diff --git a/.build/build-artifacts.sh b/.build/build-artifacts.sh
index 9ae577606f..a1fe16399a 100755
--- a/.build/build-artifacts.sh
+++ b/.build/build-artifacts.sh
@@ -24,5 +24,5 @@ command -v ant >/dev/null 2>&1 || { echo >&2 "ant needs to be installed"; exit 1
 [ -f "${CASSANDRA_DIR}/build.xml" ] || { echo >&2 "${CASSANDRA_DIR}/build.xml must exist"; exit 1; }
 
 # execute
-ant -f "${CASSANDRA_DIR}/build.xml" artifacts -Dno-checkstyle=true -Drat.skip=true -Dant.gen-doc.skip=true
+ant -f "${CASSANDRA_DIR}/build.xml" artifacts -Dant.gen-doc.skip=true -Dcheck.skip=true
 exit $?
diff --git a/.build/build-checkstyle.xml b/.build/build-checkstyle.xml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..01a4b1ea0e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.build/build-checkstyle.xml
@@ -0,0 +1,62 @@
+<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="no"?>
+<!--
+  ~ Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one
+  ~ or more contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file
+  ~ distributed with this work for additional information
+  ~ regarding copyright ownership.  The ASF licenses this file
+  ~ to you under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the
+  ~ "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance
+  ~ with the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
+  ~
+  ~     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+  ~
+  ~ Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+  ~ distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+  ~ WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+  ~ See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+  ~ limitations under the License.
+  -->
+    <project basedir="." name="apache-cassandra-checkstyle"
+     xmlns:rat="antlib:org.apache.rat.anttasks">
+
+    <target name="init-checkstyle" depends="resolver-retrieve-build,build-project" unless="no-checkstyle">
+        <echo message="checkstyle.version=${checkstyle.version}"/>
+        <!-- Sevntu custom checks are retrieved by Ivy into lib folder
+           and will be accessible to checkstyle-->
+        <taskdef resource="com/puppycrawl/tools/checkstyle/ant/checkstyle-ant-task.properties"
+                 classpathref="checkstyle.classpath"/>
+    </target>
+
+    <target name="checkstyle" depends="init-checkstyle,build-project" description="Run custom checkstyle code analysis" unless="no-checkstyle">
+        <property name="checkstyle.log.dir" value="${build.dir}/checkstyle" />
+        <property name="checkstyle.report.file" value="${checkstyle.log.dir}/checkstyle_report.xml"/>
+        <mkdir  dir="${checkstyle.log.dir}" />
+
+        <property name="checkstyle.properties" value="${build.helpers.dir}/checkstyle.xml" />
+        <property name="checkstyle.suppressions" value="${build.helpers.dir}/checkstyle_suppressions.xml" />
+        <checkstyle config="${checkstyle.properties}"
+                    failureProperty="checkstyle.failure"
+                    failOnViolation="true">
+            <formatter type="plain"/>
+            <formatter type="xml" tofile="${checkstyle.report.file}"/>
+            <fileset dir="${build.src.java}" includes="**/*.java"/>
+        </checkstyle>
+    </target>
+
+    <target name="checkstyle-test" depends="init-checkstyle,resolver-retrieve-build,build-project" description="Run custom checkstyle code analysis on tests" unless="no-checkstyle">
+        <property name="checkstyle.log.dir" value="${build.dir}/checkstyle" />
+        <property name="checkstyle_test.report.file" value="${checkstyle.log.dir}/checkstyle_report_test.xml"/>
+        <mkdir  dir="${checkstyle.log.dir}" />
+
+        <property name="checkstyle_test.properties" value="${build.helpers.dir}/checkstyle_test.xml" />
+        <property name="checkstyle.suppressions" value="${build.helpers.dir}/checkstyle_suppressions.xml" />
+        <checkstyle config="${checkstyle_test.properties}"
+                    failureProperty="checkstyle.failure"
+                    failOnViolation="true">
+            <formatter type="plain"/>
+            <formatter type="xml" tofile="${checkstyle_test.report.file}"/>
+            <fileset dir="${test.dir}" includes="**/*.java"/>
+        </checkstyle>
+    </target>
+
+</project>
diff --git a/.build/build-jars.sh b/.build/build-jars.sh
index bce912a5ef..cd60e5a130 100755
--- a/.build/build-jars.sh
+++ b/.build/build-jars.sh
@@ -26,5 +26,5 @@ command -v ant >/dev/null 2>&1 || { echo >&2 "ant needs to be installed"; exit 1
 [ -f "${CASSANDRA_DIR}/build.xml" ] || { echo >&2 "${CASSANDRA_DIR}/build.xml must exist"; exit 1; }
 
 # execute
-ant -f "${CASSANDRA_DIR}/build.xml" jar -Dno-checkstyle=true -Drat.skip=true -Dant.gen-doc.skip=true -Dno-javadoc=true
+ant -f "${CASSANDRA_DIR}/build.xml" jar
 exit $?
diff --git a/.build/build-rat.xml b/.build/build-rat.xml
index dcb3b0681d..601b4a0a54 100644
--- a/.build/build-rat.xml
+++ b/.build/build-rat.xml
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@
   See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
   limitations under the License.
 -->
-<project basedir="." name="apache-cassandra--rat-tasks"
+<project basedir="." name="apache-cassandra-rat-tasks"
      xmlns:rat="antlib:org.apache.rat.anttasks">
 
     <!--
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@
         </condition>
     </target>
 
-    <target name="_rat_copy_versioned_files" depends="_build_ratinclude" unless="${rat.skip}">
+    <target name="_rat_copy_versioned_files" depends="_build_ratinclude" unless="rat.skip">
         <copy file="${build.dir}/.versioned_files" tofile="${build.dir}/.ratinclude">
             <filterchain>
                 <linecontainsregexp>
@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@
         </copy>
     </target>
 
-    <target name="rat-check" depends="_rat_copy_versioned_files" unless="${rat.skip}" description="License checks on source" >
+    <target name="rat-check" depends="_rat_copy_versioned_files" unless="rat.skip" description="License checks on source" >
         <rat:report reportFile="${build.dir}/rat.txt">
             <fileset dir="." includesfile="${build.dir}/.ratinclude">
                  <!-- Config files with not much creativity -->
diff --git a/.build/build-resolver.xml b/.build/build-resolver.xml
index bd1f2f1ae2..708d716662 100644
--- a/.build/build-resolver.xml
+++ b/.build/build-resolver.xml
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@
   See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
   limitations under the License.
 -->
-<project basedir="." name="apache-cassandra--resolver-tasks"
+<project basedir="." name="apache-cassandra-resolver-tasks"
          xmlns:resolver="antlib:org.apache.maven.resolver.ant"
          xmlns:if="ant:if"
          xmlns:unless="ant:unless">
diff --git a/.build/check-code.sh b/.build/check-code.sh
index 662f5e337f..d3baec45d9 100755
--- a/.build/check-code.sh
+++ b/.build/check-code.sh
@@ -24,5 +24,5 @@ command -v ant >/dev/null 2>&1 || { echo >&2 "ant needs to be installed"; exit 1
 [ -f "${CASSANDRA_DIR}/build.xml" ] || { echo >&2 "${CASSANDRA_DIR}/build.xml must exist"; exit 1; }
 
 # execute
-ant -f "${CASSANDRA_DIR}/build.xml" rat-check eclipse-warnings checkstyle checkstyle-test dependency-check
+ant -f "${CASSANDRA_DIR}/build.xml" check dependency-check
 exit $?
diff --git a/.build/docker/_build-redhat.sh b/.build/docker/_build-redhat.sh
index ff02931581..37ca50799a 100755
--- a/.build/docker/_build-redhat.sh
+++ b/.build/docker/_build-redhat.sh
@@ -109,7 +109,7 @@ else
 fi
 
 # Artifact will only be used internally for build process and won't be found with snapshot suffix
-ant artifacts -Drelease=true -Dno-checkstyle=true -Drat.skip=true -Dant.gen-doc.skip=true -Djavadoc.skip=true
+ant artifacts -Drelease=true -Dant.gen-doc.skip=true -Djavadoc.skip=true -Dcheck.skip=true
 cp ${DIST_DIR}/apache-cassandra-*-src.tar.gz ${RPM_BUILD_DIR}/SOURCES/
 
 # if CASSANDRA_VERSION is -alphaN, -betaN, -rcN, then rpmbuild fails on the '-' char; replace with '~'
diff --git a/.build/run-tests.sh b/.build/run-tests.sh
index 5e987fbeaf..fd6a7da21d 100755
--- a/.build/run-tests.sh
+++ b/.build/run-tests.sh
@@ -159,7 +159,7 @@ _main() {
   # ant test setup
   export TMP_DIR="${DIST_DIR}/tmp"
   mkdir -p "${TMP_DIR}" || true
-  export ANT_TEST_OPTS="-Dno-build-test=true -Dtmp.dir=${TMP_DIR} -Drat.skip=true -Dno-checkstyle=true -Dno-javadoc=true -Dant.gen-doc.skip=true"
+  export ANT_TEST_OPTS="-Dno-build-test=true -Dtmp.dir=${TMP_DIR}"
 
   # fresh virtualenv and test logs results everytime
   [[ "/" == "${DIST_DIR}" ]] || rm -rf "${DIST_DIR}/test/{html,output,logs}"
diff --git a/.circleci/config.yml b/.circleci/config.yml
index 15e81d79d1..e56628a52c 100644
--- a/.circleci/config.yml
+++ b/.circleci/config.yml
@@ -4133,7 +4133,7 @@ jobs:
             git clean -fd
             # Loop to prevent failure due to maven-ant-tasks not downloading a jar..
             for x in $(seq 1 3); do
-                ${ANT_HOME}/bin/ant realclean; ${ANT_HOME}/bin/ant jar dtest-jar
+                ${ANT_HOME}/bin/ant realclean; ${ANT_HOME}/bin/ant jar dtest-jar -Dno-checkstyle=true -Drat.skip=true
                 RETURN="$?"
                 if [ "${RETURN}" -eq "0" ]; then
                     cp build/dtest*.jar ~/dtest_jars
@@ -4151,7 +4151,7 @@ jobs:
           git checkout origin/$CIRCLE_BRANCH
           git clean -fd
           for x in $(seq 1 3); do
-              ${ANT_HOME}/bin/ant realclean; ${ANT_HOME}/bin/ant jar dtest-jar
+              ${ANT_HOME}/bin/ant realclean; ${ANT_HOME}/bin/ant jar dtest-jar -Dno-checkstyle=true -Drat.skip=true
               RETURN="$?"
               if [ "${RETURN}" -eq "0" ]; then
                   cp build/dtest*.jar ~/dtest_jars
@@ -8069,11 +8069,11 @@ jobs:
           fi
         no_output_timeout: 15m
     - run:
-        name: Run eclipse-warnings
+        name: Run static code analysis
         command: |
           export PATH=$JAVA_HOME/bin:$PATH
           cd ~/cassandra
-          ant eclipse-warnings
+          ant check
     - persist_to_workspace:
         root: /home/cassandra
         paths:
@@ -9523,11 +9523,11 @@ jobs:
           fi
         no_output_timeout: 15m
     - run:
-        name: Run eclipse-warnings
+        name: Run static code analysis
         command: |
           export PATH=$JAVA_HOME/bin:$PATH
           cd ~/cassandra
-          ant eclipse-warnings
+          ant check
     - persist_to_workspace:
         root: /home/cassandra
         paths:
diff --git a/.circleci/config.yml.FREE b/.circleci/config.yml.FREE
index 15e81d79d1..e56628a52c 100644
--- a/.circleci/config.yml.FREE
+++ b/.circleci/config.yml.FREE
@@ -4133,7 +4133,7 @@ jobs:
             git clean -fd
             # Loop to prevent failure due to maven-ant-tasks not downloading a jar..
             for x in $(seq 1 3); do
-                ${ANT_HOME}/bin/ant realclean; ${ANT_HOME}/bin/ant jar dtest-jar
+                ${ANT_HOME}/bin/ant realclean; ${ANT_HOME}/bin/ant jar dtest-jar -Dno-checkstyle=true -Drat.skip=true
                 RETURN="$?"
                 if [ "${RETURN}" -eq "0" ]; then
                     cp build/dtest*.jar ~/dtest_jars
@@ -4151,7 +4151,7 @@ jobs:
           git checkout origin/$CIRCLE_BRANCH
           git clean -fd
           for x in $(seq 1 3); do
-              ${ANT_HOME}/bin/ant realclean; ${ANT_HOME}/bin/ant jar dtest-jar
+              ${ANT_HOME}/bin/ant realclean; ${ANT_HOME}/bin/ant jar dtest-jar -Dno-checkstyle=true -Drat.skip=true
               RETURN="$?"
               if [ "${RETURN}" -eq "0" ]; then
                   cp build/dtest*.jar ~/dtest_jars
@@ -8069,11 +8069,11 @@ jobs:
           fi
         no_output_timeout: 15m
     - run:
-        name: Run eclipse-warnings
+        name: Run static code analysis
         command: |
           export PATH=$JAVA_HOME/bin:$PATH
           cd ~/cassandra
-          ant eclipse-warnings
+          ant check
     - persist_to_workspace:
         root: /home/cassandra
         paths:
@@ -9523,11 +9523,11 @@ jobs:
           fi
         no_output_timeout: 15m
     - run:
-        name: Run eclipse-warnings
+        name: Run static code analysis
         command: |
           export PATH=$JAVA_HOME/bin:$PATH
           cd ~/cassandra
-          ant eclipse-warnings
+          ant check
     - persist_to_workspace:
         root: /home/cassandra
         paths:
diff --git a/.circleci/config.yml.PAID b/.circleci/config.yml.PAID
index 4dcee96a99..d2c06efac7 100644
--- a/.circleci/config.yml.PAID
+++ b/.circleci/config.yml.PAID
@@ -4133,7 +4133,7 @@ jobs:
             git clean -fd
             # Loop to prevent failure due to maven-ant-tasks not downloading a jar..
             for x in $(seq 1 3); do
-                ${ANT_HOME}/bin/ant realclean; ${ANT_HOME}/bin/ant jar dtest-jar
+                ${ANT_HOME}/bin/ant realclean; ${ANT_HOME}/bin/ant jar dtest-jar -Dno-checkstyle=true -Drat.skip=true
                 RETURN="$?"
                 if [ "${RETURN}" -eq "0" ]; then
                     cp build/dtest*.jar ~/dtest_jars
@@ -4151,7 +4151,7 @@ jobs:
           git checkout origin/$CIRCLE_BRANCH
           git clean -fd
           for x in $(seq 1 3); do
-              ${ANT_HOME}/bin/ant realclean; ${ANT_HOME}/bin/ant jar dtest-jar
+              ${ANT_HOME}/bin/ant realclean; ${ANT_HOME}/bin/ant jar dtest-jar -Dno-checkstyle=true -Drat.skip=true
               RETURN="$?"
               if [ "${RETURN}" -eq "0" ]; then
                   cp build/dtest*.jar ~/dtest_jars
@@ -8069,11 +8069,11 @@ jobs:
           fi
         no_output_timeout: 15m
     - run:
-        name: Run eclipse-warnings
+        name: Run static code analysis
         command: |
           export PATH=$JAVA_HOME/bin:$PATH
           cd ~/cassandra
-          ant eclipse-warnings
+          ant check
     - persist_to_workspace:
         root: /home/cassandra
         paths:
@@ -9523,11 +9523,11 @@ jobs:
           fi
         no_output_timeout: 15m
     - run:
-        name: Run eclipse-warnings
+        name: Run static code analysis
         command: |
           export PATH=$JAVA_HOME/bin:$PATH
           cd ~/cassandra
-          ant eclipse-warnings
+          ant check
     - persist_to_workspace:
         root: /home/cassandra
         paths:
diff --git a/.circleci/config_11_and_17.yml b/.circleci/config_11_and_17.yml
index cc72ded3ae..0c247fbc85 100644
--- a/.circleci/config_11_and_17.yml
+++ b/.circleci/config_11_and_17.yml
@@ -4471,11 +4471,11 @@ jobs:
           fi
         no_output_timeout: 15m
     - run:
-        name: Run eclipse-warnings
+        name: Run static code analysis
         command: |
           export PATH=$JAVA_HOME/bin:$PATH
           cd ~/cassandra
-          ant eclipse-warnings
+          ant check
     - persist_to_workspace:
         root: /home/cassandra
         paths:
@@ -5078,7 +5078,7 @@ jobs:
             git clean -fd
             # Loop to prevent failure due to maven-ant-tasks not downloading a jar..
             for x in $(seq 1 3); do
-                ${ANT_HOME}/bin/ant realclean; ${ANT_HOME}/bin/ant jar dtest-jar
+                ${ANT_HOME}/bin/ant realclean; ${ANT_HOME}/bin/ant jar dtest-jar -Dno-checkstyle=true -Drat.skip=true
                 RETURN="$?"
                 if [ "${RETURN}" -eq "0" ]; then
                     cp build/dtest*.jar ~/dtest_jars
@@ -5096,7 +5096,7 @@ jobs:
           git checkout origin/$CIRCLE_BRANCH
           git clean -fd
           for x in $(seq 1 3); do
-              ${ANT_HOME}/bin/ant realclean; ${ANT_HOME}/bin/ant jar dtest-jar
+              ${ANT_HOME}/bin/ant realclean; ${ANT_HOME}/bin/ant jar dtest-jar -Dno-checkstyle=true -Drat.skip=true
               RETURN="$?"
               if [ "${RETURN}" -eq "0" ]; then
                   cp build/dtest*.jar ~/dtest_jars
@@ -8475,11 +8475,11 @@ jobs:
           fi
         no_output_timeout: 15m
     - run:
-        name: Run eclipse-warnings
+        name: Run static code analysis
         command: |
           export PATH=$JAVA_HOME/bin:$PATH
           cd ~/cassandra
-          ant eclipse-warnings
+          ant check
     - persist_to_workspace:
         root: /home/cassandra
         paths:
diff --git a/.circleci/config_11_and_17.yml.FREE b/.circleci/config_11_and_17.yml.FREE
index cc72ded3ae..0c247fbc85 100644
--- a/.circleci/config_11_and_17.yml.FREE
+++ b/.circleci/config_11_and_17.yml.FREE
@@ -4471,11 +4471,11 @@ jobs:
           fi
         no_output_timeout: 15m
     - run:
-        name: Run eclipse-warnings
+        name: Run static code analysis
         command: |
           export PATH=$JAVA_HOME/bin:$PATH
           cd ~/cassandra
-          ant eclipse-warnings
+          ant check
     - persist_to_workspace:
         root: /home/cassandra
         paths:
@@ -5078,7 +5078,7 @@ jobs:
             git clean -fd
             # Loop to prevent failure due to maven-ant-tasks not downloading a jar..
             for x in $(seq 1 3); do
-                ${ANT_HOME}/bin/ant realclean; ${ANT_HOME}/bin/ant jar dtest-jar
+                ${ANT_HOME}/bin/ant realclean; ${ANT_HOME}/bin/ant jar dtest-jar -Dno-checkstyle=true -Drat.skip=true
                 RETURN="$?"
                 if [ "${RETURN}" -eq "0" ]; then
                     cp build/dtest*.jar ~/dtest_jars
@@ -5096,7 +5096,7 @@ jobs:
           git checkout origin/$CIRCLE_BRANCH
           git clean -fd
           for x in $(seq 1 3); do
-              ${ANT_HOME}/bin/ant realclean; ${ANT_HOME}/bin/ant jar dtest-jar
+              ${ANT_HOME}/bin/ant realclean; ${ANT_HOME}/bin/ant jar dtest-jar -Dno-checkstyle=true -Drat.skip=true
               RETURN="$?"
               if [ "${RETURN}" -eq "0" ]; then
                   cp build/dtest*.jar ~/dtest_jars
@@ -8475,11 +8475,11 @@ jobs:
           fi
         no_output_timeout: 15m
     - run:
-        name: Run eclipse-warnings
+        name: Run static code analysis
         command: |
           export PATH=$JAVA_HOME/bin:$PATH
           cd ~/cassandra
-          ant eclipse-warnings
+          ant check
     - persist_to_workspace:
         root: /home/cassandra
         paths:
diff --git a/.circleci/config_11_and_17.yml.PAID b/.circleci/config_11_and_17.yml.PAID
index 284c1516a7..b27b59eb74 100644
--- a/.circleci/config_11_and_17.yml.PAID
+++ b/.circleci/config_11_and_17.yml.PAID
@@ -4471,11 +4471,11 @@ jobs:
           fi
         no_output_timeout: 15m
     - run:
-        name: Run eclipse-warnings
+        name: Run static code analysis
         command: |
           export PATH=$JAVA_HOME/bin:$PATH
           cd ~/cassandra
-          ant eclipse-warnings
+          ant check
     - persist_to_workspace:
         root: /home/cassandra
         paths:
@@ -5078,7 +5078,7 @@ jobs:
             git clean -fd
             # Loop to prevent failure due to maven-ant-tasks not downloading a jar..
             for x in $(seq 1 3); do
-                ${ANT_HOME}/bin/ant realclean; ${ANT_HOME}/bin/ant jar dtest-jar
+                ${ANT_HOME}/bin/ant realclean; ${ANT_HOME}/bin/ant jar dtest-jar -Dno-checkstyle=true -Drat.skip=true
                 RETURN="$?"
                 if [ "${RETURN}" -eq "0" ]; then
                     cp build/dtest*.jar ~/dtest_jars
@@ -5096,7 +5096,7 @@ jobs:
           git checkout origin/$CIRCLE_BRANCH
           git clean -fd
           for x in $(seq 1 3); do
-              ${ANT_HOME}/bin/ant realclean; ${ANT_HOME}/bin/ant jar dtest-jar
+              ${ANT_HOME}/bin/ant realclean; ${ANT_HOME}/bin/ant jar dtest-jar -Dno-checkstyle=true -Drat.skip=true
               RETURN="$?"
               if [ "${RETURN}" -eq "0" ]; then
                   cp build/dtest*.jar ~/dtest_jars
@@ -8475,11 +8475,11 @@ jobs:
           fi
         no_output_timeout: 15m
     - run:
-        name: Run eclipse-warnings
+        name: Run static code analysis
         command: |
           export PATH=$JAVA_HOME/bin:$PATH
           cd ~/cassandra
-          ant eclipse-warnings
+          ant check
     - persist_to_workspace:
         root: /home/cassandra
         paths:
diff --git a/.circleci/config_template.yml b/.circleci/config_template.yml
index 5fb8062d23..b1a2d7927f 100644
--- a/.circleci/config_template.yml
+++ b/.circleci/config_template.yml
@@ -1698,7 +1698,7 @@ build_common: &build_common
     - log_environment
     - clone_cassandra
     - build_cassandra
-    - run_eclipse_warnings
+    - run_static_code_analysis
     - persist_to_workspace:
         root: /home/cassandra
         paths:
@@ -2937,7 +2937,7 @@ commands:
             git clean -fd
             # Loop to prevent failure due to maven-ant-tasks not downloading a jar..
             for x in $(seq 1 3); do
-                ${ANT_HOME}/bin/ant realclean; ${ANT_HOME}/bin/ant jar dtest-jar
+                ${ANT_HOME}/bin/ant realclean; ${ANT_HOME}/bin/ant jar dtest-jar -Dno-checkstyle=true -Drat.skip=true
                 RETURN="$?"
                 if [ "${RETURN}" -eq "0" ]; then
                     cp build/dtest*.jar ~/dtest_jars
@@ -2955,7 +2955,7 @@ commands:
           git checkout origin/$CIRCLE_BRANCH
           git clean -fd
           for x in $(seq 1 3); do
-              ${ANT_HOME}/bin/ant realclean; ${ANT_HOME}/bin/ant jar dtest-jar
+              ${ANT_HOME}/bin/ant realclean; ${ANT_HOME}/bin/ant jar dtest-jar -Dno-checkstyle=true -Drat.skip=true
               RETURN="$?"
               if [ "${RETURN}" -eq "0" ]; then
                   cp build/dtest*.jar ~/dtest_jars
@@ -2970,14 +2970,14 @@ commands:
           ls -l ~/dtest_jars
         no_output_timeout: 15m
 
-  run_eclipse_warnings:
+  run_static_code_analysis:
     steps:
     - run:
-        name: Run eclipse-warnings
+        name: Run static code analysis
         command: |
           export PATH=$JAVA_HOME/bin:$PATH
           cd ~/cassandra
-          ant eclipse-warnings
+          ant check
 
   create_junit_containers:
     parameters:
diff --git a/.circleci/config_template_11_and_17.yml b/.circleci/config_template_11_and_17.yml
index 29b49152fe..ab6d5a2d2f 100644
--- a/.circleci/config_template_11_and_17.yml
+++ b/.circleci/config_template_11_and_17.yml
@@ -1681,7 +1681,7 @@ build_common: &build_common
     - log_environment
     - clone_cassandra
     - build_cassandra
-    - run_eclipse_warnings
+    - run_static_code_analysis
     - persist_to_workspace:
         root: /home/cassandra
         paths:
@@ -2903,7 +2903,7 @@ commands:
             git clean -fd
             # Loop to prevent failure due to maven-ant-tasks not downloading a jar..
             for x in $(seq 1 3); do
-                ${ANT_HOME}/bin/ant realclean; ${ANT_HOME}/bin/ant jar dtest-jar
+                ${ANT_HOME}/bin/ant realclean; ${ANT_HOME}/bin/ant jar dtest-jar -Dno-checkstyle=true -Drat.skip=true
                 RETURN="$?"
                 if [ "${RETURN}" -eq "0" ]; then
                     cp build/dtest*.jar ~/dtest_jars
@@ -2921,7 +2921,7 @@ commands:
           git checkout origin/$CIRCLE_BRANCH
           git clean -fd
           for x in $(seq 1 3); do
-              ${ANT_HOME}/bin/ant realclean; ${ANT_HOME}/bin/ant jar dtest-jar
+              ${ANT_HOME}/bin/ant realclean; ${ANT_HOME}/bin/ant jar dtest-jar -Dno-checkstyle=true -Drat.skip=true
               RETURN="$?"
               if [ "${RETURN}" -eq "0" ]; then
                   cp build/dtest*.jar ~/dtest_jars
@@ -2936,14 +2936,14 @@ commands:
           ls -l ~/dtest_jars
         no_output_timeout: 15m
 
-  run_eclipse_warnings:
+  run_static_code_analysis:
     steps:
     - run:
-        name: Run eclipse-warnings
+        name: Run static code analysis
         command: |
           export PATH=$JAVA_HOME/bin:$PATH
           cd ~/cassandra
-          ant eclipse-warnings
+          ant check
 
   create_junit_containers:
     parameters:
diff --git a/build.xml b/build.xml
index b217781a2e..5c4206d1fc 100644
--- a/build.xml
+++ b/build.xml
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@
   See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
   limitations under the License.
 -->
-<project basedir="." default="jar" name="apache-cassandra"
+<project basedir="." default="check" name="apache-cassandra"
          xmlns:if="ant:if"
          xmlns:unless="ant:unless">
 
@@ -397,11 +397,18 @@
         <mkdir dir="${jacoco.partials.dir}"/>
 
         <!-- Set up jdk specific properties -->
-        <javac includes="**/JdkProperties.java" srcdir="test/anttasks" destdir="${test.classes}" includeantruntime="true" source="${java.default}" target="${java.default}">
+        <javac includes="**/JdkProperties.java,**/SetSystemProperty.java" srcdir="test/anttasks" destdir="${test.classes}" includeantruntime="true" source="${java.default}" target="${java.default}">
           <compilerarg value="-Xlint:-options"/>
         </javac>
         <taskdef name="JdkProperties" classname="org.apache.cassandra.anttasks.JdkProperties" classpath="${test.classes}"/>
+        <taskdef name="SetSystemProperty" classname="org.apache.cassandra.anttasks.SetSystemProperty" classpath="${test.classes}"/>
+
         <JdkProperties/>
+
+        <!-- https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/CASSANDRA-16391?focusedCommentId=17310803&page=com.atlassian.jira.plugin.system.issuetabpanels%3Acomment-tabpanel#comment-17310803 -->
+        <SetSystemProperty name="jmc5.path" value="/tmp"/>
+        <SetSystemProperty name="jmc6.path" value="/tmp"/>
+        <SetSystemProperty name="visualvm.path" value="/tmp"/>
     </target>
 
     <target name="clean" description="Remove all locally created artifacts">
@@ -508,8 +515,7 @@
     <!--
         The build target builds all the .class files
     -->
-    <target name="build" depends="resolver-retrieve-build,build-project,checkstyle" description="Compile Cassandra classes"/>
-    <target name="_build_unsafe" depends="resolver-retrieve-build,build-project" description="Compile Cassandra classes without checks"/>
+    <target name="build" depends="resolver-retrieve-build,build-project" description="Compile Cassandra classes"/>
     <target name="codecoverage" depends="jacoco-run,jacoco-report" description="Create code coverage report"/>
 
     <target name="_build_java">
@@ -541,6 +547,13 @@
         <copy todir="${basedir}/conf" file="${build.classes.main}/META-INF/hotspot_compiler"/>
     </target>
 
+    <target name="check" depends="_main-jar,build-test" description="Verifies the source code and dependencies. This task is intended to run on pre-commit and locally. It should verify mostly modified files compared to the upstream base branch." unless="check.skip">
+        <antcall target="rat-check" inheritrefs="true"/>
+        <antcall target="checkstyle" inheritrefs="true"/>
+        <antcall target="checkstyle-test" inheritrefs="true"/>
+        <antcall target="eclipse-warnings" inheritrefs="true"/>
+    </target>
+
     <!-- Stress build file -->
     <property name="stress.build.src" value="${basedir}/tools/stress/src" />
     <property name="stress.test.src" value="${basedir}/tools/stress/test/unit" />
@@ -650,11 +663,11 @@
     <property name="simulator-bootstrap.build.classes" value="${build.classes}/simulator-bootstrap" />
     <property name="simulator-bootstrap.manifest" value="${simulator-bootstrap.build.classes}/MANIFEST.MF" />
 
-    <target name="simulator-asm-build" depends="_build_unsafe" description="build simulator-asm">
+    <target name="simulator-asm-build" depends="build" description="build simulator-asm">
         <antcall target="_simulator-asm_build"/>
     </target>
 
-    <target name="simulator-bootstrap-build" depends="_build_unsafe" description="build simulator-bootstrap">
+    <target name="simulator-bootstrap-build" depends="build" description="build simulator-bootstrap">
         <antcall target="_simulator-bootstrap_build"/>
     </target>
 
@@ -895,7 +908,7 @@
     </target>
 
     <!-- creates release tarballs -->
-    <target name="artifacts" depends="_artifacts-init,gen-doc,sources-jar"
+    <target name="artifacts" depends="_artifacts-init,check,gen-doc,sources-jar"
             description="Create Cassandra tarball and maven artifacts">
       <tar compression="gzip" longfile="gnu"
         destfile="${build.dir}/${final.name}-bin.tar.gz">
@@ -1019,7 +1032,7 @@
     <antcall target="build-test" inheritRefs="true"/>
   </target>
 
-  <target name="build-test" depends="_main-jar,stress-build-test,fqltool-build,resolver-dist-lib,simulator-jars,checkstyle-test"
+  <target name="build-test" depends="_main-jar,stress-build-test,fqltool-build,resolver-dist-lib,simulator-jars"
           description="Compile test classes">
     <antcall target="_build-test"/>
     <checktestnameshelper/>
@@ -1651,7 +1664,7 @@
     </sequential>
   </macrodef>
 
-  <target name="test" depends="eclipse-warnings,maybe-build-test" description="Test Runner">
+  <target name="test" depends="maybe-build-test" description="Test Runner">
     <path id="all-test-classes-path">
       <fileset dir="${test.unit.src}" includes="**/${test.name}.java" excludes="**/distributed/test/UpgradeTest*.java" />
     </path>
@@ -1924,7 +1937,7 @@
       IDE configuration in .idea/ updated for use with JDK${ant.java.version}.
 
       In IntelliJ verify that the SDK is ${ant.java.version}, and its path is valid.
-      This can be verified in 'Project Structure/Project Setting/Project' and 'Project Structure/Platform Setting/SDKs'. 
+      This can be verified in 'Project Structure/Project Setting/Project' and 'Project Structure/Platform Setting/SDKs'.
       </echo>
   </target>
 
@@ -2042,46 +2055,6 @@
         </java>
   </target>
 
-  <target name="init-checkstyle" depends="resolver-retrieve-build,build-project" unless="no-checkstyle">
-      <echo message="checkstyle.version=${checkstyle.version}"/>
-      <!-- Sevntu custom checks are retrieved by Ivy into lib folder
-         and will be accessible to checkstyle-->
-      <taskdef resource="com/puppycrawl/tools/checkstyle/ant/checkstyle-ant-task.properties"
-               classpathref="checkstyle.classpath"/>
-  </target>
-
-  <target name="checkstyle" depends="init-checkstyle,build-project" description="Run custom checkstyle code analysis" if="java.version.8" unless="no-checkstyle">
-      <property name="checkstyle.log.dir" value="${build.dir}/checkstyle" />
-      <property name="checkstyle.report.file" value="${checkstyle.log.dir}/checkstyle_report.xml"/>
-      <mkdir  dir="${checkstyle.log.dir}" />
-
-      <property name="checkstyle.properties" value="${build.helpers.dir}/checkstyle.xml" />
-      <property name="checkstyle.suppressions" value="${build.helpers.dir}/checkstyle_suppressions.xml" />
-      <checkstyle config="${checkstyle.properties}"
-                  failureProperty="checkstyle.failure"
-                  failOnViolation="true">
-          <formatter type="plain"/>
-          <formatter type="xml" tofile="${checkstyle.report.file}"/>
-          <fileset dir="${build.src.java}" includes="**/*.java"/>
-      </checkstyle>
-  </target>
-
-  <target name="checkstyle-test" depends="init-checkstyle,resolver-retrieve-build,build-project" description="Run custom checkstyle code analysis on tests" if="java.version.8" unless="no-checkstyle">
-      <property name="checkstyle.log.dir" value="${build.dir}/checkstyle" />
-      <property name="checkstyle_test.report.file" value="${checkstyle.log.dir}/checkstyle_report_test.xml"/>
-      <mkdir  dir="${checkstyle.log.dir}" />
-
-      <property name="checkstyle_test.properties" value="${build.helpers.dir}/checkstyle_test.xml" />
-      <property name="checkstyle.suppressions" value="${build.helpers.dir}/checkstyle_suppressions.xml" />
-      <checkstyle config="${checkstyle_test.properties}"
-                  failureProperty="checkstyle.failure"
-                  failOnViolation="true">
-          <formatter type="plain"/>
-          <formatter type="xml" tofile="${checkstyle_test.report.file}"/>
-          <fileset dir="${test.dir}" includes="**/*.java"/>
-      </checkstyle>
-  </target>
-
   <!-- Installs artifacts to local Maven repository -->
   <target name="mvn-install"
           depends="jar,sources-jar,javadoc-jar"
@@ -2133,4 +2106,5 @@
   <import file="${build.helpers.dir}/build-rat.xml"/>
   <import file="${build.helpers.dir}/build-owasp.xml"/>
   <import file="${build.helpers.dir}/build-git.xml"/>
+  <import file="${build.helpers.dir}/build-checkstyle.xml"/>
 </project>
diff --git a/test/anttasks/org/apache/cassandra/anttasks/SetSystemProperty.java b/test/anttasks/org/apache/cassandra/anttasks/SetSystemProperty.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..cd20503e54
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/anttasks/org/apache/cassandra/anttasks/SetSystemProperty.java
@@ -0,0 +1,62 @@
+/*
+ * Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one
+ * or more contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file
+ * distributed with this work for additional information
+ * regarding copyright ownership.  The ASF licenses this file
+ * to you under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the
+ * "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance
+ * with the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+package org.apache.cassandra.anttasks;
+
+import org.apache.tools.ant.BuildException;
+import org.apache.tools.ant.PropertyHelper;
+import org.apache.tools.ant.Task;
+
+public class SetSystemProperty extends Task
+{
+    private String name;
+    private String value;
+
+    public void setName(String name)
+    {
+        this.name = name;
+    }
+
+    public void setValue(String value)
+    {
+        this.value = value;
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public void execute() throws BuildException
+    {
+        if (name == null || name.isEmpty())
+        {
+            throw new BuildException("propertyName attribute is missing or empty.");
+        }
+
+        if (value == null || value.isEmpty())
+        {
+            throw new BuildException("propertyValue attribute is missing or empty.");
+        }
+
+        PropertyHelper propertyHelper = PropertyHelper.getPropertyHelper(getProject());
+        String evaluatedValue = propertyHelper.replaceProperties(value);
+
+        if (evaluatedValue == null)
+            System.getProperties().remove(name);
+        else
+            // checkstyle: suppress below 'blockSystemPropertyUsage'
+            System.setProperty(name, evaluatedValue);
+    }
+}
\ No newline at end of file