IBM Informix MaxConnect

IBM® Informix® MaxConnect is a networking product for IBM Informix database server environments on UNIX. Informix MaxConnect manages large numbers (from several hundred to tens of thousands) of client/server connections.

Informix MaxConnect multiplexes connections so that the ratio of client connections to database connections can be 200:1 or higher. Informix MaxConnect increases system scalability to many thousands of connections and saves system resources, reducing response times and processor requirements. Informix MaxConnect is best for OLTP data transfers and should not be used for large multimedia data transfers.

Install Informix MaxConnect separately from your IBM Informix database server and client applications. For maximum performance benefit, install Informix MaxConnect either on a separate computer to which IBM Informix clients connect or on the client application server. You can install Informix MaxConnect in the following configurations:

On a dedicated server to which IBM Informix clients connect
On the client application server
On the database server computer

Two protocols for multiplexing connections, ontliimc and onsocimc, are available for Informix MaxConnect users. You can use the ontliimc and onsocimc protocols in the following two configurations:

To connect Informix MaxConnect to the database server.
In this configuration, the client connections are multiplexed and use packet aggregation.
To connect the client applications directly to the database server without going through Informix MaxConnect.
In this configuration, the client does not get the benefits of connection multiplexing or packet aggregation. Choose this configuration when the client application is transferring simple- or smart-large-object data, because a direct connection to the database server is best.

For more information about how to configure Informix MaxConnect and monitor it with the onstat -g imc and imcadmin commands, see the IBM Informix MaxConnect User's Guide.

Important: Informix MaxConnect and the IBM Informix MaxConnect User's Guide ship separately from the IBM Informix database server.