Cassandra dies with "java.lang.OutOfMemoryError: Map failed"
IF Cassandra is dying specifically with the "Map failed" message it means the OS is denying java the ability to lock more memory. In linux, this typically means memlock is limited. Check /proc/<pid of cassandra>/limits to verify this and raise it (eg, via ulimit in bash.) You may also need to increase vm.max_map_count. Note that the debian and redhat packages handle this for you automatically.
http://wiki.apache.org/cassandra/FAQ#mmap