Knowledgebase:
MarkLogic Transaction Locks (and Transaction Mode) vs Document and Directory Locks vs Cache Partition Locks
14 January 2020 10:09 PM

Summary

There are many different kinds of locks present in MarkLogic Server.

Transaction locks are obtained when MarkLogic Server detects the potential of a transaction to change the database, at which point the server considers it to be an update transaction. Once a lock is acquired, it is held until the transaction ends. Transaction locks are set by MarkLogic Server either explicitly or implicitly depending on the configured commit mode. Because it's very common to see poorly performing application code written against MarkLogic Server due to unintentional locking, the two concepts of transaction type and commit mode have been combined into a single, simpler control - transaction mode

MarkLogic Server also has the notion of document and directory locks. Unlike transaction locks, document and directory locks must be set explicitly and are persistent in the database - they are not tied to a transaction. Document locks also apply to temporal documents. Any version of a temporal document can be locked in the same way as a regular document.

Cache partition locks are used by threads which can make changes to a cache. Threads need to acquire a write lock for both the relevant cache and cache partition before it makes the change.

Transaction Locks and Commit Mode vs. Transaction Mode

Transaction lock types are associated with transaction types. Query type transactions do not use locks to obtain a consistent view of data, but rather the state of the data at a particular timestamp. Update type transactions have the potential to change the database and therefore require locks on documents to ensure transactional integrity. 

So - if an update transaction type is run in explicit commit mode, then locks are acquired for all statements in an update transaction -  whether or not those statements perform updates. Once a lock is acquired, it is held until the transaction ends. If an update transaction type is run in auto commit mode, by default MarkLogic Server detects the transaction type through static analysis of the first statement in that transaction. If the server detects the potential for updates during static analysis, then the transaction is considered an update transaction - which results in a write lock being acquired.

In multi-statement transactions, if an update transaction type is run in explicit commit mode, then the transaction is an update transaction and locks are acquired for all statements in an update transaction - even if no update occurs. In auto commit mode MarkLogic Server determines the transaction type through static analysis of the first statement. If in auto commit mode, and the first statement is a query, and an update occurs later in that transaction, MarkLogic Server will throw an exception. In multi-statement transactions, the transaction ends only when it is explicitly committed or rolled back. Failure to explicitly commit or roll back a multi-statement transaction might retain locks until the transaction times out or reaches the end of the session - at which point the transaction rolls back.

Best practices:

1) Avoid unnecessary transaction locks or holding on to transaction locks for too long. For single-statement transactions, do not explicitly set the transaction type to update if running a query. For multi-statement transactions, always explicitly commit or rollback the relevant transaction to free transaction locks as soon as possible.

2) It's very common for users to write code that unintentionally takes write locks. One of the best ways to avoid unintentional locks is to use transaction modes instead of transaction types/commit modes. Transaction modes combines transaction type and commit mode into a single configurable value. You can read more about transaction mode in our documentation at: Transaction Mode Overview.

3) Be aware that when setting transaction mode, the xdmp:commit and xdmp:update XQuery prolog options affect only the next transaction created after their declaration; they do not affect an entire session. Use xdmp:set-transaction-mode or xdmp.setTransactionMode if you need to change the transaction mode settings at the session level.

Document and Directory Locks

Document and directory locks are not tied to a transaction. The locks must be explicitly set and stored as a lock document in a MarkLogic Server database. So the locks can last a specified time period or be persistent until explicitly unlocked.

Each document and directory can have a lock. The lock can be used as part of an application's update strategy. MarkLogic Server provides the flexibility for client to set up a policy of how to use the locks that suitable for client environment. For example, if only one user is allowed to update the specific database objects, you can set the lock to be "exclusive." In contrast, if you have multiple users updating the same database object, you can set the lock to be "shared."

Unlike transaction locks, document and directory locks are persistent in the database and are consequently searchable.   

Temporal Document Locks

A temporal collection contain bi-temporal or uni-temporal documents. Each version of a temporal document can be locked in the same way as a regular, non-temporal document.

Cache and Cache Partition Locks

If a thread attempts to make a change to database cache, it needs to acquire a write lock for the relevant cache and cache partition. This cache or cache partition write lock is serializes write access, which keep date in the relevant cache or cache partition thread-safe. While cache and cache partition locks are short-lived, be aware that in the case of a single cache partition, all of the threads needing to access that would need to serialize through a single cache partition write lock. For multiple cache partitions, multiple write locks can be acquired with one lock per partition - which allows multiple threads to make concurrent cache partition updates.

References and Additional Reading:

1) Understanding Transactions in MarkLogic Server

2) Cache Partitions

3) Document and Directory Locks

4) Understanding Locking in MarkLogic Server Using Examples

5) Understanding XDMP-DEADLOCK

6) Understanding the Lock Trace Diagnostic Trace Event

7) How MarkLogic Server Supports ACID Transactions

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