What are the disadvantage/consequences of moving updated column to separate table to prevent table lock on the original table? I have a table p with a column points. There are a couple of million of records in the table and i need to regularly calculate and update the points for each row. This process takes a couple of minutes and it locks the table. I need to be able to insert and update records in p in the meanwhile. One solution I was thinking of is to create a second table and add a foreign key to p and the points column there. If this table is locked for a couple of minutes that's fine. Are here disadvantages/consequences that I should keep in mind with this solution?
From what I remember about this database from your earlier questions, I'd suggest you look at these alternatives to your approach:


Consider RCSI or Snapshot isolation. This will prevent your select queries being blocked during the update. Be mindful of the increased usage of tempdb this can generate but IIRC the nature of your database/data should mean this is small.
Updating the points record in batches, rather than one almighty transaction for the entire table. See How to Use Batch Size to Speed Mass Updates, Inserts and Deletes for an old (but still relevant) approach.