There are different production use case scenarios in which Cassandra will have to be installed, notably a fresh RHQ install. With the PostgreSQL and Oracle, we make it the user's responsibility to have the database set up and configured properly. With Cassandra though, we want RHQ to handle things to the greatest extent possible. I wrote up a doc[1] on the wiki that describes the various options for how we might install Cassandra as well as the different scenarios for when it will need to be installed. Any feedback is appreciated. Also bear in mind that UX is a key component here.

[1] https://docs.jboss.org/author/display/RHQ/Metrics+DB+Installation

Thanks

- John