Reviews from AWS customer

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    Erle Pereira

A graph database, purpose built to leverage relationships in data, enabling lightning-fast queries for real-time analytics and insights

  • August 16, 2024
  • Review provided by PeerSpot

What is our primary use case?

Neo4j AuraDB is a cloud-based graph database. It’s mainly used for projects that must start small and scale up as required. The cloud interface is easy to use and requires no maintenance, making it ideal for development and client handover.

What is most valuable?

From my experience, I particularly like the professional version. Initially, developers often start with the free variant. Once the project grows, we switch to the professional version, which offers multiple databases, expanded memory, and better scalability. This allows us to handle more data and use cloud scaling features.

What needs improvement?

There’s room for improvement in Neo4j AuraDB, especially on the developer side. The learning curve can be steep, and the interface for developing and pushing code can be unnecessarily complex. It might be beneficial to simplify this process to help developers ramp up more quickly.

Working with graph databases like Neo4j can be more challenging than standard databases, particularly for juniors and those new to graph technology. Streamlining the development process could make it easier for new users to get up to speed. This would be particularly useful for teams with less experience in graph databases.

If I could add a feature to Neo4j AuraDB, I’d focus on improving the Bloom interface. It’s excellent for visualizing smaller datasets, but navigating through it becomes challenging as the data grows—say, past 100,000nodes. The interface works well for beginners but doesn’t scale effectively for more advanced users of large datasets. I want a UI that bridges the gap between the easy-to-use Bloom interface and more complex, text-based tools. This would help manage larger datasets more efficiently and improve performance.

For how long have I used the solution?

I’ve been working with Neo4j since it first launched, and I've been using Neo4j AuraDB for around two years. AuraDB is relatively new, having been around since about 2021. It moved into the cloud, which made it easier to use. As a tech consultant, I use AuraDB forthe projects I’m working on.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

For Neo4j AuraDB's stability, I would rate it around eight or nine. We've only had issues when using multiple heavy instances on the same setup, but we haven't faced significant problems with either the professional or enterprise versions. I haven't worked much with the enterprise scale, but I haven't heard any complaints from the teams using it.

How are customer service and support?

As for technical support, I personally haven't contacted them, but my team has, and they were quite satisfied with the support they received.

How was the initial setup?

When it comes to installation, setup, and deployment of Neo4j AuraDB, it's straightforward.

Since AuraDB is cloud-based, you don't have to deal with manual installation or server management. You download the desktop application, connect to it, and you're' ready.

I come from an open-source background and often use Docker
instances, but with AuraDB, the process is straightforward. Developers can start with a free instance that handles up to 200,000 or 400,000 data points, sufficient for smaller projects. Upgrading is simple and affordable as they gain confidence and the business needs to grow. Overall, the setup is user-friendly and efficient.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Neo4j AuraDB is reasonably priced, especially considering it removes the need for cloud administration and associated costs. It's a good deal for the professional version, as it includes managed services, which reduces the overhead compared to setting up your own infrastructure. The cost can be higher for enterprise-scale projects, but that's often due to the scale and complexity of the project rather than the product itself. Startups sometimes overestimate their needs and jump to enterprise pricing too quickly, leading to higher costs than necessary.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

As a consultant, my decision to use Neo4j AuraDB comes from personal experience and client demand. Initially, I started using Neo4j when graph databases gained traction, which worked well for me. Clients began asking for it because Neo4j has a strong reputation and brand. Neo4j is an easy choice when presenting options to clients due to its established credibility.

What other advice do I have?

If you’re considering using Neo4j AuraDB for the first time, my advice would be to first ask yourself why you need a graph database in the first place. Understanding your specific use case is crucial because graph databases are not a one-size-fits-all solution. You need to know how to design and implement it properly to avoid failure. If your use case fits, then I would recommend Neo4j. It's often a good starting point due to its reasonable pricing, strong support, and community resources. Many other graph systems have their own advantages, but Neo4j’s support and ease of use make it a solid choice.

For beginners, Neo4j AuraDB is generally easy to get started with. Downloading the desktop application and setting it up is straightforward. However, mastering it beyond the basics can be challenging. New developers with little experience in graph databases might find it hard to progress beyond the initial setup. The learning curve is steeper when moving to more complex development tasks. It’s important to understand the graph database concept itself, as applying traditional database knowledge may not always work well. While the initial setup is simple, deeper learning and effective use of Neo4j require a broader technical aptitude and a good grasp of how graph databases function.

Overall, I’d rate Neo4j AuraDB a nine. It’s a simple and effective tool for getting started with graph databases. The price is reasonable, especially for beginners, and it’s free for those who want to explore. As your needs grow, the pricing remains acceptable. It’s stable and has no major issues if you follow their process. It’s an excellent tool for learning and scaling, and Neo4j has a strong position in this market space.


    Yitae Jeong

Easy to use but has some stability concerns

  • August 12, 2024
  • Review provided by PeerSpot

What is our primary use case?

It is a very difficult job to show the graph schema and understand a problem using the graph technique.Neo4j AuraDB is a very convenient tool for our team because it allows access to anyone invited to a project. Others can easily access the graph data if I invite people and train the schema.

What is most valuable?

The solution's most valuable features stem from its easy connection to other modules and integrations. Understanding graphs can be a very complex concept, as there are many other combination modules in it, like LangChain, the LLM module, and the data processing module. I think there are more than four modules that heavily rely on GraphRAG's implementation, but AuraDB's role is very good because everything is very convenient for our team in the cloud and graph database systems.

What needs improvement?

During the product's setup process, disconnections in the tool's network caused some problems, making the solution's stability an area of concern that requires improvements.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Neo4j AuraDB for a year. I am a customer of the tool.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Stability-wise, I rate the solution a seven out of ten.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I had to use the cloud system of the tool because our company had faced scalability issues. I used the database for small use cases involving graphs. The tool has issues stemming from the disconnection part that keeps occurring, which led to GraphRAG implementation issues.

Scalability-wise, I rate the solution a four out of ten.

How are customer service and support?

I never had to contact the solution's technical support team.

How was the initial setup?

During the product's initial setup phase, there were some issues due to disconnections in the tool's network.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The tool's enterprise edition is very expensive.

What other advice do I have?

The tool is easy to use.

The tool offers very easy and convenient modules for our teams.

The tool does help handle data security and privacy concerns in our use cases. Our data is a very important factor for us in terms of privacy and security. I think the tool's modules are good. The product offers a text file for AuraDB's information. You should be careful with the text file because it includes information like URLs, passwords, and usernames.

I strongly recommend that people use the tool. I suggest others not be afraid of GraphRAG and databases on the cloud system. The tool is a very convenient source for a beginner of the graph database.

I did use the tool's AI capabilities. There are many important processes in the GraphRAG procedure, and among them, the graph construction was very important because, as per RAG, everything depends on the graph schema. We deal with the design for the graph, and then the tool can easily integrate into their traditional database. The cloud is very easy to access and manage.

I rate the tool a seven out of ten.


    Oludayo Abiodun Adeoye

Offers ability to run multiple languages and connect it to a Spring Boot app, a Python app, or a Go app

  • August 09, 2024
  • Review from a verified AWS customer

What is our primary use case?

I was getting data from Hacker News to store it on Neo4j. I was running a cron job using Neo4j to scrape topics and comments from Hacker News every two hours. I ran that for at least a year and a half, but stopped recently. I wanted to see how stable and useful it was.

What is most valuable?

First, I liked that it was free. I also liked that you can run multiple languages with it. I can connect it to a Spring Boot app, a Python app, or a Go app. If I'm doing network correlation, graph or node analysis, I can easily connect my Google Colab to my Neo4j AuraDB account. Those are the things I like about it.

I like the idea of graphs and nodes and the possibilities Neo4j AuraDB offers.

What needs improvement?

I've experienced it crashing a few times, so stability could be better.

For things to improve, I think the GUI on the cloud needs improvement. If it's more intuitive, someone new to it can spend less time on tutorials and pick it up faster. The truth is, if your product is good, you spend less time on advertising. I take my inspiration from Telegram. Their product was so good they didn't need to spend much on advertising. It just grew on its own.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using it for the last one and a half years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I've experienced it crashing a few times, but it's common with other products like Chrome or Firefox. So I understand that sometimes products require restarts. But outside of that, it's a very good tool.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It was for personal use. I got interested in the graph stack, which uses the Neo4j database as its backend. So it was more personal than for a company.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

There were multiple reasons that I decided to go with Neo4j AuraDB rather than something else. Number one, it was cheap.

Then, being able to run it on the cloud for a single node was appealing. The tools also made me choose Neo4j.

There's a very good community around it, and the learning resources are easy to follow. They have useful blogs, and there's a product manager with a helpful YouTube channel. The community makes it very easy to use. That's one of the big selling points for me.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is neither easy nor difficult. I've created both the on-premise app (downloaded directly from the website) and the AuraDB cloud version. The cloud version is simpler. I needed a short video clip on the website to install the on-premise Neo4j on my system.

The Cypher tutorial that comes with the on-premise Neo4j installation is thorough.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

I used the free tier.

What other advice do I have?

If you want to use it for the first time, I'd advise you to go for the cloud version, AuraDB.

If you want to use it as a company, at least using that, you can test if it fits your use case. As developers, we're trying to solve problems. The best way, the easiest way, the less painful way, and also the best way to maintain it is important. You might leave the company, and someone else needs to take over, and you want to spend less time setting them up so they succeed faster. I think they've done well with the AuraDB cloud section.

With the right tutorial, it is easy for a beginner to learn to use this tool for the first time. There are a lot of good tutorials available. I got into it from a Medium blog, and I've also tried creating tutorials myself.

Overall, with my experience, I would rate it a nine out of ten, from one being bad to ten being the best.


    SandeepKhanna

An easy-to-use graphical database with a good user interface

  • August 07, 2024
  • Review provided by PeerSpot

What is our primary use case?

I'm a research scholar, and I've learned cipher language for my research work. I've been using Neo4j AuraDB for that cipher language.

What is most valuable?

I'm also working on Python as a front-end language. Integrating the front-end language with Neo4j AuraDB is a very easy process. We can directly import packages and see the visualization in the Python interface. Neo4j AuraDB provides interfaces for languages other than Python, such as Java.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Neo4j AuraDB for three to four years.

How was the initial setup?

We don't have to install Neo4j AuraDB. The solution provides a server, and we can use an online server to create the database. You may not have to install it on the local system or server. You can also have direct online access.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

I am using an open-source version of Neo4j AuraDB.

What other advice do I have?

The solution's documentation has been well written. Sometimes, I look at different sources on the internet when I need help. Everything is available on the Neo4j website.

I attended the NODES workshop organized by the Neo4j community, where people from different backgrounds gave a very good lecture series. The lectures focused on which particular area and domain we can use Neo4j AuraDB as a database.

I would recommend the solution to other users. I have already recommended it to my colleagues working on different types of graphs. Some of my colleagues have started using Neo4j AuraDB and built a big graph. One of them has come up with a very nice social network graph.

I would definitely recommend Neo4j AuraDB to someone looking for an easy-to-use graphical database with a good user interface. The solution's visualization is very good, and you can use it to visualize property graphs and state-of-the-art knowledge graphs. Neo4j AuraDB has plenty of options in its repository.

Overall, I rate the solution eight and a half out of ten.