SQL Server Deadlock Monitoring Tool

Quickly diagnose and resolve SQL Server deadlocks

Download Free Trial Email Link to Trial

Fully functional for 14 days

Learn More

Save time troubleshooting

Spot Deadlocks

Visualize Deadlocks

Collaborate

Record & Replay Deadlocks

Save time troubleshooting SQL Server deadlocks

SQL Server Blocking 0 Features Array Item - features item image

SolarWinds^® SQL Sentry displays deadlocks in SQL Server and shows you the total time lost during those deadlocks. You can find a metric called Victim Impact information in the deadlock summary report. With SQL Server Deadlock tool, you can:

View statements that executed while the deadlock occurred
Avoid installing agents or set trace flags to gather the relevant information about deadlocks
Eliminate the need to translate SPIDs or reference IDs—the host, application, and resource names are labeled in the deadlock graph

Download Free Trial Email Link to Trial

Fully functional for 14 days

Learn More

Identify victims and survivors of deadlocks in SQL Server

The first step in analyzing the impact of deadlocks on applications is to identify the “victims” (either a rolled back transaction or a failed process) and the “survivors.” SQL Server often chooses the least expensive transaction to roll back as the deadlock victim.

SQL Sentry resolves deadlock contention by identifying a victim based on process ID and supplying information about deadlock wait time, which helps ensure an effective resolution while offering you the deadlock monitoring insights you need.

Download Free Trial Email Link to Trial

Fully functional for 14 days

Learn More

Quickly visualize SQL Server deadlocks in the Management Studio

SQL Sentry can export captured deadlock information in an open file format. The files can be viewed and shared as needed. You can even view the files inside the SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) for ultimate accessibility.

Download Free Trial Email Link to Trial

Fully functional for 14 days

Learn More

Share SQL Server deadlock information to help resolve issues

Depending on the type of deadlock, a database admin may need to share deadlock information with developers to come up with an optimal resolution.

SQL Sentry gives DBAs the ability to share information with the team via email and provides recommendations on ways to resolve the deadlock. For example, suppose a DBA finds an application in SQL Sentry and sees several queries in the same application are deadlocking the same objects. In that case, they can easily email the SQL Sentry deadlock report to their team and suggest the developers review SQL Sentry’s strategies for resolving deadlocks.

Download Free Trial Email Link to Trial

Fully functional for 14 days

Learn More

Use deadlock playback for faster analysis

The deadlock playback capability helps you analyze the source of deadlocks by displaying the events that led to the deadlock. This functionality can help you reverse-engineer a deadlock.

With the playback, you can watch the diagram cycle through the events, which is like watching the deadlock happen again in real time. Playback controls include the ability to skip forward, fast forward, rewind, change the playback speed, and zoom in or out on the deadlock graph.

Download Free Trial Email Link to Trial

Fully functional for 14 days

Learn More

Get More on SQL Server Deadlock

Frequently asked questions

What is a deadlock in SQL Server?
Are SQL Server deadlocks bringing down your database performance?
How to resolve deadlocks in SQL Server?
How to avoid deadlocks in SQL Server?
Which deadlock metrics are collected?
Which lock details are provided?
How does SQL deadlock monitoring work in SQL Sentry?

Deadlocks in SQL Server occur when two or more transactions, or collections of SQL queries, block each other through a cyclical dependency. This happens when the transactions hold locks on resources the other transactions also need, resulting in a SQL Server lock on a table. A deadlocked SQL query cannot be completed until the lock is released, and neither can its fellow deadlocked SQL query.

When you get a SQL Server deadlock notification, you’ll find one transaction called the “victim” and one called the “survivor.” The victim is the session that gets rolled back, and it’s automatically selected by SQL Server based on deadlock priority and rollback cost.

Poor database design, a lack of indexing, inappropriate isolation levels, and poorly written queries are some common causes of deadlock. Whenever a SQL Server lock on a table occurs, operations are delayed or even stopped entirely. Eventually, deadlocks could result in a complete halt to processing inside your database engine.

SolarWinds^® SQL Sentry is designed to capture and examine deadlocks quickly and thoroughly in SQL Server. Its SQL deadlock monitoring capabilities can help you detect and resolve deadlocks before they wreak havoc on your database operations and gain actionable insights into how to prevent similar deadlocks from occurring in the future.

SQL Sentry is built to use a modified Extended Event session to capture monitoring details. SQL Sentry is designed to display detected deadlocks at the bottom of the Trends tab, where you can find other critical SQL Server deadlock information such as:

Time of deadlock occurrence
Number of sessions involved in the deadlock
Any objects involved
Machine name and username

Another SQL Sentry metric is called Victim Impact, which is designed to show the measure of time a deadlocked transaction was running and consuming resources. Because transaction time means wasted resources, a SQL deadlock query victim’s transaction time is a good indicator of the impact the deadlock had on SQL Servers and any end users.

There are other pages alongside the Trends tab, where you can access more SQL Server deadlock actions and information. For instance, SQL Sentry enables you to configure non-default sessions using the Advanced Properties page. The SQL Sentry Deadlocks Details page is built to display the deadlock summary, which shows the victim and survivor’s time stamps, objects, programs, and number of sessions. Here you can also find data on the deadlocked resources including index name, database ID, lock ID.

SQL Sentry enables you to export key metrics and details which can be used in tandem with SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS). SSMS is software provided by Microsoft, which has the ability to migrate with SQL Sentry and other databases—through supporting SSMS integration, SQL Sentry can improve communication and optimize deadlock resolution. You could also send the deadlock details as an email through SQL Sentry and include the exported file as an email attachment.

Take full advantage of SQL Sentry to monitor various aspects of SQL Server operations to get a broad view of the elements affecting database performance.

Deadlocks in SQL Server occur when two or more transactions, or collections of SQL queries, block each other through a cyclical dependency. This happens when the transactions hold locks on resources the other transactions also need, resulting in a SQL Server lock on a table. A deadlocked SQL query cannot be completed until the lock is released, and neither can its fellow deadlocked SQL query.
When you get a SQL Server deadlock notification, you’ll find one transaction called the “victim” and one called the “survivor.” The victim is the session that gets rolled back, and it’s automatically selected by SQL Server based on deadlock priority and rollback cost.
Poor database design, a lack of indexing, inappropriate isolation levels, and poorly written queries are some common causes of deadlock. Whenever a SQL Server lock on a table occurs, operations are delayed or even stopped entirely. Eventually, deadlocks could result in a complete halt to processing inside your database engine.
There are several ways to resolve SQL Server deadlocks depending on the situation. SQL Server is capable of automatic detection through a lock monitor. As noted above, as soon as a deadlock is detected, SQL Server automatically chooses the “victim” and rolls back that transaction—then it’s up to you and your IT administrative team to resolve deadlocks in SQL Server.
Here are some common ways to resolve SQL Server deadlocks:
Covering indexes: By removing bookmark lookups entirely, a covering index can reduce your chances of deadlock caused by bookmark lookups.
Foreign key indexes: Reduce SQL Server deadlock stemming from cascading referential integrity by creating indexes that match your foreign key columns. Without a foreign key index, cascading actions will take longer and increase the chances of a deadlock.
Object order access: To create deadlocks for testing purposes, access database objects in a different order. To avoid these deadlocks otherwise, make transactions as short as possible and keep access objects in the same logical order.
Transaction isolation levels: The default transaction isolation level on SQL Server, READ COMMITTED, can promote deadlocks between writers and readers of data. Avoid this by using COMMITTED SNAPSHOT or SNAPSHOT, in which a reader doesn’t take locks on objects and instead uses row versions for isolations.
Deadlock priority: By specifying a transaction’s priority to High, Normal (Default), or Low, you can enable current sessions to continue processing if there’s SQL Server deadlock.
Application error handling: Using TRY...CATCH logic, you could trap for the deadlock number. You could also set the number of retries allowed to a set number, reducing the chances of an infinite loop.
The best way to avoid deadlocks in SQL Server is to enlist the help of a SQL deadlocks monitoring tool. A SQL deadlock monitor can discover and resolve deadlocks in SQL Server by offering insights and capabilities that improve upon the deadlock monitoring.
There are some ways to find a lock in SQL Server without using a SQL deadlock monitor. These methods are performed through SQL Server itself:
Trace flags: Through trace flags 1204 or 1222, SQL Server can perform deadlocks monitoring. Trace flags must be running at all times, making it hard to proactively detect deadlocks.
Performance counter: This is designed to show the number of deadlocks present in SQL Server but doesn’t offer details regarding the session transactions involved.
SQL Server profiler: Also known as a server-side trace, this can capture SQL Server deadlock details and display them in an XML graph. This method also has to run at all times, preventing you from proactively collecting metrics.
Extended event session: SQL Server runs an extended event trace by default, but this method is time-consuming, prone to human error, and requires manual effort.
While these methods could offer some relief, they’re not as fast, easy, and efficient as using a deadlock monitoring tool to avoid deadlocks in SQL Server. A SQL deadlock detecting tool like SolarWinds SQL Sentry enables you to quickly recognize when a deadlock has occurred, understand its root causes, and see actions you can take to reduce the chances of a repeat deadlock.
Deadlock Analysis capabilities in SQL Sentry provide detailed metrics, so you can resolve server deadlocks and cut the time you spend restoring your database to peak performance. Metrics include:
SQL Server where the deadlock took place
Time the database deadlock occurred
Victim SPID—the session process ID of the victim involved in the deadlock
Victim host—workstation belonging to the victim thread
Victim application—application name belonging to the victim thread
Victim database
Victim text data
Deadlock XML—captured deadlock XML
The lock details area breaks down the database deadlock by specific lock types, including owners and waiters involved in each lock. Details include:
SPID—session process ID of the associated owner/waiter
Plan—opens a Plan Explorer session to view the associated query plan
Host
Application
Database
Log use—the amount of log space used by the process
Deadlock priority—zero (0) or normal is the default priority
Wait time—time in milliseconds spent waiting on the resource
Transaction start time
Last batch start time
Last batch completion time
Mode/type of resource lock
Status of the task
Current transaction isolation level
Login name of the session
SolarWinds^® SQL Sentry is designed to capture and examine deadlocks quickly and thoroughly in SQL Server. Its SQL deadlock monitoring capabilities can help you detect and resolve deadlocks before they wreak havoc on your database operations and gain actionable insights into how to prevent similar deadlocks from occurring in the future.
SQL Sentry is built to use a modified Extended Event session to capture monitoring details. SQL Sentry is designed to display detected deadlocks at the bottom of the Trends tab, where you can find other critical SQL Server deadlock information such as:
Time of deadlock occurrence
Number of sessions involved in the deadlock
Any objects involved
Machine name and username
Another SQL Sentry metric is called Victim Impact, which is designed to show the measure of time a deadlocked transaction was running and consuming resources. Because transaction time means wasted resources, a SQL deadlock query victim’s transaction time is a good indicator of the impact the deadlock had on SQL Servers and any end users.
There are other pages alongside the Trends tab, where you can access more SQL Server deadlock actions and information. For instance, SQL Sentry enables you to configure non-default sessions using the Advanced Properties page. The SQL Sentry Deadlocks Details page is built to display the deadlock summary, which shows the victim and survivor’s time stamps, objects, programs, and number of sessions. Here you can also find data on the deadlocked resources including index name, database ID, lock ID.
SQL Sentry enables you to export key metrics and details which can be used in tandem with SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS). SSMS is software provided by Microsoft, which has the ability to migrate with SQL Sentry and other databases—through supporting SSMS integration, SQL Sentry can improve communication and optimize deadlock resolution. You could also send the deadlock details as an email through SQL Sentry and include the exported file as an email attachment.
Take full advantage of SQL Sentry to monitor various aspects of SQL Server operations to get a broad view of the elements affecting database performance.

Find and prevent SQL Server deadlocks

SolarWinds SQL Sentry

Drill into deadlocks monitoring details with the right context and consistent navigation
Quickly see what’s being blocked and what’s doing the blocking
Gather the right deadlocks monitoring metrics to help you optimize your databases, indexes, and queries

Download Free Trial Email Link to Trial

Fully functional for 14 days

Learn More

Let's talk it over.

Contact our team. Anytime.