Data is becoming most important in the last years. Some engineers say that data is the new gold. For this reason, databases are very important, and loads of new data model has been released. We were getting used to using the relational model. It's a very strong data model. But in recent years, a new data model is becoming more and more popular: the graph data model. It allows you to manage your data as they were a graph: nodes connected to each other with arches. With this in mind, you can define a data lake that can be really powerful when relationships between direct and indirect nodes are required.

A classic example where graph databases (so databases whose data model is graphical) are used is social networks. Suppose you need to send a newsletter to users that are following a VIP and that are interested in football. Of course, you can perform this query by using a relational database, but crossing relationships in a graph DB is easier and more efficient. New DBMSs have been released, but the most popular one is Neo4j. Neo4j allows you to create a graph database based on a property graph.

In this lab, you will understand the core principles of a graph database (especially a property graph) and you will install the Neo4j DBMS on an EC2 instance.

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this beginner level lab, you will be able to:

• Understand the core principles of a graph database
• Install and configure Neo4j as your DBMS

Intended Audience

• Data engineers who want to switch to the graph data model
• Developers who need to build an application based on a graph database

Prerequisites

There are no prerequisites for taking this lab.