Neo4j: The Definitive Guide

Chapter 5. Query Analysis and Tuning

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Any graph application in production relies on performant queries and an effective use of resources. This is even more important in mission-critical applications, where the difference between an efficient query and a slow one can bring sometimes dire consequences, such as financial loss, security compromise, or even loss of life. Instead of only providing ready solutions, this chapter focuses on why queries perform efficiently (or not). Its goal is to give you enough depth of understanding to be able to reason about your own queries when you need to tune them.

We’ve encountered a myriad of Cypher queries across all sorts of domains, and the majority can be tweaked to perform better if you have a strong grasp of the fundamentals. In this chapter, you will learn how the query planner operates and how to read and understand the execution plan it produces. We’ll explore concepts such as anchor ...