I won't attempt to answer the PAM stuff since I'd be better off listening when it comes to that.
As for the ssh/firewall question, what are you running on the Linux firewall? Is it Linux 2.4 kernel? If so, what are your settings for idle-connection timeout? This can be checked/set in some kernels by using the "file" /proc/sys/net/ipv4/vs/timeout_established. In Mandrake 8.1 it is set to 8 minutes (480 secs). Caldera's COL3.1 does not seem to have this available for viewing or changing in their 2.4.2 kernel. --------------------------------------------- Two questions which I hope will prove sufficiently exciting. <SNIP> The second is, I have set up a Linux router on a 486, using masquerading. My secure shell connections *through* it get dropped after 5 minutes or so of inactivity, but when I go through our other proxy (Win2k) they stay connected indefinately. Does anyone know what makes it drop the connection?