New front page - why are we still focusing on k8ssandra 1.x on the fr…

…ont page?

docs/content/en/_index.md

@@ -12,18 +12,68 @@ description: "K8ssandra documentation: architecture, configuration, guided tasks
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+k8ssandra-operator is a turnkey solution to manage [Apache Cassandra](https://cassandra.apache.org/_/index.html) on Kubernetes. Apache Cassandra is the premiere wide column NoSQL data store, offering low latency, geo-replication, and the capacity to store petabytes of data. Apache Cassandra is in use in 90% of the Fortune 500 in some capacity.
+
+k8ssandra-operator allows for the deployment of multiple Apache Cassandra datacenters, spanned over multiple Kubernetes clusters. The intention of this architecture is to provide geo-replication to enhance latency (by moving data closer to the end user) and availability (by providing multiple datacenters to serve requests in the event of a datacenter failure or network partition).
+
+Apache Cassandra offers rack and failure zone aware data replication which is both replicated and sharded for performance and protection.
+
+It incorporates the following functionality;
+
+### Deployment
+
+Apache Cassandra can be deployed into multiple datacenters in separate regions or availability/failure zones. k8ssandra-operator makes this possible by enabling communication between multiple Kubernetes clusters and deploying Cassandra datacenters into them.
+
+This distinguishes k8ssandra-operator from [cass-operator](https://github.com/k8ssandra/cass-operator) (which is used internally within k8ssandra-operator) which does not automate multi-region deployments.
+
+A single k8ssandra-operator instance in a control plane cluster can manage many data plane DCs across multiple Kubernetes clusters, and split across multiple Cassandra clusters. Clusters of up to 1000 nodes have been [tested](https://dok.community/blog/1000-node-cassandra-cluster-on-amazons-eks/) and confirmed to perform well.
+
+Advanced Cassandra features such as Change Data Capture (CDC) are supported and can be configured using Kubernetes manifests.
+
+### Monitoring
+
+Monitoring is a critical service in any distributed system, and k8ssandra-operator provides a rich suite of Apache Cassandra metrics via an [agent](https://github.com/k8ssandra/management-api-for-apache-cassandra) added to the Cassandra JVM. 
+
+By integrating with [Vector](https://vector.dev/), k8ssandra-operator allows metrics to flow to a location of the user's choice, including an existing [Prometheus](https://prometheus.io/) or [Mimir](https://grafana.com/oss/mimir/) instance. A variety of other protocols and systems such as AMQP, Elasticsearch, Kafka, or Redis (see [here](https://vector.dev/docs/reference/configuration/sinks/) for a full list of integrations) are also supported.
+
+Metrics pipelines can be configured using Kubernetes custom resources, allowing for the creation of multiple pipelines to support different use cases across many clusters.
+
+Cassandra auditing and monitoring features such as full query logging are supported and can be configured direct from a K8ssandraCluster manifest.
+
+### Repairs and data maintenance
+
+Apache Cassandra requires regular maintenance to ensure data is replicated consistently across the cluster. k8ssandra-operator automates this process by running repairs on a regular schedule using [Reaper](https://cassandra-reaper.io/), a widely adopted solution for anti-entropy repairs in Cassandra maintained by the K8ssandra team.
+
+Using k8ssandra-operator, you can use Kubernetes manifests to configure and monitor the success of repair schedules across many Cassandra datacenters and clusters.
+
+### Backup and restore
+
+k8ssandra-operator uses [Medusa](https://github.com/thelastpickle/cassandra-medusa) to enable backup of Cassandra's SSTables to cloud storage locations such as S3 buckets, GCS and Azure storage.
+
+Backup and restore schedules can be configured using Kubernetes manifests, allowing for declarative, auditable management of backup and restore processes.
+
+### Flexible APIs
+
+[Stargate](https://stargate.io/) for Apache Cassandra offers advanced APIs including integration with the [Mongoose](https://mongoosejs.com/) object modelling framework for node.js, GraphQL, and REST. It can also enhance Cassandra's native CQL performance in some cluster topologies.
+
+Using k8ssandra-operator, Stargate can be deployed and configured via simple Kubernetes manifests.
+
+### Where to from here?
+
 This documentation covers everything from install details, deployed components, configuration references, and guided outcome-based tasks. 
 
+To install k8ssandra-operator start [here] ({{< relref "install/" >}}).
+
 Be sure to leave us a <a class="github-button" href="https://github.com/k8ssandra/k8ssandra" data-icon="octicon-star" aria-label="Star k8ssandra/k8ssandra on GitHub">star</a> on Github!
 
-## Features for single- and multi-cluster Kubernetes environments
 
-| K8ssandra Operator: enhanced capabilities | Initial K8ssandra project|
-| ----------- | ----------- |
-| K8ssandra Operator is our most recent offering. In a **unified operator**, K8ssandra Operator provides an entirely new, solidified set of features for Kubernetes + Cassandra deployments. The features include robust management (cass-operator), API integration (Stargate), anti-entropy repairs (Reaper), and backup/restore (Medusa). Important enhancements include **multi-cluster** and **multi-region** support, which enables greater scalability and availability for enterprise apps and data. Single cluster/region deployments are also supported with K8ssandra Operator.| K8ssandra v1.4.x is our project's initial implementation. It continues to provide a set of separate Helm charts that you can use to configure and deploy Apache Cassandra&reg; into a single-cluster, single-region Kubernetes environment. |
-| For enhanced capabilities, we recommend that you explore K8ssandra Operator [local install]({{< relref "install/local" >}}) topic, which focuses on single- or multi-cluster deployments on local dev  **kind** Kubernetes clusters, using the provided `make` commands, `helm`, or `kustomize`. | Start in the K8ssandra v1.4.x [install](https://docs-v1.k8ssandra.io/install/local/) topics, which include the steps for single-cluster installs on local or cloud-provider Kubernetes platforms. |
+## K8ssandra 1x
+
+We previously released a product named "k8ssandra" (as distinct from k8ssandra-operator). This product comprised a set of Helm charts and is still available for existing users. 
+
+We strongly advise new users to adopt k8ssandra-operator since that is where future development is continuing.
 
-If you're using K8ssandra v1.4.x, you may continue to do so. Or consider stepping up to the project's latest implementation with K8ssandra Operator.
+A comparison between the two can be found [here]({{< relref "reference/old-k8ssandra" >}}).
 
 ## Compatibility matrix
 

docs/content/en/reference/old-k8ssandra/_index.md

@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+## Features for single- and multi-cluster Kubernetes environments
+
+| K8ssandra Operator: enhanced capabilities | Initial K8ssandra project|
+| ----------- | ----------- |
+| K8ssandra Operator is our most recent offering. In a **unified operator**, K8ssandra Operator provides an entirely new, solidified set of features for Kubernetes + Cassandra deployments. The features include robust management (cass-operator), API integration (Stargate), anti-entropy repairs (Reaper), and backup/restore (Medusa). Important enhancements include **multi-cluster** and **multi-region** support, which enables greater scalability and availability for enterprise apps and data. Single cluster/region deployments are also supported with K8ssandra Operator.| K8ssandra v1.4.x is our project's initial implementation. It continues to provide a set of separate Helm charts that you can use to configure and deploy Apache Cassandra® into a single-cluster, single-region Kubernetes environment. |
+| For enhanced capabilities, we recommend that you explore K8ssandra Operator [local install]({{< relref "install/local" >}}) topic, which focuses on single- or multi-cluster deployments on local dev  **kind** Kubernetes clusters, using the provided `make` commands, `helm`, or `kustomize`. | Start in the K8ssandra v1.4.x [install](https://docs-v1.k8ssandra.io/install/local/) topics, which include the steps for single-cluster installs on local or cloud-provider Kubernetes platforms. |
+
+If you're using K8ssandra v1.4.x, you may continue to do so. Or consider stepping up to the project's latest implementation with K8ssandra Operator.