GES @ Huawei

Production graph database service for high-throughput interactive graph workloads.

Huawei GES is a production graph database service for high-throughput interactive graph workloads.

Problem

Interactive graph services need to serve complex graph queries with high concurrency, predictable latency, and production-grade manageability. Production systems must combine query throughput with maintainability, extensibility, and operational robustness rather than optimize only isolated benchmark kernels.

Core idea

The newer GES line uses a composable service architecture and factorized execution to improve high-concurrency query processing while retaining a production-oriented system design.

My role

Research and system architecture for graph database infrastructure and the GES line of work, including execution design and benchmark-facing system optimization.

Evidence

Impact

GES reached #1 on the LDBC SNB Interactive declarative track with reported throughput over 3,000× the previous #2 result, and later reached #1 on the imperative track with Graph Engine Service 3.1.0 at SF300.

Research Threads

Service architecture & execution
GES · SIGMOD 2025

Introduces a production graph service architecture with composable components and factorized execution for high-concurrency interactive workloads.

System connection: Provides the core service architecture and factorized executor behind the production system.

Dynamic storage
RapidStore · VLDB 2025

Separates reads and writes and decouples version data to support concurrent queries and updates on dynamic graphs.

System connection: Provides scalable concurrent storage for dynamic graph workloads.

DGS Study · SIGMOD 2025

Compares in-memory dynamic graph storage designs and identifies key storage and concurrency bottlenecks.

System connection: Motivates the storage and concurrency choices in this design space.

Incremental graph queries
Aquila · VLDB 2026

Develops high-concurrency incremental graph query processing for evolving graph data.

System connection: Extends the system line toward incremental processing under concurrent updates.

Related Huawei-era graph research
Time-dependent label-constrained reachability · ICDE 2024

Studies reachability under ordered label and time-dependent constraints, with indexing strategies that balance construction cost and query efficiency.

System connection: Extends the Huawei-era graph research portfolio toward indexed graph reachability queries.

SANE · ICDE 2024

Updates attributed-network embeddings in a streaming style while retaining information from previously observed attributes.

System connection: Represents adjacent work on evolving attributed graphs rather than a component of GES.

Unsupervised graph-classification attack · DASFAA 2025

Develops a label-free adversarial attack for graph classification using contrastive representations and learned edge perturbations.

System connection: Represents adjacent graph-learning research and is not presented as part of the GES implementation.