title: What does "A severe error occurred on the current command. The results, if any, should be discarded." SQL Azure error mean?
body: <p>Once in a while my code encounters</p>
  
  <pre><code>System.Data.SqlClient.SqlException
  The service has encountered an error processing your request. Please try again.
  Error code 40540. A severe error occurred on the current command.
  The results, if any, should be discarded.
  Class 20
  Number 40197
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>that happens very rarely, usually goes away in a minute or two and I can't reliably reproduce it. Sometimes <code>Error code</code> can be a number other than <code>40540</code>.</p>
  
  <p>I've Googled a bit and looks like it's usually triggered by bugs in SQL Server and is reproducible.</p>
  
  <p>I have two options - retry the query or treat it as fatal and break hard. I'd prefer to have better understanding what the problem actually is and whether I'm safe retrying the query.</p>
  
  <p>Do I retry the query when this error occurs?</p>