SQL 2008 Linked Server Connection

Question

Does a linked server connection on SQL Server 2008 get shared between connections to the SQL Server? I am wondering this because I have a SQL Server 2008 with a linked Sybase server. If I open up Management Studio and connect to the SQL Server and execute the following

exec('select id into #tempTable from test') AT LINKEDSERVER

And then open up another window in Management Studio and execute the statement again I get a table already exists. The same things also seems to be happening if I execute it through code and then try it through Management Studio.

Is the linked server connection being shared between different connections to the SQL Server or is something else going on?

Answer 1

I confess my experience with Sybase is pretty limited, but does it use the OLE DB provider for the linked server? If so, yes you should be getting connection pooling as OLE DB provides connection pooling.

Answer 2

It appears that this was a connection pooling issue. It wasn't that the connection between the linked server and SQL Server was getting reused, it was that the connections to the SQL Server were getting reused because of connection pooling.