VB. NET and MS SQL Database

Create a Data Module to handle the connection, then you can call DataModule.Connect from anywhere in your code.
Module DataModule
Dim cnn As SqlConnection

Public Function Connect() As Boolean
Dim strConnectionString As String
Dim cnnOpen As Boolean

strConnectionString = "Data Source=ComputerName.DomainName.co.uk\SQLServerInstanceName;database=MyDatabaseName;Persist Security Info=True;User ID=SQLServerUserName;Password=UserPassword;Connect Timeout=30;User Instance=False"
 Try
            cnn = New SqlConnection(strConnectionString)
            cnn.Open()
            cnnOpen = True
 Catch ex As Exception
            cnnOpen = False
 End Try
Return cnnOpen
End Function
End Module