diff --git a/.travis.yml b/.travis.yml
index a3426da..0097d64 100644
--- a/.travis.yml
+++ b/.travis.yml
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
 language: java
 notifications:
   email: false
-jdk: openjdk7
\ No newline at end of file
+jdk: openjdk8
diff --git a/pom.xml b/pom.xml
index f6ab8a2..a6f0baa 100644
--- a/pom.xml
+++ b/pom.xml
@@ -111,11 +111,11 @@ under the License.
     <properties>
         <mavenVersion>2.2.1</mavenVersion>
         <cassandraVersion>2.2.4</cassandraVersion>
-        <slf4jVersion>1.7.2</slf4jVersion>
+        <slf4jVersion>1.7.12</slf4jVersion>
         <log4jVersion>2.1</log4jVersion>
         <commonsLoggingVersion>1.1.1</commonsLoggingVersion>
         <cleanPluginVersion>2.5</cleanPluginVersion>
-        <compilerPluginVersion>2.3.2</compilerPluginVersion>
+        <compilerPluginVersion>3.8.1</compilerPluginVersion>
         <deployPluginVersion>2.7</deployPluginVersion>
         <installPluginVersion>2.3.1</installPluginVersion>
         <jarPluginVersion>2.4</jarPluginVersion>
@@ -123,175 +123,252 @@ under the License.
         <surefirePluginVersion>2.18.1</surefirePluginVersion>
         <dependencyPluginVersion>2.8</dependencyPluginVersion>
         <buildHelperPluginVersion>1.9</buildHelperPluginVersion>
+
+        <java.version>1.8</java.version>
     </properties>
 
+    <dependencyManagement>
+        <dependencies>
+            <dependency>
+                <groupId>org.apache.cassandra</groupId>
+                <artifactId>cassandra-all</artifactId>
+                <version>${cassandraVersion}</version>
+                <exclusions>
+                    <exclusion>
+                        <groupId>org.slf4j</groupId>
+                        <artifactId>slf4j-log4j12</artifactId>
+                    </exclusion>
+                    <exclusion>
+                        <groupId>commons-logging</groupId>
+                        <artifactId>commons-logging</artifactId>
+                    </exclusion>
+                    <exclusion>
+                        <groupId>log4j</groupId>
+                        <artifactId>log4j</artifactId>
+                    </exclusion>
+                    <exclusion>
+                        <groupId>ch.qos.logback</groupId>
+                        <artifactId>logback-core</artifactId>
+                    </exclusion>
+                    <exclusion>
+                        <groupId>ch.qos.logback</groupId>
+                        <artifactId>logback-classic</artifactId>
+                    </exclusion>
+                </exclusions>
+            </dependency>
+            <dependency>
+                <groupId>org.yaml</groupId>
+                <artifactId>snakeyaml</artifactId>
+                <version>1.12</version>
+            </dependency>
+            <dependency>
+                <groupId>org.apache.thrift</groupId>
+                <artifactId>libthrift</artifactId>
+                <version>0.9.2</version>
+            </dependency>
+            <dependency>
+                <groupId>commons-cli</groupId>
+                <artifactId>commons-cli</artifactId>
+                <version>1.2</version>
+            </dependency>
+            <dependency>
+                <groupId>commons-codec</groupId>
+                <artifactId>commons-codec</artifactId>
+                <version>1.6</version>
+            </dependency>
+            <dependency>
+                <groupId>org.apache.commons</groupId>
+                <artifactId>commons-lang3</artifactId>
+                <version>3.4</version>
+            </dependency>
+            <dependency>
+                <groupId>com.google.guava</groupId>
+                <artifactId>guava</artifactId>
+                <version>18.0</version>
+            </dependency>
+            <dependency>
+                <groupId>org.slf4j</groupId>
+                <artifactId>slf4j-api</artifactId>
+                <version>${slf4jVersion}</version>
+            </dependency>
+            <!-- this is instead of commons-logging -->
+            <dependency>
+                <groupId>org.slf4j</groupId>
+                <artifactId>jcl-over-slf4j</artifactId>
+                <version>${slf4jVersion}</version>
+                <scope>runtime</scope>
+            </dependency>
+            <dependency>
+                <groupId>org.slf4j</groupId>
+                <artifactId>log4j-over-slf4j</artifactId>
+                <version>${slf4jVersion}</version>
+            </dependency>
+            <dependency>
+                <groupId>org.apache.maven</groupId>
+                <artifactId>maven-project</artifactId>
+                <version>${mavenVersion}</version>
+            </dependency>
+            <dependency>
+                <groupId>org.apache.maven.shared</groupId>
+                <artifactId>maven-filtering</artifactId>
+                <version>1.2</version>
+            </dependency>
+            <dependency>
+                <groupId>org.apache.maven</groupId>
+                <artifactId>maven-model</artifactId>
+                <version>${mavenVersion}</version>
+            </dependency>
+            <dependency>
+                <groupId>org.apache.maven</groupId>
+                <artifactId>maven-artifact</artifactId>
+                <version>${mavenVersion}</version>
+            </dependency>
+            <dependency>
+                <groupId>org.apache.maven</groupId>
+                <artifactId>maven-artifact-manager</artifactId>
+                <version>${mavenVersion}</version>
+            </dependency>
+            <dependency>
+                <groupId>org.apache.maven</groupId>
+                <artifactId>maven-core</artifactId>
+                <version>${mavenVersion}</version>
+                <exclusions>
+                    <exclusion>
+                        <groupId>org.slf4j</groupId>
+                        <artifactId>slf4j-jdk14</artifactId>
+                    </exclusion>
+                    <exclusion>
+                        <groupId>org.slf4j</groupId>
+                        <artifactId>slf4j-nop</artifactId>
+                    </exclusion>
+                    <exclusion>
+                        <groupId>org.slf4j</groupId>
+                        <artifactId>slf4j-log4j12</artifactId>
+                    </exclusion>
+                </exclusions>
+            </dependency>
+            <dependency>
+                <groupId>org.apache.maven</groupId>
+                <artifactId>maven-toolchain</artifactId>
+                <version>${mavenVersion}</version>
+            </dependency>
+            <dependency>
+                <groupId>org.apache.maven</groupId>
+                <artifactId>maven-settings</artifactId>
+                <version>${mavenVersion}</version>
+            </dependency>
+            <dependency>
+                <groupId>org.apache.maven</groupId>
+                <artifactId>maven-plugin-api</artifactId>
+                <version>${mavenVersion}</version>
+            </dependency>
+            <dependency>
+                <groupId>org.codehaus.plexus</groupId>
+                <artifactId>plexus-utils</artifactId>
+                <version>3.0.22</version>
+            </dependency>
+            <dependency>
+                <groupId>org.codehaus.plexus</groupId>
+                <artifactId>plexus-interactivity-api</artifactId>
+                <version>1.0</version>
+            </dependency>
+            <dependency>
+                <groupId>org.codehaus.plexus</groupId>
+                <artifactId>plexus-container-default</artifactId>
+                <version>1.1.0</version>
+            </dependency>
+            <dependency>
+                <groupId>org.apache.commons</groupId>
+                <artifactId>commons-exec</artifactId>
+                <version>1.1</version>
+            </dependency>
+            <dependency>
+                <groupId>org.apache.maven.shared</groupId>
+                <artifactId>maven-plugin-testing-harness</artifactId>
+                <version>1.1</version>
+                <scope>test</scope>
+            </dependency>
+            <dependency>
+                <groupId>org.codehaus.plexus</groupId>
+                <artifactId>plexus-interpolation</artifactId>
+                <version>1.13</version>
+                <scope>test</scope>
+            </dependency>
+            <dependency>
+                <groupId>junit</groupId>
+                <artifactId>junit</artifactId>
+                <version>4.12</version>
+                <scope>test</scope>
+            </dependency>
+            <dependency>
+                <groupId>org.cassandraunit</groupId>
+                <artifactId>cassandra-unit</artifactId>
+                <version>2.2.2.1</version>
+                <exclusions>
+                    <exclusion>
+                        <groupId>org.slf4j</groupId>
+                        <artifactId>slf4j-log4j12</artifactId>
+                    </exclusion>
+                </exclusions>
+            </dependency>
+            <dependency>
+                <groupId>commons-lang</groupId>
+                <artifactId>commons-lang</artifactId>
+                <version>2.6</version>
+            </dependency>
+            <dependency>
+                <groupId>commons-logging</groupId>
+                <artifactId>commons-logging</artifactId>
+                <version>${commonsLoggingVersion}</version>
+                <scope>test</scope>
+            </dependency>
+            <dependency>
+                <groupId>org.apache.logging.log4j</groupId>
+                <artifactId>log4j-slf4j-impl</artifactId>
+                <version>${log4jVersion}</version>
+                <scope>test</scope>
+            </dependency>
+            <dependency>
+                <groupId>org.apache.logging.log4j</groupId>
+                <artifactId>log4j-core</artifactId>
+                <version>${log4jVersion}</version>
+                <scope>test</scope>
+            </dependency>
+        </dependencies>
+    </dependencyManagement>
+
     <dependencies>
         <dependency>
             <groupId>org.apache.cassandra</groupId>
             <artifactId>cassandra-all</artifactId>
-            <version>${cassandraVersion}</version>
-            <exclusions>
-                <exclusion>
-                    <groupId>org.slf4j</groupId>
-                    <artifactId>slf4j-log4j12</artifactId>
-                </exclusion>
-                <exclusion>
-                    <groupId>commons-logging</groupId>
-                    <artifactId>commons-logging</artifactId>
-                </exclusion>
-                <exclusion>
-                    <groupId>log4j</groupId>
-                    <artifactId>log4j</artifactId>
-                </exclusion>
-                <exclusion>
-                    <groupId>ch.qos.logback</groupId>
-                    <artifactId>logback-core</artifactId>
-                </exclusion>
-                <exclusion>
-                    <groupId>ch.qos.logback</groupId>
-                    <artifactId>logback-classic</artifactId>
-                </exclusion>
-            </exclusions>
-        </dependency>
-        <dependency>
-            <groupId>org.xerial.snappy</groupId>
-            <artifactId>snappy-java</artifactId>
-            <version>1.0.5</version>
         </dependency>
-        <!-- Cassandra have not been tracking their transitive dependencies correctly -->
         <dependency>
-            <artifactId>netty</artifactId>
-            <groupId>org.jboss.netty</groupId>
-            <version>3.2.9.Final</version>
-            <!-- 3.5.9.Final is not available in central -->
-        </dependency>
-        <!-- end of transitive dependency fix-up -->
-        <!-- this is instead of commons-logging -->
-        <dependency>
-            <groupId>org.slf4j</groupId>
-            <artifactId>jcl-over-slf4j</artifactId>
-            <version>${slf4jVersion}</version>
-            <scope>runtime</scope>
-        </dependency>
-        <dependency>
-            <groupId>org.apache.maven</groupId>
-            <artifactId>maven-project</artifactId>
-            <version>${mavenVersion}</version>
-        </dependency>
-        <dependency>
-            <groupId>org.apache.maven.shared</groupId>
-            <artifactId>maven-filtering</artifactId>
-            <version>1.0-beta-4</version>
+            <groupId>org.cassandraunit</groupId>
+            <artifactId>cassandra-unit</artifactId>
         </dependency>
         <dependency>
             <groupId>org.apache.maven</groupId>
-            <artifactId>maven-model</artifactId>
-            <version>${mavenVersion}</version>
+            <artifactId>maven-plugin-api</artifactId>
         </dependency>
         <dependency>
             <groupId>org.apache.maven</groupId>
             <artifactId>maven-artifact</artifactId>
-            <version>${mavenVersion}</version>
-        </dependency>
-        <dependency>
-            <groupId>org.apache.maven</groupId>
-            <artifactId>maven-artifact-manager</artifactId>
-            <version>${mavenVersion}</version>
         </dependency>
         <dependency>
             <groupId>org.apache.maven</groupId>
             <artifactId>maven-core</artifactId>
-            <version>${mavenVersion}</version>
-            <exclusions>
-                <exclusion>
-                    <groupId>org.slf4j</groupId>
-                    <artifactId>slf4j-jdk14</artifactId>
-                </exclusion>
-                <exclusion>
-                    <groupId>org.slf4j</groupId>
-                    <artifactId>slf4j-nop</artifactId>
-                </exclusion>
-                <exclusion>
-                    <groupId>org.slf4j</groupId>
-                    <artifactId>slf4j-log4j12</artifactId>
-                </exclusion>
-            </exclusions>
         </dependency>
         <dependency>
             <groupId>org.apache.maven</groupId>
-            <artifactId>maven-plugin-api</artifactId>
-            <version>${mavenVersion}</version>
-        </dependency>
-        <dependency>
-            <groupId>org.codehaus.plexus</groupId>
-            <artifactId>plexus-utils</artifactId>
-            <version>2.0.5</version>
+            <artifactId>maven-toolchain</artifactId>
         </dependency>
         <dependency>
-            <groupId>org.codehaus.plexus</groupId>
-            <artifactId>plexus-container-default</artifactId>
-            <version>1.0-alpha-9</version>
+            <groupId>org.apache.commons</groupId>
+            <artifactId>commons-lang3</artifactId>
         </dependency>
         <dependency>
             <groupId>org.apache.commons</groupId>
             <artifactId>commons-exec</artifactId>
-            <version>1.1</version>
-        </dependency>
-        <dependency>
-            <groupId>org.apache.maven</groupId>
-            <artifactId>maven-toolchain</artifactId>
-            <version>2.0.9</version>
-        </dependency>
-        <dependency>
-            <groupId>org.apache.maven.shared</groupId>
-            <artifactId>maven-plugin-testing-harness</artifactId>
-            <version>1.1</version>
-            <scope>test</scope>
-        </dependency>
-        <dependency>
-            <groupId>org.codehaus.plexus</groupId>
-            <artifactId>plexus-interpolation</artifactId>
-            <version>1.13</version>
-            <scope>test</scope>
-        </dependency>
-        <dependency>
-            <groupId>junit</groupId>
-            <artifactId>junit</artifactId>
-            <version>4.8.1</version>
-        </dependency>
-        <dependency>
-            <groupId>org.cassandraunit</groupId>
-            <artifactId>cassandra-unit</artifactId>
-            <version>1.0.3.1</version>
-            <exclusions>
-                <exclusion>
-                    <groupId>org.slf4j</groupId>
-                    <artifactId>slf4j-log4j12</artifactId>
-                </exclusion>
-            </exclusions>
-        </dependency>
-        <dependency>
-            <groupId>commons-lang</groupId>
-            <artifactId>commons-lang</artifactId>
-            <version>2.6</version>
-        </dependency>
-        <dependency>
-            <groupId>commons-logging</groupId>
-            <artifactId>commons-logging</artifactId>
-            <version>${commonsLoggingVersion}</version>
-            <scope>test</scope>
-        </dependency>
-        <dependency>
-            <groupId>org.apache.logging.log4j</groupId>
-            <artifactId>log4j-slf4j-impl</artifactId>
-            <version>${log4jVersion}</version>
-            <scope>test</scope>
-        </dependency>
-        <dependency>
-            <groupId>org.apache.logging.log4j</groupId>
-            <artifactId>log4j-core</artifactId>
-            <version>${log4jVersion}</version>
-            <scope>test</scope>
         </dependency>
     </dependencies>
 
@@ -302,8 +379,8 @@ under the License.
                 <artifactId>maven-compiler-plugin</artifactId>
                 <version>${compilerPluginVersion}</version>
                 <configuration>
-                    <source>1.7</source>
-                    <target>1.7</target>
+                    <source>${java.version}</source>
+                    <target>${java.version}</target>
                 </configuration>
             </plugin>
             <plugin>
@@ -352,6 +429,52 @@ under the License.
                     <autoReleaseAfterClose>true</autoReleaseAfterClose>
                 </configuration>
             </plugin>
+            <plugin>
+                <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
+                <artifactId>maven-dependency-plugin</artifactId>
+                <version>3.1.2</version>
+                <executions>
+                    <execution>
+                        <id>analyze</id>
+                        <goals>
+                            <goal>analyze-only</goal>
+                        </goals>
+                        <configuration>
+                            <failOnWarning>false</failOnWarning>
+                        </configuration>
+                    </execution>
+                </executions>
+            </plugin>
+            <plugin>
+                <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
+                <artifactId>maven-enforcer-plugin</artifactId>
+                <version>3.0.0-M3</version>
+                <executions>
+                    <execution>
+                        <id>enforce</id>
+                        <configuration>
+                            <rules>
+                                <requireMavenVersion>
+                                    <!--Any 3.6 version - See http://maven.apache.org/enforcer/enforcer-rules/versionRanges.html for an explanation of version ranges-->
+                                    <version>[3.6,)</version>
+                                    <message>requires maven 3.6.x</message>
+                                </requireMavenVersion>
+                                <requireJavaVersion>
+                                    <!--Any 1.8 version - See http://maven.apache.org/enforcer/enforcer-rules/versionRanges.html for an explanation of version ranges-->
+                                    <version>[${java.version},)</version>
+                                    <message>requires Java ${java.version}</message>
+                                </requireJavaVersion>
+                                <dependencyConvergence/>
+                                <requireUpperBoundDeps/>
+                                <banDuplicatePomDependencyVersions/>
+                            </rules>
+                        </configuration>
+                        <goals>
+                            <goal>enforce</goal>
+                        </goals>
+                    </execution>
+                </executions>
+            </plugin>
         </plugins>
         <pluginManagement>
             <plugins>
@@ -399,16 +522,6 @@ under the License.
         </pluginManagement>
     </build>
 
-    <dependencyManagement>
-        <dependencies>
-            <dependency>
-                <groupId>org.slf4j</groupId>
-                <artifactId>slf4j-api</artifactId>
-                <version>${slf4jVersion}</version>
-            </dependency>
-        </dependencies>
-    </dependencyManagement>
-
     <reporting>
         <plugins>
             <plugin>
@@ -456,20 +569,20 @@ under the License.
                             </execution>
                         </executions>
                     </plugin>
-		            <plugin>
-                	    <groupId>org.owasp</groupId>
-                	    <artifactId>dependency-check-maven</artifactId>
-                	    <configuration>
+                    <plugin>
+                        <groupId>org.owasp</groupId>
+                        <artifactId>dependency-check-maven</artifactId>
+                        <configuration>
                             <!--
                                 Default configuration skips dependency checks to reduce build time.  A build should be performed
                                 with dependency checks enabled after any dependencies are added or updated to get a list
                                 of known vulnerabilities that may have been introduced with the change.
                             -->
-                    	    <skip>${skipDependencyChecks}</skip>
-                	    </configuration>
-                	    <executions>
-                    		<execution>
-                        	    <goals>
+                            <skip>${skipDependencyChecks}</skip>
+                        </configuration>
+                        <executions>
+                            <execution>
+                                <goals>
                                     <goal>check</goal>
                                 </goals>
                             </execution>
diff --git a/src/it/smoke/pom.xml b/src/it/smoke/pom.xml
index 003a3c6..21293df 100644
--- a/src/it/smoke/pom.xml
+++ b/src/it/smoke/pom.xml
@@ -149,6 +149,7 @@ under the License.
         <configuration>
           <loadAfterFirstStart>false</loadAfterFirstStart>
           <cuLoadAfterFirstStart>false</cuLoadAfterFirstStart>
+          <startNativeTransport>true</startNativeTransport>
           <rpcPort>${cassandraPort}</rpcPort>
           <storagePort>${cassandra.storagePort}</storagePort>
           <stopPort>${cassandra.stopPort}</stopPort>
diff --git a/src/it/spaces in path/pom.xml b/src/it/spaces in path/pom.xml
index 5b4f155..0344ce1 100644
--- a/src/it/spaces in path/pom.xml	
+++ b/src/it/spaces in path/pom.xml	
@@ -135,6 +135,7 @@ under the License.
         </executions>
         <configuration>
           <loadAfterFirstStart>false</loadAfterFirstStart>
+          <startNativeTransport>true</startNativeTransport>
           <rpcPort>${cassandraPort}</rpcPort>
           <storagePort>${cassandra.storagePort}</storagePort>
           <stopPort>${cassandra.stopPort}</stopPort>
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/codehaus/mojo/cassandra/AbstractCqlExecMojo.java b/src/main/java/org/codehaus/mojo/cassandra/AbstractCqlExecMojo.java
index eda3df6..e985582 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/codehaus/mojo/cassandra/AbstractCqlExecMojo.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/codehaus/mojo/cassandra/AbstractCqlExecMojo.java
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@
 import org.apache.cassandra.thrift.ConsistencyLevel;
 import org.apache.cassandra.thrift.CqlResult;
 import org.apache.cassandra.utils.ByteBufferUtil;
-import org.apache.commons.lang.StringUtils;
+import org.apache.commons.lang3.StringUtils;
 import org.apache.maven.plugin.MojoExecutionException;
 import org.codehaus.plexus.util.IOUtil;
 
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ public abstract class AbstractCqlExecMojo extends AbstractCassandraMojo
      * @parameter expression="${cql.version}"
      * @since 1.2.1-2
      */
-    private String cqlVersion = "2.0.0";
+    private String cqlVersion = "3.4.0";
 
     protected String readFile(File file) throws MojoExecutionException
     {
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/codehaus/mojo/cassandra/DropColumnFamiliesMojo.java b/src/main/java/org/codehaus/mojo/cassandra/DropColumnFamiliesMojo.java
index a07f17d..1b18149 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/codehaus/mojo/cassandra/DropColumnFamiliesMojo.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/codehaus/mojo/cassandra/DropColumnFamiliesMojo.java
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 import org.apache.cassandra.thrift.SchemaDisagreementException;
 import org.apache.cassandra.thrift.InvalidRequestException;
 import org.apache.cassandra.thrift.Cassandra.Client;
-import org.apache.commons.lang.StringUtils;
+import org.apache.commons.lang3.StringUtils;
 import org.apache.thrift.TException;
 
 /**
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/codehaus/mojo/cassandra/ThriftApiOperation.java b/src/main/java/org/codehaus/mojo/cassandra/ThriftApiOperation.java
index d0e760b..48a41ee 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/codehaus/mojo/cassandra/ThriftApiOperation.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/codehaus/mojo/cassandra/ThriftApiOperation.java
@@ -1,16 +1,13 @@
 package org.codehaus.mojo.cassandra;
 
 import org.apache.cassandra.thrift.Cassandra;
-import org.apache.cassandra.thrift.InvalidRequestException;
-import org.apache.cassandra.thrift.SchemaDisagreementException;
-import org.apache.thrift.TException;
 
 public abstract class ThriftApiOperation {
 
   private String keyspace;
   private final String rpcAddress;
   private final int rpcPort;
-  private String cqlVersion = "2.0.0";
+  private String cqlVersion = "3.4.0";
 
   public ThriftApiOperation(String rpcAddress, int rpcPort)
   {
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/codehaus/mojo/cassandra/smart/SmartCqlExecCassandraMojo.java b/src/main/java/org/codehaus/mojo/cassandra/smart/SmartCqlExecCassandraMojo.java
index 4790056..4a6002d 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/codehaus/mojo/cassandra/smart/SmartCqlExecCassandraMojo.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/codehaus/mojo/cassandra/smart/SmartCqlExecCassandraMojo.java
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@
 import org.apache.cassandra.thrift.CqlResult;
 import org.apache.cassandra.thrift.CqlRow;
 import org.apache.cassandra.utils.ByteBufferUtil;
-import org.apache.commons.lang.StringUtils;
+import org.apache.commons.lang3.StringUtils;
 import org.apache.maven.plugin.MojoExecutionException;
 import org.apache.maven.plugin.MojoFailureException;
 import org.codehaus.mojo.cassandra.AbstractCassandraMojo;