title: Design pattern for performance: SQL connection from serverless / cloud function / lambda
body: <p>In a traditional server-based web application, the application can pool a number of database connection at launch time and use these connections to process client requests throughout the lifetime of the application. Performance benefits because the overhead to create/destroy a database connection is paid only once at startup/termination.</p>
  
  <p>In a serverless model (such as google cloud function/AWS-lambda, etc) the application is started, the request is processed, and the application is shut down. Therefore, the application has no ability to pool connections with the intention to use over multiple requests.</p>
  
  <p>What is the appropriate design pattern, if any, to improve database connection performance in the serverless model? Finally, if no solution exists, do database requests from a serverless architecture kill performance? What kind of slowdowns are expected?</p>