SQL Server Process Queue Race Condition

Question

I have an order queue that is accessed by multiple order processors through a stored procedure. Each processor passes in a unique ID which is used to lock the next 20 orders

Answer 1

You can use Service Broker. Also you can use sp_getapplock to serialize access to your rows - that will eliminate race conditions:

"Assisting Concurrency by creating your own Locks (Mutexs in SQL) " http://sqlblogcasts.com/blogs/tonyrogerson/archive/2006/06/30/855.aspx