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Deadlock Troubleshooting, Part 1

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A deadlock is a circular blocking chain, where two or more threads are each blocked by the other so that no one can proceed. When the deadlock monitor thread in SQL Server detects a circular blocking chain, it selects one of the participants as a victim, cancels that spid’s current batch, and rolls backs his transaction in order to let the other spids continue with their work. The deadlock victim will get a 1205 error:

 

Transaction (Process ID 52) was deadlocked on lock resources with another process and has been chosen as the deadlock victim. Rerun the transaction.

 

A deadlock is a special type of blocking scenario, but blocking and deadlocking are not the same thing. Sometimes we have people report that they are experiencing "deadlocking" when they are really only seeing blocking.

 

With very few exceptions, deadlocks are a natural side effect of blocking, not a SQL Server bug. The typical deadlock solution is either a stored proc/app code tweak, or a schema/indexing change.

 

Here’s how to troubleshoot deadlocks. These steps apply to most deadlocks, and they’ll allow you to resolve many of them without even having to dig into query plans or other nitty gritty details. What’s that? You like digging into query plans, and have nitty grits for breakfast every morning? OK then, we’ll look at a deadlock scenario from the inside out a bit later. But first, here are the basics:

 

  1. Turn on trace flag 1222 with “DBCC TRACEON (1222, -1)” or by adding “-T1222” as a SQL startup parameter. This trace flag is a new trace flag in SQL 2005, a much improved version of the tried-and-true -T1204. If you’re running SQL 2005, you should be using 1222 instead of 1204 unless you have deep-seated masochistic tendencies. Alternatives to 1222:
    • If you are using SQL 2000 or SQL 7.0, you’ll have no choice but to fall back on the older -T1204. 
    • There’s a “Deadlock graph” Profiler trace event that provides the same info as -T1222. Feel free to use this instead of -T1222 if you’re on SQL 2005. But don’t waste your time with the “Lock:Deadlock” and “Lock:Deadlock Chain” trace events that are in SQL 2000, as they provide an unacceptably incomplete picture of the deadlock.
  2. Get the -T1222 output from the SQL errorlog after the deadlock has occurred. You’ll see output that looks like this:

deadlock-list

 deadlock victim=processdceda8

  process-list

   process id=processdceda8 taskpriority=0 logused=0 waitresource=KEY: 2:72057594051493888 (0400a4427a09) waittime=5000 ownerId=24008914 transactionname=SELECT lasttranstarted=2006-09-08T15:54:22.327 XDES=0x8fd9a848 lockMode=S schedulerid=1 kpid=4404 status=suspended spid=54 sbid=0 ecid=0 priority=0 transcount=0 lastbatchstarted=2006-09-08T15:54:22.293 lastbatchcompleted=2006-09-08T15:54:22.293 clientapp=OSQL-32 hostname=BARTD2 hostpid=3408 loginname=bartd isolationlevel=read committed (2) xactid=24008914 currentdb=2 lockTimeout=4294967295 clientoption1=538968096 clientoption2=128056

    executionStack

     frame procname=tempdb.dbo.p1 line=2 stmtstart=60 sqlhandle=0x03000200268be70bd

   SELECT c2, c3 FROM t1 WHERE c2 = @p1

     frame procname=adhoc line=2 stmtstart=32 stmtend=52 sqlhandle=0x020000008a4df52d3

       EXEC p1 3

    inputbuf

  EXEC p1 3

   process id=process3c54c58 taskpriority=0 logused=16952 waitresource=KEY: 2:72057594051559424 (0900fefcd2fe) waittime=5000 ownerId=24008903 transactionname=UPDATE lasttranstarted=2006-09-08T15:54:22.327 XDES=0x802ecdd0 lockMode=X schedulerid=2 kpid=4420 status=suspended spid=55 sbid=0 ecid=0 priority=0 transcount=2 lastbatchstarted=2006-09-08T15:54:22.327 lastbatchcompleted=2006-09-08T15:54:22.310 clientapp=OSQL-32 hostname=BARTD2 hostpid=2728 loginname=bartd isolationlevel=read committed (2) xactid=24008903 currentdb=2 lockTimeout=4294967295 clientoption1=538968096 clientoption2=128056

    executionStack

     frame procname=tempdb.dbo.p2 line=2 stmtstart=58 sqlhandle=0x030002005fafdb0c

       UPDATE t1 SET c1 = FLOOR (c1), c2 = FLOOR (c2) WHERE c1 = @p1

     frame procname=adhoc line=2 stmtstart=32 stmtend=52 sqlhandle=0x020000006f878816

       EXEC p2 3

    inputbuf

  EXEC p2 3

  resource-list

   keylock hobtid=72057594051559424 dbid=2 objectname=tempdb.dbo.t1 indexname=idx1 id=lock83642a00 mode=S associatedObjectId=72057594051559424

    owner-list

     owner id=processdceda8 mode=S

    waiter-list

     waiter id=process3c54c58 mode=X requestType=wait

   keylock hobtid=72057594051493888 dbid=2 objectname=tempdb.dbo.t1 indexname=cidx id=lock83643780 mode=X associatedObjectId=72057594051493888

    owner-list

     owner id=process3c54c58 mode=X

    waiter-list

     waiter id=processdceda8 mode=S requestType=wait

 

  1. “Decode” the -T1222 output to better understand the deadlock scenario. The deadlock is summarized by a “process-list” and a “resource-list”. A “process” is a spid or worker thread that participates in the deadlock. Each process is assigned an identifier, like “processdceda8”. A resource is a resource that one of the participants owns (usually a lock) that the other participant is waiting on. I like to use a format like the one below to summarize the deadlock. You can skip this step if you want, but I never do; I find it really helps me understand the deadlock situation more clearly. I’ve highlighted in yellow each of the data points within the 1222 output that you would need to reconstruct this summary on your own.

    Spid 54 is running this query (line 2 of proc [p1]):
    SELECT c2, c3 FROM t1 WHERE c2 = @p1
    Spid 55 is running this query (line 2 of proc [p2]):
    UPDATE t1 SET c1 = FLOOR (c1), c2 = FLOOR (c2) WHERE c1 = @p1

    Spid 54 is waiting for a Shared KEY lock on index t1.cidx.
    (Spid 55 holds a conflicting X lock.)
    Spid 55 is waiting for an eXclusive KEY lock on index t1.idx1.
    (Spid 54 holds a conflicting S lock.)

    For most lock types (including KEY locks, as shown in this example), SQL will directly identify the index by name in the output. For some lock types, though, you'll get an "associatedObjectId", but no object name. An example:

    pagelock fileid=1 pageid=95516 dbid=9 objectname="" id=lock177a9e280 mode=IX associatedObjectId=72057596554838016

    The attribute "associatedObjectId" isn't the type of Object ID that you're probably familiar with; it's actually a partition ID. You can determine the database name by running "SELECT DB_NAME(9)", where the "9" in this example comes from the "dbid" attribute, highlighted in blue. Then you can determine the index and table name by looking up the associatedObjectId/PartitionId in the indicated database:

    SELECT OBJECT_NAME(i.object_id), i.name
    FROM sys.partitions AS p
    INNER JOIN sys.indexes AS i ON i.object_id = p.object_id AND i.index_id = p.index_id
    WHERE p.partition_id = 72057596554838016

    For those of you on SQL 2005 who think that the -T1222 output is a bit overwhelming, you're right. But you may also want to count your blessings and be thankful that you don’t have to wade through -T1204 output, which is a lot more difficult to interpret than -T1222 and doesn’t provide nearly as much useful information about the deadlock. Check out the file "Decoding_T1204_Output.htm" attached to this post for annotated -T1204 output.

  2. Run the queries involved in the deadlock through Database Tuning Advisor. Plop the query in a Management Studio query window, change db context to the correct database, right-click the query text and select “Analyze Query in DTA”. Don’t skip this step; more than half of the deadlock issues we see are resolved simply by adding an appropriate index so that one of the queries runs more quickly and with a smaller lock footprint. If DTA recommends indexes (it'll say “Estimated Improvement: <some non-zero>%”), create them and monitor to see if the deadlock persists. You can select “Apply Recommendations” from the Action drop-down menu to create the index immediately, or save the CREATE INDEX commands as a script to create them during a maintenance window. Be sure to tune each of the queries separately.

  3. Make sure the query is using the minimum necessary transaction isolation level (-T1222 will tell you this – search the output for “isolationlevel”). Queries run by transactional COM+ components will default to serializable, which is usually overkill. This can be reduced by query hints (“...FROM tbl1 WITH (READCOMMITTED)...”), a SET TRANSACTION ISOLATION LEVEL command, or, in Windows 2003 and later, by configuring the object in the Component Services MMC plugin.

  4. Make sure that your transactions are as brief as they can be while still meeting the relevant business constraints. Try not to use implicit transactions, as this model of transaction management encourages unnecessarily long transactions.

  5. Look for other opportunities to improve the efficiency of the queries involved in the deadlock, either through query changes or through indexing improvements. A query that locks the minimum number of resources will be much less likely to deadlock with another query. Table scans, index scans, and large hashes or large sorts in the query plan may indicate opportunities for improvement.

  6. If one or both spids is running a multi-statement transaction, you may need to capture a profiler trace that spans the deadlock in order to identify the full set of queries that were involved in the deadlock. Unfortunately, both -T1204 and -T1222 only print out the two queries that “closed the loop”, and it’s possible that one of the blocking locks was acquired by an earlier query run within the same transaction.

These are all general recommendations that you can apply to any deadlock without having to really roll up your sleeves and get dirty. If after doing all of this you haven’t resolved it, though, you’ll have to dive a bit deeper and tailor a solution to the specifics of the scenario. Here’s a menu of some common techniques that you can choose from when deciding how best to tackle a deadlock:

 

  • Access objects in the same order. Consider the following two batches:

1. Begin Transaction

1. Begin Transaction

2. Update Part table

2. Update Supplier table

3. Update Supplier table

3. Update Part table

4. Commit Transaction

4. Commit Transaction

These two batches may deadlock frequently. If both are about to execute step 3, they may each end up blocked by the other because they both need access to a resource that the other connection locked in step 2.

  • If both deadlock participants are using the same index, consider adding an index that can provide an alternate access path to one of the spids. For example, adding a covering nonclustered index for a SELECT involved in a deadlock may prevent the problem (assuming that none of the covering index keys are modified by the other deadlock participant).
  • On the other hand, if the spids are deadlocking because they took alternate paths (indexes) to a common required data row or page, consider whether one of the indexes can be removed or an index hint used to force both queries to share an access path. Be cautious of potential performance hits as a result of this approach.
  • Deadlocks are a special type of blocking where two spids both end up blocking the other. Sometimes the best way to prevent a deadlock is to force the blocking to occur at an earlier point in one of the two transactions. For example, if you force spid A to be blocked by spid B at the very beginning of A’s transaction, it may not have a chance to acquire the lock resource that later ends up blocking spid B. Doesn’t this means you are deliberately causing blocking? Yes, but remember that you already have blocking or you wouldn’t be in a deadlock situation, and simple blocking is a big improvement over a deadlock. As soon as B commits his transaction, A will be able to proceed. HOLDLOCK and UPDLOCK hints can be useful for this.
  • If a high priority process is being selected as a victim in a deadlock with a lower priority process, the lower priority process could be modified to SET DEADLOCK_PRIORITY LOW. Spids that set this will offer themselves up as the sacrificial lamb in any deadlock they encounter.
  • Avoid placing clustered indexes on columns that are frequently updated. Updates to clustered index key columns will require locks on the clustered index (to move the row) and all nonclustered indexes (since the leaf level of NC indexes reference rows by clustered index key value).
  • In some cases it may be appropriate to add a NOLOCK hint, assuming that one of the queries is a SELECT statement. While this is a tempting path because it is a quick and easy solution for many deadlocks, approach it with caution as it carries with it all the usual caveats surrounding read uncommitted isolation level (a query could return a transactionally inconsistent view of the data). If you are unfamiliar with the risks, read the "SET TRANSACTION ISOLATION LEVEL" topic in SQL Books Online.
  • In SQL 2005 you could consider the new SNAPSHOT isolation level. This will avoid most blocking while avoiding the risks of NOLOCK. An even cooler new feature IMHO is the new READ COMMITTED SNAPSHOT database option (see ALTER DATABASE), which allows you to use a variant of snapshot isolation level without changing your app.
  • If one or both locks involved in the deadlock are S/X TAB (table) locks, lock escalation may be involved. You can reduce the likelihood of lock escalation by enabling trace flag 1224 (SQL 2005 and later) or 1211 (see KB 323630). Note that this does not apply to "intent" TAB locks, which have a capital "I" prefix (e.g. IS / IX TAB locks).
  • If the deadlock is intermittent, sometimes the simplest solution is to add deadlock retry logic. The retry logic could be in T-SQL, as long as (a) you're on SQL 2005 or later so that you can use BEGIN TRY, and (b) your transaction is wholly-contained within a single stored proc or batch. See this article for details. If the deadlock transaction spans multiple batches you can still add deadlock retry logic, but it would need to be moved out to the client app code. If you can only add deadlock retry logic to one of the participants in the deadlock, you can use SET DEADLOCK_PRIORITY LOW to ensure that the engine prefentially aborts the transaction of the guy that has the retry logic.

In a follow-up post I’ll look at a fairly typical deadlock in detail. This will provide an example of what you'd have to do if the 8 high-level steps listed above fail you, forcing you to understand the scenario at a deeper level so that you can craft a custom solution.

  

(This post series is continued in Deadlock Troubleshooting, Part 2.)

  

SQL2000_Deadlocks_T1204.htm

Comments

  • Anonymous
    September 11, 2006
    The comment has been removed

  • Anonymous
    September 11, 2006
    How do detect where the problem is...means which section of the code is causing deadlock?

    This is discussed in steps 1-3 in the post.  To recap that info: If you're on SQL 2005, turn on -T1222.  This will tell you the final 2 statements involved in the deadlock.  If you're on SQL 2000, turn on -T1204 and -T3605 and capture a profiler trace that includes the SP:StmtStarting, Lock:Deadlock, and Exception events (at a minimum).  


    > 2. How should I rectify them?
    Once you identify the queries involved in the deadlock, follow steps 4-8 in the post.  

  • Anonymous
    October 24, 2006
    The comment has been removed

  • Anonymous
    October 24, 2006
    The comment has been removed

  • Anonymous
    November 13, 2006
    Thanks so much for the info... It helped me tremendously especially when I was trying to repeat the problem. FYI: my problem was related with indexes. We have a legacy app with stored procedures updating the same row for different purposes. And one of  the columns being updated has also a non-clustered index.  I open 2 query analyser and put while 1=1 to run 2 SPs and then Boom, I get the error in either fex seconds or 20 seconds. the only time I don't get an error iswhenI remove all the indexes which is not an option. Btw, this table doesn't have a primary key... I know I know.... It wasn't me who created and that person is no longer with the company... :) But I have to fix it.

  • Anonymous
    December 13, 2006
    Check the Companion tool at www.sqlminds.com  It will do for you all of the above steps and more. For example, if you have 3 or 4 SIDs deadlocking and each SIDs has multiple statements per DB transaction, the above approach will fail since it will report ONLY the statements, which deadlocked: SID1 - begin tran update t1 ... where PK = 1 SID2 - begin tran update t1 ... where PK = 2 SID3 - begin tran update t1 ... where PK = 3 then SID1 - select * from t1 where PK = 3 SID2 - select * from t1 where PK = 1 SID3 - select * from t1 where PK = 2 This is where the deadlock monitor (spid=4) will kick in and guess what, you'll be getting the last three statements in the output SID1 - select * from t1 where PK = 3 SID2 - select * from t1 where PK = 1 SID3 - select * from t1 where PK = 2 I don't think you can figure out the deadlock given only these three statements.  You can do some tedious digging into the outstanding locks and figure out the deadlock but this can be done with the assumption that you know intimately your statements (i.e. what if you are an ASP - App service provider...).  Check out the tool I've mentioned; it will give you the blocking chain PLUS the timing.  HTH

  • Anonymous
    December 18, 2006
    The tool you describe sounds pretty cool.  FWIW, step 8 in the instructions above mentions that a profiler trace may be necessary if one or more of the deadlock participants are involved in a multi-batch transaction.  

  • Anonymous
    January 02, 2007
    is it possible to cause a deadlock by 2  "select" staments?tnks  a lot for any help !

  • Anonymous
    January 03, 2007
    Possibly.  One such case would be if the SELECT statements used a hint to change the type of locks being acquired (e.g. UPDLOCK, XLOCK).  You could also see this if the SELECT statements were part of a multi-statement transaction.  For example, these two transactions could deadlock on the SELECT statements:   Connection 1:
         begin tran
         update t1 set ... where c1 = x
         select * from t1 where c1 = y   Connection 2:
         begin tran
         update t1 set ... where c1 = y
         select * from t1 where c1 = x Troubleshoot these just as you would any other deadlock.

  • Anonymous
    February 08, 2007
    The comment has been removed

  • Anonymous
    February 28, 2007
    Prasanna,No, the SQL errorlog is just a plain text file; the yellow text highlighting is my emphasis.  I did it to call out some of the data points in the 1222 output that can be the most useful when trying to understand a deadlock.  You'll have to locate these data points in your own -T1222 output yourself.  Bart

  • Anonymous
    March 26, 2007
    The comment has been removed

  • Anonymous
    March 28, 2007
    Dmitrey,You're absolutely right -- those were errors.  I've fixed them in HTM file attached to the post.Thanks!Bart

  • Anonymous
    April 10, 2007
    Hi, BartWhich profiler event(s) should I capture? I use Deadlock Graph and Blocked Process Report, are there others?Thank you,BillIf one or both spids is running a multi-statement transaction, you may need to capture a profiler trace that spans the deadlock in order to identify the full set of queries that were involved in the deadlock.  Unfortunately, both -T1204 and -T1222 only print out the two queries that “closed the loop”, and it’s possible that one of the blocking locks was acquired by an earlier query run within the same transaction.

  • Anonymous
    April 10, 2007
    Hi,Which profiler events capture such scenario?If one or both spids is running a multi-statement transaction, you may need to capture a profiler trace that spans the deadlock in order to identify the full set of queries that were involved in the deadlock.  Unfortunately, both -T1204 and -T1222 only print out the two queries that “closed the loop”, and it’s possible that one of the blocking locks was acquired by an earlier query run within the same transaction.Bill

  • Anonymous
    April 12, 2007
    The comment has been removed

  • Anonymous
    April 12, 2007
    Hi, BartCan you give me an example of more about the statement below and why Deadlock Graph-T1222 can not accomplish? I guess i stll dont understand..If one or both spids is running a multi-statement transaction, you may need to capture a profiler trace that spans the deadlock in order to identify the full set of queries that were involved in the deadlock.  Unfortunately, both -T1204 and -T1222 only print out the two queries that “closed the loop”, and it’s possible that one of the blocking locks was acquired by an earlier query run within the same transaction.Thank you,Bill

  • Anonymous
    April 15, 2007
    Bill,Consider the simple deadlock scenario described at the beginning of http://blogs.msdn.com/bartd/archive/2006/09/25/deadlock-troubleshooting-part-3.aspx.  In a case like this, only query #3 would be shown in the -T1222 (or -T1204) output.  You would need a profiler trace if you wanted to see query #2 for each transaction, which played an important role in the deadlock.  HTH,Bart

  • Anonymous
    April 17, 2007
    Is there a reason why adding the "Lock:Deadlock graph" event class will not generate the event when the Lock:Deadlock event is recorded?In addition, the -T1222 output is indicating two different resources for a RID lock (names have been changed to protect the innocent :O).  Why would it deadlock on statements in two different tables?ridlock fileid=1 pageid=1711 dbid=5 objectname=db.dbo.t1 id=lock39ebac0 mode=X associatedObjectId=72057594039959552andridlock fileid=1 pageid=2097 dbid=5 objectname=db.dbo.t2 id=lock39eaec0 mode=X associatedObjectId=72057594040811520Thanks,Anders

  • Anonymous
    April 22, 2007
    Anders: “Is there a reason why adding the "Lock:Deadlock graph" event class will not generate the event when the Lock:Deadlock event is recorded?”Sorry, could you clarify this question?  Capturing the "Lock:Deadlock Graph” event in a profiler trace will provide the same information that you can get in the errorlog via -T1222.  To see the raw XML instead of the graphical view of the deadlock that the profiler GUI shows, right-click on the event and select “Extract event data”.  (The graphical view is pretty and easier to understand, but it is also only provides a subset of the information that is available in the raw XML.)   “In addition, the -T1222 output is indicating two different resources for a RID lock (names have been changed to protect the innocent :O).  Why would it deadlock on statements in two different tables?”Every deadlock must involve a minimum of two different lock resources.  Each resource is owned by one of the deadlock participants.  Each deadlock participant is blocked, waiting to get access to the resource currently locked by the other participant.  That’s the way deadlocks work; if only one lock resource was involved, it could only be a simple blocking incident, not a deadlock.  

  • Anonymous
    May 01, 2007
    PingBack from http://blogs.msdn.com/bartd/archive/2006/09/25/deadlock-troubleshooting-part-3.aspx

  • Anonymous
    May 11, 2007
    Hello Bart,Great article, best I've read on 2005 deadlocking thus far. I've always used the -T1204 and -T3605 in 2000. I was getting ready to add these to our new 2005 servers when I thought I should look for an update ... low and behold there is.I've added the -T1222 via config manager, restarted, and created a deadlock (http://wardyit.com/blog/blog/archive/2005/12/12/65.aspx) yet I see no messages in my eventviewer nor displayed on screen ... just the deadlock error itself.Thanks

  • Anonymous
    May 11, 2007
    The comment has been removed

  • Anonymous
    May 11, 2007
    The comment has been removed

  • Anonymous
    May 11, 2007
    The comment has been removed

  • Anonymous
    May 21, 2007
    Just wanted to follow up and say I got it working ... I had an extra space before the -T1222 flag!Anyways, thanks for the help and this useful information.

  • Anonymous
    June 05, 2007
    Hi Bart,I'll really appreciate if you can interpret following deadlock graph on SQL Server 20002007-06-04 16:28:32.21 spid4     Node:12007-06-04 16:28:32.21 spid4     KEY: 8:1358627883:2 (9e045f9bca23) CleanCnt:2 Mode: Range-S-S Flags: 0x02007-06-04 16:28:32.21 spid4      Grant List 0::2007-06-04 16:28:32.22 spid4        Owner:0x42cd4160 Mode: Range-S-S Flg:0x0 Ref:1 Life:02000000 SPID:139 ECID:02007-06-04 16:28:32.24 spid4        SPID: 139 ECID: 0 Statement Type: INSERT Line #: 12007-06-04 16:28:32.24 spid4        Input Buf: RPC Event: sp_execute;12007-06-04 16:28:32.24 spid4      Grant List 1::2007-06-04 16:28:32.24 spid4      Requested By:2007-06-04 16:28:32.26 spid4        ResType:LockOwner Stype:'OR' Mode: Range-Insert-Null SPID:138 ECID:0 Ec:(0x44843508) Value:0x42cdce40 Cost:(0/24D0)2007-06-04 16:28:32.29 spid4    2007-06-04 16:28:32.35 spid4     Node:22007-06-04 16:28:32.35 spid4     KEY: 8:1358627883:2 (9e045f9bca23) CleanCnt:2 Mode: Range-S-S Flags: 0x02007-06-04 16:28:32.37 spid4      Grant List 0::2007-06-04 16:28:32.37 spid4      Grant List 1::2007-06-04 16:28:32.37 spid4        Owner:0x42cddc60 Mode: Range-S-S Flg:0x0 Ref:1 Life:02000000 SPID:138 ECID:02007-06-04 16:28:32.38 spid4        SPID: 138 ECID: 0 Statement Type: INSERT Line #: 12007-06-04 16:28:32.43 spid4        Input Buf: RPC Event: sp_execute;12007-06-04 16:28:32.43 spid4      Requested By:2007-06-04 16:28:32.57 spid4        ResType:LockOwner Stype:'OR' Mode: Range-Insert-Null SPID:139 ECID:0 Ec:(0x4469F508) Value:0x42cd41e0 Cost:(0/166C)2007-06-04 16:28:32.68 spid4     Victim Resource Owner:2007-06-04 16:28:32.68 spid4      ResType:LockOwner Stype:'OR' Mode: Range-Insert-Null SPID:139 ECID:0 Ec:(0x4469F508) Value:0x42cd41e0 Cost:(0/166C)2007-06-04 16:28:42.80 spid4    Thanks-Shagun

  • Anonymous
    July 24, 2007
    Wondering if someone can explain the following:Create a table with no indexes, an Identity column (int), two varchar(50) columns and one smallint column.The last three columns all nullable.Enter two rows with values. Now in two Query windows execute the following:1)   BEGIN TRAN     SELECT * FROM TestRowID WITH (UPDLOCK)     WHERE ID = 12)   BEGIN TRAN     SELECT * FROM TestRowID WITH (UPDLOCK)     WHERE ID = 2The statement in the second is blocked by the first statement....If we look at the activity monitor in SQL 2005 we for :1)   DATABASE    0                               S Lock   Granted     OBJECT         2073058421               IX Lock   Granted     PAGE             72057594038321152   IU Lock   Granted   1:154     RID                72057594038321152   U Lock    Granted   1:154:02)   DATABASE    0                               S Lock   Granted     OBJECT         2073058421               IX Lock   Granted     PAGE             72057594038321152   IU Lock   Granted   1:154     RID                72057594038321152   U Lock    Wait         1:154:0Object 2073058421 is the table in question.Now the question is, why is the second window trying to take out an U lock on RID 0?It should lock another row, right?Even when we introduce an non-clustered index on the ID Column, the same issue still occurs.The database is SQL Server 2005 SP 2, but the same is observed on SQL 2000. However, introducing anindex on SQL 2000 does remove the blocking behaviour....

  • Anonymous
    August 21, 2007
    Bas, because there is no index on the table, SQL must visit and evaluate every row to see if it needs to be updated.  Because the row might be updated, SQL must acquire an Update lock on each row as part of this evaluation (to prevent a common type of deadlock).  Your first transaction acquires and holds a lock on a row that is incompatible with the Update lock that the second transaction will acquire.  Creating an index might avoid the blocking if SQL chooses to use it.  However, SQL may choose to use a table scan if (as in your example) the number of rows in the table is very small (or the percentage of the table that the QO estimates it will need to be update is large).  If SQL chooses to scan the table despite the presence of an index, you will still see the same locking behavior.  The fundamental rules of governing this decision haven't changed in SQL 2005, but there are subtle changes in the costing of possible plans in different versions of SQL that could cause a scan to be costed as slightly cheaper on one version and a seek to be costed as a bit cheaper on a different version.  

  • Anonymous
    October 05, 2007
    Bart,Great post!  What are your thoughts on using  SET CONTEXT_INFO (or sp_bindsession) ?  I have an ETL process that has frequent deadlocks, even though the data is strictly partitioned - doesn't overlap.  Don't want index maint on loading/transforming, and when disabled page locks, the process slowed down tremendously.ThanksMike

  • Anonymous
    October 06, 2007
    Mike,I don't think CONTEXT_INFO will help you with your deadlocks.  In theory, sp_gettoken/sp_bindsession could prevent a deadlock, assuming that (a) it is appropriate for the two processes involved in the deadlock to share a single transaction, and (b) you are able to make some non-trivial changes to one of the apps to have it enlist in the other app's transaction.  Unless your deadlock involves two connections that are doing different pieces of the same ETL transformation, I doubt (a) would apply to you.  I'm not clear on the details of your situation.  Are you trying to load a table that has no indexes while other processes concurrently access the table?  If so, this is a recipe for blocking.  Any read or modification to a table without indexes will require a table scan, which of course means locking every page or row in the table.  That all but guarantees that any query that runs at the same time as your ETL data load will be involved in some sort of blocking.  It also means that you are probably getting terrible query plans.If that isn't your situation, please share some specifics.  Bart

  • Anonymous
    October 14, 2007
    You've been kicked (a good thing) - Trackback from DotNetKicks.com

  • Anonymous
    October 15, 2007
    Thanks Bart.

  • Anonymous
    November 13, 2007
    Bart,Do you have some time you'd be able to look over some deadlocks we've been having? I've been using your page as a bible and I'm still coming up a bit short ... If you are able to give me a few minutes, I'd really appreciate it. My email is in my bio.Thanks!

  • Anonymous
    November 16, 2007
    Bart,The bindsession (context_info) method worked like a charm.  I had also tried disabling page locks, suspecting lock escalation, which did reduce the deadlocks, but not eliminate completely.  The processing time increased enormously.  Yuk.Is there any chance we could get you to visit and present at the PASS-MN (Minneapolis) group in the future?Thanks!

  • Anonymous
    January 23, 2008
    Firstly I must say a big thank you to Microsoft for the new deadlock trace flag 1222. Compared to the...

  • Anonymous
    January 23, 2008
    Firstly I must say a big thank you to Microsoft for the new deadlock trace flag 1222. Compared to the

  • Anonymous
    August 27, 2008
    The comment has been removed

  • Anonymous
    September 02, 2008
    Rony -Page locks are usually an indication of a table or index scan.  The best solution is probably to tune your UPDATE statement so that there is a more efficient access path to the qualifying rows.  Review the steps in this blog post; did you run the query through Database Engine Tuning Advisor?  It might have recommended a better index.  If DTA didn't make any recommendations, consider an index on MR_NO, MR_DATE, MR_TYPE, and MR_SEQ.  HTH,Bart

  • Anonymous
    September 03, 2008
    Hi Bart,Thanks for your answer, i already run the query through database engine tuning advisor and yes DTA didnt make any recommendations, i forgot to tell you that MR_NO, MR_DATE, MR_TYPE and MR_SEQ are primary key, so all of these column is already indexed i think.Any other suggestions bart ?I'll try to see whether i can change the UPDATE statement and see if there is a more efficient acces path to the qualifying rowsRony

  • Anonymous
    September 24, 2008
    I've received a couple of questions in email and in comments about deadlocks involving mysterious-sounding

  • Anonymous
    October 29, 2008
    Hi, I could no able trace dead lock information Profiler, even though there was dead lock issue happend from Application level. I turn on the trace flags 1222, 1204 using DBCC in SQL Query Analyser.Please suggest how to trace dead lock information?

  • Anonymous
    October 29, 2008
    Satish -What is the exact text of the error message you received in the application?What is the exact text of the DBCC command you ran to turn on the trace flags? Were you expecting to find the trace flag output in Profiler?  If so, re-read this article.   Were the trace flags turned on at the time of the deadlock error?  They must be on before the deadlock occurs. Did you restart the SQL Server service?  A trace flag enabled via DBCC TRACEON will be turned off when you restart the service.   Try running "DBCC TRACESTATUS (-1)" to see what trace flags are currently enabled. HTH -Bart

  • Anonymous
    January 01, 2009
    Although the best known deadlock scenario involves two connections modifying two tables in different

  • Anonymous
    January 18, 2009
    Very interestings posts (the three ones).In my case I have deadlocks occuring during the syncrhonisation of pull subscribers of our merge replication (sql 2005).The trace is showing us system stored procedures of the merge replication involved in the deadlock. What are we supposed to do in that case ? To send these post to MS ? :-)Here is the trace. What would be the actions to do ?2009-01-14 15:47:19.89 spid16s     deadlock-list2009-01-14 15:47:19.89 spid16s      deadlock victim=process928e382009-01-14 15:47:19.89 spid16s       process-list2009-01-14 15:47:19.89 spid16s        process id=process928e38 taskpriority=5 logused=57720 waitresource=KEY: 7:72057595096006656 (de008218ea30) waittime=3343 ownerId=172382185 transactionname=user_transaction lasttranstarted=2009-01-14T15:47:16.470 XDES=0xdae3258 lockMode=U schedulerid=2 kpid=3184 status=suspended spid=166 sbid=0 ecid=0 priority=-5 transcount=2 lastbatchstarted=2009-01-14T15:47:16.410 lastbatchcompleted=2009-01-14T15:47:16.393 clientapp=900SE66SQLPROD2008-saretec-PubSesame-901RA01SQLEXPRESS-27 hostname=667 hostpid=5932 loginname=sa isolationlevel=read committed (2) xactid=172382185 currentdb=7 lockTimeout=4294967295 clientoption1=673384544 clientoption2=1280242009-01-14 15:47:19.89 spid16s         executionStack2009-01-14 15:47:19.89 spid16s          frame procname=mssqlsystemresource.sys.sp_MSmakegeneration line=489 stmtstart=44260 stmtend=44598 sqlhandle=0x0300ff7f587a2f069f52ee00bb99000001000000000000002009-01-14 15:47:19.89 spid16s     update dbo.MSmerge_genhistory with (rowlock)2009-01-14 15:47:19.89 spid16s             set genstatus = 1,2009-01-14 15:47:19.89 spid16s                 guidsrc = newid(),2009-01-14 15:47:19.89 spid16s                 coldate = getdate()2009-01-14 15:47:19.89 spid16s             where genstatus = 3    2009-01-14 15:47:19.89 spid16s         inputbuf2009-01-14 15:47:19.89 spid16s     Proc [Database Id = 32767 Object Id = 103774808]    2009-01-14 15:47:19.89 spid16s        process id=process929d38 taskpriority=0 logused=2668 waitresource=KEY: 7:72057595095810048 (c4026ce1c0d6) waittime=3390 ownerId=172382289 transactionname=UPDATE lasttranstarted=2009-01-14T15:47:16.487 XDES=0xb97ef40 lockMode=X schedulerid=2 kpid=2292 status=suspended spid=108 sbid=0 ecid=0 priority=0 transcount=2 lastbatchstarted=2009-01-14T15:47:16.487 lastbatchcompleted=2009-01-14T15:47:16.487 clientapp=.Net SqlClient Data Provider hostname=018PA01 hostpid=3420 loginname=sa isolationlevel=read committed (2) xactid=172382289 currentdb=7 lockTimeout=4294967295 clientoption1=673316896 clientoption2=1280562009-01-14 15:47:19.89 spid16s         executionStack2009-01-14 15:47:19.89 spid16s          frame procname=saretec.dbo.MSmerge_upd_1F5733FC149A4CBEA3E79A56B5BDD635 line=98 stmtstart=8862 stmtend=10288 sqlhandle=0x030007007da2e90011d07801719b000000000000000000002009-01-14 15:47:19.89 spid16s     update dbo.MSmerge_ctsv_1F5733FC149A4CBEA3E79A56B5BDD635 with (rowlock)2009-01-14 15:47:19.89 spid16s             set lineage = { fn UPDATELINEAGE(lineage, @replnick, @oldmaxversion+1) },2009-01-14 15:47:19.89 spid16s                 generation = @newgen,2009-01-14 15:47:19.89 spid16s                 partchangegen = case when (@partchange = 1 or @joinchange = 1) then @newgen else partchangegen end,2009-01-14 15:47:19.89 spid16s                     colv1 = { fn UPDATECOLVBM(colv1, @replnick, @bm, @missingbm, { fn GETMAXVERSION({ fn UPDATELINEAGE(lineage, @replnick, @oldmaxversion+1) }) }) }  2009-01-14 15:47:19.89 spid16s             FROM inserted as I JOIN dbo.MSmerge_ctsv_1F5733FC149A4CBEA3E79A56B5BDD635 as V with (rowlock)2009-01-14 15:47:19.89 spid16s             ON (I.rowguidcol=V.rowguid)2009-01-14 15:47:19.89 spid16s             and V.tablenick = @tablenick2009-01-14 15:47:19.89 spid16s             option (force order, loop join)    2009-01-14 15:47:19.89 spid16s          frame procname=saretec.dbo.SES_MissionEtat_Maj line=17 stmtstart=814 stmtend=1114 sqlhandle=0x030007002574f346db9f7901719b000001000000000000002009-01-14 15:47:19.89 spid16s     UPDATE T_MISSION2009-01-14 15:47:19.89 spid16s     SET INT_ETAT_PRIMAIRE = @INT_ETAT_PRIMAIRE,2009-01-14 15:47:19.89 spid16s     SCD_ETATS_SECONDAIRES = @SCD_ETATS_SECONDAIRES2009-01-14 15:47:19.89 spid16s     WHERE NUMIDT_MIS = @ID_MISSION    2009-01-14 15:47:19.89 spid16s         inputbuf2009-01-14 15:47:19.89 spid16s     Proc [Database Id = 7 Object Id = 1190360101]    2009-01-14 15:47:19.89 spid16s       resource-list2009-01-14 15:47:19.89 spid16s        keylock hobtid=72057595095810048 dbid=7 objectname=saretec.dbo.MSmerge_contents indexname=nc2MSmerge_contents id=lock17ac4800 mode=S associatedObjectId=720575950958100482009-01-14 15:47:19.89 spid16s         owner-list2009-01-14 15:47:19.89 spid16s          owner id=process928e38 mode=S2009-01-14 15:47:19.89 spid16s         waiter-list2009-01-14 15:47:19.89 spid16s          waiter id=process929d38 mode=X requestType=wait2009-01-14 15:47:19.89 spid16s        keylock hobtid=72057595096006656 dbid=7 objectname=saretec.dbo.MSmerge_genhistory indexname=c1MSmerge_genhistory id=lock18ea6980 mode=X associatedObjectId=720575950960066562009-01-14 15:47:19.89 spid16s         owner-list2009-01-14 15:47:19.89 spid16s          owner id=process929d38 mode=X2009-01-14 15:47:19.89 spid16s         waiter-list2009-01-14 15:47:19.89 spid16s          waiter id=process928e38 mode=U requestType=wait

  • Anonymous
    January 19, 2009
    FrankG, you may have meant it tongue-in-cheek :), but yes, I think your best bet may be to contact MS support for assistance with your deadlock involving MS repl-created tables.  The only option available to you without modifying system procs or system tables would be to force a different plan with a plan guide, and that approach to a solution may not "stick" across service packs or QFEs if the change updates the merge trigger or the MSMerge stored proc involved in the deadlock.  

  • Anonymous
    March 26, 2009
    I have already described several deadlock scenarios that involve only one table in another post. This

  • Anonymous
    April 27, 2009
    This is a really great article.I wish that I had access to something like this resource 5 years ago when I had to solve some spectacular deadlocking issues on a SQL Server 2000 app.I especially like the index tuning advisor hint - that is sooooo true.

  • Anonymous
    July 28, 2009
    Can 2 processes acquire rowlock on same row?I'm facing a deadlock where 2 processes have acquired row lock on same row and waiting for eachother. Here is the deadlock graph.2009-07-28 14:13:29.50 spid18s        ridlock fileid=1 pageid=10089 dbid=5 objectname=dcmdb.dcmdbuser.fs_payaccount id=lock1254ce80 mode=X associatedObjectId=720575950319779842009-07-28 14:13:29.50 spid18s         owner-list2009-07-28 14:13:29.50 spid18s          owner id=process93af28 mode=X2009-07-28 14:13:29.50 spid18s         waiter-list2009-07-28 14:13:29.50 spid18s          waiter id=process93a988 mode=U requestType=wait2009-07-28 14:13:29.50 spid18s        ridlock fileid=1 pageid=10089 dbid=5 objectname=dcmdb.dcmdbuser.fs_payaccount id=lock1257ba00 mode=X associatedObjectId=720575950319779842009-07-28 14:13:29.50 spid18s         owner-list2009-07-28 14:13:29.50 spid18s          owner id=process93a988 mode=X2009-07-28 14:13:29.50 spid18s         waiter-list2009-07-28 14:13:29.50 spid18s          waiter id=process93af28 mode=U requestType=waitAs you can see above the associatedObjectId is same for both ridlocks.When can this happen? From the logic of my program 2 threads will never update the same row in fs_payaccount table.

  • Anonymous
    July 28, 2009
    The comment has been removed

  • Anonymous
    September 08, 2009
    Thank you very much.Great article and it saved my day....

  • Anonymous
    December 17, 2009
    Great article!  Fixed my deadlock problems by creating a new index.The DTA tool does seem a little index happy though.What is the downside of adding too many indexes?Thanks!

  • Anonymous
    April 06, 2010
    The comment has been removed

  • Anonymous
    April 07, 2010
    The comment has been removed

  • Anonymous
    May 11, 2010
    Thanks for the good article.hope will see more article from you

  • Anonymous
    June 05, 2010
    Bart,You should shown great insight into Deadlocks...I have learned tremendously from your 3 articles...Please keep it up!Thanks!

  • Anonymous
    September 02, 2010
    Thank you so much for this article, great info and very (very!) helpful

  • Anonymous
    January 04, 2011
    Actually I am facing a deadlock problem while I transfer database from SQL Server 2005 Express Edition to SQL Server 2008 Express Edition with SP1 (both have different instances and I am transferring database from 2005 instance to 2008 instance).

  • Anonymous
    January 06, 2011
    Hi,This is a great blog... Thanks !!As a beginner DBA, how can we conclude at the first instance that a deadlock has occured in the server ?(When neither the trace flags are turned on nor the profiler is set..)What are the symptoms of a deadlock..?

  • Anonymous
    January 06, 2011
    @Pastille, if you don't have either trace flag enabled and you're not running profiler, then the only symptom of most deadlocks is an error message returned to the application.  (See the first paragraph of this blog post.)

  • Anonymous
    January 06, 2011
    @free, if the app has changed, then the query or schema changes are probably responsible for your deadlock.  If the app has not changed, then it is probably a query plan that changed in between SQL 2005 and SQL 2008 SP1.  Either way, the deadlock troubleshooting process is the same as normal (I'd start with the steps given in this post.)

  • Anonymous
    January 11, 2011
    Hi Brat,Could you please let me know what is "Exchange Event" in the deadlock graph?Thanks,Baburaj

  • Anonymous
    January 11, 2011
    @Baburaj, this is discussed in some detail @ blogs.msdn.com/.../today-s-annoyingly-unwieldy-term-intra-query-parallel-thread-deadlocks.aspx

  • Anonymous
    January 11, 2011
    The comment has been removed

  • Anonymous
    January 12, 2011
    The comment has been removed

  • Anonymous
    January 13, 2011
    Hi BartThanks  for the article.Just one question. When you have to staments located in two different stored procedure that cuases a deadlock, will you be able to determine which SPs are involved from the T1222 data?Tx

  • Anonymous
    January 14, 2011
    @Vannix78: Yes; check out the sample -T1222 output in this very post.  There's a "procname" attribute that will provide the stored procedure name.  And if there is a proc that calls another proc (not demonstrated in this example), you get the entire T-SQL stack.

  • Anonymous
    March 29, 2011
    Hi bart,Thanks a great deal for this post it has really helped me with my course work that seemed so hard..you are a life saver!!!!!

  • Anonymous
    April 10, 2011
    We are on SQL Server 2000.  We would like to know is there a way of capturing what caused the deadlock victim error after the event?  We have a SQL Job that runs on daily basis, with basic updating/deleting/inserting SQL scripts to and from tables.  However just on month end this job fails with the error 'Transaction (Process ID 63) was deadlocked on lock communication buffer resources with another process and has been chosen as the deadlock victim...'Is there a trace scheduler we can switch on/off at specific date and time just to record which processes are causing the issue on month end?

  • Anonymous
    April 11, 2011
    @kat,Take another look at the process described in this post. Trace flag 1222 isn't available on SQL 2000, but trace flag 1204 is available. Otherwise the process is exactly as described in this post. (And at the end of step #3 you'll find a sample -T1204 output annotated to help you understand the 1204 output format.)HTH,Bart

  • Anonymous
    June 08, 2011
    Bart - great article, don't know how I missed it until now.  I also appreciate that you still respond to comments after all these years.For the sake of completness, I see one technique missing which I have found very useful as quick and dirty method to solve complicated deadlocks, using try/catch block and waiting and retrying if there is a deadlock.From msdn.microsoft.com/.../aa175791(v=sql.80).aspxDECLARE @Tries tinyintSET @Tries = 1WHILE @Tries <= 3BEGIN BEGIN TRANSACTION BEGIN TRY   INSERT Authors VALUES     (@au_id, @au_lname, '', '', '', '', '','11111', 0)   WAITFOR DELAY '00:00:05'   SELECT * FROM authors WHERE au_lname LIKE 'Test%'   COMMIT   BREAK END TRY BEGIN CATCH   SELECT ERROR_NUMBER() AS ErrorNumber   ROLLBACK   SET @Tries = @Tries + 1   CONTINUE END CATCH;ENDThanks again for a great article which I am sure has helped a lot of folks.

  • Anonymous
    June 08, 2011
    Thanks Bob! Retry should definitely be mentioned. As you noted, you can even retry in T-SQL, as long as your transaction is wholly-contained within a single stored proc or batch. If the current transaction spans batches, the retry logic would need to be moved out to the client app code.  I'll see about updating the suggested solutions to add this.

  • Anonymous
    July 28, 2011
    Great Article!!! It helps me a lot..

  • Anonymous
    October 09, 2011
    Is there a way to find transaction isolation level for the SQL statements?

  • Anonymous
    July 30, 2012
    hi bartduncan, this deadlock often occurs in our system. these two processes hold x lock on different indexes and on different tables and still end up on a deadlock. can you help me identify as to why it happens.thanks in advance for your help.<TextData><deadlock-list><deadlock victim="process50c0b08"> <process-list>  <process id="processbaf978" taskpriority="0" logused="4328" waitresource="KEY: 6:72057594516013056 (8a012d451225)" waittime="4296" ownerId="1406974893" transactionname="user_transaction" lasttranstarted="2012-07-26T16:15:52.387" XDES="0x1d222daa0" lockMode="S" schedulerid="1" kpid="12388" status="suspended" spid="199" sbid="0" ecid="0" priority="0" transcount="1" lastbatchstarted="2012-07-26T16:17:49.917" lastbatchcompleted="2012-07-26T16:17:48.210" clientapp="JSQL" hostpid="4294505091" loginname="sa" isolationlevel="read committed (2)" xactid="1406974893" currentdb="6" lockTimeout="4294967295" clientoption1="673316896" clientoption2="128056">   <executionStack>    <frame procname="psi_db.dbo.Add_EmployeeDetails" line="126" stmtstart="9038" stmtend="10182" sqlhandle="0x03000600836cb0274be14001949c00000100000000000000">if exists ( Select 1 from            ( select Emp_id from master_Employee                 where EmployeeNumber = @empno and               Employee_type = @emptype and               isnull(Expiration_date, getdate() - 1) >= getdate())  ME                 Inner Join  employeesubdetail ESD on               ME.Emp_id = ESD.Emp_id )     </frame>    <frame procname="adhoc" line="4" stmtstart="136" stmtend="814" sqlhandle="0x010006002c504416b09e575d040000000000000000000000">exec       Add_EmployeeDetails @P0 OUTPUT,1272737,2452,N'9468',N'<SV_ARRAY></SV_ARRAY>',0,N'',454,0,0,N'',N'',5061608,N'',N'REG02',4193196,N'<SV_ARRAY><ITEM VALUE1="9468" VALUE2="1"></ITEM></SV_ARRAY>',0,0,NULL,@P20 OUTPUT,N'<SV_ARRAY></SV_ARRAY>',N'07/26/2013',N'','20130725 16:00:52.105',N'<SV_ARRAY></SV_ARRAY>',@P26 OUTPUT,N'',0     </frame>   </executionStack>   <inputbuf>DECLARE @P0 INTEGERDECLARE @P20 VARCHAR(8000)DECLARE @P26 INTEGERexec       Add_EmployeeDetails @P0 OUTPUT,1272737,2452,N'9468',N'<SV_ARRAY></SV_ARRAY>',0,N'',454,0,0,N'',N'',5061608,N'',N'REG02',4193196,N'<SV_ARRAY><ITEM VALUE1="9468" VALUE2="1"></ITEM></SV_ARRAY>',0,0,NULL,@P20 OUTPUT,N'<SV_ARRAY></SV_ARRAY>',N'07/26/2013',N'','20130725 16:00:52.105',N'<SV_ARRAY></SV_ARRAY>',@P26 OUTPUT,N'',0  SELECT @P0 ,@P20 ,@P26     </inputbuf>  </process>  <process id="process50c0b08" taskpriority="0" logused="600" waitresource="KEY: 6:72057594508935168 (9a01a0a71080)" waittime="7921" ownerId="1406983583" transactionname="user_transaction" lasttranstarted="2012-07-26T16:16:08.337" XDES="0x2dfc19830" lockMode="S" schedulerid="4" kpid="8868" status="suspended" spid="178" sbid="0" ecid="0" priority="0" transcount="1" lastbatchstarted="2012-07-26T16:16:08.687" lastbatchcompleted="2012-07-26T16:16:08.360" clientapp="JSQL" hostpid="4294505091" loginname="sa" isolationlevel="read committed (2)" xactid="1406983583" currentdb="6" lockTimeout="4294967295" clientoption1="539099168" clientoption2="128024">   <executionStack>    <frame procname="psi_db.dbo.Add_EmployeeToDep" line="66" stmtstart="3108" stmtend="3410" sqlhandle="0x030006008a00ec2a3ecf7801e59a00000100000000000000">if not exists (Select EmployeeNumber

        From Emp_Status    Where EmployeeNumber = @empno and        Employee_type = @emptype    ) &nbsp; &nbsp; &lt;/frame&gt;
        <frame procname="adhoc" line="3" stmtstart="80" stmtend="2060" sqlhandle="0x010006002a379c0ea0554271040000000000000000000000">exec       Add_EmployeeToDep @P0 OUTPUT,N'Kelsey',N'New',N'544297757',N'SSN',N'<SV_ARRAY><ITEM VALUE1="37" VALUE2="97209"></ITEM><ITEM VALUE1="3" VALUE2="JANE"></ITEM></SV_ARRAY>',N'REG01',N'CDS01',6922,@P9 OUTPUT     </frame>   </executionStack>   <inputbuf>DECLARE @P0 INTEGERDECLARE @P9 INTEGERexec       Add_EmployeeToDep @P0 OUTPUT,N'Kelsey',N'New',N'544297757',N'SSN',N'<SV_ARRAY><ITEM VALUE1="37" VALUE2="97209"></ITEM><ITEM VALUE1="3" VALUE2="JANE"></ITEM></SV_ARRAY>',N'REG01',N'CDS01',6922,@P9 O    </inputbuf>  </process> </process-list> <resource-list>  <keylock hobtid="72057594508935168" dbid="6" objectname="psi_db.dbo.Emp_Status" indexname="IX_Emp_Status1" id="lock52876b580" mode="X" associatedObjectId="72057594508935168">   <owner-list>    <owner id="processbaf978" mode="X" />   </owner-list>   <waiter-list>    <waiter id="process50c0b08" mode="S" requestType="wait" />   </waiter-list>  </keylock>  <keylock hobtid="72057594516013056" dbid="6" objectname="psi_db.dbo.master_Employee" indexname="IX_Master_Emp_ID" id="lock52ba26100" mode="X" associatedObjectId="72057594516013056">   <owner-list>    <owner id="process50c0b08" mode="X" />   </owner-list>   <waiter-list>    <waiter id="processbaf978" mode="S" requestType="wait" />   </waiter-list>  </keylock> </resource-list></deadlock></deadlock-list></TextData>

  • Anonymous
    July 31, 2012
    Suba, all deadlocks involve at least two different lock resources, and those resources are often on different indexes. Each of your two sessions holds one of the locks, and is waiting to acquire the lock held by the other session. Take some time to go through the specific steps in this blog post to decode the 1222 output, and hopefully it will give you a clearer understanding of the deadlock scenario.Bart

  • Anonymous
    January 18, 2013
    excellent article and is still useful after all these years.

  • Anonymous
    June 06, 2013
    Thank you for your wonderful article, I used it to diagnose a deadlock.I have a select statement inside a stored procedure that occasionally causes a deadlock with another stored procedure that is running an update.  It appears to be a conflict over an index as you describe in your article.Unfortunately, for various reasons I cannot alter the indexes on the tables involved in the deadlock.If I use "SET TRANSACTION ISOLATION LEVEL READ UNCOMMITTED" inside the stored procedure that does the read, do I need to call BEGIN TRANSACTION as well?  Currently I do not, as the stored procedure does not change any data.Thanks again for your excellent article.

  • Anonymous
    August 25, 2013
    Awesome article....thanks a ton to author, Bart Duncan...

  • Anonymous
    January 04, 2015
    Loved this article, it made my life easier! Good stuff!

  • Anonymous
    March 29, 2015
    Excellent Post !! One of the kind post which will stay for ages to come, provided SQL Server doesn't remove these trace flags and deadlocks are eradicated as a concept. Though former is likely but later is highly unlikely. But anyway, thanks for the post. Keep writing many such posts, you have got one more follower to read it !!

  • Anonymous
    May 13, 2015
    Excellent