diff --git a/core/pom.xml b/core/pom.xml
index df4126689..7e7c87a39 100644
--- a/core/pom.xml
+++ b/core/pom.xml
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@
         <relativePath>../release-parent</relativePath>
         <groupId>com.arangodb</groupId>
         <artifactId>release-parent</artifactId>
-        <version>7.18.0</version>
+        <version>7.19.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
     </parent>
 
     <name>core</name>
diff --git a/core/src/main/java/com/arangodb/ArangoDB.java b/core/src/main/java/com/arangodb/ArangoDB.java
index a865e0306..7ebdb2e7e 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/com/arangodb/ArangoDB.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/com/arangodb/ArangoDB.java
@@ -517,6 +517,17 @@ public Builder chunkSize(final Integer chunkSize) {
             return this;
         }
 
+        /**
+         * Set whether to use requests pipelining in HTTP/1.1 ({@link Protocol#HTTP_JSON} or {@link Protocol#HTTP_VPACK}).
+         *
+         * @param pipelining {@code true} if enabled
+         * @return {@link ArangoDB.Builder}
+         */
+        public Builder pipelining(final Boolean pipelining) {
+            config.setPipelining(pipelining);
+            return this;
+        }
+
         /**
          * Sets the maximum number of connections the built in connection pool will open per host.
          *
diff --git a/core/src/main/java/com/arangodb/config/ArangoConfigProperties.java b/core/src/main/java/com/arangodb/config/ArangoConfigProperties.java
index 047d55280..832c8862d 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/com/arangodb/config/ArangoConfigProperties.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/com/arangodb/config/ArangoConfigProperties.java
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ public interface ArangoConfigProperties {
     String KEY_USE_SSL = "useSsl";
     String KEY_VERIFY_HOST = "verifyHost";
     String KEY_CHUNK_SIZE = "chunkSize";
+    String KEY_PIPELINING = "pipelining";
     String KEY_MAX_CONNECTIONS = "maxConnections";
     String KEY_CONNECTION_TTL = "connectionTtl";
     String KEY_KEEP_ALIVE_INTERVAL = "keepAliveInterval";
@@ -110,6 +111,10 @@ default Optional<Integer> getChunkSize() {
         return Optional.empty();
     }
 
+    default Optional<Boolean> getPipelining() {
+        return Optional.empty();
+    }
+
     default Optional<Integer> getMaxConnections() {
         return Optional.empty();
     }
diff --git a/core/src/main/java/com/arangodb/internal/ArangoDefaults.java b/core/src/main/java/com/arangodb/internal/ArangoDefaults.java
index b08c045da..25448187c 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/com/arangodb/internal/ArangoDefaults.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/com/arangodb/internal/ArangoDefaults.java
@@ -50,6 +50,7 @@ public final class ArangoDefaults {
     public static final Boolean DEFAULT_USE_SSL = false;
     public static final Boolean DEFAULT_VERIFY_HOST = true;
     public static final Integer DEFAULT_CHUNK_SIZE = 30_000;
+    public static final Boolean DEFAULT_PIPELINING = false;
     public static final Boolean DEFAULT_ACQUIRE_HOST_LIST = false;
     public static final Integer DEFAULT_ACQUIRE_HOST_LIST_INTERVAL = 60 * 60 * 1000; // hour
     public static final LoadBalancingStrategy DEFAULT_LOAD_BALANCING_STRATEGY = LoadBalancingStrategy.NONE;
diff --git a/core/src/main/java/com/arangodb/internal/config/ArangoConfig.java b/core/src/main/java/com/arangodb/internal/config/ArangoConfig.java
index f38903532..f95e0a4e2 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/com/arangodb/internal/config/ArangoConfig.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/com/arangodb/internal/config/ArangoConfig.java
@@ -33,6 +33,7 @@ public class ArangoConfig {
     private SSLContext sslContext;
     private Boolean verifyHost;
     private Integer chunkSize;
+    private Boolean pipelining;
     private Integer maxConnections;
     private Long connectionTtl;
     private Integer keepAliveInterval;
@@ -70,6 +71,7 @@ public void loadProperties(final ArangoConfigProperties properties) {
         useSsl = properties.getUseSsl().orElse(ArangoDefaults.DEFAULT_USE_SSL);
         verifyHost = properties.getVerifyHost().orElse(ArangoDefaults.DEFAULT_VERIFY_HOST);
         chunkSize = properties.getChunkSize().orElse(ArangoDefaults.DEFAULT_CHUNK_SIZE);
+        pipelining = properties.getPipelining().orElse(ArangoDefaults.DEFAULT_PIPELINING);
         // FIXME: make maxConnections field Optional
         maxConnections = properties.getMaxConnections().orElse(null);
         // FIXME: make connectionTtl field Optional
@@ -173,6 +175,14 @@ public void setChunkSize(Integer chunkSize) {
         this.chunkSize = chunkSize;
     }
 
+    public Boolean getPipelining() {
+        return pipelining;
+    }
+
+    public void setPipelining(Boolean pipelining) {
+        this.pipelining = pipelining;
+    }
+
     public Integer getMaxConnections() {
         if (maxConnections == null) {
             maxConnections = getDefaultMaxConnections();
diff --git a/core/src/main/java/com/arangodb/internal/config/ArangoConfigPropertiesImpl.java b/core/src/main/java/com/arangodb/internal/config/ArangoConfigPropertiesImpl.java
index e4502d3d8..f7d865f81 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/com/arangodb/internal/config/ArangoConfigPropertiesImpl.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/com/arangodb/internal/config/ArangoConfigPropertiesImpl.java
@@ -119,6 +119,11 @@ public Optional<Integer> getChunkSize() {
         return Optional.ofNullable(getProperty(KEY_CHUNK_SIZE)).map(Integer::valueOf);
     }
 
+    @Override
+    public Optional<Boolean> getPipelining() {
+        return Optional.ofNullable(getProperty(KEY_PIPELINING)).map(Boolean::valueOf);
+    }
+
     @Override
     public Optional<Integer> getMaxConnections() {
         return Optional.ofNullable(getProperty(KEY_MAX_CONNECTIONS)).map(Integer::valueOf);
diff --git a/core/src/main/java/com/arangodb/internal/net/Communication.java b/core/src/main/java/com/arangodb/internal/net/Communication.java
index 0309cd04c..26251e33d 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/com/arangodb/internal/net/Communication.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/com/arangodb/internal/net/Communication.java
@@ -50,7 +50,9 @@ public CompletableFuture<InternalResponse> executeAsync(final InternalRequest re
 
     private CompletableFuture<InternalResponse> executeAsync(final InternalRequest request, final HostHandle hostHandle, final Host host, final int attemptCount) {
         long reqId = reqCount.getAndIncrement();
-        return doExecuteAsync(request, hostHandle, host, attemptCount, host.connection(), reqId);
+        return host.connection().thenCompose(c ->
+                doExecuteAsync(request, hostHandle, host, attemptCount, c, reqId)
+                        .whenComplete((r, t) -> c.release()));
     }
 
     private CompletableFuture<InternalResponse> doExecuteAsync(
diff --git a/core/src/main/java/com/arangodb/internal/net/Connection.java b/core/src/main/java/com/arangodb/internal/net/Connection.java
index b092448d3..461c5ccea 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/com/arangodb/internal/net/Connection.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/com/arangodb/internal/net/Connection.java
@@ -35,4 +35,6 @@ public interface Connection extends Closeable {
     void setJwt(String jwt);
 
     CompletableFuture<InternalResponse> executeAsync(InternalRequest request);
+
+    void release();
 }
diff --git a/core/src/main/java/com/arangodb/internal/net/ConnectionFactory.java b/core/src/main/java/com/arangodb/internal/net/ConnectionFactory.java
index b0fbbdf7b..0e01ca824 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/com/arangodb/internal/net/ConnectionFactory.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/com/arangodb/internal/net/ConnectionFactory.java
@@ -29,5 +29,5 @@
  */
 @UsedInApi
 public interface ConnectionFactory {
-    Connection create(ArangoConfig config, HostDescription host);
+    Connection create(ArangoConfig config, HostDescription host, ConnectionPool pool);
 }
diff --git a/core/src/main/java/com/arangodb/internal/net/ConnectionPool.java b/core/src/main/java/com/arangodb/internal/net/ConnectionPool.java
index 91c12bb02..0db87c0c3 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/com/arangodb/internal/net/ConnectionPool.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/com/arangodb/internal/net/ConnectionPool.java
@@ -20,18 +20,22 @@
 
 package com.arangodb.internal.net;
 
-import com.arangodb.config.HostDescription;
+import com.arangodb.arch.UsedInApi;
 
 import java.io.Closeable;
+import java.util.concurrent.CompletableFuture;
 
 /**
  * @author Mark Vollmary
  */
+@UsedInApi
 public interface ConnectionPool extends Closeable {
 
-    Connection createConnection(final HostDescription host);
+    Connection createConnection();
 
-    Connection connection();
+    CompletableFuture<Connection> connection();
+
+    void release(final Connection connection);
 
     void setJwt(String jwt);
 
diff --git a/core/src/main/java/com/arangodb/internal/net/ConnectionPoolImpl.java b/core/src/main/java/com/arangodb/internal/net/ConnectionPoolImpl.java
index 8337a67bf..9f22ee50a 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/com/arangodb/internal/net/ConnectionPoolImpl.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/com/arangodb/internal/net/ConnectionPoolImpl.java
@@ -23,24 +23,28 @@
 import com.arangodb.ArangoDBException;
 import com.arangodb.config.HostDescription;
 import com.arangodb.internal.config.ArangoConfig;
+import com.arangodb.internal.util.AsyncQueue;
 
 import java.io.IOException;
-import java.util.ArrayList;
 import java.util.List;
+import java.util.concurrent.CompletableFuture;
+import java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList;
 
-/**
- * @author Mark Vollmary
- */
 public class ConnectionPoolImpl implements ConnectionPool {
 
+    public static final int HTTP1_SLOTS = 1;                // HTTP/1: max 1 pending request
+    public static final int HTTP1_SLOTS_PIPELINING = 10;    // HTTP/1: max pipelining
+    public static final int HTTP2_SLOTS = 32;               // HTTP/2: max streams, hard-coded see BTS-2049
+
+    private final AsyncQueue<Connection> slots = new AsyncQueue<>();
     private final HostDescription host;
     private final ArangoConfig config;
     private final int maxConnections;
     private final List<Connection> connections;
     private final ConnectionFactory factory;
-    private int current;
+    private final int maxSlots;
     private volatile String jwt = null;
-    private boolean closed = false;
+    private volatile boolean closed = false;
 
     public ConnectionPoolImpl(final HostDescription host, final ArangoConfig config, final ConnectionFactory factory) {
         super();
@@ -48,39 +52,48 @@ public ConnectionPoolImpl(final HostDescription host, final ArangoConfig config,
         this.config = config;
         this.maxConnections = config.getMaxConnections();
         this.factory = factory;
-        connections = new ArrayList<>();
-        current = 0;
+        connections = new CopyOnWriteArrayList<>();
+        switch (config.getProtocol()) {
+            case HTTP_JSON:
+            case HTTP_VPACK:
+                maxSlots = config.getPipelining() ? HTTP1_SLOTS_PIPELINING : HTTP1_SLOTS;
+                break;
+            default:
+                maxSlots = HTTP2_SLOTS;
+        }
     }
 
     @Override
-    public Connection createConnection(final HostDescription host) {
-        Connection c = factory.create(config, host);
+    public Connection createConnection() {
+        Connection c = factory.create(config, host, this);
         c.setJwt(jwt);
         return c;
     }
 
     @Override
-    public synchronized Connection connection() {
+    public CompletableFuture<Connection> connection() {
         if (closed) {
             throw new ArangoDBException("Connection pool already closed!");
         }
 
-        final Connection connection;
-
         if (connections.size() < maxConnections) {
-            connection = createConnection(host);
+            Connection connection = createConnection();
             connections.add(connection);
-            current++;
-        } else {
-            final int index = Math.floorMod(current++, connections.size());
-            connection = connections.get(index);
+            for (int i = 0; i < maxSlots; i++) {
+                slots.offer((connection));
+            }
         }
 
-        return connection;
+        return slots.poll();
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public void release(Connection connection) {
+        slots.offer(connection);
     }
 
     @Override
-    public synchronized void setJwt(String jwt) {
+    public void setJwt(String jwt) {
         if (jwt != null) {
             this.jwt = jwt;
             for (Connection connection : connections) {
@@ -90,18 +103,17 @@ public synchronized void setJwt(String jwt) {
     }
 
     @Override
-    public synchronized void close() throws IOException {
+    public void close() throws IOException {
         closed = true;
         for (final Connection connection : connections) {
             connection.close();
         }
-        connections.clear();
     }
 
     @Override
     public String toString() {
         return "ConnectionPoolImpl [host=" + host + ", maxConnections=" + maxConnections + ", connections="
-                + connections.size() + ", current=" + current + ", factory=" + factory.getClass().getSimpleName() + "]";
+                + connections.size() + ", factory=" + factory.getClass().getSimpleName() + "]";
     }
 
 }
diff --git a/core/src/main/java/com/arangodb/internal/net/Host.java b/core/src/main/java/com/arangodb/internal/net/Host.java
index 07fd3c6ee..b2afdd8e1 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/com/arangodb/internal/net/Host.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/com/arangodb/internal/net/Host.java
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@
 import com.arangodb.config.HostDescription;
 
 import java.io.IOException;
+import java.util.concurrent.CompletableFuture;
 
 /**
  * @author Mark Vollmary
@@ -33,9 +34,7 @@ public interface Host {
 
     HostDescription getDescription();
 
-    Connection connection();
-
-    void closeOnError();
+    CompletableFuture<Connection> connection();
 
     void close() throws IOException;
 
@@ -44,5 +43,4 @@ public interface Host {
     void setMarkforDeletion(boolean markforDeletion);
 
     void setJwt(String jwt);
-
 }
diff --git a/core/src/main/java/com/arangodb/internal/net/HostImpl.java b/core/src/main/java/com/arangodb/internal/net/HostImpl.java
index 1ef822618..0277f8246 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/com/arangodb/internal/net/HostImpl.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/com/arangodb/internal/net/HostImpl.java
@@ -20,10 +20,10 @@
 
 package com.arangodb.internal.net;
 
-import com.arangodb.ArangoDBException;
 import com.arangodb.config.HostDescription;
 
 import java.io.IOException;
+import java.util.concurrent.CompletableFuture;
 
 /**
  * @author Mark Vollmary
@@ -51,19 +51,10 @@ public HostDescription getDescription() {
     }
 
     @Override
-    public Connection connection() {
+    public CompletableFuture<Connection> connection() {
         return connectionPool.connection();
     }
 
-    @Override
-    public void closeOnError() {
-        try {
-            connectionPool.close();
-        } catch (final IOException e) {
-            throw ArangoDBException.of(e);
-        }
-    }
-
     @Override
     public String toString() {
         return "HostImpl [connectionPool=" + connectionPool + ", description=" + description + ", markforDeletion="
diff --git a/core/src/main/java/com/arangodb/internal/util/AsyncQueue.java b/core/src/main/java/com/arangodb/internal/util/AsyncQueue.java
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..d3b1a223a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/core/src/main/java/com/arangodb/internal/util/AsyncQueue.java
@@ -0,0 +1,45 @@
+package com.arangodb.internal.util;
+
+import org.slf4j.Logger;
+import org.slf4j.LoggerFactory;
+
+import java.util.ArrayDeque;
+import java.util.Queue;
+import java.util.concurrent.*;
+
+public class AsyncQueue<T> {
+    private static final Logger LOGGER = LoggerFactory.getLogger(AsyncQueue.class);
+    private final Queue<CompletableFuture<T>> requests = new ConcurrentLinkedQueue<>();
+    private final Queue<T> offers = new ArrayDeque<>();
+
+    public synchronized CompletableFuture<T> poll() {
+        LOGGER.trace("poll()");
+        T o = offers.poll();
+        if (o != null) {
+            LOGGER.trace("poll(): short-circuit: {}", o);
+            return CompletableFuture.completedFuture(o);
+        }
+        CompletableFuture<T> r = new CompletableFuture<>();
+        LOGGER.trace("poll(): enqueue request: {}", r);
+        requests.add(r);
+        return r;
+    }
+
+    public void offer(T o) {
+        LOGGER.trace("offer({})", o);
+        CompletableFuture<T> r = requests.poll();
+        if (r == null) {
+            synchronized (this) {
+                r = requests.poll();
+                if (r == null) {
+                    LOGGER.trace("offer({}): enqueue", o);
+                    offers.add(o);
+                }
+            }
+        }
+        if (r != null) {
+            LOGGER.trace("offer({}): short-circuit: {}", o, r);
+            r.complete(o);
+        }
+    }
+}
diff --git a/docker/start_db.sh b/docker/start_db.sh
index 4c0c2e9a2..e8c58ebcd 100755
--- a/docker/start_db.sh
+++ b/docker/start_db.sh
@@ -66,7 +66,7 @@ docker run -d \
     --starter.address="${GW}" \
     --docker.image="${DOCKER_IMAGE}" \
     --starter.local --starter.mode=${STARTER_MODE} --all.log.level=debug --all.log.output=+ --log.verbose \
-    --all.server.descriptors-minimum=1024 --all.javascript.allow-admin-execute=true
+    --all.server.descriptors-minimum=1024 --all.javascript.allow-admin-execute=true --all.server.maximal-threads=128
 
 
 wait_server() {
diff --git a/driver/pom.xml b/driver/pom.xml
index 2d31dfb0c..542b239a5 100644
--- a/driver/pom.xml
+++ b/driver/pom.xml
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@
         <relativePath>../release-parent</relativePath>
         <groupId>com.arangodb</groupId>
         <artifactId>release-parent</artifactId>
-        <version>7.18.0</version>
+        <version>7.19.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
     </parent>
 
     <name>arangodb-java-driver</name>
diff --git a/http-protocol/pom.xml b/http-protocol/pom.xml
index d9b538f46..2bd8fc87c 100644
--- a/http-protocol/pom.xml
+++ b/http-protocol/pom.xml
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@
         <relativePath>../release-parent</relativePath>
         <groupId>com.arangodb</groupId>
         <artifactId>release-parent</artifactId>
-        <version>7.18.0</version>
+        <version>7.19.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
     </parent>
 
     <name>http-protocol</name>
diff --git a/http-protocol/src/main/java/com/arangodb/http/HttpConnection.java b/http-protocol/src/main/java/com/arangodb/http/HttpConnection.java
index 87a47c760..d777f0e3f 100644
--- a/http-protocol/src/main/java/com/arangodb/http/HttpConnection.java
+++ b/http-protocol/src/main/java/com/arangodb/http/HttpConnection.java
@@ -29,6 +29,7 @@
 import com.arangodb.internal.RequestType;
 import com.arangodb.internal.config.ArangoConfig;
 import com.arangodb.internal.net.Connection;
+import com.arangodb.internal.net.ConnectionPool;
 import com.arangodb.internal.serde.ContentTypeFactory;
 import com.arangodb.internal.util.EncodeUtils;
 import io.netty.handler.ssl.ApplicationProtocolConfig;
@@ -63,6 +64,9 @@
 import java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit;
 import java.util.concurrent.atomic.AtomicInteger;
 
+import static com.arangodb.internal.net.ConnectionPoolImpl.HTTP1_SLOTS_PIPELINING;
+import static com.arangodb.internal.net.ConnectionPoolImpl.HTTP2_SLOTS;
+
 
 /**
  * @author Mark Vollmary
@@ -81,14 +85,16 @@ public class HttpConnection implements Connection {
     private final WebClient client;
     private final Integer timeout;
     private final MultiMap commonHeaders = MultiMap.caseInsensitiveMultiMap();
+    private final Vertx vertx;
     private final Vertx vertxToClose;
+    private final ConnectionPool pool;
 
     private static String getUserAgent() {
         return "JavaDriver/" + PackageVersion.VERSION + " (JVM/" + System.getProperty("java.specification.version") + ")";
     }
 
-    HttpConnection(final ArangoConfig config, final HostDescription host, final HttpProtocolConfig protocolConfig) {
-        super();
+    HttpConnection(final ArangoConfig config, final HttpProtocolConfig protocolConfig, final HostDescription host, final ConnectionPool pool) {
+        this.pool = pool;
         Protocol protocol = config.getProtocol();
         ContentType contentType = ContentTypeFactory.of(protocol);
         if (contentType == ContentType.VPACK) {
@@ -112,20 +118,19 @@ private static String getUserAgent() {
                 config.getUser(), Optional.ofNullable(config.getPassword()).orElse("")
         ).toHttpAuthorization();
 
-        Vertx vertxToUse;
         if (protocolConfig.getVertx() != null) {
             // reuse existing Vert.x
-            vertxToUse = protocolConfig.getVertx();
+            vertx = protocolConfig.getVertx();
             // Vert.x will not be closed when connection is closed
             vertxToClose = null;
             LOGGER.debug("Reusing existing Vert.x instance");
         } else {
             // create a new Vert.x instance
             LOGGER.debug("Creating new Vert.x instance");
-            vertxToUse = Vertx.vertx(new VertxOptions().setPreferNativeTransport(true).setEventLoopPoolSize(1));
-            vertxToUse.runOnContext(e -> Thread.currentThread().setName("adb-http-" + THREAD_COUNT.getAndIncrement()));
+            vertx = Vertx.vertx(new VertxOptions().setPreferNativeTransport(true).setEventLoopPoolSize(1));
+            vertx.runOnContext(e -> Thread.currentThread().setName("adb-http-" + THREAD_COUNT.getAndIncrement()));
             // Vert.x be closed when connection is closed
-            vertxToClose = vertxToUse;
+            vertxToClose = vertx;
         }
 
         int intTtl = Optional.ofNullable(config.getConnectionTtl())
@@ -148,7 +153,9 @@ private static String getUserAgent() {
                 .setLogActivity(true)
                 .setKeepAlive(true)
                 .setTcpKeepAlive(true)
-                .setPipelining(true)
+                .setPipelining(config.getPipelining())
+                .setPipeliningLimit(HTTP1_SLOTS_PIPELINING)
+                .setHttp2MultiplexingLimit(HTTP2_SLOTS)
                 .setReuseAddress(true)
                 .setReusePort(true)
                 .setHttp2ClearTextUpgrade(false)
@@ -205,7 +212,7 @@ public SslContextFactory sslContextFactory() {
                     });
         }
 
-        client = WebClient.create(vertxToUse, webClientOptions);
+        client = WebClient.create(vertx, webClientOptions);
     }
 
     private static String buildUrl(final InternalRequest request) {
@@ -265,6 +272,11 @@ private HttpMethod requestTypeToHttpMethod(RequestType requestType) {
         }
     }
 
+    @Override
+    public void release() {
+        vertx.runOnContext(__ -> pool.release(this));
+    }
+
     @Override
     @UnstableApi
     public CompletableFuture<InternalResponse> executeAsync(@UnstableApi final InternalRequest request) {
@@ -273,7 +285,7 @@ public CompletableFuture<InternalResponse> executeAsync(@UnstableApi final Inter
         return rfuture;
     }
 
-    public void doExecute(@UnstableApi final InternalRequest request, @UnstableApi final CompletableFuture<InternalResponse> rfuture) {
+    private void doExecute(@UnstableApi final InternalRequest request, @UnstableApi final CompletableFuture<InternalResponse> rfuture) {
         String path = buildUrl(request);
         HttpRequest<Buffer> httpRequest = client
                 .request(requestTypeToHttpMethod(request.getRequestType()), path)
diff --git a/http-protocol/src/main/java/com/arangodb/http/HttpConnectionFactory.java b/http-protocol/src/main/java/com/arangodb/http/HttpConnectionFactory.java
index 69980aec3..72c8c9086 100644
--- a/http-protocol/src/main/java/com/arangodb/http/HttpConnectionFactory.java
+++ b/http-protocol/src/main/java/com/arangodb/http/HttpConnectionFactory.java
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@
 import com.arangodb.internal.config.ArangoConfig;
 import com.arangodb.internal.net.Connection;
 import com.arangodb.internal.net.ConnectionFactory;
+import com.arangodb.internal.net.ConnectionPool;
 import io.vertx.core.Vertx;
 import org.slf4j.Logger;
 import org.slf4j.LoggerFactory;
@@ -49,7 +50,9 @@ public HttpConnectionFactory(@UnstableApi final HttpProtocolConfig cfg) {
 
     @Override
     @UnstableApi
-    public Connection create(@UnstableApi final ArangoConfig config, final HostDescription host) {
-        return new HttpConnection(config, host, protocolConfig);
+    public Connection create(@UnstableApi final ArangoConfig config,
+                             final HostDescription host,
+                             @UnstableApi final ConnectionPool pool) {
+        return new HttpConnection(config, protocolConfig, host, pool);
     }
 }
diff --git a/jackson-serde-json/pom.xml b/jackson-serde-json/pom.xml
index 61b9acd55..816d6eefc 100644
--- a/jackson-serde-json/pom.xml
+++ b/jackson-serde-json/pom.xml
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@
         <relativePath>../release-parent</relativePath>
         <groupId>com.arangodb</groupId>
         <artifactId>release-parent</artifactId>
-        <version>7.18.0</version>
+        <version>7.19.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
     </parent>
 
     <name>jackson-serde-json</name>
diff --git a/jackson-serde-vpack/pom.xml b/jackson-serde-vpack/pom.xml
index 81a581480..14d2cafc5 100644
--- a/jackson-serde-vpack/pom.xml
+++ b/jackson-serde-vpack/pom.xml
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@
         <relativePath>../release-parent</relativePath>
         <groupId>com.arangodb</groupId>
         <artifactId>release-parent</artifactId>
-        <version>7.18.0</version>
+        <version>7.19.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
     </parent>
 
     <name>jackson-serde-vpack</name>
diff --git a/jsonb-serde/pom.xml b/jsonb-serde/pom.xml
index 5cb72c2a1..e3d23beae 100644
--- a/jsonb-serde/pom.xml
+++ b/jsonb-serde/pom.xml
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@
         <relativePath>../release-parent</relativePath>
         <groupId>com.arangodb</groupId>
         <artifactId>release-parent</artifactId>
-        <version>7.18.0</version>
+        <version>7.19.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
     </parent>
 
     <name>jsonb-serde</name>
diff --git a/pom.xml b/pom.xml
index 3493461af..d1c2a81f4 100644
--- a/pom.xml
+++ b/pom.xml
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@
 
     <groupId>com.arangodb</groupId>
     <artifactId>arangodb-java-driver-parent</artifactId>
-    <version>7.18.0</version>
+    <version>7.19.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
     <inceptionYear>2016</inceptionYear>
     <modules>
         <module>release-parent</module>
diff --git a/release-parent/pom.xml b/release-parent/pom.xml
index e0846a551..502df1b43 100644
--- a/release-parent/pom.xml
+++ b/release-parent/pom.xml
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
     <parent>
         <groupId>com.arangodb</groupId>
         <artifactId>arangodb-java-driver-parent</artifactId>
-        <version>7.18.0</version>
+        <version>7.19.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
     </parent>
     <packaging>pom</packaging>
 
diff --git a/shaded/pom.xml b/shaded/pom.xml
index 76e43d4d3..6a4147cd1 100644
--- a/shaded/pom.xml
+++ b/shaded/pom.xml
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@
         <relativePath>../release-parent</relativePath>
         <groupId>com.arangodb</groupId>
         <artifactId>release-parent</artifactId>
-        <version>7.18.0</version>
+        <version>7.19.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
     </parent>
 
     <name>arangodb-java-driver-shaded</name>
diff --git a/test-functional/pom.xml b/test-functional/pom.xml
index 71bdae4ec..a8fd16797 100644
--- a/test-functional/pom.xml
+++ b/test-functional/pom.xml
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@
         <relativePath>../test-parent</relativePath>
         <groupId>com.arangodb</groupId>
         <artifactId>test-parent</artifactId>
-        <version>7.18.0</version>
+        <version>7.19.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
     </parent>
 
     <artifactId>test-functional</artifactId>
diff --git a/test-functional/src/test/java/com/arangodb/UserAgentTest.java b/test-functional/src/test/java/com/arangodb/UserAgentTest.java
index aa794f069..9af38f28a 100644
--- a/test-functional/src/test/java/com/arangodb/UserAgentTest.java
+++ b/test-functional/src/test/java/com/arangodb/UserAgentTest.java
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@
 
 class UserAgentTest extends BaseJunit5 {
 
-    private static final String EXPECTED_VERSION = "7.18.0";
+    private static final String EXPECTED_VERSION = "7.19.0-SNAPSHOT";
 
     private static final boolean SHADED = Boolean.parseBoolean(System.getProperty("shaded"));
 
diff --git a/test-functional/src/test/java/com/arangodb/internal/HostHandlerTest.java b/test-functional/src/test/java/com/arangodb/internal/HostHandlerTest.java
index 674c14851..109a9eb5e 100644
--- a/test-functional/src/test/java/com/arangodb/internal/HostHandlerTest.java
+++ b/test-functional/src/test/java/com/arangodb/internal/HostHandlerTest.java
@@ -28,6 +28,7 @@
 
 import java.util.Collections;
 import java.util.List;
+import java.util.concurrent.CompletableFuture;
 
 import static org.assertj.core.api.Assertions.assertThat;
 import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.fail;
@@ -39,15 +40,20 @@ class HostHandlerTest {
 
     private static final ConnectionPool mockCP = new ConnectionPool() {
         @Override
-        public Connection createConnection(HostDescription host) {
+        public Connection createConnection() {
             return null;
         }
 
         @Override
-        public Connection connection() {
+        public CompletableFuture<Connection> connection() {
             return null;
         }
 
+        @Override
+        public void release(Connection connection) {
+
+        }
+
         @Override
         public void setJwt(String jwt) {
 
diff --git a/test-functional/src/test/resources/simplelogger.properties b/test-functional/src/test/resources/simplelogger.properties
index c375e20ef..a2a4ce6d5 100644
--- a/test-functional/src/test/resources/simplelogger.properties
+++ b/test-functional/src/test/resources/simplelogger.properties
@@ -10,3 +10,5 @@ org.slf4j.simpleLogger.defaultLogLevel=info
 #org.slf4j.simpleLogger.log.com.arangodb.internal.serde.JacksonUtils=debug
 #org.slf4j.simpleLogger.log.com.arangodb.internal.net.Communication=debug
 #org.slf4j.simpleLogger.log.com.arangodb.internal.serde.InternalSerdeImpl=debug
+#org.slf4j.simpleLogger.log.io.netty.handler.logging.LoggingHandler=debug
+#org.slf4j.simpleLogger.log.io.netty.handler.codec.http2.Http2FrameLogger=debug
diff --git a/test-non-functional/pom.xml b/test-non-functional/pom.xml
index bf7219a25..a10f0aaa9 100644
--- a/test-non-functional/pom.xml
+++ b/test-non-functional/pom.xml
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@
         <relativePath>../test-parent</relativePath>
         <groupId>com.arangodb</groupId>
         <artifactId>test-parent</artifactId>
-        <version>7.18.0</version>
+        <version>7.19.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
     </parent>
 
     <artifactId>test-non-functional</artifactId>
diff --git a/test-non-functional/src/test/java/concurrency/ConnectionLoadBalanceTest.java b/test-non-functional/src/test/java/concurrency/ConnectionLoadBalanceTest.java
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..a3f5200a2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test-non-functional/src/test/java/concurrency/ConnectionLoadBalanceTest.java
@@ -0,0 +1,113 @@
+package concurrency;
+
+import com.arangodb.*;
+import com.arangodb.config.ArangoConfigProperties;
+import com.arangodb.internal.net.ConnectionPoolImpl;
+import org.junit.jupiter.params.ParameterizedTest;
+import org.junit.jupiter.params.provider.Arguments;
+import org.junit.jupiter.params.provider.MethodSource;
+import org.slf4j.Logger;
+import org.slf4j.LoggerFactory;
+import util.TestUtils;
+
+import java.time.Duration;
+import java.util.Map;
+import java.util.concurrent.CompletableFuture;
+import java.util.stream.IntStream;
+import java.util.stream.Stream;
+
+import static org.awaitility.Awaitility.await;
+
+public class ConnectionLoadBalanceTest {
+    private static final Logger LOGGER = LoggerFactory.getLogger(ConnectionLoadBalanceTest.class);
+
+    public static Stream<Arguments> configs() {
+        return Stream.of(
+                // FIXME: DE-1017
+                // new Config(Protocol.VST, 1),
+                // new Config(Protocol.VST, 2),
+                new Config(Protocol.HTTP_JSON, 10),
+                new Config(Protocol.HTTP_JSON, 20),
+                new Config(Protocol.HTTP2_JSON, 1),
+                new Config(Protocol.HTTP2_JSON, 2)
+        ).map(Arguments::of);
+    }
+
+    // Test the requests load balancing across different connections, when all the slots except 1 are busy
+    @MethodSource("configs")
+    @ParameterizedTest
+    void loadBalanceToAvailableSlots(Config cfg) throws InterruptedException {
+        doTestLoadBalance(cfg, 1);
+    }
+
+    // Test the requests load balancing across different connections, when all the slots are busy
+    @MethodSource("configs")
+    @ParameterizedTest
+    void loadBalanceAllBusy(Config cfg) throws InterruptedException {
+        doTestLoadBalance(cfg, 2);
+    }
+
+    void doTestLoadBalance(Config cfg, int sleepCycles) throws InterruptedException {
+        int longTasksCount = cfg.maxStreams() * cfg.maxConnections * sleepCycles - 1;
+        int shortTasksCount = 10;
+        long sleepDuration = 2;
+
+        ArangoDatabaseAsync db = new ArangoDB.Builder()
+                .loadProperties(ArangoConfigProperties.fromFile())
+                .protocol(cfg.protocol)
+                .serde(TestUtils.createSerde(cfg.protocol))
+                .maxConnections(cfg.maxConnections)
+                .build().async().db();
+
+        LOGGER.debug("starting...");
+
+        CompletableFuture<Void> longRunningTasks = CompletableFuture.allOf(
+                IntStream.range(0, longTasksCount)
+                        .mapToObj(__ ->
+                                db.query("RETURN SLEEP(@duration)", Void.class, Map.of("duration", sleepDuration)))
+                        .toArray(CompletableFuture[]::new)
+        );
+
+        Thread.sleep(100);
+
+        CompletableFuture<Void> shortRunningTasks = CompletableFuture.allOf(
+                IntStream.range(0, shortTasksCount)
+                        .mapToObj(__ -> db.getVersion())
+                        .toArray(CompletableFuture[]::new)
+        );
+
+        LOGGER.debug("awaiting...");
+
+        await()
+                .timeout(Duration.ofSeconds(sleepDuration * sleepCycles - 1L))
+                .until(shortRunningTasks::isDone);
+
+        LOGGER.debug("completed shortRunningTasks");
+
+        // join exceptional completions
+        shortRunningTasks.join();
+
+        await()
+                .timeout(Duration.ofSeconds(sleepDuration * sleepCycles + 2L))
+                .until(longRunningTasks::isDone);
+
+        LOGGER.debug("completed longRunningTasks");
+
+        // join exceptional completions
+        longRunningTasks.join();
+
+        db.arango().shutdown();
+    }
+
+    private record Config(
+            Protocol protocol,
+            int maxConnections
+    ) {
+        int maxStreams() {
+            return switch (protocol) {
+                case HTTP_JSON, HTTP_VPACK -> ConnectionPoolImpl.HTTP1_SLOTS;
+                default -> ConnectionPoolImpl.HTTP2_SLOTS;
+            };
+        }
+    }
+}
diff --git a/test-non-functional/src/test/java/concurrency/ConnectionPoolConcurrencyTest.java b/test-non-functional/src/test/java/concurrency/ConnectionPoolConcurrencyTest.java
index 618f229f3..bf9641e0c 100644
--- a/test-non-functional/src/test/java/concurrency/ConnectionPoolConcurrencyTest.java
+++ b/test-non-functional/src/test/java/concurrency/ConnectionPoolConcurrencyTest.java
@@ -4,10 +4,7 @@
 import com.arangodb.internal.InternalRequest;
 import com.arangodb.internal.InternalResponse;
 import com.arangodb.internal.config.ArangoConfig;
-import com.arangodb.internal.net.Connection;
-import com.arangodb.internal.net.ConnectionFactory;
-import com.arangodb.internal.net.ConnectionPool;
-import com.arangodb.internal.net.ConnectionPoolImpl;
+import com.arangodb.internal.net.*;
 import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
 
 import java.io.IOException;
@@ -23,7 +20,7 @@ public class ConnectionPoolConcurrencyTest {
         cfg.setMaxConnections(10_000);
     }
 
-    private final ConnectionFactory cf = (config, host) -> new Connection() {
+    private final ConnectionFactory cf = (config, host, pool) -> new Connection() {
         @Override
         public void setJwt(String jwt) {
         }
@@ -33,6 +30,10 @@ public CompletableFuture<InternalResponse> executeAsync(InternalRequest request)
             throw new UnsupportedOperationException();
         }
 
+        @Override
+        public void release() {
+        }
+
         @Override
         public void close() {
         }
@@ -45,7 +46,7 @@ void foo() throws InterruptedException, ExecutionException, IOException {
 
         List<? extends Future<?>> futures = es.invokeAll(Collections.nCopies(8, (Callable<?>) () -> {
             for (int i = 0; i < 10_000; i++) {
-                cp.createConnection(HostDescription.parse("127.0.0.1:8529"));
+                cp.createConnection();
                 cp.connection();
                 cp.setJwt("foo");
             }
diff --git a/test-non-functional/src/test/java/mp/ArangoConfigPropertiesMPImpl.java b/test-non-functional/src/test/java/mp/ArangoConfigPropertiesMPImpl.java
index 1a0407a4c..4cac7a647 100644
--- a/test-non-functional/src/test/java/mp/ArangoConfigPropertiesMPImpl.java
+++ b/test-non-functional/src/test/java/mp/ArangoConfigPropertiesMPImpl.java
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ public final class ArangoConfigPropertiesMPImpl implements ArangoConfigPropertie
     private Optional<Boolean> useSsl;
     private Optional<Boolean> verifyHost;
     private Optional<Integer> chunkSize;
+    private Optional<Boolean> pipelining;
     private Optional<Integer> maxConnections;
     private Optional<Long> connectionTtl;
     private Optional<Integer> keepAliveInterval;
@@ -80,6 +81,11 @@ public Optional<Integer> getChunkSize() {
         return chunkSize;
     }
 
+    @Override
+    public Optional<Boolean> getPipelining() {
+        return pipelining;
+    }
+
     @Override
     public Optional<Integer> getMaxConnections() {
         return maxConnections;
@@ -140,12 +146,12 @@ public boolean equals(Object o) {
         if (this == o) return true;
         if (o == null || getClass() != o.getClass()) return false;
         ArangoConfigPropertiesMPImpl that = (ArangoConfigPropertiesMPImpl) o;
-        return Objects.equals(hosts, that.hosts) && Objects.equals(protocol, that.protocol) && Objects.equals(user, that.user) && Objects.equals(password, that.password) && Objects.equals(jwt, that.jwt) && Objects.equals(timeout, that.timeout) && Objects.equals(useSsl, that.useSsl) && Objects.equals(verifyHost, that.verifyHost) && Objects.equals(chunkSize, that.chunkSize) && Objects.equals(maxConnections, that.maxConnections) && Objects.equals(connectionTtl, that.connectionTtl) && Objects.equals(keepAliveInterval, that.keepAliveInterval) && Objects.equals(acquireHostList, that.acquireHostList) && Objects.equals(acquireHostListInterval, that.acquireHostListInterval) && Objects.equals(loadBalancingStrategy, that.loadBalancingStrategy) && Objects.equals(responseQueueTimeSamples, that.responseQueueTimeSamples) && Objects.equals(compression, that.compression) && Objects.equals(compressionThreshold, that.compressionThreshold) && Objects.equals(compressionLevel, that.compressionLevel) && Objects.equals(serdeProviderClass, that.serdeProviderClass);
+        return Objects.equals(hosts, that.hosts) && Objects.equals(protocol, that.protocol) && Objects.equals(user, that.user) && Objects.equals(password, that.password) && Objects.equals(jwt, that.jwt) && Objects.equals(timeout, that.timeout) && Objects.equals(useSsl, that.useSsl) && Objects.equals(verifyHost, that.verifyHost) && Objects.equals(chunkSize, that.chunkSize) && Objects.equals(pipelining, that.pipelining) && Objects.equals(maxConnections, that.maxConnections) && Objects.equals(connectionTtl, that.connectionTtl) && Objects.equals(keepAliveInterval, that.keepAliveInterval) && Objects.equals(acquireHostList, that.acquireHostList) && Objects.equals(acquireHostListInterval, that.acquireHostListInterval) && Objects.equals(loadBalancingStrategy, that.loadBalancingStrategy) && Objects.equals(responseQueueTimeSamples, that.responseQueueTimeSamples) && Objects.equals(compression, that.compression) && Objects.equals(compressionThreshold, that.compressionThreshold) && Objects.equals(compressionLevel, that.compressionLevel) && Objects.equals(serdeProviderClass, that.serdeProviderClass);
     }
 
     @Override
     public int hashCode() {
-        return Objects.hash(hosts, protocol, user, password, jwt, timeout, useSsl, verifyHost, chunkSize, maxConnections, connectionTtl, keepAliveInterval, acquireHostList, acquireHostListInterval, loadBalancingStrategy, responseQueueTimeSamples, compression, compressionThreshold, compressionLevel, serdeProviderClass);
+        return Objects.hash(hosts, protocol, user, password, jwt, timeout, useSsl, verifyHost, chunkSize, pipelining, maxConnections, connectionTtl, keepAliveInterval, acquireHostList, acquireHostListInterval, loadBalancingStrategy, responseQueueTimeSamples, compression, compressionThreshold, compressionLevel, serdeProviderClass);
     }
 
     @Override
@@ -160,6 +166,7 @@ public String toString() {
                 ", useSsl=" + useSsl +
                 ", verifyHost=" + verifyHost +
                 ", chunkSize=" + chunkSize +
+                ", pipelining=" + pipelining +
                 ", maxConnections=" + maxConnections +
                 ", connectionTtl=" + connectionTtl +
                 ", keepAliveInterval=" + keepAliveInterval +
diff --git a/test-non-functional/src/test/java/mp/ConfigMPDefaultsTest.java b/test-non-functional/src/test/java/mp/ConfigMPDefaultsTest.java
index 3ff81bd04..5a8f861ef 100644
--- a/test-non-functional/src/test/java/mp/ConfigMPDefaultsTest.java
+++ b/test-non-functional/src/test/java/mp/ConfigMPDefaultsTest.java
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@ private void checkResult(ArangoConfigProperties config) {
         assertThat(config.getUseSsl()).isEmpty();
         assertThat(config.getVerifyHost()).isEmpty();
         assertThat(config.getChunkSize()).isEmpty();
+        assertThat(config.getPipelining()).isEmpty();
         assertThat(config.getMaxConnections()).isNotPresent();
         assertThat(config.getConnectionTtl()).isNotPresent();
         assertThat(config.getKeepAliveInterval()).isNotPresent();
diff --git a/test-non-functional/src/test/java/mp/ConfigMPTest.java b/test-non-functional/src/test/java/mp/ConfigMPTest.java
index 4a7aaa993..5d5f605e3 100644
--- a/test-non-functional/src/test/java/mp/ConfigMPTest.java
+++ b/test-non-functional/src/test/java/mp/ConfigMPTest.java
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ class ConfigMPTest {
     private final Boolean useSsl = true;
     private final Boolean verifyHost = false;
     private final Integer vstChunkSize = 1234;
+    private final Boolean pipelining = true;
     private final Integer maxConnections = 123;
     private final Long connectionTtl = 12345L;
     private final Integer keepAliveInterval = 123456;
@@ -58,6 +59,7 @@ private void checkResult(ArangoConfigProperties config) {
         assertThat(config.getUseSsl()).hasValue(useSsl);
         assertThat(config.getVerifyHost()).hasValue(verifyHost);
         assertThat(config.getChunkSize()).hasValue(vstChunkSize);
+        assertThat(config.getPipelining()).hasValue(pipelining);
         assertThat(config.getMaxConnections())
                 .isPresent()
                 .hasValue(maxConnections);
diff --git a/test-non-functional/src/test/resources/arangodb-config-test.properties b/test-non-functional/src/test/resources/arangodb-config-test.properties
index ef25aaf11..1d5e675af 100644
--- a/test-non-functional/src/test/resources/arangodb-config-test.properties
+++ b/test-non-functional/src/test/resources/arangodb-config-test.properties
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ adb.timeout=9876
 adb.useSsl=true
 adb.verifyHost=false
 adb.chunkSize=1234
+adb.pipelining=true
 adb.maxConnections=123
 adb.connectionTtl=12345
 adb.keepAliveInterval=123456
diff --git a/test-non-functional/src/test/resources/simplelogger.properties b/test-non-functional/src/test/resources/simplelogger.properties
index 7649bd6c7..495a73812 100644
--- a/test-non-functional/src/test/resources/simplelogger.properties
+++ b/test-non-functional/src/test/resources/simplelogger.properties
@@ -9,3 +9,6 @@ org.slf4j.simpleLogger.showShortLogName=false
 org.slf4j.simpleLogger.defaultLogLevel=info
 #org.slf4j.simpleLogger.log.com.arangodb.internal.serde.JacksonUtils=debug
 #org.slf4j.simpleLogger.log.com.arangodb.internal.net.Communication=debug
+#org.slf4j.simpleLogger.log.io.netty.handler.logging.LoggingHandler=debug
+#org.slf4j.simpleLogger.log.io.netty.handler.codec.http2.Http2FrameLogger=debug
+#org.slf4j.simpleLogger.log.com.arangodb.internal.util.AsyncQueue=trace
diff --git a/test-parent/pom.xml b/test-parent/pom.xml
index b68b5c4d1..d582c6f5b 100644
--- a/test-parent/pom.xml
+++ b/test-parent/pom.xml
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@
     <parent>
         <groupId>com.arangodb</groupId>
         <artifactId>arangodb-java-driver-parent</artifactId>
-        <version>7.18.0</version>
+        <version>7.19.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
     </parent>
     <packaging>pom</packaging>
 
@@ -60,6 +60,11 @@
             <artifactId>assertj-core</artifactId>
             <scope>test</scope>
         </dependency>
+        <dependency>
+            <groupId>org.awaitility</groupId>
+            <artifactId>awaitility</artifactId>
+            <scope>test</scope>
+        </dependency>
     </dependencies>
 
     <dependencyManagement>
@@ -93,6 +98,12 @@
                 <artifactId>assertj-core</artifactId>
                 <version>3.25.3</version>
             </dependency>
+            <dependency>
+                <groupId>org.awaitility</groupId>
+                <artifactId>awaitility</artifactId>
+                <version>4.2.1</version>
+                <scope>test</scope>
+            </dependency>
             <dependency>
                 <groupId>com.tngtech.archunit</groupId>
                 <artifactId>archunit-junit5</artifactId>
diff --git a/test-perf/pom.xml b/test-perf/pom.xml
index 4e31b0ab1..3ab88b158 100644
--- a/test-perf/pom.xml
+++ b/test-perf/pom.xml
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@
         <relativePath>../test-parent</relativePath>
         <groupId>com.arangodb</groupId>
         <artifactId>test-parent</artifactId>
-        <version>7.18.0</version>
+        <version>7.19.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
     </parent>
 
     <artifactId>test-perf</artifactId>
diff --git a/test-resilience/pom.xml b/test-resilience/pom.xml
index bd7963bbc..a6b8f4f56 100644
--- a/test-resilience/pom.xml
+++ b/test-resilience/pom.xml
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
         <relativePath>../test-parent</relativePath>
         <groupId>com.arangodb</groupId>
         <artifactId>test-parent</artifactId>
-        <version>7.18.0</version>
+        <version>7.19.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
     </parent>
     <modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>
 
@@ -29,12 +29,6 @@
             <version>2.1.7</version>
             <scope>test</scope>
         </dependency>
-        <dependency>
-            <groupId>org.awaitility</groupId>
-            <artifactId>awaitility</artifactId>
-            <version>4.2.0</version>
-            <scope>test</scope>
-        </dependency>
         <dependency>
             <groupId>ch.qos.logback</groupId>
             <artifactId>logback-classic</artifactId>
diff --git a/tutorial/gradle/build.gradle b/tutorial/gradle/build.gradle
index cb34d15d7..ff468c6db 100644
--- a/tutorial/gradle/build.gradle
+++ b/tutorial/gradle/build.gradle
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ repositories {
 }
 
 dependencies {
-    implementation 'com.arangodb:arangodb-java-driver:7.18.0'
+    implementation 'com.arangodb:arangodb-java-driver:7.19.0-SNAPSHOT'
 }
 
 ext {
diff --git a/tutorial/maven/pom.xml b/tutorial/maven/pom.xml
index e5e32c7c2..7e33fd350 100644
--- a/tutorial/maven/pom.xml
+++ b/tutorial/maven/pom.xml
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@
         <dependency>
             <groupId>com.arangodb</groupId>
             <artifactId>arangodb-java-driver</artifactId>
-            <version>7.18.0</version>
+            <version>7.19.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
         </dependency>
     </dependencies>
 
diff --git a/vst-protocol/pom.xml b/vst-protocol/pom.xml
index 94b176118..3aedd968d 100644
--- a/vst-protocol/pom.xml
+++ b/vst-protocol/pom.xml
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@
         <relativePath>../release-parent</relativePath>
         <groupId>com.arangodb</groupId>
         <artifactId>release-parent</artifactId>
-        <version>7.18.0</version>
+        <version>7.19.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
     </parent>
 
     <name>vst-protocol</name>
diff --git a/vst-protocol/src/main/java/com/arangodb/vst/VstConnectionFactoryAsync.java b/vst-protocol/src/main/java/com/arangodb/vst/VstConnectionFactoryAsync.java
index f0faca44f..1db7852a0 100644
--- a/vst-protocol/src/main/java/com/arangodb/vst/VstConnectionFactoryAsync.java
+++ b/vst-protocol/src/main/java/com/arangodb/vst/VstConnectionFactoryAsync.java
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@
 import com.arangodb.internal.config.ArangoConfig;
 import com.arangodb.internal.net.Connection;
 import com.arangodb.internal.net.ConnectionFactory;
+import com.arangodb.internal.net.ConnectionPool;
 import com.arangodb.vst.internal.VstConnectionAsync;
 
 /**
@@ -35,8 +36,8 @@ public class VstConnectionFactoryAsync implements ConnectionFactory {
 
     @Override
     @UnstableApi
-    public Connection create(@UnstableApi final ArangoConfig config, final HostDescription host) {
-        return new VstConnectionAsync(config, host);
+    public Connection create(@UnstableApi final ArangoConfig config, final HostDescription host, @UnstableApi final ConnectionPool pool) {
+        return new VstConnectionAsync(config, host, pool);
     }
 
 }
diff --git a/vst-protocol/src/main/java/com/arangodb/vst/internal/VstConnection.java b/vst-protocol/src/main/java/com/arangodb/vst/internal/VstConnection.java
index ddd886d10..8b4cdc211 100644
--- a/vst-protocol/src/main/java/com/arangodb/vst/internal/VstConnection.java
+++ b/vst-protocol/src/main/java/com/arangodb/vst/internal/VstConnection.java
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@
 import com.arangodb.internal.ArangoDefaults;
 import com.arangodb.internal.config.ArangoConfig;
 import com.arangodb.internal.net.Connection;
+import com.arangodb.internal.net.ConnectionPool;
 import com.arangodb.velocypack.VPackBuilder;
 import com.arangodb.velocypack.VPackSlice;
 import com.arangodb.velocypack.ValueType;
@@ -68,6 +69,7 @@ public abstract class VstConnection<T> implements Connection {
     private final HostDescription host;
     private final Map<Long, Long> sendTimestamps = new ConcurrentHashMap<>();
     private final String connectionName;
+    private final ConnectionPool pool;
     private final byte[] keepAliveRequest = new VPackBuilder()
             .add(ValueType.ARRAY)
             .add(1)
@@ -89,7 +91,7 @@ public abstract class VstConnection<T> implements Connection {
     private OutputStream outputStream;
     private InputStream inputStream;
 
-    protected VstConnection(final ArangoConfig config, final HostDescription host) {
+    protected VstConnection(final ArangoConfig config, final HostDescription host, final ConnectionPool pool) {
         super();
         timeout = config.getTimeout();
         ttl = config.getConnectionTtl();
@@ -97,6 +99,7 @@ protected VstConnection(final ArangoConfig config, final HostDescription host) {
         useSsl = config.getUseSsl();
         sslContext = config.getSslContext();
         this.host = host;
+        this.pool = pool;
 
         connectionName = "connection_" + System.currentTimeMillis() + "_" + Math.random();
         LOGGER.debug("[" + connectionName + "]: Connection created");
@@ -244,6 +247,11 @@ public synchronized void close() {
         }
     }
 
+    @Override
+    public void release() {
+        pool.release(this);
+    }
+
     private synchronized void sendProtocolHeader() throws IOException {
         if (LOGGER.isDebugEnabled()) {
             LOGGER.debug(String.format("[%s]: Send velocystream protocol header to %s", connectionName, socket));
diff --git a/vst-protocol/src/main/java/com/arangodb/vst/internal/VstConnectionAsync.java b/vst-protocol/src/main/java/com/arangodb/vst/internal/VstConnectionAsync.java
index 8b74cbd57..5b128340e 100644
--- a/vst-protocol/src/main/java/com/arangodb/vst/internal/VstConnectionAsync.java
+++ b/vst-protocol/src/main/java/com/arangodb/vst/internal/VstConnectionAsync.java
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@
 import com.arangodb.internal.InternalRequest;
 import com.arangodb.internal.InternalResponse;
 import com.arangodb.internal.config.ArangoConfig;
+import com.arangodb.internal.net.ConnectionPool;
 import com.arangodb.internal.serde.InternalSerde;
 import com.arangodb.velocypack.VPackSlice;
 import com.arangodb.velocypack.exception.VPackParserException;
@@ -51,8 +52,8 @@ public class VstConnectionAsync extends VstConnection<CompletableFuture<Message>
     private final InternalSerde serde;
 
 
-    public VstConnectionAsync(final ArangoConfig config, final HostDescription host) {
-        super(config, host);
+    public VstConnectionAsync(final ArangoConfig config, final HostDescription host, final ConnectionPool pool) {
+        super(config, host, pool);
         chunkSize = config.getChunkSize();
         serde = config.getInternalSerde();
     }
@@ -98,7 +99,7 @@ public CompletableFuture<InternalResponse> executeAsync(final InternalRequest re
                         return;
                     }
                     rfuture.complete(response);
-                } else  {
+                } else {
                     Throwable e = ex instanceof CompletionException ? ex.getCause() : ex;
                     rfuture.completeExceptionally(e);
                 }