We can either re-build the node by simply wiping its disks, and letting it stream in data from other replicas, or we can re-build by simply re-syncing the pd-ssd to the nvme.
Node failure is a regular occurrence, it isn't a "bad" thing, and something we intend to fully automate. Node should be able to fail and recover without anyone noticing.
But by bad I meant when a Node is based on local disks, that Cassandra and ScyllaDB usually recommends.
Depending on the time between snapshots and the restore from snapshot process (if there are even snapshots...) can be problematic.
Bootstrapping nodes from zero depending on the cluster size (Big data nodes while not recommended are pretty common) could take days in Cassandra because the streaming implements was (maybe still is?) very bad
Thanks.
It's also worth mentioning that in a cluster of N, to recover a node, it simply needs to stream 1/(N - 1) of the data from its neighboring nodes. So when you look at the cluster as a whole, and the strain on each node that is UP and serving traffic, it's insignificant.