The Ubiquitous Graph: Two Use Cases from the Real World

Talk by Tareq Abedrabbo, CTO @OpenCredo talk at Data Science London meetup

Transcript

1. The Ubiquitous Graph Two Use Cases from the Real World Tareq Abedrabbo - Data Science London December 2013
2. About me • CTO at OpenCredo • Working with Neo4j for (almost) 3 years on a number of different projects • Co-author of Neo4j in Action (Manning)
3. “If I'm to believe Twitter, half of the earth's population are importing Wikipedia into Neo4j, for very obscure reasons.”
4. Agenda • Graph applications • Use cases • Best practices
5. What type of applications can be built with a graph database?
6. Domain-centric applications
7. • Well-defined data model • Data changes through user interactions • Flexible but predictable data structure(s) • Recommendation engines, social networks, etc… • Top-down design
8. Data-centric applications
9. • Complex connected data that typically models real world networks • Integrated from a variety of different sources • Data can be unpredictable • Telco networks, utility networks, etc… • bottom-up design
10. Typically applications fall somewhere between these 2 types
11. How can I use the information available in my graph?
12. • Search and pattern-matching • Find a recommendation based on behaviour • Graph algorithms • Shortest path, disconnected components • Optimisation • Maximise oil flow while minimising water
13. Graphs are naturally data-driven
14. Use case 1: Network Impact Analysis
15. Domain: a telco network. Millions of connected network components, services and customers
17. Requirement: Identify the impact of failing components
20. Requirement: Identify interesting patterns, such as single points of failure
22. The network is “semi- structured”
23. Labelled property graph is a natural fit for the model
24. Additional “dimensions” can be added to capture abstract concepts: network redundancy, load-balancing
25. Cypher queries are a natural solution to delivering the different requirements
26. • Other requirements • Multiple starting points • Impact on quality of service • Abstraction of repeatable patterns
27. Use case 2: Oil flow optimisation
28. Domain: an oil extraction network. Hundreds of connected components with complex configuration options
30. Requirement: Identify candidate configurations to maximise flow
31. Interlude: Genetic Algorithms
32. “Search heuristic that mimics the process of natural selection” - Wikipedia
33. 1. Start from an initial population of candidate solutions 2. Assess each solution using a fitness function 3. Apply genetic operators to derive a new and potentially fitter generation 4. Rinse and repeat!
35. More in detail…
36. • Start from an initial population of candidate solutions (individuals or phenotypes), ideally random and large • Attribute a score to each solution using a fitness function • The only place with specific business knowledge • Apply genetic operators to create a new generation • Cross-breeding to retain best characteristics from each parent • Mutation to maintain diversity and to avoid converging to a local optima too quickly
37. Fitness function
39. Crossbreeding
41. Mutation
43. • There are other genetic operators • Copy n fittest solutions unchanged • Carry over n unfit candidates • Carry over n randomly chosen candidates
44. • Pros! • All domain knowledge is encapsulated in one place • Generate interesting solutions including counterintuitive ones • Stop when you want! • Cons! • Fitness function can become really complex • Generated solutions are not guaranteed to be practical or pretty
45. Simply connected graph with complex components
46. Is this even a use case for Neo4j?
47. Persist and share calculated solutions
48. Inspect intermediary steps
49. Use Cypher queries to interrogate solutions
50. • Other requirements • Identify the most practical and valuable adjustments to the network
51. Distilled Best Practices
52. • Know your domain • Test non-functional aspects • Write code that can handle semi-structured data
53. Links • Twitter: @tareq_abedrabbo • Blog: http://www.terminalstate.net • OpenCredo: http://www.opencredo.com Thank you! questions?