How does iAS mediate between applications and databases ?
AWhen an application needs a connection to a database, for the purpose of reading or writing data, it gets the connection from the iAS database engine, not directly from the database drivers. Doing this has certain benefits. Specifically, iAS operates a connection pooling scheme, which improves performance and reduces the number of simultaneous connections that the database is required to support. In theory, applications can get connections directly from database drivers, but this is not recommended as it obviates these benefits. When an application has obtained a database connection, it can use it exactly as it would a connection obtained from a driver; the role of iAS is transparent to the application.
