Configure Keep-Alives And Dead Peer Detection; Configure Keep-Alives - NETGEAR FVS318N Reference Manual

Configure Keep-Alives and Dead Peer Detection

In some cases, you might not want a VPN tunnel to be disconnected when traffic is idle, for
example, when client-server applications over the tunnel cannot tolerate the tunnel
establishment time. If you require a VPN tunnel to remain connected, you can use the
keep-alive and Dead Peer Detection (DPD) features to prevent the tunnel from being
disconnected and to force a reconnection if the tunnel disconnects for any reason.
For DPD to function, the peer VPN device on the other end of the tunnel also needs to
support DPD. Keep-alive, though less reliable than DPD, does not require any support from
the peer device.

Configure Keep-Alives

The keep-alive feature maintains the IPSec SA by sending periodic ping requests to a host
across the tunnel and monitoring the replies.

To configure the keep-alive feature on a configured VPN policy:
1. Select VPN > IPSec VPN > VPN Policies. The VPN Policies screen displays (see
Figure 112 on page 188).
2. In the List of VPN Policies table, click the Edit table button to the right of the VPN policy that
you want to edit. The Edit VPN Policy screen displays. (The following figure shows only the
top part with the General section.)
Figure 127.
Virtual Private Networking Using IPv4 IPSec and L2TP Connections
ProSafe Wireless-N 8-Port Gigabit VPN Firewall FVS318N
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