The text discusses token management in a Cassandra cluster, which is crucial for maintaining the balance and performance of the system. It explains that consistent hashing is at the core of Cassandra's peer-to-peer architecture, with each node assigned a token determining its data responsibility. Balancing a live Cassandra cluster involves minimizing the number of token changes and optimizing data transfer distances. Tools like DataStax OpsCenter can automate this process, but understanding the underlying concepts is essential for effective management.