(1) The response that occurs when the number of locks issued for one agent exceeds the limit specified in the database configuration; the limit is defined by the maxlocks configuration parameter. During a lock escalation, locks are freed by converting multiple locks on rows of a table into one lock on a table. This process is repeated until the limit is no longer exceeded.
(2) The promotion of a lock from a row, page, or LOB lock to a table space lock because the number of page locks that are concurrently held on a given resource exceeds a preset limit.