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Setback Isolation-Level with C# in SQL-Server 2016 after call [duplicate]

As demonstrated by previous Stack Overflow questions (TransactionScope and Connection Pooling and How does SqlConnection manage IsolationLevel?), the transaction isolation level leaks across pooled connections with SQL Server and ADO.NET (also System.Transactions and EF, because they build on top of ADO.NET).
This means, that the following dangerous sequence of events can happen in any application:
A request happens which requires an explicit transaction to ensure data consistency
Any other request comes in which does not use an explicit transaction because it is only doing uncritical reads. This request will now execute as serializable, potentially causing dangerous blocking and deadlocks
The question: What is the best way to prevent this scenario? Is it really required to use explicit transactions everywhere now?
Here is a self-contained repro. You will see that the third query will have inherited the Serializable level from the second query.
class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
RunTest(null);
RunTest(IsolationLevel.Serializable);
RunTest(null);
Console.ReadKey();
}
static void RunTest(IsolationLevel? isolationLevel)
{
using (var tran = isolationLevel == null ? null : new TransactionScope(0, new TransactionOptions() { IsolationLevel = isolationLevel.Value }))
using (var conn = new SqlConnection("Data Source=(local); Integrated Security=true; Initial Catalog=master;"))
{
conn.Open();
var cmd = new SqlCommand(#"
select
case transaction_isolation_level
WHEN 0 THEN 'Unspecified'
WHEN 1 THEN 'ReadUncommitted'
WHEN 2 THEN 'ReadCommitted'
WHEN 3 THEN 'RepeatableRead'
WHEN 4 THEN 'Serializable'
WHEN 5 THEN 'Snapshot'
end as lvl, ##SPID
from sys.dm_exec_sessions
where session_id = ##SPID", conn);
using (var reader = cmd.ExecuteReader())
{
while (reader.Read())
{
Console.WriteLine("Isolation Level = " + reader.GetValue(0) + ", SPID = " + reader.GetValue(1));
}
}
if (tran != null) tran.Complete();
}
}
}
Output:
Isolation Level = ReadCommitted, SPID = 51
Isolation Level = Serializable, SPID = 51
Isolation Level = Serializable, SPID = 51 //leaked!

The connection pool calls sp_resetconnection before recycling a connection. Resetting the transaction isolation level is not in the list of things that sp_resetconnection does. That would explain why "serializable" leaks across pooled connections.
I guess you could start each query by making sure it's at the right isolation level:
if not exists (
select *
from sys.dm_exec_sessions
where session_id = ##SPID
and transaction_isolation_level = 2
)
set transaction isolation level read committed
Another option: connections with a different connection string do not share a connection pool. So if you use another connection string for the "serializable" queries, they won't share a pool with the "read committed" queries. An easy way to alter the connection string is to use a different login. You could also add a random option like Persist Security Info=False;.
Finally, you could make sure every "serializable" query resets the isolation level before it returns. If a "serializable" query fails to complete, you could clear the connection pool to force the tainted connection out of the pool:
SqlConnection.ClearPool(yourSqlConnection);
This is potentially expensive, but failing queries are rare, so you should not have to call ClearPool() often.

In SQL Server 2014 this seem to have been fixed. If using TDS protocol 7.3 or higher.
Running on SQL Server version 12.0.2000.8 the output is:
ReadCommitted
Serializable
ReadCommitted
Unfortunately this change is not mentioned in any documentation such as:
Behavior Changes to Database Engine Features in SQL Server 2014
Breaking Changes to Database Engine Features in SQL Server 2014
But the change has been documented on a Microsoft Forum.
Update 2017-03-08
Unfortunately this was later "unfixed" in SQL Server 2014 CU6 and SQL Server 2014 SP1 CU1 since it introduced a bug:
FIX: The transaction isolation level is reset incorrectly when the SQL Server connection is released in SQL Server 2014
"Assume that you use the TransactionScope class in SQL Server client-side source code, and you do not explicitly open the SQL Server connection in a transaction. When the SQL Server connection is released, the transaction isolation level is reset incorrectly."
Workaround
It appears that, since passing through a parameter makes the driver use sp_executesql, this forces a new scope, similar to a stored procedure. The scope is rolled back after the end of the batch.
Therefore, to avoid the leak, pass through a dummy parameter, as show below.
using (var conn = new SqlConnection(connString))
using (var comm = new SqlCommand(#"
SELECT transaction_isolation_level FROM sys.dm_exec_sessions where session_id = ##SPID
", conn))
{
conn.Open();
Console.WriteLine(comm.ExecuteScalar());
}
using (var conn = new SqlConnection(connString))
using (var comm = new SqlCommand(#"
SET TRANSACTION ISOLATION LEVEL SNAPSHOT;
SELECT transaction_isolation_level FROM sys.dm_exec_sessions where session_id = ##SPID
", conn))
{
comm.Parameters.Add("#dummy", SqlDbType.Int).Value = 0; // see with and without
conn.Open();
Console.WriteLine(comm.ExecuteScalar());
}
using (var conn = new SqlConnection(connString))
using (var comm = new SqlCommand(#"
SELECT transaction_isolation_level FROM sys.dm_exec_sessions where session_id = ##SPID
", conn))
{
conn.Open();
Console.WriteLine(comm.ExecuteScalar());
}

For those using EF in .NET, you can fix this for your whole application by setting a different appname per isolation level (as also stated by #Andomar):
//prevent isolationlevel leaks
//https://stackoverflow.com/questions/9851415/sql-server-isolation-level-leaks-across-pooled-connections
public static DataContext CreateContext()
{
string isolationlevel = Transaction.Current?.IsolationLevel.ToString();
string connectionString = ConfigurationManager.ConnectionStrings["yourconnection"].ConnectionString;
connectionString = Regex.Replace(connectionString, "APP=([^;]+)", "App=$1-" + isolationlevel, RegexOptions.IgnoreCase);
return new DataContext(connectionString);
}
Strange this is still an issue 8 years later ...

I just asked a question on this topic and added a piece of C# code, which can help around this problem (meaning: change isolation level only for one transaction).
Change isolation level in individual ADO.NET transactions only
It is basically a class to be wrapped in an 'using' block, which queries the original isolation level before and restores it later.
It does, however, require two additional round trips to the DB to check and restore the default isolation level, and I am not absolutely sure that it will never leak the altered isolation level, although I see very little danger of that.

Calling a linked server fails after a snapshot connection has been disposed

We have a C# application using ADO.NET and an SQL-Server with SNAPSHOT Transaction Isolation Level. This is 'as is' and unfortunately cannot be modified.
Now we need insert stuff on a linked server.
We execute the following code (reduced to illustrate the problem):
// Create a snapshot Transaction and close the connection
using (var con = new SqlConnection(myConStr))
{
con.BeginTransaction(TransactionLevel.Snapshot);
}
// do something with a linked server
using (var con = new SqlConnection(myConStr))
{
using (var cmd = con.CreateCommand()
{
cmd.CommandText = "insert into LinkedServer.SomeDb..Table ...";
cmd.ExecuteNonQuery();
}
}
We get can an exception when trying to insert something into the linked server
'Remote access is not supported for transaction isolation level "SNAPSHOT"'
I wonder why it is not possible: We open the connection, make sure it is disposed (clearing all transactions, I guess) and use a second connection for the linked server call.
Executing the stuff in SSMS using plain SQL seems to work.
What are we missing? Is there a proper way to do it?
Thanks for any hints in the right direction.

The secret to understand the problem is the 'connection pooling' which is done by ADO.NET in the Background. The real connection is actually set to SNAPSHOT.
In the second part of the sample code, that connection simply gets reused thus still being in 'snapshot mode'.
The solution is to explicitly set the transaction isolation Level to something else right after opening the Connection.
using (var con = new SqlConnection(myConStr))
{
using (var cmd = con.CreateCommand()
{
cmd.CommandText = "set transaction isolation Level read committed";
cmd.ExecuteNonQuery();
}
using (var cmd = con.CreateCommand()
{
cmd.CommandText = "insert into LinkedServer.SomeDb..Table ...";
cmd.ExecuteNonQuery();
}
}

C# How to open a SQL Anywhere connection alongside an Entity Framework connection

I have a C#, .Net 4.5.2 project, built in VS2012, which uses Entity Framework to connect to a SQL database. I now need to access a separate Oracle database, and have been trying to use SQL Anywhere 16 to make the connection. I know that the SQL Anywhere connection works because I have a test project which successfully uses it. The problem is that the connection.Open() method errors with this message:
Network access for Distributed Transaction Manager (MSDTC) has been disabled. Please enable DTC for network access in the security configuration for MSDTC using the Component Services Administrative tool.
I suspect that Entity Framework doesn't like the additional connection, but enabling MSDTC is not an option as I only have FTP access to the server where the code will live. Is anyone able to suggest an alternative way to get this working, bearing in mind I know very little about Entity Framework?
Additional
There aren't any transactions set up as far as I can see (I only wrote the stuff for connecting to the Oracle database), nor is TransactionScope being used. Here's an edited version of my code:
var connectionString = new SAConnectionStringBuilder();
connectionString.Host = "***.***.***.***";
connectionString.DatabaseName = "*****";
connectionString.UserID = "*****";
connectionString.Password = "*****";
connectionString.ServerName = "*****";
using (SAConnection conn = new SAConnection(connectionString))
{
using (SACommand cmd = conn.CreateCommand())
{
cmd.CommandText = query;
cmd.CommandType = CommandType.Text;
conn.Open();
cmd.ExecuteNonQuery();
conn.Close();
}
}
Solution
I did some more searching, and after a bit of trial and error, managed to solve my problem. It seems the SQL Anywhere connection was automatically being put into a transaction. When this was then combined with the transactions being used by the entity framework connection, it was raised to a distributed transaction.
I have found that by putting the connection inside a transaction scope, and using the TransactionScopeOption.Suppress flag, it is no longer being put into a transaction, and therefore does not require MSDTC to be enabled. My code now looks like this:
var connectionString = new SAConnectionStringBuilder();
connectionString.Host = "***.***.***.***";
connectionString.DatabaseName = "*****";
connectionString.UserID = "*****";
connectionString.Password = "*****";
connectionString.ServerName = "*****";
using (TransactionScope scope1 = new TransactionScope(TransactionScope.Suppress))
{
using (SAConnection conn = new SAConnection(connectionString))
{
using (SACommand cmd = conn.CreateCommand())
{
cmd.CommandText = query;
cmd.CommandType = CommandType.Text;
conn.Open();
cmd.ExecuteNonQuery();
conn.Close();
}
}
scope1.Complete();
}
Thanks to everyone who responded

c# : one class to connect to sql server

Hello there I hope you're having a great time.
I have a question And I will break it down into 3 points:
1: create a class to connect to sql server the connection should be made using sql server authentication.
This class should contain several variables for connection parameters.
2: create a user form that shows the current connection parameters. And allow the user to update those parameters. In this form there should be a button to test the connect and another button to save the user changes to the connection parameters.
3: how to share the connection, created by the class we made in point 1, between different forms in the application. Without keeping too many open connections ideally only one connection should be open.
I will add the code that can solve this problem I hope that you can help me refine it.
I am new to all of this.
Thank you all for help.

already exists; SqlConnection and maybe SqlConnectionStringBuilder
that kinda already exists, via the IDE, but last time I checked this was not a redistributable dll. You could, however, simply hook a SqlConnectionStringBuilder to a PropertyGrid - or just write the UI from scratch
even "only one connection should be open" is wrong, IMO - let the inbuilt connection pooling deal with that; all you need is some configuration class with the connection string - and just deal with the connections as you need them, very locally - i.e.
using(var conn = new SqlConnection(Config.ConnectionString))
{
conn.Open();
// NOT SHOWN: do a couple of related operations
} // <== and here, it dies

1 : go to MSDN website you'll find what you need :
http://msdn.microsoft.com/fr-fr/library/system.data.sqlclient.sqlcommand.aspx?cs-save-lang=1&cs-lang=csharp#code-snippet-2
private static void ReadOrderData(string connectionString)
{
string queryString =
"SELECT OrderID, CustomerID FROM dbo.Orders;";
using (SqlConnection connection = new SqlConnection(
connectionString))
{
SqlCommand command = new SqlCommand(
queryString, connection);
connection.Open();
SqlDataReader reader = command.ExecuteReader();
try
{
while (reader.Read())
{
Console.WriteLine(String.Format("{0}, {1}",
reader[0], reader[1]));
}
}
finally
{
// Always call Close when done reading.
reader.Close();
}
}
}
2: look at your connection properties (http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/System.Data.SqlClient.SqlConnection_properties.aspx) and fill a listView or equivalent with it
3: Use previous SqlConnection.Open() to deal with it

Connecting a MS Access (.mdb) Database to a MVC3 Web Application

Right, I have been tasked with developing a new application in MVC3 that unfortunately has to integrate very slightly with a classic asp web site. This won't be forever as the old site will get an update at some point, but not yet. In the mean time however the new MVC3 application will need a little bit of access to the database for the old site, which is a old MS Access .mdb whereas the new app will be using sql server 2008.
I would greatly appreciate it if someone could give me some examples of how to connect to the access db, aswell as how to execute sql queries (i am fine writing the sql, just got no idea how to execute against the database from my mvc3 app).
thanks in advance
EDIT: I've not got much experience with the old site, but it appears to use the JET adaptor if that helps! ;-)

Your question requires an answer too extensive to be given in detail
I will give you a check list of things and class to research
Define the connection string used to reach your database [see
here]
Create and open the OleDbConnection
Define your OleDbCommand and the command text to be executed
Create and use an OleDbDataReader to read your data line by line
Create and use an OleDbDataAdapter to read your data and load a
DataSet or DataTable
Now don't forget to close your connection and use parametrized query

string connectionString = Provider=Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0;Data Source=C:\mydatabase.mdb;Jet OLEDB:Database Password=MyDbPassword;
public void InsertRow(string connectionString, string insertSQL)
{
using (OleDbConnection connection = new OleDbConnection(connectionString))
{
// The insertSQL string contains a SQL statement that
// inserts a new row in the source table.
OleDbCommand command = new OleDbCommand(insertSQL);
// Set the Connection to the new OleDbConnection.
command.Connection = connection;
// Open the connection and execute the insert command.
try
{
connection.Open();
command.ExecuteNonQuery();
}
catch (Exception ex)
{
Console.WriteLine(ex.Message);
}
// The connection is automatically closed when the
// code exits the using block.
}
}