SQL Server 2017 Graph Tables Analyze Complex Relationships

SQL Server 2017 introduces a new table type, called Graph tables, and query features to help developers create database applications that process complex relationships in social media activity, network dependencies, organizational structures, and other data sets. Graph tables in SQL Server allow organizations to leverage existing T-SQL skills and investments to integrate graph processing into daily business activities. However, Graph tables in SQL Server 2017 are a first release and lack many key features available in competitor products, and cannot leverage high-performance features in SQL Server that are needed for large databases.

Graph Database Overview

Graph databases are used for tracking and analyzing complex relationships in data. They support applications such as providing recommendations for online retail sites based on other users’ purchases, analyzing connections and patterns in social media activity, and a map of interdependencies in complex network deployments.

A graph database consists of a collection of graph tables that include entities (nodes or vertices) and relationships (edges) between the nodes. It uses special data mapping and query techniques to store and query relationships so that applications can quickly find paths between entities and determine the strength of relationships between different entities based on numerous criteria. Developing a graph applications database using relational tables is possible, but requires substantial coding and usually has slower performance.