Multi-database capability in Neo4j 4 on Aura
under review
John Kennedy
Neo4j 4 on Aura will initially not have multi-database capability by design.
Some context on that is covered here : https://aura.support.neo4j.com/hc/en-us/articles/360050961713
As we get ready to release multi-database in the future, this feature request aims to capture demand and ensure the customer needs are understood.
Aura users have told us they would like to do 1 of the following things with Neo4j 4 in Aura specifically focussed on the use of the multi-database functionality.
a) build a Graph backed SaaS or application by creating 1 large Aura instance and dividing it into X many smaller databases. This solves 2 needs for end users 1) it's cost effective, they can pay for 1 database but get X many within that. 2) ease of management when integrating with their application, because they perceive they won't have to manage X many small individual databases.
b) continue my cloud centric development of a technical solution against Neo4j 4 on Aura, and be able to evaluate the feature, without any clear need for it right now.
c) just want to learn about multi-database and how it works in Aura.
Please upvote and comment on whether the need you are seeking to solve for with multi-database is a), b), c) or another need we've not heard yet.
If users have an idea of how many database instances you are expecting to be able to create in one large database in their scenario on Aura, we'd love to hear that too.
John Kennedy
Hello folks, just to tie in with this topic thread with the community posts on the topic : https://community.neo4j.com/t/multi-databases-on-neo4j-aura/34547?u=abk
Kurt Freytag
under review
John Kennedy
Hello there, a further quick update.
Multi-database, as a new feature in a main release of Neo4j 4 is maturing quickly, which is great news.
Work is still underway to harden the resource management within the multi-database scenario such that it meets the continuing needs you all relay is one of your must haves, which I summarise as : "Don't let one database in the multi-database setup impact adversely the other databases running"
I'll continue to keep you updated via this thread, thanks for your continued Aura usage and feedback.
While we continue to work on it, even though it requires some extra admin you can and should continue to create multiple databases in Aura via the console to meet your needs.
John
John Kennedy
Aslak Dirdal: hello.
I wasn't specifically referring to the separation of data, which is well hardened at this point, but the wider resource management and impact.
Often known as the noisy ( or arsonist )neighbour problem. We don't want to release multi-database in a form where any one of the databases could consume all the resources available impacting the performance of the other databases.
John
John Kennedy
By way of update we are continuing to advance the understanding, impact and experience of multi-database within a single Aura instance for our users to utilise.
As that work continues we will make a decision as to whether we will expose this feature at scale or not.
Options remain to restrict and guardrail multi-database to allow development and testing in the lower resource tiers or to meet the need you are all relaying by providing access to easily and quickly create and manage many small database instances via API, where the implementation details will be invisible and irrelevant to you the end users.
Which ever option we go with we'll optimise for ease of use, customer value and optimal experience.
John Kennedy
John Kennedy
Hello again.
The Aura team are proud to announce that Neo4j 4 is now available in Aura!!
When you are creating a new database you will now have the option to create a Neo4j 4 instance, as per the image below.
As a service we aim to make things as simple as possible, so we won't be exposing any minor version of the database on purpose.
As discussed, Neo4j 4 on Aura does not yet have Multi-database capability, and you can register your interest on that specific feature here : https://aura.feedback.neo4j.com/feature-requests/p/multi-database-capability-in-neo4j-4-on-aura
We have a couple of useful knowledge base articles on some scenarios around upgrading your Neo4j 3 instances to Neo4j 4 instances on Aura, which I link here, please give us any relevant feedback you have.
We are really pleased to get this in your hands and are ever eager to hear your feedback once you've used it.
I'll close this feature request out as completed now, and look forward to hearing from you!
The Aura Team
John Kennedy
in progress
John Kennedy
Hello there.
As we approach the release of Neo4j 4 on Aura, we'll look to close this feature request out.
I have, in advance of that, created a specific feature request for Multi-database capability that I direct you to, should that be your main need within Neo4j 4 on Aura.
Please upvote, comment and discuss within that feature request.
I look forward to getting Neo4j 4 on Aura into your hands asap and to hearing your feedback.
John
John Kennedy
Neo4j 4 is being worked on as I type this, and we hope to have it available as the base level for the Aura service in short order.
Which features of Neo4j 4 are of most interest?
John Kennedy
aura-labs@britive.com: great to hear.
Would your use case for this functionality be to build a service on top of 1 large Aura Neo4j database that you then populate with multiple tenants for your users to access directly (as opposed to creating many small individual databases and managing access to those, as you can do now in Aura)?
John Kennedy
aura-labs@britive.com: The team have published a Knowledge Base article that goes into a little more detail. https://aura.support.neo4j.com/hc/en-us/articles/360050961713