diff --git a/docker/README.rst b/docker/README.rst
index 846c9f79..451d0836 100644
--- a/docker/README.rst
+++ b/docker/README.rst
@@ -57,11 +57,19 @@ KAFKA_ALARM_HISTORY_BATCH_SIZE 1000                            Kafka consumer ta
 KAFKA_ALARM_HISTORY_WAIT_TIME  15                              Seconds to wait if the batch size is not reached
 KAFKA_METRICS_BATCH_SIZE       1000                            Kafka consumer takes messages in a batch
 KAFKA_METRICS_WAIT_TIME        15                              Seconds to wait if the batch size is not reached
+DATABASE_BACKEND               influxdb                        Select for backend database
 INFLUX_HOST                    influxdb                        The host for influxdb
 INFLUX_PORT                    8086                            The port for influxdb
 INFLUX_USER                    mon_persister                   The influx username
 INFLUX_PASSWORD                password                        The influx password
 INFLUX_DB                      mon                             The influx database name
+CASSANDRA_HOSTS                127.0.0.1                       Cassandra node addresses
+CASSANDRA_PORT                 8086                            Cassandra port number
+KEY_SPACE                      monasca                         Keyspace name where metrics are stored
+CASSANDRA_USER                 undefined                       Cassandra user name
+CASSANDRA_PASSWORD             undefined                       Cassandra password
+CONNECTION_TIMEOUT             5                               Cassandra timeout in seconds
+RETENTION_POLICY               45                              Data retention period in days
 STAY_ALIVE_ON_FAILURE          false                           If true, container runs 2 hours even start fails
 ============================== =============================== ================================================
 
diff --git a/docker/monasca_persister.conf.j2 b/docker/monasca_persister.conf.j2
index bc9f4f64..89aaecb5 100644
--- a/docker/monasca_persister.conf.j2
+++ b/docker/monasca_persister.conf.j2
@@ -9,11 +9,19 @@ debug = {{ DEBUG }}
 verbose = {{ VERBOSE }}
 
 [repositories]
-# The driver to use for the metrics repository
+{% if DATABASE_BACKEND == 'CASSANDRA' %}
+# The cassandra driver to use for the metrics repository
+metrics_driver = monasca_persister.repositories.cassandra.metrics_repository:MetricCassandraRepository
+
+# The cassandra driver to use for the alarm state history repository
+alarm_state_history_driver = monasca_persister.repositories.cassandra.alarm_state_history_repository:AlarmStateHistCassandraRepository
+{% else %}
+# The influxdb driver to use for the metrics repository
 metrics_driver = monasca_persister.repositories.influxdb.metrics_repository:MetricInfluxdbRepository
 
-# The driver to use for the alarm state history repository
+# The influxdb driver to use for the alarm state history repository
 alarm_state_history_driver = monasca_persister.repositories.influxdb.alarm_state_history_repository:AlarmStateHistInfluxdbRepository
+{% endif %}
 
 [zookeeper]
 # Comma separated list of host:port
@@ -56,9 +64,20 @@ max_buffer_size = 32768
 zookeeper_path = /persister_partitions/metrics
 num_processors = 1
 
+{% if DATABASE_BACKEND == 'CASSANDRA' %}
+[cassandra]
+contact_points = {{CASSANDRA_HOSTS}}
+port = {{ CASSANDRA_PORT }}
+keyspace = {{ KEY_SPACE }}
+user = {{ CASSANDRA_USER }}
+password = {{ CASSANDRA_PASSWORD }}
+connection_timeout = {{CONNECTION_TIMEOUT}}
+retention_policy = {{RETENTION_POLICY}}
+{% else %}
 [influxdb]
 database_name = {{ INFLUX_DB }}
 ip_address = {{ INFLUX_HOST }}
 port = {{ INFLUX_PORT }}
 user = {{ INFLUX_USER }}
 password = {{ INFLUX_PASSWORD }}
+{% endif %}
\ No newline at end of file