When connecting to a Microsoft SQL Server database from the Syniti Knowledge Platform (SKP), provide the following connection properties to establish a secure and reliable connection. This article explains each property to understand what information is required and how it is used.
Property | Description | Notes |
|---|---|---|
Name | Name of the SQL Server connection unique to the SKP. | NA |
Description | Enter a description that briefly states the purpose of this connection. | NA |
Hostname | Hostname is the network name or IP address of the SQL Server machine you want to connect to. | * The server name, for example, SQLPROD01. * An IP address, for example, 192.168.10.50. |
Port | The port number your SQL Server uses to accept connections. | By default, the SQL Server port is 1433. If you are not sure, you can use this default port. |
Username | The login name used to sign in to the SQL Server. | This login name should be an account that your administrator has created for database access. |
Password | The password for the username above. | Authenticates your connection to the database. |
Database | The name of the specific SQL Server database you want to connect to. | SQL Server can have many databases; this tells the SKP which one to use. |
Instance | The SQL Server instance name, if your server uses named instances, for example, MSSQLSERVER, SQL2019, and so on. | If your SQL Server has only one default instance, you can leave this field empty. |
Timeout | The maximum number of seconds the system will wait when trying to connect before stopping and showing an error. | Default value is 60 seconds. If your server is slow or far away, you can raise this number. |
Pooling | Connection pooling allows the system to reuse existing database connections instead of creating a new one every time the SKP performs an operation. | * Enabled (Default): The SKP keeps a group (pool) of open database connections ready to use. This reduces the time spent opening and closing connections. * Disabled: A new connection is created and closed for each operation. This is simpler and uses fewer system resources but can be slower for frequent operations. |
Minimum Pool Size | The minimum number of connections that the system will always keep open when pooling is enabled. | Even if the SKP is idle, it will maintain at least this number of ready-to-use connections. Useful when you expect regular activity and want faster response times. For example, If Minimum Pool Size = 2, the SKP always keeps at least 2 connections open. |
Maximum Pool Size | The maximum number of connections the SKP is allowed to open when pooling is enabled. | This prevents the system or database from being overloaded with too many connections. When the pool reaches this limit, new requests must wait until a connection is released. For example, If Maximum Pool Size = 10, the SKP never opens more than 10 connections at the same time. |
Connection Lifetime | The number of minutes a connection is kept in the pool before closing it. | Even if a connection is idle or reusable, it will be closed and replaced once it exceeds this lifetime. This helps prevent issues caused by long-lived connections, such as stale connections or server-side timeouts. For example, if Connection Lifetime = 30, connections older than 30 minutes are closed and replaced when needed. |
Packet Size | Sets the size (in bytes) of the data chunks sent between your application and the SQL Server. | Most users should leave this at the default value. Changing it is only useful in special cases, for example, when transferring very large data rows, increasing the size can improve performance. |