The Deadlock view enables you to explore deadlock events in your SQL Server database. A deadlock occurs when two or more processes are unable to proceed because each is waiting for the other to release resources.

Before you begin

You must configure Database Monitoring for your SQL Server before following the steps in this guide.

Supported databases

SQL Server

Supported deployments

All deployment types. Azure DB is supported for Agent versions 7.64.0 and later.

Supported Agent versions

7.59.0+

Setup

  CREATE EVENT SESSION datadog
  ON SERVER
  ADD EVENT sqlserver.xml_deadlock_report
  ADD TARGET package0.ring_buffer
  WITH (
      MAX_MEMORY = 1024 KB,
      EVENT_RETENTION_MODE = ALLOW_SINGLE_EVENT_LOSS,
      MAX_DISPATCH_LATENCY = 30 SECONDS,
      STARTUP_STATE = ON
  );
  GO

  ALTER EVENT SESSION datadog ON SERVER STATE = START;
  GO

  deadlocks_collection:
      enabled: true

  CREATE EVENT SESSION datadog
  ON database
  ADD EVENT sqlserver.database_xml_deadlock_report
  ADD TARGET package0.ring_buffer
  WITH (
      MAX_MEMORY = 1024 KB,
      EVENT_RETENTION_MODE = ALLOW_SINGLE_EVENT_LOSS,
      MAX_DISPATCH_LATENCY = 30 SECONDS,
      STARTUP_STATE = ON
  );
  GO

  ALTER EVENT SESSION datadog ON DATABASE STATE = START;
  GO

  deadlocks_collection:
      enabled: true

Exploring deadlock events

To access the deadlock view, navigate to the APM > Database Monitoring > Databases tab, select a SQL Server host, and then click the Deadlocks tab. The deadlock tab displays details about the victim and survivor processes, and includes a link to the deadlock diagram.

Note: Because deadlocks occur infrequently, it’s unlikely that any deadlock information will be visible right away.

Further reading

Additional helpful documentation, links, and articles:

Database MonitoringDOCUMENTATION Setting Up SQL ServerDOCUMENTATION Troubleshooting Database MonitoringDOCUMENTATION