what is Enlist=false means in connection string for sql server?

Question

I am a beginner with .net. I faced issue with the following error

"The transaction operation cannot be performed because there are pending requests working on this transaction.".

i read somewhere in the blog .i appended my connection string with enlist=true and the issue was resolved.

Note: i am upgrading my DB from sql server 2005 to sql server 2008R2.

Please help to understand the importance of using enlist.

Answer 1

Enlisting is user for Distributed Transaction

The Connection object will automatically enlist in an existing distributed transaction if it determines that a transaction is active. Automatic transaction enlistment occurs when the connection is opened or retrieved from the connection pool. You can disable auto-enlistment in existing transactions by specifying Enlist=false as a connection string parameter for a SqlConnection, or OLE DB Services=-7 as a connection string parameter for an OleDbConnection.

Note The Connection must be open before calling EnlistDistributedTransaction.

Here is an example for you with Enlist=False;

Answer 2

The MSDN says:

The ConnectionString property supports a keyword, Enlist, which indicates whether System.Data.SqlClient will detect transactional contexts and automatically enlist the connection in a distributed transaction. If Enlist=true, the connection is automatically enlisted in the opening thread's current transaction context. If Enlist=false, the SqlClient connection does not interact with a distributed transaction. The default value for Enlist is true. If Enlist is not specified in the connection string, the connection is automatically enlisted in a distributed transaction if one is detected when the connection is opened.