Gerald Britton takes us through snapshot isolation in SQL Server:
Snapshot isolation avoids most locking and blocking by using row versioning. When data is modified, the committed versions of affected rows are copied to tempdb and given version numbers. This operation is called copy on write and is used for all inserts, updates and deletes using this technique. When another session reads the same data, the committed version of the data as of the time the reading transaction began is returned.
By avoiding most locking, this approach can greatly increase concurrency at a lower cost than transactional isolation. Of course, “There ain’t no such thing as a free lunch!” and snapshot isolation has a hidden cost: increased usage of tempdb.
Gerald covers both varieties, Read Committed Snapshot Isolation and proper Snapshot Isolation. RCSI is definitely worth understanding in almost any environment, and even Snapshot Isolation has its uses.