Idle SSH session disconnects

[Jim Cunning]

I have used OpenSSH for a while, on SuSE 7.2 and now on 8.0, and have
always had a problem with idle sessions being terminated.  I have read the
FAQ, man pages, past mailing list discussions, and still cannot find any
explanation for the disconnects.

I can keep a telnet session through a VPN up for days, but an SSH session
to the same host through the internet dies after a few, or perhaps a
couple of hours.  There is no firewall NAT to expire, no autologout setup,
etc.--none of the usual explanations I have found apply.

Can anyone help explain this situation?

Thanks,
Jim Cunning