Connection pooling with the IBM Data Server Provider for .NET

When a connection is first opened against a Db2 database, a connection pool is created. As connections are closed, they enter the pool, ready to be reused within the same process by other applications that need connections.

The IBM® Data Server Provider for .NET uses a normalized set of connection string attributes for determining the connection pool. By using normalized attributes, the chances of an application reusing connections is increased.

The IBM Data Server Provider for .NET enables connection pooling by default.

Note: You can turn connection pooling off using the Pooling=false connection string keyword/value pair. However, if you turn off connection pooling COM+ applications will not work.
You can control the behavior of the connection pool by setting following connection string keywords:
  • The minimum and maximum pool size (MinPoolSize and MaxPoolSize)
  • The length of time an idle connection stays in the pool after DB2Connection.Close (Connection Lifetime)