Installation checklist: Cassandra and ZooKeeper

Use the checklist to record setup information for Cassandra and ZooKeeper installation.

Table 1. Cassandra and ZooKeeper installation checklist
List of items for Cassandra and ZooKeeper installation Your entry Comments
Review your IBM contract to ensure that you are licensed to use Global Mailbox.    
Record login credentials to the host where you plan to install Cassandra and ZooKeeper nodes.
Important: Cassandra and ZooKeeper must be installed on a Linux operating system. They are not supported on Windows environment.
    
Download and extract the Sterling B2B Integrator package from IBM Fix Central or Passport Advantage to the server where you plan to install Cassandra and ZooKeeper.    
Determine the installation mode:
  • Wizard mode
  • Silent mode
    
For Silent mode, prepare the response file. You must edit the provided example or use one you generated during a previous installation.    
Record the path to JDK location.    
Record the directory where you plan to install Cassandra and ZooKeeper. The default directory is /root/IBM/GlobalMailbox. It is recommended to retain the default.    
Record the number of data centers you plan to have for your organization.    
Record the data center names.
Important: A Cassandra cluster or a ZooKeeper ensemble is the total of all the nodes in all the data centers.
    
Record the number of ZooKeeper nodes you plan to have in each data center.    
Record the number of Cassandra nodes you plan to have in each data center.    
Record the host name of the servers on which you plan to install ZooKeeper nodes in all data centers.
Important: The host can be separate server other than the one used for Sterling B2B Integrator and Global Mailbox nodes.
    
Record the host name of the servers on which you plan to install Cassandra nodes in all data centers.    
Record the data directories for Cassandra and ZooKeeper. Ensure the directory for both are not on the same physical I/O device. Co-locating the directories might lead to performance issues.    
Record the port numbers for the following ZooKeeper ports:
  • Follow port. Default port - 2888
  • Election port. Default port - 3888
  • Client port. Default port - 2181
Important: It is suggested to retain the default ports.
    
Record the number of racks that you plan to have for the Cassandra nodes.
Important: You can have multiple nodes in each rack.
    
Record the node that you plan to make a Cassandra seed node.
Important: You must have one seed node in each data center.
    
Record port numbers for the following Cassandra ports:
  • Inter-node Communication Port. Default port - 7000.
  • Inter-node Communication SSL Port. Default port - 7001.
  • Client Port. Default port - 9042.
  • RPC Port. Default port - 9160.
  • JMX Port. Default port - 7199.
Important: It is suggested to retain the default ports. If you are using custom ports for any reason, use the same custom port for each port type in every node in the Cassandra cluster.
    
Ensure that your firewalls are configured to allow connections to the ports. For more information, see Firewall considerations.    
Ensure that time is synchronized across Cassandra nodes, Sterling B2B Integrator nodes, Global Mailbox nodes, and ZooKeeper nodes. A difference of even 1 second might cause data integrity issues.