Performing a unique key validation for an attribute that is declared to be unique in the database requires a round trip to the database. This is quite expensive and there is a fast and easy way to work around it.
The following method can be also implemented for attributes that do not have a unique key constrain in the database but your application logic requires them to be unique.
The first step is to declare the attribute (or group of attributes) that you need to be unique as an Alternate Key in the entity object.
After that you can create a new entity validation in the business rules of the entity object
In the Failure Handling tab of the validator wizard you can set the message that you need to appear when the validation fails. In the Validation Execution tab you can add conditions you need to be true for the validation rule to fire.
You are ready to go. The validation message will appear whenever a row is posted. If the unique attribute is autosubmit the message will appear immediately after entering a new value that is invalid.