Distributed Database Things to Know: Snitches

Snitches are a feature in the Cassandra database that determine node placement within racks and datacenters. They provide information about the network topology of the system, enabling efficient routing of requests and distribution of replicas by grouping machines accordingly. All nodes within a cluster must use the same snitch for consistent distribution logic. Key feature options include determining how snitches determine node placement. Understanding snitches is crucial in managing distributed databases like Cassandra and DataStax Enterprise, along with other concepts such as consistent hashing.