Using the Cassandra Data Modeler to Stress and Size C*/DSE Instances

Early stage projects often need to design and test a table that will scale on specific hardware configurations. Cassandra-stress is a tool that enables users to benchmark their data model without the app, providing valuable insights into performance and scalability. However, using cassandra-stress requires understanding of statistical concepts and CQL syntax. The CassandraDataModeler aims to simplify this task by allowing users to create user profile-driven cassandra-stress tests in minutes. Key factors to consider when designing a data model include partition key control, preventing hotspots, and ensuring that partitions are smaller than 100MBs and contain less than 100,000 cells. Additionally, understanding the size, population, and cluster distributions is crucial for creating realistic stress profiles. By using tools like htop and dstat during benchmarking, users can identify bottlenecks and optimize their Cassandra clusters.