diff --git a/org.eclipse.tm.terminal.ssh/src/org/eclipse/tm/internal/terminal/ssh/ISshSettings.java b/org.eclipse.tm.terminal.ssh/src/org/eclipse/tm/internal/terminal/ssh/ISshSettings.java
index 8c1b7805828..4c389be56df 100644
--- a/org.eclipse.tm.terminal.ssh/src/org/eclipse/tm/internal/terminal/ssh/ISshSettings.java
+++ b/org.eclipse.tm.terminal.ssh/src/org/eclipse/tm/internal/terminal/ssh/ISshSettings.java
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 /*******************************************************************************
- * Copyright (c) 2006, 2007 Wind River Systems, Inc. and others.
+ * Copyright (c) 2006, 2008 Wind River Systems, Inc. and others.
  * All rights reserved. This program and the accompanying materials 
  * are made available under the terms of the Eclipse Public License v1.0 
  * which accompanies this distribution, and is available at 
@@ -8,18 +8,71 @@
  * Contributors: 
  * Michael Scharf (Wind River) - initial API and implementation
  * Martin Oberhuber (Wind River) - fixed copyright headers and beautified
+ * Johnson Ma (Wind River) - [218880] Add UI setting for ssh keepalives
  *******************************************************************************/
 package org.eclipse.tm.internal.terminal.ssh;
 
 import org.eclipse.tm.internal.terminal.provisional.api.ISettingsStore;
 
 public interface ISshSettings {
+	/** 
+	 * Get the host name or IP address of remote system to connect.
+	 * @return host name or IP address of the remote system.
+	 */ 
 	String getHost();
+
+	/**
+	 * Get the login name for connecting to the remote system.
+	 * @return remote login name
+	 */ 
 	String getUser();
+
+	/**
+	 *  Get the password for connecting to the remote system.
+	 *  May be empty if connecting via SSH public key authentication
+	 *  (with or without passphrase).
+	 *  @return password to use 
+	 */ 
 	String getPassword();
+	
+	/**
+	 * Get the timeout (in seconds) after which the SSH connection is assumed dead.
+	 * @return timeout (in seconds) for the SSH connection.
+	 */
 	int getTimeout();
+
+	/**
+	 * Get the keepalive interval (in seconds).
+	 * After this time of inactivity, the SSH connector will send a message to the
+	 * remote system in order to avoid timeouts on the remote. A maximum of 6 
+	 * keepalive messages will be sent if enabled. When set to 0, the keepalive 
+	 * feature is disabled. 
+	 * @return interval (in seconds) for keepalive messages.
+	 */
+	int getKeepalive();
+
+	/**
+	 * Get the TCP/IP port on the remote system to use.
+	 * @return TCP/IP port on the remote system to use.
+	 */
 	int getPort();
+
+	/**
+	 * Return a human-readable String summarizing all relevant connection data.
+	 * This String can be displayed in the Terminal caption, for instance.
+	 * @return a human-readable String summarizing relevant connection data.
+	 */
 	String getSummary();
+
+	/**
+	 * Load connection data from a settings store.
+	 * @param store the settings store to access.
+	 */
 	void load(ISettingsStore store);
+
+	/**
+	 * Store connection data into a settings store.
+	 * @param store the settings store to access.
+	 */
 	void save(ISettingsStore store);
 }
diff --git a/org.eclipse.tm.terminal.ssh/src/org/eclipse/tm/internal/terminal/ssh/SshConnection.java b/org.eclipse.tm.terminal.ssh/src/org/eclipse/tm/internal/terminal/ssh/SshConnection.java
index 7f347fe98ff..04c27793f29 100644
--- a/org.eclipse.tm.terminal.ssh/src/org/eclipse/tm/internal/terminal/ssh/SshConnection.java
+++ b/org.eclipse.tm.terminal.ssh/src/org/eclipse/tm/internal/terminal/ssh/SshConnection.java
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@
  * Martin Oberhuber (Wind River) - [198790] make SSH createSession() protected
  * Mikhail Kalugin <fourdman@xored.com> - [201864] Fix Terminal SSH keyboard interactive authentication
  * Martin Oberhuber (Wind River) - [155026] Add keepalives for SSH connection
+ * Johnson Ma (Wind River) - [218880] Add UI setting for ssh keepalives
  *******************************************************************************/
 package org.eclipse.tm.internal.terminal.ssh;
 
@@ -68,7 +69,6 @@ class SshConnection extends Thread {
         Session session = service.createSession(hostname, port, username);
         //session.setTimeout(getSshTimeoutInMillis());
         session.setTimeout(0); //never time out on the session
-        session.setServerAliveInterval(300000); //5 minutes
         session.setServerAliveCountMax(6); //give up after 6 tries (remote will be dead after 30 min)
         if (password != null)
 			session.setPassword(password);
@@ -87,6 +87,7 @@ class SshConnection extends Thread {
 	public void run() {
 		try {
 			int nTimeout = fConn.getTelnetSettings().getTimeout() * 1000;
+			int nKeepalive = fConn.getTelnetSettings().getKeepalive() * 1000;
 			String host = fConn.getTelnetSettings().getHost();
 			String user = fConn.getTelnetSettings().getUser();
 			String password = fConn.getTelnetSettings().getPassword();
@@ -108,6 +109,9 @@ class SshConnection extends Thread {
             //config.put("StrictHostKeyChecking", "no");
             //session.setConfig(config);
             //ui.aboutToConnect();
+            if (nKeepalive > 0) {
+                session.setServerAliveInterval(nKeepalive); //default is 5 minutes
+            }
 			session.connect(nTimeout);   // making connection with timeout.
 
 			ChannelShell channel=(ChannelShell) session.openChannel("shell"); //$NON-NLS-1$
diff --git a/org.eclipse.tm.terminal.ssh/src/org/eclipse/tm/internal/terminal/ssh/SshMessages.java b/org.eclipse.tm.terminal.ssh/src/org/eclipse/tm/internal/terminal/ssh/SshMessages.java
index ca912590635..d24753a17bb 100644
--- a/org.eclipse.tm.terminal.ssh/src/org/eclipse/tm/internal/terminal/ssh/SshMessages.java
+++ b/org.eclipse.tm.terminal.ssh/src/org/eclipse/tm/internal/terminal/ssh/SshMessages.java
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 /*******************************************************************************
- * Copyright (c) 2006, 2007 Wind River Systems, Inc. and others.
+ * Copyright (c) 2006, 2008 Wind River Systems, Inc. and others.
  * All rights reserved. This program and the accompanying materials 
  * are made available under the terms of the Eclipse Public License v1.0 
  * which accompanies this distribution, and is available at 
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@
  * Contributors: 
  * Michael Scharf (Wind River) - initial API and implementation
  * Martin Oberhuber (Wind River) - fixed copyright headers and beautified
+ * Johnson Ma (Wind River) - [218880] Add UI setting for ssh keepalives
  *******************************************************************************/
 package org.eclipse.tm.internal.terminal.ssh;
 
@@ -22,6 +23,8 @@ public class SshMessages extends NLS {
 	public static String PORT;
 	public static String PASSWORD;
 	public static String TIMEOUT;
+	public static String KEEPALIVE;
+	public static String KEEPALIVE_Tooltip;
 	public static String WARNING;
 	public static String INFO;
 	
diff --git a/org.eclipse.tm.terminal.ssh/src/org/eclipse/tm/internal/terminal/ssh/SshMessages.properties b/org.eclipse.tm.terminal.ssh/src/org/eclipse/tm/internal/terminal/ssh/SshMessages.properties
index b3e54267791..b2f0806a9a3 100644
--- a/org.eclipse.tm.terminal.ssh/src/org/eclipse/tm/internal/terminal/ssh/SshMessages.properties
+++ b/org.eclipse.tm.terminal.ssh/src/org/eclipse/tm/internal/terminal/ssh/SshMessages.properties
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 ###############################################################################
-# Copyright (c) 2006, 2007 Wind River Systems, Inc. and others.
+# Copyright (c) 2006, 2008 Wind River Systems, Inc. and others.
 # All rights reserved. This program and the accompanying materials
 # are made available under the terms of the Eclipse Public License v1.0
 # which accompanies this distribution, and is available at
@@ -8,12 +8,15 @@
 # Contributors:
 # Michael Scharf (Wind River) - initial API and implementation 
 # Martin Oberhuber (Wind River) - fixed copyright headers and beautified
+# Johnson Ma (Wind River) - [218880] Add UI setting for ssh keepalives
 ###############################################################################
 HOST = Host
 USER = User
 PORT = Port
 PASSWORD = Password
 TIMEOUT = Timeout (sec)
+KEEPALIVE = KeepAlive (sec)
+KEEPALIVE_Tooltip=Interval for sending keepalive messages in case of inactivity. Enter 0 to disable keepalives.
 WARNING = Warning
 INFO = Info
 
diff --git a/org.eclipse.tm.terminal.ssh/src/org/eclipse/tm/internal/terminal/ssh/SshSettings.java b/org.eclipse.tm.terminal.ssh/src/org/eclipse/tm/internal/terminal/ssh/SshSettings.java
index 45c469dff73..3aa99536803 100644
--- a/org.eclipse.tm.terminal.ssh/src/org/eclipse/tm/internal/terminal/ssh/SshSettings.java
+++ b/org.eclipse.tm.terminal.ssh/src/org/eclipse/tm/internal/terminal/ssh/SshSettings.java
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 /*******************************************************************************
- * Copyright (c) 2006, 2007 Wind River Systems, Inc. and others.
+ * Copyright (c) 2006, 2008 Wind River Systems, Inc. and others.
  * All rights reserved. This program and the accompanying materials 
  * are made available under the terms of the Eclipse Public License v1.0 
  * which accompanies this distribution, and is available at 
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@
  * Michael Scharf (Wind River) - initial API and implementation
  * Martin Oberhuber (Wind River) - fixed copyright headers and beautified
  * Mikhail Kalugin <fourdman@xored.com> - [201867] Improve Terminal SSH connection summary string
+ * Johnson Ma (Wind River) - [218880] Add UI setting for ssh keepalives
  *******************************************************************************/
 package org.eclipse.tm.internal.terminal.ssh;
 
@@ -20,6 +21,7 @@ public class SshSettings implements ISshSettings {
     protected String fPassword;
     protected String fPort;
     protected String fTimeout;
+    protected String fKeepalive;
 	public String getHost() {
 		return fHost;
 	}
@@ -41,6 +43,7 @@ public class SshSettings implements ISshSettings {
 		fUser = store.get("User");//$NON-NLS-1$
 		fPort = store.get("Port");//$NON-NLS-1$
 		fTimeout = store.get("Timeout");//$NON-NLS-1$
+		fKeepalive = store.get("Keepalive");//$NON-NLS-1$
 	}
 
 
@@ -49,6 +52,7 @@ public class SshSettings implements ISshSettings {
 		store.put("User", fUser);//$NON-NLS-1$
 		store.put("Port", fPort);//$NON-NLS-1$
 		store.put("Timeout", fTimeout);//$NON-NLS-1$
+		store.put("Keepalive", fKeepalive);//$NON-NLS-1$
 	}
 
 
@@ -66,6 +70,21 @@ public class SshSettings implements ISshSettings {
 	public void setTimeout(String timeout) {
 		fTimeout = timeout;
 	}
+	
+	public int getKeepalive() {
+		try {
+			return Integer.parseInt(fKeepalive);
+		} catch (NumberFormatException numberFormatException) {
+			return 300;
+		}
+	}
+	public String getKeepaliveString() {
+		return fKeepalive;
+	}
+
+	public void setKeepalive(String keepalive) {
+		fKeepalive = keepalive;
+	}
 
 	public String getUser() {
 		return fUser;
diff --git a/org.eclipse.tm.terminal.ssh/src/org/eclipse/tm/internal/terminal/ssh/SshSettingsPage.java b/org.eclipse.tm.terminal.ssh/src/org/eclipse/tm/internal/terminal/ssh/SshSettingsPage.java
index 5ae8292f4a1..35d6b800bb5 100644
--- a/org.eclipse.tm.terminal.ssh/src/org/eclipse/tm/internal/terminal/ssh/SshSettingsPage.java
+++ b/org.eclipse.tm.terminal.ssh/src/org/eclipse/tm/internal/terminal/ssh/SshSettingsPage.java
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 /*******************************************************************************
- * Copyright (c) 2006, 2007 Wind River Systems, Inc. and others.
+ * Copyright (c) 2006, 2008 Wind River Systems, Inc. and others.
  * All rights reserved. This program and the accompanying materials 
  * are made available under the terms of the Eclipse Public License v1.0 
  * which accompanies this distribution, and is available at 
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@
  * Contributors: 
  * Michael Scharf (Wind River) - initial API and implementation
  * Martin Oberhuber (Wind River) - fixed copyright headers and beautified
+ * Johnson Ma (Wind River) - [218880] Add UI setting for ssh keepalives
  *******************************************************************************/
 package org.eclipse.tm.internal.terminal.ssh;
 
@@ -23,6 +24,7 @@ public class SshSettingsPage implements ISettingsPage {
 	private Text fHostText;
 	private Text fUser;
 	private Text fTimeout;
+	private Text fKeepalive;
 	private final SshSettings fTerminalSettings;
 	private Text fPort;
 	private Text fPassword;
@@ -36,12 +38,14 @@ public class SshSettingsPage implements ISettingsPage {
 		fTerminalSettings.setPassword(fPassword.getText());
 		fTerminalSettings.setPort(fPort.getText());
 		fTerminalSettings.setTimeout(fTimeout.getText());
+		fTerminalSettings.setKeepalive(fKeepalive.getText());
 	}
 
 	public void loadSettings() {
 		if(fTerminalSettings!=null) {
 			fHostText.setText(get(fTerminalSettings.getHost(),""));//$NON-NLS-1$
 			fTimeout.setText(get(fTerminalSettings.getTimeoutString(),"0"));//$NON-NLS-1$
+			fKeepalive.setText(get(fTerminalSettings.getKeepaliveString(),"300"));//$NON-NLS-1$
 			fUser.setText(get(fTerminalSettings.getUser(),""));//$NON-NLS-1$
 			fPort.setText(get(fTerminalSettings.getPortString(),"22"));//$NON-NLS-1$
 			fPassword.setText(get(fTerminalSettings.getPassword(),""));//$NON-NLS-1$
@@ -67,6 +71,8 @@ public class SshSettingsPage implements ISettingsPage {
 		fUser = createTextField(composite, SshMessages.USER);
 		fPassword = createTextField(composite, SshMessages.PASSWORD,SWT.PASSWORD);
 		fTimeout = createTextField(composite, SshMessages.TIMEOUT);
+		fKeepalive = createTextField(composite, SshMessages.KEEPALIVE);
+		fKeepalive.setToolTipText(SshMessages.KEEPALIVE_Tooltip);
 		fPort = createTextField(composite, SshMessages.PORT);
 		loadSettings();
 	}