Quickstart: Aerospike Graph

This quickstart walks you through:

Setting up Aerospike Graph locally
Loading a sample dataset
Running Gremlin queries with the Gremlin Console

Prerequisites

Install the following dependencies before proceeding:

Docker
Java SE 17 for the Gremlin Console
Python 3.10 for the sample app

If you manage multiple Java versions, temporarily change the PATH system variable so the Java SE 17 bin directory is first on the PATH.

Start Aerospike Graph in Docker

Using the preconfigured Aerospike Graph GitHub repository, we’ll quickly get up and running with a one-node Aerospike Graph Service (AGS) instance and a one-node Aerospike Database cluster.

Clone the Aerospike Graph repository and navigate to the new directory.
Terminal window
```
git clone https://github.com/aerospike/aerospike-graph.git
cd aerospike-graph
```

Start the Docker Compose stack.

docker compose up -d

 ✔ Network asgraph_net                Created
 ✔ Container aerospike-db             Healthy
 ✔ Container asgraph-zipkin           Healthy
 ✔ Container aerospike-graph-service  Started

Verify that Aerospike Graph Service, Zipkin (a query tracing service), and Aerospike Database are running.

docker ps

Example response

9d5b0cfab45f   aerospike/aerospike-graph-service:latest    "scripts/gremlin-ser…"...
6ca1415981fe   openzipkin/zipkin                           "start-zipkin"...
248a05d9e903   aerospike/aerospike-server-enterprise:7.1   "/usr/bin/as-tini-st…"...

The output should show three running Docker processes: Aerospike Graph Service, Zipkin, and Aerospike Database.

Fetch the air-routes dataset

The Air Routes sample dataset by Kelvin Lawrence is a well-known graph dataset featuring airlines, airports, and the routes between them. Its real-world graph structure provides an excellent environment for exploring core Gremlin query patterns.

Create an air-routes directory at the root of the repository with edges and vertices subdirectories.
Terminal window
```
mkdir -p air-routes/edges air-routes/vertices
```

Download the Air Routes CSV files into the new directories.

curl -L -o air-routes/edges/air-routes-latest-edges.csv https://raw.githubusercontent.com/krlawrence/graph/refs/heads/master/sample-data/air-routes-latest-edges.csv
curl -L -o air-routes/vertices/air-routes-latest-nodes.csv https://raw.githubusercontent.com/krlawrence/graph/refs/heads/master/sample-data/air-routes-latest-nodes.csv

Install the Gremlin Console

Gremlin Console is a command-line interface for issuing Gremlin traversals against your running graph service.

Download and extract the latest Gremlin Console from the Apache TinkerPop downloads

curl -O https://dlcdn.apache.org/tinkerpop/3.8.0/apache-tinkerpop-gremlin-console-3.8.0-bin.zip && unzip apache-tinkerpop-gremlin-console-3.8.0-bin.zip && rm apache-tinkerpop-gremlin-console-3.8.0-bin.zip

Start the console from the extracted directory.
Terminal window
```
apache-tinkerpop-gremlin-console-3.8.0/bin/gremlin.sh
```

Connect to the Aerospike Graph Service instance.

g = traversal().withRemote(DriverRemoteConnection.using("localhost", 8182, "g"));

Example response

graphtraversalsource[emptygraph[empty], standard]

Bulk load the dataset

Aerospike Graph provides a bulk loader call step that ingests vertex and edge CSV files directly from mounted storage.

Kick off the bulk loader from the Gremlin Console.

g.with("evaluationTimeout", 30000) \
.call("aerospike.graphloader.admin.bulk-load.load") \
.with("aerospike.graphloader.vertices", "/data/air-routes/vertices") \
.with("aerospike.graphloader.edges", "/data/air-routes/edges").next()

Example response

==>Bulk load started successfully. Use the g.call("aerospike.graphloader.admin.bulk-load.status") command to get the status of the job.

Poll the job until it completes.

g.call("aerospike.graphloader.admin.bulk-load.status").next()

Example response

==>duplicate-vertex-ids=0
==>bad-edges=0
==>step=done
==>bad-entries=0
==>complete=true
==>status=success

Explore the graph

Use the Gremlin Console to experiment with Gremlin queries in AGS, explore vertices, traverse edges, and gain hands-on experience with basic graph traversal patterns to better understand the loaded data model.

Find the airport with code DFW.
```
g.V().has('code','DFW')
```
Example response
v[8]
Count the number of airports in the graph.
```
g.V().hasLabel('airport').count()
```
Example response
3504
Count the flights departing from SFO.
```
g.V().has('code','SFO').outE().count()
```
Example response
157

List cities with routes longer than 4000 miles.

g.E().has("dist", P.gt(4000L)).inV().values("city").dedup()

Example response

Fortaleza
Cayo Largo del Sur
Varadero
Holguin
Puerto Plata

Find U.S. airports reached from London Heathrow (LHR).

g.V().has('country','US').where(in('route').has('code','LHR')).values('code').toList()

Example response

IAH
CHS
ORD
EWR
BWI
PIT

Get unique locations accessible from SFO within two hops.

g.V().has("code", "SFO").out().out().dedup().fold().project("totalAirportCountFromSFO",    "USAirportCountFromSFO").by(__.unfold().count()).by(__.unfold().has("country", "US").count())

Example response

[totalAirportCountFromSFO:1904,USAirportCountFromSFO:455]

Finish up

Exit the Gremlin Console and stop the Docker services when you are finished.

Exit the Gremlin Console.
Terminal window
```
:exit
```
Navigate back to the aerospike-graph root directory.
Shut down the three running Docker processes.
Terminal window
```
docker compose down
```

Done!

You have now set up Aerospike Graph locally, explored the Python example app, loaded the Air Routes dataset, and queried it with Gremlin. Next, try visualizing your data with G.V() and learn more about the Gremlin IDE on the Visualization with G.V() page.