Microsoft® SQL Server™ 2005 Administrator's Companion

ACID Properties

Now that you know generally what a transaction is, let’s take a look at the properties that must be met for a transaction to be considered valid. These are not specific to SQL Server transactions, but to transactions in general. SQL Server supports these properties, which have not changed from previous versions of SQL Server. A logical unit of work must exhibit four properties, called the atomicity, consistency, isolation, and durability (ACID) properties, to qualify as a valid transaction. SQL Server provides mechanisms to help ensure that a transaction meets each of these requirements.

Atomicity

SQL Server ensures either that all data modifications in a transaction are completed as a group if the transaction is successful or that ...