Sun Java System Web Server 7.0 Update 8 Administrator's Guide

Exclusive Locks

An exclusive lock is a lock that grants resource access to a single user. Another user can access the same resource only after the exclusive lock on the resource is removed.

Exclusive locking sometimes proves to be too rigid and expensive a mechanism for locking resources. For example, in the event of a program crash or the lock owner forgetting to unlock the resource, a lock timeout or the administrator’s intervention will be required to remove the exclusive lock.