public function commitTransaction() {
        // check that a transaction is really active - do not check/renew the connection - renewing a connection breaks the transaction
        if (!$this->getConnection(false)->inTransaction())
            throw new \Exception("Not inside a DB transaction. Cannot commit.");

        try {
            $this->getConnection(false)->commit();
        } catch (Exception $_e) {
            throw new \Exception("Error while committing DB transaction: ".$pe->getMessage());
        }
    }