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.