Snapshot isolation in combination with service broker

Question

Hi all,
I'm currently using the service broker in combination with snapshot isolation on the database.
The notification request is executed under read commited isolation. The code looks like this:
SqlDependency dependency = new SqlDependency(command, null, 0);
dependency.OnChange += eventHandler;
using (SqlConnection conn = new SqlConnection(connectionString))
using (SqlTransaction tran = conn.BeginTransaction(IsolationLevel.ReadCommitted))
command.Transaction = tran;
command.ExecuteNonQuery();
tran.Commit();
The request is successfully created and works fine at the first glance.
Now here is my problem:
I created a notification request that should monitor two objects. The query (executed under read committed) looks something like this:
SELECT Id, DataVersion FROM dbo.MyObjects WHERE Id = 1 OR Id = 2
Afterwards I delete both objects in separate nested transactions. Both of them are running under snapshot isolation. It looks something like this:
using (SqlConnection conn1 = new SqlConnection(connectionString))
conn1.Open();
using (SqlTransaction tran1 = connection1.BeginTransaction(IsolationLevel.Snapshot))
using (SqlConnection conn2 = new SqlConnection(connectionString))
conn2.Open();
using (SqlTransaction tran2 = conn2.BeginTransaction(IsolationLevel.Snapshot))
SqlCommand command2 = conn2.CreateCommand();
command2.Transaction = tran2;
command2.CommandText = "DELETE FROM MyObjects WHERE Id = 2";
command2.ExecuteNonQuery();
tran2.Commit();
SqlCommand command1 = conn1.CreateCommand();
command1.CommandText = "DELETE FROM MyObjects WHERE Id = 1";
command1.Transaction = tran1;
command1.ExecuteNonQuery();
tran1.Commit(); //-> Conflict exception
A conflict exception is raised during the commit of last transaction. The conflict seems to occur in the table "sys.query_notifcations_xxxxxxxxx". This is the exact message:
An unhandled exception of type 'System.Data.SqlClient.SqlException' occurred in System.Data.dll
Additional information: Snapshot isolation transaction aborted due to update conflict. You cannot use snapshot isolation to access table 'sys.query_notification_45295271' directly or indirectly in database 'MyDatabase' 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.
Is there any restriction for the service broker that prohibits the usage of snapshot isolation.
Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

No, the error has nothing to do with Service Broker. Or for that matter, query notifications, which is the feature you are actually using. (Query notifications uses Service Broker, but Service Broker != Query notification.)
You would get the same error if you had a trigger in MyObjects that tried to update the same row for both deletions. A snapshot transaction gives you a consistent view of the database in a certain point in time. Consider this situation:
Snapshot transaction A that started at time T update a row R at time T2. Snapshot transaction B starts at time T1 updates the same row at time T3. Had they been regular non-snapshot transaction, transaction B would have been blocked already when it tried
to read R, but snapshot transactions do not get blocked. But if B would be permitted to update R, the update from transaction A would be lost. Assume that the update is an incremental one, for instance updating cash balance for an account. You can see that
this is not permittable.
In your case, the row R happens to be a row in an internal table for query notifications, but it is the application design which is the problem. There is no obvious reason to use snapshot isolation in your example since you are only deleting. And there is
even less reason to have two transactions and connections for the task.
Erland Sommarskog, SQL Server MVP, [email protected]