Here’s a roundup of the key discussions and developments from the Cassandra community over the past month. October was a lively month with several new CEPs, active design discussions, and updates to the release process.
CEP Update 1. CEP-53: Rolling restarts through sidecar [Link<https://lists.apache.org/thread/d0cd5frxthpgdpvwn7r9f8osgx9zf101>] This CEP, aimed at improving the Cassandra operator experience by providing a managed mechanism for rolling restarts, passed its vote and will now move to implementation. 2. CEP-55: Generated role names [Link<https://lists.apache.org/thread/0fw7n519bx59wdrk3dfkdpdbyxnr3fdq>] Approved and moving to implementation. This change simplifies user experience by allowing Cassandra to generate role names automatically instead of requiring manual input. 3. [DISCUSS] CEP-56 Spark Bulk Reading from Cassandra Backup Uploaded to Object Storage [Link<https://lists.apache.org/thread/rmf3z4113225xj5wbtq75op2sz6j9z68>] Proposed to enable Spark jobs to read from backups instead of live databases. The discussion received positive feedback; a vote is expected soon. 4. CEP-38: CQL Management API [Link<https://lists.apache.org/thread/zmgvo2ty5nqvlz1xccsls2kcrgnbjh5v>] This proposal, which introduces a management API for CQL, passed its vote and will proceed to implementation. 5. CEP-57: Flat keys and trie interfaces [Link<https://lists.apache.org/thread/w7dv7phzjgxl064l6p58k0k8j2vdppt4>] A significant and complex proposal currently under discussion. Community feedback and collaboration are encouraged. 6. CEP-49: Hardware-accelerated compression [Link<https://lists.apache.org/thread/5sborcb78hyrgks21n7lzmpxv3z4mc59>] The discussion thread for this performance-focused proposal is open and seeking community input. Other Key Discussions 1. Discussion on release process and backporting [Link<https://lists.apache.org/thread/v87rcy797p2pq42bswh4mso3nf4w0y76>] There was an active discussion about whether the project should maintain an official backporting branch. While no clear consensus emerged, Josh McKenzie started a follow-up thread exploring the motivations behind a backport branch [Link<https://lists.apache.org/thread/5nv1f4bng4nw5ofgh135k5pf2f6l6lgl>] and proposed a more formalized yearly release process [Link<http://Josh%20McKenzie%20[DISCUSS]%20Proposal:%20formalize%20release%20cadence%20and%20alphas%20from%20trunk%20Byproduct%20of%20our%20discussion%20about%20backport%20motivations:%20https://lists.apache.org/thread/5nv1f4bng4nw5ofgh135k5pf2f6l6lgl%20Regardless%20of%20how%20the%20above%20does%20or%20doesn't%20continue%20to%20evolve,%20I'd%20like%20to%20pr...%20%2010%20202025-11-12%2011:35%20-08:00>]. 2. Discussion on release process and backporting [Link<https://lists.apache.org/thread/f1q2pfpglp6d49ysoy2bvq1f5vh9bod5>] A lively conversation about SQL compatibility and Cassandra’s design philosophy. The discussion remains ongoing, and contributors are encouraged to join in. Dev List Link<https://lists.apache.org/[email protected]> Key stats: Found 400+ emails by 50+ authors, divided into 30+ topics. Thanks Himanshu
