Why Connection Pools Like HikariCP Are Essential in Spring Boot Microservices

Introduction

In the world of microservices, where efficiency, scalability, and performance are important, managing database connections effectively is crucial. HikariCP plays vital role in achieving the connection pooling. But why is a connection pool so important? Let’s dive into this by exploring a real-world scenario.

The Problem: Handling Multiple Users Without a Connection Pool

Real-World Example: A Basic E-Commerce Application

Consider an e-commerce application where users can browse products, add items to their cart, and complete purchases. Each user action triggers a database query. Without a connection pool, every request would establish a new connection to the database. Let’s break down what happens in such a scenario:

• High Overhead: Each time a user interacts with the application, a new database connection is created and later closed. This process is resource-intensive and time-consuming.