The Deadlocks alert notifies you when its configured condition is met on SQL Server instances so you can investigate and respond.
Mini DBA describes this alert as: Processes deadlocked by other processes Often caused by locks being held for too long, in turn caused by poor index design Mini DBA evaluates this alert once a minute so changes are detected quickly.
This alert highlights concurrency pressure. Blocking, long sessions, and lock waits can turn a healthy server into a slow user experience, so the alert gives administrators an early route to the sessions, statements, and applications involved.
Enable it on any monitored SQL Server instance where this condition would require an administrator to investigate or communicate with the application team. Tune noisy development systems after you have a short baseline.
Threshold meaning: Deadlocks per minute. Major threshold: 10 deadlocks. Minor threshold: 0 deadlocks. Compare the setting with the normal baseline and leave enough warning time for the team to investigate before the service limit is reached.
Open the activity, blocking, and query views to identify the lead blocker, SQL text, wait type, login, host, and application. Prefer fixing the query or transaction pattern, but kill or cancel the blocking session when the business impact is higher than the rollback risk.
If the alert creates repeated noise, review whether it is enabled on the correct instances, whether maintenance windows are configured, and whether the minor and major routes match the real business impact. Keep enough history to prove the new setting before changing it broadly.