Configure SSH to clear connections after a specified period of inactivity

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Environment

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11

Situation

The server should clear ssh connections after a specified period of inactivity.

Resolution

Edit the /etc/ssh/sshd_config file
Un-remark or add the ClientAliveInterval parameter and set it to the number of seconds (of inacitivty) that ssh should wait before terminating the connection.
Un-remark or add the ClientAliveCountMax and set it to 0.
Restart the ssh daemon.

Additional Information

An example configuration would be:

ClientAliveInterval 600
ClientAliveCountMax 0

This would clear any ssh sessions that have been inactive for 10 minutes.

Disclaimer

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