SQL Server is able to service requests from a large number of concurrent users. When SQL Server is servicing requests from many clients, there is a strong possibility that conflicts will occur because different processes request access to the same resources at the same time. A conflict in which one process is waiting for another to release a resource is called a block. Although in SQL Server a blocked process usually resolves itself when the first process releases the resource but there are times when a process holds a transaction lock and doesn't release it. In this tip, we will learn different techniques to troubleshoot and resolve blocks in SQL Server.

1. Blocking Analysis
Vo Tan Hau
July 08 ,2011
MS SQL Server

2. CONTENTS
 Overview SQL Server.
 Locks And Transaction isolation levels
 SQL Server Blocking.
 Q&A.

3. 1.Overview SQL Server
Relational Database
Management System
SQL ServerClient
Results
Client Application
OLAP
OLTPQuery

4. Client-Server Communication Process
Client Application
Client Net-Library
Client
SQL Server
Relational
Engine
Storage Engine
Server
Local
Database
Database API
(OLE DB, ODBC,
DB-Library)
Memory
Open Data Services
Server Net-Libraries
Query
Result Set
Result Set
Query
1
2
3
4
5
Tabular Data Stream(TDS)
Processor

5. Lock in MS SQL Server.
2. Locks & Transaction Isolation Levels
1
2 Transaction Isolation Levels.

6. 2.1.Lock in MS SQL Server
Lock Granularity and Hierarchies.
a
b
d
Lock Modes.
What is Lock in SQL Server?
c
Lock Compatibility.

7. 2.1.a What is Lock in SQL Server?
 Locking is a mechanism used by the Microsoft SQL
Server Database Engine to synchronize access by
multiple users to the same piece of data at the same
time.
 The basis of locking is to allow one transaction to
update data, knowing that if it has to roll back any
changes, no other transaction has modified the data
since the first transaction did.

8. 2.1.b Lock Granularity and Hierarchies
Resource Description
RID A row identifier used to lock a single row within a heap.
KEY
A row lock within an index used to protect key ranges in serializable
transactions.
PAGE An 8-kilobyte (KB) page in a database, such as data or index pages.
EXTENT A contiguous group of eight pages, such as data or index pages.
HOBT
A heap or B-tree. A lock protecting an index or the heap of data pages
in a table that does not have a clustered index.
TABLE The entire table, including all data and indexes.
FILE A database file.
APPLICATION An application-specified resource.
METADATA Metadata locks.
ALLOCATION_
UNIT An allocation unit.
DATABASE The entire database.

9. 2.1.c Locks Modes
 Locks have different modes that specify the level of access
other transactions have to the locked resource.
Update (U)
Shared (S)
Intent
Key-range
Exclusive (X)
Bulk Update (BU)
Locks
Modes
Schema

10. 2.1.c Locks Modes (cont)
ID CA CB
1 AA01 100
2 AA02 101
3 AA03 102
4 BB01 200
5 BB02 201
6 BB03 202
7 CC01 301
8 CC02 302
9 CC03 303

11. 2.1.c Locks Modes (cont)
 Shared locks (S): Used for read operations that do
not change or update data, such as a SELECT
statement.
ID CA CB
3 AA03 102
RT RM RD
PAGE IS 1:154
OBJECT IS
KEY S
(03000d8f0
ecc)
Begin tran
Select ID,CA,CB
from dbo.tbl01 with( HOLDLOCK)
where ID=3
SELECT resource_type RT,
request_mode RM,
resource_description RD
FROM sys.dm_tran_locks
WHERE resource_type <> 'DATABASE'
Commit tran

12. 2.1.c Locks Modes (cont)
Exclusive locks (X): Used for data-modification operations, such
as INSERT, UPDATE, or DELETE. Ensures that multiple updates
cannot be made to the same resource at the same time.
BEGIN TRAN
UPDATE dbo.tbl01
SET CA = 'Exclusive Lock(X)'
WHERE ID = 5
SELECT resource_type RT,
request_mode RM,
resource_description RD
FROM sys.dm_tran_locks
WHERE resource_type <>
'DATABASE'
ROLLBACK
RT RM RD
PAGE IX 1:163
OBJECT IX
OBJECT IX
KEY X (0500d1d065e9)

13. 2.1.c Locks Modes (cont)
ID CA CB
10 CC03 303
Update locks (U): Used on resources that can be updated.
Prevents a common form of deadlock that occurs when multiple
sessions are reading, locking, and potentially updating
resources later.
Begin tran
Select ID,CA,CB from dbo.tbl01
WITH (UPDLOCK)
where CB >300
SELECT resource_type RT,
request_mode RM,
resource_description RD
FROM sys.dm_tran_locks
WHERE resource_type <>
'DATABASE'
Commit tran
RT RM RD
PAGE IU 1:163
KEY U (0a0087c006b1)
OBJECT IX

14. 2.1.c Locks Modes (cont)
Intent locks (I): Used to establish a lock hierarchy.
The types of intent locks are: intent shared (IS), intent
exclusive (IX), and shared with intent exclusive (SIX).
Begin tran
UPDATE dbo.tbl01
SET CA = 'Test Intent locks (I)'
WHERE ID = 5
SELECT resource_type RT,
request_mode RM,
resource_description RD
FROM sys.dm_tran_locks
WHERE resource_type <>
'DATABASE'
ROLLBACK
RT RM RD
PAGE IX 1:163
KEY X (0500d1d065e9)
OBJECT IX

15. 2.1.c Locks Modes (cont)
Schema locks (Sch): Used when an operation
dependent on the schema of a table is executing.
The types of schema locks are: schema modification
(Sch-M) and schema stability (Sch-S).
Begin tran
CREATE TABLE tbl02
(TestColumn INT)
SELECT resource_type RT,
request_mode RM,
resource_description RD
FROM sys.dm_tran_locks
WHERE resource_type <>
'DATABASE'
ROLLBACK
RT RM RD
HOBT Sch-M
METADATA Sch-S data_space_id = 1
OBJECT Sch-M

16. 2.1.c Locks Modes (cont)
Key-Range Locks: Protects the range of rows read by a query
when using the serializable transaction isolation level. Ensures that
other transactions cannot insert rows that would qualify for the
queries of the serializable transaction if the queries were run again.
SET TRANSACTION ISOLATION LEVEL serializable
Begin tran
Update dbo.tbl01 WITH (UPDLOCK) Set CA = 'Key-Range Locks'
where CB >300
SELECT resource_type RT, request_mode RM, resource_description RD
FROM sys.dm_tran_locks WHERE resource_type <> 'DATABASE'
Commit tran
RT RM RD
PAGE IX 1:163
KEY RangeX-X (0a0087c006b1)
KEY RangeS-U (ffffffffffff)

17. 2.1.c Locks Modes (cont)
 Bulk Update (BU): Used when bulk copying data into a
table and the TABLOCK hint is specified.
CREATE TABLE tbl03
( CA VARCHAR(40),CB INT)
GO
BULK INSERT tbl03
FROM 'D:Bulk.txt'
WITH
(
FIELDTERMINATOR = ',',
ROWTERMINATOR = 'n'
)
GO
AA01,101
BB02,202
CC03,303
DD04,404

18. 2.1.d Lock Compatibility
 Lock compatibility controls whether multiple transactions can
acquire locks on the same resource at the same time. If a
resource is already locked by another transaction, a new lock
request can be granted only if the mode of the requested lock
is compatible with the mode of the existing lock.
 If the mode of the requested lock is not compatible with the
existing lock, the transaction requesting the new lock waits for
the existing lock to be released or for the lock timeout interval
to expire.

19. 2.1.d Lock Compatibility (cont)
Existing Lock Type
Requested Lock Type IS S U IX SIX X Sch-S SCH-M BU
Intent Shared (IS) Y Y Y Y Y N Y N N
Shared (S) Y Y Y N N N Y N N
Update (U) Y Y N N N N Y N N
Intent Exclusive (IX) Y N N Y N N Y N N
Shared with Intent Exclusive
(SIE) Y N N N N N Y N N
Exclusive (E) N N N N N N Y N N
Schema Stability (Sch-S) Y Y Y Y Y Y Y N Y
Schema Modify (Sch-M) N N N N N N N N N
Bulk Update (BU) N N N N N N Y N Y

20. 2.2 Transaction Isolation Levels
What is Isolation Levels in SQL Server?a
b Types of Isolation Level

21. 2.2.a What is Isolation Levels in SQL Server?
 Isolation levels come into play when you need
to isolate a resource for a transaction and protect
that resource from other transactions. The
protection is done by obtaining locks.
 Lower Isolation Levels allow multiple users to
access the resource simultaneously (concurrency)
but they may introduce concurrency related
problems such as dirty-reads and data
inaccuracy.
 Higher Isolation Levels eliminate concurrency
related problems and increase the data accuracy
but they may introduce blocking.

22. 2.2.b Types of Isolation Level
Traditionally, SQL Server has
supported six isolation levels:
 Read Uncommitted.
 Read Committed.
 Repeatable Read.
 Serializable Read.
 Snapshot.
 Read Committed Snapshot

23. 2.2.b Types of Isolation Level (cont)
 Read Uncommitted: This is the lowest level and can be
set, so that it provides higher concurrency but introduces
all concurrency problems.
--Connection A
Begin tran
UPDATE dbo.tbl01
SET CA = ‘Read Uncommitted'
WHERE ID = 5
Commit Tran
--Connection B
Select ID,CA,CB
From dbo.tbl01
WHERE ID = 5
--Change Isolation Level of Connection B
SET TRANSACTION ISOLATION LEVEL READ UNCOMMITTED
Select ID,CA,CB
From dbo.tbl01
WHERE ID = 5
Connection B can see data but It not correct.
This is call Dirty-Reading.

24. 2.2.b Types of Isolation Level (cont)
 Read Committed: This is the default Isolation Level of
SQL Server. This eliminates dirty-reads but all other
concurrency related problems. You have already seen this.
CREATE PROCEDURE dbo.UpdateCB
@CA NVarchar(100), @CB int
AS
BEGIN TRAN
If Exists( Select 1 from dbo.tbl01
WHERE CA = @CA)
Begin
WAITFOR DELAY ’00:00:05′
UPDATE dbo.tbl01
SET CB = @CB WHERE CA = @CA
Commit Tran
Return
End
Else
RAISERROR (‘Data not exist’, 16, 1) ;
--User A Call sp dbo.UpdateCB
EXEC UpdateCB ‘AA01’,100
--After few second User B also
call sp UpdateCB with difference
CB
EXEC UpdateCB ‘AA01’,999
User A made the update and
no error message are
returned but it has lost its
update.

25. 2.2.b Types of Isolation Level (cont)
 Repeatable Read Isolation Level:
This Isolation Level addresses all concurrency
related problems except Phantom reads. Unlike
Read Committed, it does not release the shared
lock once the record is read. This stops other
transactions accessing the resource, avoiding
Lost Updates and Nonrepeatable reads.

26. 2.2.b Types of Isolation Level (cont)
CREATE PROCEDURE dbo.UpdateCB
@CA NVarchar(100), @CB int
AS
SET TRANSACTION ISOLATION LEVEL
REPEATABLE READ
BEGIN TRAN
If Exists( Select 1 from dbo.tbl01
WHERE CA = @CA)
Begin
WAITFOR DELAY ’00:00:05′
UPDATE dbo.tbl01
SET CB = @CB WHERE CA = @CA
Commit Tran
Return
End
Else
RAISERROR (‘Data not exist’, 16, 1) ;
--User A Call sp dbo.UpdateCB
EXEC UpdateCB ‘AA01’,100
-- After few seconds, User B also
call sp UpdateCB with difference
CB
EXEC UpdateCB ‘AA01’,999
User B have been received
throw 1205 error of SQL
Server and Connection2 will be
a deadlock victim.

27. --Create new table tbl02 and Add Column CC into tbl01
CREATE TABLE dbo.tbl02 (CB int, CC int DEFAULT(0) )
ALTER TABLE dbo.tbl01 ADD CC bit DEFAULT(0) NOT NULL
--Create sp to insert data tbl01 to tbl02 with condition CB>300
Create PROCEDURE dbo.AddColCC
AS
BEGIN
BEGIN TRAN
SET TRANSACTION ISOLATION LEVEL REPEATABLE READ
INSERT INTO dbo.tbl02(CB, CC)
SELECT CB,100 FROM dbo.tbl01
WHERE CC = 0 AND CB > 300
WAITFOR DELAY '00:00:05'
UPDATE tbl01 SET CC = 1 WHERE CC = 0 AND CB > 300
COMMIT TRAN
END
--User A call sp AddColCC
exec AddColCC
--User B insert data to tbl01 with CB>300
insert into tbl01(CA,CB)
Values('Test REPEATABLE READ',304)
Step01
Step02
Step03 Step04

28. Result of User A & B
tbl01 tbl02
ID CA CB CC CB CC
8 CC01 301 1 301 100
9 CC02 302 1 302 100
10 CC03 303 1 303 100
11 Test REPEATABLE READ 304 1
In this case, we have an problem which is
Phantom Reads.
To avoid this problem, we need to use
hightest Isolation Level that is Serializable.

29. 2.2.b Types of Isolation Level (cont)
 Serializable Isolation Level
This is the highest Isolation Level and it avoids all
the concurrency related problems.
The behavior of this level is just like the Repeatable
Read with one additional feature.
It obtains key range locks based on the filters that
have been used.
It locks not only current records that stratify the
filter but new records fall into same filter.

30. --Alter sp to insert data tbl01 to tbl02 with condition CB>300
Alter PROCEDURE dbo.AddColCC
AS
BEGIN
SET TRANSACTION ISOLATION LEVEL Serializable
BEGIN TRAN
INSERT INTO dbo.tbl02(CB, CC)
SELECT CB,100 FROM dbo.tbl01
WHERE CC = 0 AND CB > 300
WAITFOR DELAY '00:00:05'
UPDATE tbl01 SET CC = 1 WHERE CC = 0 AND CB > 300
COMMIT TRAN
END
Step01
--Bring tbl01 & tbl02 table to original state
Update dbo.tbl01 set CC=0
Delete FROM dbo.tbl01 where ID>10
Delete FROM dbo.tbl02
--User A call sp AddColCC
exec AddColCC
--User B insert data to tbl01 with CB>300
insert into tbl01(CA,CB)
Values('Test REPEATABLE READ',304)Step03 Step04
Step02

31. Result of User A & B
tbl01 tbl02
ID CA CB CC CB CC
8 CC01 301 1 301 100
9 CC02 302 1 302 100
10 CC03 303 1 303 100
12 Test REPEATABLE READ 304 0
Connection of User B will be blocked until
connection of User A completes the
transaction, it is avoiding Phantom Reads

32. 2.2.b Types of Isolation Level (cont)
 The Snapshot Isolation Level works with Row Versioning
technology. Whenever the transaction requires a modification
for a record, SQL Server first stores the consistence version of
the record in the tempdb.
 If another transaction that runs under Snapshot Isolation Level
requires the same record, it can be taken from the version
store.
 This Isolation Level prevents all concurrency related problems
just like Serializable Isolation Level, in addition to that it allows
multiple updates for same resource by different transactions
concurrently.
 ALTER DATABASE [DB Name]
SET ALLOW_SNAPSHOT_ISOLATION ON

33. --Alter sp to insert data tbl01 to tbl02 with condition CB>300
Alter PROCEDURE dbo.AddColCC
AS
BEGIN
SET TRANSACTION ISOLATION LEVEL SNAPSHOT
BEGIN TRAN
INSERT INTO dbo.tbl02(CB, CC)
SELECT CB,100 FROM dbo.tbl01
WHERE CC = 0 AND CB > 300
WAITFOR DELAY '00:00:05'
UPDATE tbl01 SET CC = 1 WHERE CC = 0 AND CB > 300
COMMIT TRAN
END
Step02
--Bring tbl01 & tbl02 table to original state
Update dbo.tbl01 set CC=0
Delete FROM dbo.tbl01 where ID>10
Delete FROM dbo.tbl02
--User A call sp AddColCC
exec AddColCC
--User B insert data to tbl01 with CB>300
insert into tbl01(CA,CB)
Values(‘ISOLATION LEVEL SNAPSHOT',305)Step04
Step05
Step03
--Enable Allow_Snapshot_Isolation on local DB Test
ALTER DATABASE [DB_Test]
SET ALLOW_SNAPSHOT_ISOLATION ON
Step01

34. Result of User A & B
tbl01 tbl02
ID CA CB CC CB CC
8 CC01 301 1 301 100
9 CC02 302 1 302 100
10 CC03 303 1 303 100
13 SNAPSHOT 305 0
The result is the same setting Serializable
Isolation Level

35. No User A User B
0
SET TRANSACTION ISOLATION
LEVEL SNAPSHOT
1 Begin tran Begin tran
2
Update dbo.tbl01
Set CA='SNAPSHOT-1‘
Where CB=303
Select ID, CA, CB
From tbl01
Where CB=303
3
Select ID, CA, CB
From tbl01
Where CB=303
Update dbo.tbl01
Set CA='SNAPSHOT-2'
Where CB=303
4 Commit Commit
Example 2

36. No User A User B
2 (1 row(s) affected) Return data with CA='SNAPSHOT‘
3
Return data with
CA='SNAPSHOT-1‘ Processing
4
Return message:
Command(s) completed
successfully.
Return message: Snapshot isolation
transaction aborted due to update conflict.
You cannot use snapshot isolation to
access table 'dbo.tbl01' directly or
indirectly in database 'DB_Test' to update,
delete, or insert the row that has been
modified or deleted by another transaction.
Retry the transaction or change the
isolation level for the update/delete
statement.
Result of User A & B

37. 2.2.b Types of Isolation Level (cont)
 Read Committed Snapshot is the new
implementation of the Read Committed Isolation
Level.
 It has to be set not at session/connection level
but database level.
 The Read Committed Snapshot differs from
Snapshot in two ways; Unlike Snapshot, it always
returns latest consistence version and no conflict
detection.
ALTER DATABASE [DBName] SET READ_COMMITTED_SNAPSHOT ON

38. Summarize of Isolation Level
Dirty
Reads
Lost
Updates
Non
repeatable
reads
Phantom
reads
Conflict
Detection
Read
Uncommitted
Yes Yes Yes Yes No
Read Committed No Yes Yes Yes No
Repeatable Read No Yes Yes Yes No
Serializable No No No No No
Snapshot No No No No Yes
Read Committed
Snapshot
No Yes Yes Yes No

39. 3 Blocking in the system
Purpose of Blocking.
1
2
What is Blocking in SQL Server?
3 Detecting SQL Server Blocking

40. 3.1 What is Blocking in SQL Server?
 Blocking in SQL Server is a scenario where one
connection to SQL Server locks one or more
records, and a second connection to SQL Server
requires a conflicting lock type on the record or
records locked by the first connection.
 This causes the second connection to wait until
the first connection releases its locks.
 By default, a connection will wait an unlimited
amount of time for the blocking lock to go away.

41. 3.2 Purpose of Blocking.
Dirty
Reads
Lost
Updates
Phantom
reads
Non
repeatable
reads

42. 3.3 Detecting SQL Server Blocking
What is Dead Lock?a
b Detection SQL Server Blocking.

43. 3.3.a What is Dead Lock?
 A deadlock occurs when two or more tasks
permanently block each other by each
task having a lock on a resource which the
other tasks are trying to lock.

44. 3.3.b Detection SQL Server Blocking
No User A User B
1 Begin tran Begin tran
2
Update dbo.tbl01
Set CA='SNAPSHOT-1‘
Where CB=303
Select ID, CA, CB
From tbl01
Where CB=303
3
Select ID, CA, CB
From tbl01
Where CB=303
Update dbo.tbl01
Set CA='SNAPSHOT-2'
Where CB=303
4 --Commit Commit
Profiler
Trace
Activity
Monitor
Report
Service

45. SQL Server Profiler Trace
Enable Blocked process threshold on Database
sp_configure 'show advanced options', 1
GO
RECONFIGURE
GO
sp_configure 'blocked process threshold'
GO
sp_configure 'blocked process threshold', 5 -–5 is time blocked
GO
RECONFIGURE
GO

46. SQL Server Profiler Trace
Use Tool SQL Server Profiler, connect Database to monitor.
On Tab ‘General’, call the Trace name as ‘CheckDeadlocks’. Then choose
a template ‘Blank’. Check the checkbox ‘Save to File’ and save the file in
a preferred location.

47. SQL Server Profiler Trace (Cont)
Expand the ‘Errors and Warnings’ section and select the
‘Blocked Process Report’ Item.

48. SQL Server Profiler Trace (Cont)
After the trace is run the *.trc file can be viewed in SQL Server Profiler
or can be loaded into a database. It will show an XML view of what
query was being blocked and what query was doing the blocking.

49. SQL Server Activity Monitor
This tool is a component of the SQL Server Management Studio.
It helps in getting information about users connection, and locks
that may happen because of different reasons. There are 3 pages
in the Activity Monitor:
1 - Process Info Page - contains information about all
connections.
2 - Locks by Process Page - contains sorted information by
locks on the connections.
3 - Locks by Object Page - Contains information about locks
sorted based on the object.
Whenever a lock occurs in a database, the Activity Monitor is the
best place to view, in order to figure out the cause of the lock.
Its important to note here that in order to view the Activity
Monitor, the user needs to have the VIEW SERVER STATE
permission on the SQL Server he/she is working on.

50. SQL Server Activity Monitor (Cont)

51. SQL Server Report Services
 On SQL Server we can use SQL Report Service to detect block
transaction.

53. QUESTION AND ANSWERS

54. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION!

55. Reference document
 http://www.google.com
 http://technet.microsoft.com/en-
us/library/ms187101%28SQL.90%29.aspx
 http://etutorials.org/SQL/microsoft+sql+server+
2000/Part+V+SQL+Server+Internals+and+Perfo
rmance+Tuning/Chapter+38.+Locking+and+Perf
ormance/
 http://aboutsqlserver.com/2011/04/14/locking-
in-microsoft-sql-server-part-1-lock-types