apache/cassandra · error · ConfigurationException

internode_max_message_size must no exceed…

Error message

internode_max_message_size must no exceed internode_application_receive_queue_reserve_global_capacity

What it means

internode_max_message_size must also not exceed the global reserved capacity of the internode application receive queue; otherwise one max-size message could exceed the total bytes reserved for all endpoints' receive buffers. DatabaseDescriptor throws this ConfigurationException when maxMessageSize > internode_application_receive_queue_reserve_global_capacity.

Solutions

Raise internode_application_receive_queue_reserve_global_capacity_in_bytes to at least internode_max_message_size_in_bytes
Lower internode_max_message_size_in_bytes below the global reserve
Remove both overrides and rely on consistent defaults

Example fix

# before (cassandra.yaml)
internode_max_message_size_in_bytes: 104857600
internode_application_receive_queue_reserve_global_capacity_in_bytes: 33554432
# after
internode_max_message_size_in_bytes: 104857600
internode_application_receive_queue_reserve_global_capacity_in_bytes: 134217728

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

if (conf.internode_max_message_size != null &&
    conf.internode_max_message_size.toBytes() > conf.internode_application_receive_queue_reserve_global_capacity.toBytes())
    throw new IllegalArgumentException("internode_max_message_size must not exceed receive-queue global reserve");

Try / catch

try { DatabaseDescriptor.applyConfig(conf); } catch (ConfigurationException e) { if (e.getMessage().contains("receive_queue_reserve_global_capacity")) { /* raise global reserve */ } }

Prevention

Ensure global reserve >= per-endpoint reserve and >= max message size
When saving memory on one reserve, re-check the sibling limits
Keep a checklist of the four internode queue capacity settings when tuning

When it happens

Trigger: cassandra.yaml sets internode_max_message_size_in_bytes greater than internode_application_receive_queue_reserve_global_capacity_in_bytes (per-endpoint check passed or not reached) during applySimpleConfig.

Common situations: Multi-node clusters where global reserve was tuned down to save memory; large-message tuning that scaled per-endpoint but not global reserve; capacity math errors (global should be >= per-endpoint).

Understand the failure class

Background: Conflicting config options: "cannot be used together" — configuration validation errors across open-source libraries — this error's family across 162 libraries.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of apache/cassandra@88fd0f6a0e (2026-09-10). Data as JSON: /api/errors/b75271dfda2c1a8f. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at src/java/org/apache/cassandra/config/DatabaseDescriptor.java:1210

        {
            conf.server_encryption_options.applyConfig();

            if (conf.server_encryption_options.legacy_ssl_storage_port_enabled &&
                conf.server_encryption_options.tlsEncryptionPolicy() == EncryptionOptions.TlsEncryptionPolicy.UNENCRYPTED)
            {
                throw new ConfigurationException("legacy_ssl_storage_port_enabled is true (enabled) with internode encryption disabled (none). Enable encryption or disable the legacy ssl storage port.");
            }
        }

        if (conf.internode_max_message_size != null)
        {
            long maxMessageSize = conf.internode_max_message_size.toBytes();

            if (maxMessageSize > conf.internode_application_receive_queue_reserve_endpoint_capacity.toBytes())
                throw new ConfigurationException("internode_max_message_size must no exceed internode_application_receive_queue_reserve_endpoint_capacity", false);

            if (maxMessageSize > conf.internode_application_receive_queue_reserve_global_capacity.toBytes())
                throw new ConfigurationException("internode_max_message_size must no exceed internode_application_receive_queue_reserve_global_capacity", false);

            if (maxMessageSize > conf.internode_application_send_queue_reserve_endpoint_capacity.toBytes())
                throw new ConfigurationException("internode_max_message_size must no exceed internode_application_send_queue_reserve_endpoint_capacity", false);

            if (maxMessageSize > conf.internode_application_send_queue_reserve_global_capacity.toBytes())
                throw new ConfigurationException("internode_max_message_size must no exceed internode_application_send_queue_reserve_global_capacity", false);
        }
        else
        {
            long maxMessageSizeInBytes =
            Math.min(conf.internode_application_receive_queue_reserve_endpoint_capacity.toBytes(),
                     conf.internode_application_send_queue_reserve_endpoint_capacity.toBytes());

            conf.internode_max_message_size = new DataStorageSpec.IntBytesBound(maxMessageSizeInBytes);
        }

        validateMaxConcurrentAutoUpgradeTasksConf(conf.max_concurrent_automatic_sstable_upgrades);

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