Breaking locks held by two-phase commit transactions while preserving data consistency

A technique for breaking locks held by two-phase commit (2PC) transactions while preserving data consistency that guarantees that either the "commit" phase or the "abort" phase of the 2PC protocol is completed at a higher-priority server. Accordingly, all locks on data objects are released and a high-priority operation can proceed. Data consistency is also preserved because the 2PC coordinator adheres to the 2PC protocol and properly notifies both the higher-priority server and one or more lower-priority servers when they are available.