Ghost Record Cleanup and Error 602

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Ghost Record Cleanup and Error 602



Q

While using SQL Profiler to monitor my SQL Server database recently, I periodically received the message Error: 602, Severity: 21, State: 13. In the process information window in SQL Server Enterprise Manager, I found an entry for a background process called Ghost Record Cleanup; the user system had initiated this command. I used DBCC CHECKDB to check my database for problems, but I found no anomalies. What is the Ghost Record Cleanup process, and what is error 602?



A


When you delete rows, pages, or extents in your database, SQL Server can mark those objects as "ghosts" (meaning that deletion is pending) and clean them up later by using a background task. This process is called Ghost Record Cleanup. Ghost Record Cleanup improves the performance of the DELETE command because SQL Server doesn't have to deal with the physical cleanup right away.

To find out what error 602 means, look for a line in your SQL Server error log that gives you an ObjectID. You can use the ObjectID to trace the error to a specific database or object. If the object still exists (for example, it was not a transient object such as a temporary table), you can run DBCC CHECKTABLE against it and query sysindexes to verify that the object isn't damaged. If the object isn't damaged, SQL Server issued the 602 error message falsely. In some situations, SQL Server will issue a spurious 602 error message. To learn more about what error 602 means, go to the Microsoft Product Support Services Web site and search for "error message" and 602. The search will return a list of articles that address 602 errors and what they mean.