read-committed-snapshot

I would like to set READ_COMMITTED_SNAPSHOT to ON on my SQL Azure database, but the following code, which works with other versions of SQL Server, is not supported in Azure: ALTER DATABASE [database_name] SET READ_COMMITTED_SNAPSHOT ON GO First question: Is it still a good idea to set READ_COMMITTED_SNAPSHOT to ON in SQL Azure (or whatever achieves the same result)? My intention is not to lock records when they are just being read, in order to improve performance. Second question: If it is a good idea, what's the Azure syntax for doing it? From what I can tell based on this MSDN article the

In MS SQL Server is there a way to detect whether a database has had its isolation level set via the T-SQL command ALTER DATABASE <database> SET READ_COMMITTED_SNAPSHOT ON; I cannot find a simple way to detect this in either T-SQL or via the Management Studio's GUI. TIA Galwegian SELECT is_read_committed_snapshot_on FROM sys.databases WHERE name= 'YourDatabase' Return value: 1 : READ_COMMITTED_SNAPSHOT option is ON . Read operations under the READ COMMITTED isolation level are based on snapshot scans and do not acquire locks. 0 (default): READ_COMMITTED_SNAPSHOT option is OFF . Read operations

Could some one please help me understand when to use SNAPSHOT isolation level over READ COMMITTED SNAPSHOT in SQL Server? I understand that in most cases READ COMMITTED SNAPSHOT works, but not sure when go for SNAPSHOT isolation. Thanks READ COMMITTED SNAPSHOT does optimistic reads and pessimistic writes. In contrast, SNAPSHOT does optimistic reads and optimistic writes. Microsoft recommends READ COMMITTED SNAPSHOT for most apps that need row versioning. Read this excellent Microsoft article: Choosing Row Versioning-based Isolation Levels . It explains the benefits and costs of both isolation

I'm using a Microsoft SQL Server 2005 database with isolation level READ_COMMITTED and READ_COMMITTED_SNAPSHOT=ON . Now I want to use: SELECT * FROM <tablename> FOR UPDATE ...so that other database connections block when trying to access the same row "FOR UPDATE". I tried: SELECT * FROM <tablename> WITH (updlock) WHERE id=1 ...but this blocks all other connections even for selecting an id other than "1". Which is the correct hint to do a SELECT FOR UPDATE as known for Oracle, DB2, MySql? EDIT 2009-10-03: These are the statements to create the table and the index: CREATE TABLE example ( Id