1. A computer-implemented method of partitioning a graph database, wherein the graph database includes nodes connected to one another, comprising: determining a node type indicating a type of node that is to be used as mapped nodes; and upon receiving a new node, placing the new node in a partition according to one or more property values associated with the new node if it is a mapped node, and placing the new node in a partition according to its connections to other nodes if it is not a mapped node.