This document provides an overview of NoSQL databases, including why they were created, common characteristics, and classifications. It discusses key concepts like the CAP theorem, BASE vs ACID properties, and gives examples like Cassandra. Cassandra is a distributed, horizontally scalable database designed for high availability. It uses consistent hashing to distribute data and is very fast for writes. The document concludes with tradeoffs between SQL and NoSQL databases and when each may be preferable.