Introducing Mission Control: Less Data Ops, More DevOps

In the era of cloud-native applications, big data, and generative AI, managing a distributed database has become a critical yet challenging task for organizations. The complexities of coordinating servers across different environments, ensuring data consistency, and maintaining high availability requires meticulous attention to detail and expertise. So we’re thrilled to announce the launch of DataStax Mission Control, the latest innovation from DataStax that is set to revolutionize the way organizations optimize the data infrastructure that supports their business applications. 

Mission Control is the latest entry in the rich history of operational tooling from DataStax. From the beginning with OpsCenter, DataStax set the bar high for how to manage distributed databases at scale. Building on this foundation, we developed Astra DB, our managed cloud offering, which introduced new automation components. Many of these components were then made open source as part of the K8ssandra project, further expanding the toolsets for Apache Cassandra® and DataStax Enterprise clusters. Mission Control is the latest evolution in our operational toolset; it simplifies how organizations manage their DataStax software on-premises and in the cloud, building on the automation that powers Astra DB and K8ssandra.

Key Mission Control features

Mission Control makes it easier and more efficient for organizations to manage and scale their data environments. From the Day 1 operations like installation and configuration to peak-season scaling, Mission Control has your back with:

• Cluster lifecycle management - Deploy, scale, and maintain nodes effortlessly, with best practices and declarative configuration across fleets of servers.
• Observability suite - Centralized metrics and logs provide deep insights into your infrastructure and cluster health alongside integrations into your enterprise observability stack.
• Security - Safeguard your clusters with mutual TLS, secure superuser credential management, and integration with third-party certificate authorities.
• Operational efficiency - Simplify daily tasks such as anti-entropy repairs, backups, and restores, with easy configuration and scheduling options.

Product compatibility

Mission Control is fully compatible with Cassandra (versions 3.11.x and 4.0.x) and DataStax Enterprise (versions 6.8.x and the new vector-enabled 7.x preview), ensuring a smooth integration with your current software and tools. Whether migrating your existing clusters in place or expanding your footprint into the Mission Control platform, all operations follow best practices and minimize impact to running applications. 

OpsCenter continues to be supported for users running versions 5.1.x and 6.8.x of DataStax Enterprise (DSE) through 2026.

Customer benefits

For our customers who opt for self-managed, on-premises DataStax solutions, Mission Control acts as a force multiplier for your operations teams, automating tedious processes and avoiding manual intervention for a number of changes in cluster health (with Astra DB, DataStax’s cloud-based managed offering, we take care of these processes for you). This enables your team to focus on delivering business value, rather than managing the intricacies of  distributed databases. With integrations including observability pipelines, identity providers, and certificate authorities Mission Control is a part of your IT organization instead of a data silo.

Pricing and availability

Mission Control is available at no cost for DataStax Enterprise users today (look out for an email or contact your account team), while DataStax Luna customers can add it to their subscription for an additional fee. To try Mission Control in your environment, check out our Community License and Getting Started guide.

Mission Control is a key component of DataStax's strategy to provide a comprehensive GenAI platform for modern applications that require vector embeddings and vector database functionality. By simplifying the management of distributed databases and data infrastructure, Mission Control enables organizations to focus on building and deploying value-driven applications, accelerating their digital transformation initiatives. Stay tuned for more updates and customer success stories that highlight the value of Mission Control.