OpenVPN Config file to prevent timeout

Question

I am using OpenVPN with an *.opvn config file under Windows XP to connect to a VPN server. Everything works fine, I connect successfully, but after 2 minutes or so of inactivity my connection dies. Does anyone know if this is a:

• OpenVPN config problem
• Windows problem
• Client network problem
• Server VPN config problem
• Server network problem

I have included my *.opvn config file below:

#OpenVPN Server conf
tls-client
client
dev tun
proto udp
tun-mtu 1400
remote XXX.XXX.XXX.X XXXX
pkcs12 XXXX.p12
cipher BF-CBC
verb 3
ns-cert-type server

I have tried the adding following options to my *.ovpn file with no success:

ping 30
keepalive 10 60

Answer 1

If possible, have you tried using TCP as a protocol? I've had all sorts of connecting as well as staying connected when using UDP. My config is below and not much different than yours but I can stay connected for hours at a time. I'm using IPCop 1.4.16 with the ZERINA OpenVPN server:

#OpenVPN Client conf
tls-client
client
dev tun
proto tcp-client
tun-mtu 1400
remote XXX.XXX.XXX.XXX 1194
pkcs12 XXXX.p12
cipher BF-CBC
comp-lzo
verb 3
ns-cert-type server