Intent locks are used to increase performance and make the resolution of (potential) lock conflicts easier. For example, SQL Server can acquire an intent lock on a table, declaring its intent to subsequently acquire locks on rows or pages of that table. Declaring the intent lock prevents other transactions from acquiring locks at the table level. This can be done without having to search the lower level (page or row) locks to see if the lock can be acquired.
Jeff Mason
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SQL SERVER - Intent Lock
