
Acrobat Reader (or equivalent, for viewing a PDF file)

For the full outline, and class files download, see ruthstryker.com/books/achotl1.

For a sample unit, see ruthstryker.com/books/achotl1/achotl1_ch06_20140717.pdf (Unit 6) or ruthstryker.com/books/achotl1/achotl1_ch15_20140717.pdf (Unit 15).

For the setup steps, see ruthstryker.com/books/achotl1/achotl1_apC_20140722.pdf (Appendix C).

Student comments about the book:

"Excellent starter course that has taken me from knowing nothing of Cassandra to feeling confident in setting up and using it."
"Level covered in book is just right."
"Course material was good. It had a wide range of labs and was very helpful in understanding the agenda."
"Course material was well-written and easy to follow."
"Excellent introduction into Cassandra filled with hands-on exercises for all topics."
"Material covers the basics quite well."