nodetool gossipinfo

Displays the gossip information for all nodes in the cluster as seen by the local node.

Synopsis

nodetool [connection_options] gossipinfo

See connection options for connection options.

Description

nodetool gossipinfo shows detailed gossip state for every node known to the cluster, including:

Node status and state
Generation and heartbeat information
Schema version
Datacenter and rack assignment
Token ownership
Release version

This is essential for troubleshooting cluster communication and state issues.

Output Example

/192.168.1.101
  generation:1699574400
  heartbeat:12345
  STATUS:16:NORMAL,-9223372036854775808
  LOAD:12340:2.56789E11
  SCHEMA:10:a1b2c3d4-e5f6-7890-abcd-ef1234567890
  DC:8:dc1
  RACK:9:rack1
  RELEASE_VERSION:7:4.1.3
  RPC_ADDRESS:3:192.168.1.101
  NATIVE_ADDRESS_AND_PORT:12:192.168.1.101:9042
  NET_VERSION:1:12
  HOST_ID:2:a1b2c3d4-e5f6-7890-abcd-ef1234567890
  TOKENS:11:<hidden>

/192.168.1.102
  generation:1699574500
  heartbeat:12346
  STATUS:16:NORMAL,-3074457345618258602
  LOAD:12341:2.48789E11
  SCHEMA:10:a1b2c3d4-e5f6-7890-abcd-ef1234567890
  DC:8:dc1
  RACK:9:rack2
  RELEASE_VERSION:7:4.1.3
  ...

Output Fields

Node Identification

Field	Description
IP Address	Node’s broadcast address
HOST_ID	Unique node identifier
RPC_ADDRESS	Address for client connections
NATIVE_ADDRESS_AND_PORT	CQL native protocol endpoint

Generation and Heartbeat

Field	Description
generation	Epoch timestamp when node started (resets on restart)
heartbeat	Counter incremented each gossip round

Status Information

Field	Format	Description
STATUS	version:state,token	Node state (NORMAL, LEAVING, etc.)
LOAD	version:bytes	Data size on node
SCHEMA	version:uuid	Schema version

Location

Field	Description
DC	Datacenter name
RACK	Rack name

Version Information

Field	Description
RELEASE_VERSION	Cassandra version
NET_VERSION	Protocol version

Interpreting Status Values

Node States

State	Meaning
NORMAL	Operating normally
LEAVING	Decommission in progress
LEFT	Has been decommissioned
MOVING	Moving to new token
BOOT	Bootstrap in progress
hibernate	Node is hibernating

Generation Number

generation:1699574400

The generation is the Unix timestamp when the node started. Uses include:

Identifying node restarts (new generation = restart)
Gossip conflict resolution (higher generation wins)

Heartbeat

heartbeat:12345

Increments every gossip round (~1 second). Used to detect:

Node liveness
Gossip communication problems

When to Use

Troubleshoot Node Communication

nodetool gossipinfo | grep -E "^/|STATUS|heartbeat"

Identify nodes with stale heartbeats.

Verify Cluster Membership

nodetool gossipinfo | grep "^/"

List all nodes known to gossip.

Check Schema Agreement

nodetool gossipinfo | grep SCHEMA

All nodes should have the same SCHEMA UUID.

Investigate Topology Issues

nodetool gossipinfo | grep -E "DC|RACK"

Verify datacenter and rack assignments.

Debug Node Not Joining

# Check if new node appears in gossip
nodetool gossipinfo | grep <new-node-ip>

Examples

Basic Usage

nodetool gossipinfo

Filter for Specific Node

nodetool gossipinfo | grep -A20 "/192.168.1.102"

Check All Status Values

nodetool gossipinfo | grep STATUS

Find Nodes Not in NORMAL State

nodetool gossipinfo | grep STATUS | grep -v NORMAL

Compare Schema Across Nodes

nodetool gossipinfo | grep SCHEMA | sort | uniq -c

Check for Stale Nodes

# Nodes with old generations or low heartbeats may be stale
nodetool gossipinfo | grep -E "generation|heartbeat"

Common Issues

Node Shows OLD Generation

If a node’s generation is much older than others:

/192.168.1.102
  generation:1609459200  (old)

This node may have stale gossip information. Try:

# On the problematic node
nodetool gossipinfo  # Compare with other nodes

Inconsistent Schema

nodetool gossipinfo | grep SCHEMA

Different SCHEMA UUIDs indicate schema disagreement. See describecluster for resolution.

Node Stuck in LEAVING

STATUS:16:LEAVING,-9223372036854775808

Decommission may have failed. Check logs and consider:

# If node is dead and stuck
nodetool assassinate <ip-address>

Ghost Node (LEFT but Still Appearing)

STATUS:16:LEFT,-9223372036854775808

Node was decommissioned but still in gossip. Usually clears automatically, but if persistent:

nodetool assassinate <ip-address>

Missing Node in Gossip

If a node doesn’t appear:

Check if node is running
Check network connectivity
Verify seed configuration
Check firewall rules for gossip port (7000/7001)

Gossip Troubleshooting Flow

Check	If No	If Yes
Node appears in gossipinfo?	Check network/firewall, verify seeds	Continue to next check
Heartbeat increasing?	Node may be frozen - check GC and resources	Continue to next check
Status is NORMAL?	Check for stuck operations, may need intervention	Continue to next check
Schema matches other nodes?	Wait for propagation or reload schema	Node is healthy

Gossip vs. Status

Command	Shows	Use For
`gossipinfo`	Full gossip state, all fields	Debugging, detailed analysis
`status`	Summary view, key metrics	Quick health check

Use gossipinfo when status doesn’t provide enough detail.

Command	Relationship
status	Summary cluster status
describecluster	Cluster metadata and schema
ring	Token distribution
enablegossip	Enable gossip
disablegossip	Disable gossip
statusgossip	Check if gossip enabled
assassinate	Force remove stuck node