DataStax Serverless: What We Did and Why It’s a Game Changer

Apache Cassandra is a highly scalable database known for its write latency and throughput. However, scaling down can be challenging due to the need to scale both compute and storage simultaneously. To address this issue, DataStax developed Astra, a serverless version of Cassandra that separates compute and storage, allowing users to pay only for operations they consume and data stored or transmitted. This approach leads to more efficient operations and significant cost savings. Astra also supports external JWT token providers, simplifying user management, authentication, and authorization logic in applications. The serverless version of Cassandra is built on Kubernetes, which enables dynamic scalability and improved performance. DataStax plans to continue optimizing Astra for better performance, scalability, and cost-effectiveness while proposing the changes made into the Apache Cassandra project as part of the CEP process.