Azure Adds Managed Apache Cassandra

Microsoft Launches Azure Managed Instance for Apache Cassandra

During today’s Ignite conference, Microsoft unveiled Azure Managed Instance for Apache Cassandra. This new offering expands Microsoft’s portfolio of NoSQL database solutions and positions itself as a competitor to companies specializing in Cassandra, such as Datastax.

Microsoft characterizes the service as a “semi-managed” solution designed to facilitate the migration of Cassandra-based workloads to its cloud platform.

Seamless Migration and Enhanced Capabilities

According to Microsoft’s official statement, customers can readily transition existing, on-premises Cassandra deployments to the cloud. This move enables them to leverage virtually unlimited scalability while preserving complete compatibility with the most recent version of Apache Cassandra.

Deployments benefit from increased performance and improved availability. Furthermore, they gain access to the robust security and compliance features inherent in the Azure cloud environment.

Alternatives Before Azure Managed Instance

Similar to Azure SQL Managed Instance, this service provides users with access to a scalable database service hosted in the cloud. Previously, utilizing Cassandra within Azure required businesses to either adopt Cosmos DB, Microsoft’s highly scalable database supporting multiple APIs, or to independently manage virtual machines or on-premises infrastructure.

The History and Adoption of Cassandra

Apache Cassandra originated at Facebook and was initially open-sourced in 2008. It subsequently became part of the Apache Foundation in 2009.

Today, Cassandra enjoys widespread industry adoption. Major companies, including Apple and Netflix, rely on it to power critical services.

Amazon Web Services (AWS) introduced a managed, Cassandra-compatible service, now known as Amazon Keyspaces, at its re:Invent conference in 2019. Microsoft initially launched the Cassandra API for Cosmos DB in September 2018.

With this latest announcement, Microsoft now provides a comprehensive suite of Cassandra-based services for enterprises seeking to migrate these workloads to its cloud infrastructure.

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