Dim SqlConn As New SqlClient.SqlConnection()
SqlConn.ConnectionString = "Data Source=nome_server;Initial Catalog=nome_db;User Id=nome_user;Password=password;"
SqlConn.Open()
Dim CommandSQL As New SqlClient.SqlCommand("select * from tbl_test")
CommandSQL.Connection = SqlConn
Dim DReader As SqlClient.SqlDataReader = CommandSQL.ExecuteReader()
If DReader.HasRows Then
Do While DReader.Read()
  numtotal = DReader.Item("tot").ToString
Loop
DReader.Close()