Return unlocked rows in a “select top n” query

Question

I need to have a MsSql database table and another 8 (identical) processes accessing the same table in parallel - making a select top n, processing those n rows, and updating

Answer 1

The best idea if you want to select records in this manner would be to use a counter in a separate table.

You really don't want to be locking rows on a production database exclusively for any great period of time, therefore I would recommend using a counter. This way only one of your processes would be able to grab that counter number at a time (as it will lock as it is being updated) which will give you the concurrency that you need.

If you need a hand writing the tables and procedures that will do this (simply and safely as you put it!) just ask.