apache · aweisberg · May 19, 2025 · May 19, 2025 · May 19, 2025 · May 19, 2025
diff --git a/NEWS.txt b/NEWS.txt
@@ -660,7 +660,7 @@ New features
       cassandra.yaml can be used to configure how long to wait (or whether to wait at all)
       and block_for_peers_in_remote_dcs can be used to also block on all but one node in
       each remote DC as well. See CASSANDRA-14297 and CASSANDRA-13993 for more information.
-    - *Experimental* support for Transient Replication and Cheap Quorums introduced by CASSANDRA-14404
+    - *Experimental* support for Witness Replication and Cheap Quorums introduced by CASSANDRA-14404
       The intended audience for this functionality is expert users of Cassandra who are prepared
       to validate every aspect of the database for their application and deployment practices. Future
       releases of Cassandra will make this feature suitable for a wider audience.

diff --git a/conf/cassandra.yaml b/conf/cassandra.yaml
@@ -2199,9 +2199,9 @@ materialized_views_enabled: false
 # SASI indexes are considered experimental and are not recommended for production use.
 sasi_indexes_enabled: false
 
-# Enables creation of transiently replicated keyspaces on this node.
-# Transient replication is experimental and is not recommended for production use.
-transient_replication_enabled: false
+# Enables creation of witness replicated keyspaces on this node.
+# Witness replication is experimental and is not recommended for production use.
+witness_replication_enabled: false
 
 # Enables the used of 'ALTER ... DROP COMPACT STORAGE' statements on this node.
 # 'ALTER ... DROP COMPACT STORAGE' is considered experimental and is not recommended for production use.

diff --git a/conf/cassandra_latest.yaml b/conf/cassandra_latest.yaml
@@ -2058,9 +2058,9 @@ materialized_views_enabled: false
 # SASI indexes are considered experimental and are not recommended for production use.
 sasi_indexes_enabled: false
 
-# Enables creation of transiently replicated keyspaces on this node.
-# Transient replication is experimental and is not recommended for production use.
-transient_replication_enabled: false
+# Enables creation of witness replicated keyspaces on this node.
+# Witness replication is experimental and is not recommended for production use.
+witness_replication_enabled: false
 
 # Enables the used of 'ALTER ... DROP COMPACT STORAGE' statements on this node.
 # 'ALTER ... DROP COMPACT STORAGE' is considered experimental and is not recommended for production use.

diff --git a/doc/modules/cassandra/nav.adoc b/doc/modules/cassandra/nav.adoc
@@ -107,7 +107,7 @@
 **** xref:cassandra:managing/operating/security.adoc[Security]
 **** xref:cassandra:managing/operating/snitch.adoc[Snitches]
 **** xref:cassandra:managing/operating/topo_changes.adoc[Topology changes]
-**** xref:cassandra:managing/operating/transientreplication.adoc[Transient replication]
+**** xref:cassandra:managing/operating/witnessreplication.adoc[Witness replication]
 **** xref:cassandra:managing/operating/virtualtables.adoc[Virtual tables]
 **** xref:cassandra:managing/operating/password_validation.adoc[Password validation]
 **** xref:cassandra:managing/operating/onboarding-to-accord.adoc[]

diff --git a/doc/modules/cassandra/pages/architecture/dynamo.adoc b/doc/modules/cassandra/pages/architecture/dynamo.adoc
@@ -225,34 +225,34 @@ node has been added to the set of replicas, and if it has not, it is
 added to the set. This process continues until `replication_factor`
 distinct nodes have been added to the set of replicas.
 
-==== Transient Replication
+==== Witness Replication
 
-Transient replication is an experimental feature in Cassandra {40_version} not
+Witness replication is an experimental feature in Cassandra {40_version} not
 present in the original Dynamo paper. This feature allows configuration of a
 subset of replicas to replicate only data that hasn't been incrementally
 repaired. This configuration decouples data redundancy from availability.
 For instance, if you have a keyspace replicated at RF=3, and alter it to
-RF=5 with two transient replicas, you go from tolerating one
+RF=5 with two witness replicas, you go from tolerating one
 failed replica to tolerating two, without corresponding
 increase in storage usage. Now, three nodes will replicate all
 the data for a given token range, and the other two will only replicate
 data that hasn't been incrementally repaired.
 
-To use transient replication, first enable the option in
+To use witness replication, first enable the option in
 `cassandra.yaml`. Once enabled, both `SimpleStrategy` and
-`NetworkTopologyStrategy` can be configured to transiently replicate
-data. Configure it by specifying replication factor as
-`<total_replicas>/<transient_replicas` Both `SimpleStrategy` and
-`NetworkTopologyStrategy` support configuring transient replication.
+`NetworkTopologyStrategy` can be configured to use witness replication.
+ Configure it by specifying replication factor as
+`<total_replicas>/<witness_replicas` Both `SimpleStrategy` and
+`NetworkTopologyStrategy` support configuring witness replication.
 
-Transiently replicated keyspaces only support tables created with
+Tables with witness replicas only support tables created with
 `read_repair` set to `NONE`; monotonic reads are not currently
 supported. You also can't use `LWT`, logged batches, or counters in {40_version}.
 You will possibly never be able to use materialized views with
-transiently replicated keyspaces and probably never be able to use
+keyspaces using witness replication and probably never be able to use
 secondary indices with them.
 
-Transient replication is an experimental feature that is not ready
+Witness replication is an experimental feature that is not ready
 for production use. The expected audience is experienced users of
 Cassandra capable of fully validating a deployment of their particular
 application. That means you have the experience to check that operations like reads,
@@ -261,7 +261,7 @@ your queries, data, configuration, operational practices, and
 availability requirements.
 
 Anticipated additional features in `4.next` are support for monotonic reads with
-transient replication, as well as LWT, logged batches, and counters.
+witness replication, as well as LWT, logged batches, and counters.
 
 === Data Versioning
 

diff --git a/doc/modules/cassandra/pages/architecture/storage-engine.adoc b/doc/modules/cassandra/pages/architecture/storage-engine.adoc
@@ -228,7 +228,7 @@ persisted
 
 === Version 4
 
-* na (4.0-rc1): uncompressed chunks, pending repair session, isTransient, checksummed SSTable metadata file, new Bloom filter format
+* na (4.0-rc1): uncompressed chunks, pending repair session, isWitness, checksummed SSTable metadata file, new Bloom filter format
 * nb (4.0.0): originating host id
 
 === Version 5

diff --git a/doc/modules/cassandra/pages/developing/cql/ddl.adoc b/doc/modules/cassandra/pages/developing/cql/ddl.adoc
@@ -164,13 +164,13 @@ will result in:
 include::cassandra:example$RESULTS/autoexpand_exclude_dc.result[]
 ----
 
-If xref:new/transientreplication.adoc[transient replication] has been enabled, transient replicas can be
+If xref:new/witnessreplication.adoc[witness replication] has been enabled, witness replicas can be
 configured for both `SimpleStrategy` and `NetworkTopologyStrategy` by
 defining replication factors in the format
-`'<total_replicas>/<transient_replicas>'`
+`'<total_replicas>/<witness_replicas>'`
 
 For instance, this keyspace will have 3 replicas in DC1, 1 of which is
-transient, and 5 replicas in DC2, 2 of which are transient:
+a witness, and 5 replicas in DC2, 2 of which are witnesses:
 
 [source,cql]
 ----
@@ -592,7 +592,7 @@ include::cassandra:example$CQL/spec_retry_values.cql[]
 ----
 
 The `additional_write_policy` setting specifies the threshold at which a cheap
-quorum write will be upgraded to include transient replicas.
+quorum write will be upgraded to include witness replicas.
 
 [[cql-compaction-options]]
 ===== Compaction options

diff --git a/doc/modules/cassandra/pages/managing/configuration/configuration.adoc b/doc/modules/cassandra/pages/managing/configuration/configuration.adoc
@@ -134,7 +134,7 @@ our parameters (incrementally, post https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/CASSAN
 |enable_user_defined_functions |user_defined_functions_enabled |-
 |enable_scripted_user_defined_functions |scripted_user_defined_functions_enabled |-
 |enable_materialized_views |materialized_views_enabled |-
-|enable_transient_replication |transient_replication_enabled |-
+|enable_witness_replication |witness_replication_enabled |-
 |enable_sasi_indexes |sasi_indexes_enabled |-
 |enable_drop_compact_storage |drop_compact_storage_enabled |-
 |enable_user_defined_functions_threads |user_defined_functions_threads_enabled |-

diff --git a/doc/modules/cassandra/pages/managing/operating/index.adoc b/doc/modules/cassandra/pages/managing/operating/index.adoc
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@
 * xref:cassandra:managing/operating/auto_repair.adoc[Auto Repair]
 * xref:cassandra:managing/operating/security.adoc[Security]
 * xref:cassandra:managing/operating/topo_changes.adoc[Topology changes]
-* xref:cassandra:managing/operating/transientreplication.adoc[Transient replication]
+* xref:cassandra:managing/operating/witnessreplication.adoc[Witness replication]
 * xref:cassandra:managing/operating/virtualtables.adoc[Virtual tables]
 * xref:cassandra:managing/operating/password_validation.adoc[Password validation]
 * xref:cassandra:managing/operating/onboarding-to-accord.adoc[]
diff --git a/doc/modules/cassandra/pages/managing/operating/virtualtables.adoc b/doc/modules/cassandra/pages/managing/operating/virtualtables.adoc
@@ -411,7 +411,7 @@ name                                 | value
   auto_snapshot                      | true
   automatic_sstable_upgrade          | false
   cluster_name                       | Test Cluster
-  enable_transient_replication       | false
+  enable_witness_replication         | false
   hinted_handoff_enabled             | true
   hints_directory                    | /home/ec2-user/cassandra/data/hints
   incremental_backups                | false
@@ -679,4 +679,4 @@ results in:
  127.0.0.1 | 37310 |            ready | DataStax Python Driver |   3.21.0.post0 | localhost |                4 |             8 |             null |       False |         null | anonymous
 
 (2 rows)
-----
+----