Neo4j Enterprise Architecture
Graph Platform Architecture Features
The Neo4j Graph Platform is enterprise ready, built from the ground up to be reliable, scalable and secure for any application or analytic workload.
*Exclusive Enterprise Edition functionality
ACID for Data Integrity
Neo4j is a fully ACID transactional database which ensures the integrity of your data at all times. Unlike in other NoSQL databases, data reliability is a primary design consideration for Neo4j.
Flexible Schema
The labeled property graph model captures data as it naturally occurs, eliminating the need to translate a whiteboard model into tables, columns, documents or triples – and eradicating future schema migrations. Instead, developers enjoy the flexibility to add or remove properties as business requirements change, with optional schema constraints for enterprise governance or rules enforcement.
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Enforceable Schema*
Node Keys and property existence constraints can assure the integrity of the graph by enforcing existence and guaranteeing uniqueness of a node based on the combined uniqueness of a series of required property values. Once these properties are established, Neo4j can create a composite index for the node.
High-Performance Query Execution
Querying connected data presents new opportunities to query relationship information in real-time applications. As a native graph database, Neo4j offers index-free adjacency, the fastest way to search through millions of data connections per second (per core). As a result, performance remains constant no matter the volume or complexity of your dataset.
User and Role-Based Access Control*
Built-in role-based security eliminates the need to handle security rules within application logic, and simplifying application design and maintenance. Access controls include predefined reader, publisher, architect and admin roles. Permissions can be inherited from LDAP or Active Directory and certificate-based Kerberos Authentication is also available.
Cypher Query Language
Cypher is a declarative graph query language that naturally describes graph patterns. It is intuitive to both read and learn, and requires 10-100x less code than SQL. Its natural pattern-matching ability means you no longer need to debug nested JOINs. Through the openCypher project, Cypher is becoming the de facto language for graph technology across the industry.
Scale and Performance
Neo4j lets you scale across every key dimension: volume, reads, writes and locations – all while providing blazing-fast queries, consistent response times and rock-solid data integrity. Neo4j's RAFT-based Causal Clustering architecture was tailor-made for graph database technology to keep your data safe and reliable.
Secure Server Routing*
Neo4j Bolt application and database drivers securely manage transaction routing and throughput across data centers, cloud zones and clusters. Bolt divers encapsulate worldwide routing rules that define data centers, cloud zones, cluster replication hierarchies, load balancing, cluster roles and transaction consistency, so developers and DBAs don't have to.
Advanced Causal Clustering*
Neo4j supports scalability across global data centers through its proprietary Causal Clustering architecture. This Raft-based architecture supports the ability to scale both read/write Core Servers independently from Read-Replica servers, allowing your internet-scale application to perform perfectly for a global audience. With Multi-Clustering you can create and manage multiple named database clusters, effectively partitioning the graph into independent parts.
Built-In Tooling & Visualization
The Neo4j Browser allows developers to query and visualize your connected data. Visualization is key to discovering patterns in your graph data that can then be easily translated into perpetual Cypher queries – all within the Browser experience. In addition, query profile and planning tools allow you to fine-tune queries before deploying to production.
Through relationships with our graph visualization partners and professional services, Neo4j also offers visualization options for business users.
Drivers for Popular Languages & Frameworks
Neo4j offers official support for Java, C#, Python and JavaScript drivers, as well as community drivers for Ruby, PHP, R, Go and others. The Neo4j community also has support for popular frameworks like Spring Data, Django ORM, Laravel, JDBC and more. There are also integrations for other databases and analytics tools, like MongoDB, Cassandra, ElasticSearch and Apache Spark/GraphX.
Seamless Data Import
The Neo4j ETL makes importing data from relational and other databases seamless, whether it’s millions of rows or billions. The
LOAD CSV functionality enables initial and incremental transactional loading of your data using Cypher for medium-size datasets up to 10M nodes and relationships. For ultimate performance, the included neo4j-import tool enables transaction-less loading of up to 1M records per second. Finally, the Windows PowerShell module provides support for high-performance loading via the Import-CSV command.
Cloud-Ready Deployment
Neo4j has always been available for on-premises deployment, but many now use Neo4j in cloud environments like Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud Platform. No matter your preferred platform, fully hosted offerings are available through the Neo4j partner ecosystem. In addition, our official Docker image simplifies automation and deployment, making it easy to get up and running with a single instance or a full HA cluster.
Elastic Scalability*
Neo4j clustering provides scale-out capabilities for reads and analytics, letting you spread out your graph in memory, while ensuring each instance is able to get to any node or relationship using its own local copy. This allows for blazing speed even as your graph dataset grows, all while providing high availability via a replication protocol. Massive scale up architecture is also possible with Neo4j on IBM POWER8 with CAPI Flash.
In-Memory Page Cache*
Neo4j Enterprise Edition includes an in-memory page cache that is separate from traditional JVM-based caching strategies. Caching can also be location or data center specific.
Hot Backups*
Neo4j Enterprise Edition allows you to take hot, point-in-time backups while your graph database is still running. Your application can keep running 24/7 without compromising the availability or quality of your backups. These hot backups are both stoppable and resumable.
Progressive Licensing*
Neo4j Desktop allows developers to use a free, registered instance of Enterprise Edition for local development. Test, backup and disaster recovery server licenses are available at discounted subscription rates, while production cluster licenses encourage optimal hardware resource provisioning.
Ready to Get Started?
Your enterprise is driven by connections – now it's time for your database to do the same. Click below to download and dive into Neo4j for yourself – or download the white paper to learn how today's leading enterprises are using Neo4j to achieve sustainable competitive advantage.