Using the default, the value for a server with a non-partitioned database and local clients is the larger of maxagents/50 or max_querydegree.
Using the default, the value for a server with a non-partitioned database and local and remote clients is the larger of maxagents/50 x max_querydegree or maxagents - max_coordagents.
Using the default, the value for an database partition server is the larger of maxagents/10 x max_querydegree or maxagents - max_coordagents.
This parameter is a guideline for how large you want the agent pool to grow (and replaces the max_idleagents parameter that was used in DB2 Version 2).
The agent pool contains subagents and idle agents. Idle agents can be used as parallel subagents or as coordinating agents. If more agents are created than is indicated by the value of this parameter, they will be terminated when they finish executing their current request, rather than be returned to the pool.
If the value for this parameter is 0, agents will be created as needed, and may be terminated when they finish executing their current request. If the value is maxagents, and the pool is full of associated subagents, the server cannot be used as a coordinator node, because no new coordinating agents can be created.
Recommendation: If you run a decision-support environment in which few applications connect concurrently, set num_poolagents to a small value to avoid having an agent pool that is full of idle agents.
If you run a transaction-processing environment in which many applications are concurrently connected, increase the value of num_poolagents to avoid the costs associated with the frequent creation and termination of agents.