PostgreSQL

Lock contention and deadlocks block transaction progress

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Connection ManagementUpdated Feb 15, 2026
Technologies:
How to detect:

Multiple transactions competing for locks cause blocking and deadlocks, preventing transaction completion and degrading throughput.

Recommended action:

Monitor lock counts using postgres_exporter or check_postgres lock monitoring. Query pg_locks and pg_stat_activity to identify blocking queries. Cancel long-running blocking queries using pg_cancel_backend() or pg_terminate_backend(). Review application logic to minimize lock hold times and avoid lock ordering issues.