Keep alive in the router: what is it

Routers are devices that allow an unlimited number of devices that support a Wi-Fi network or wired connection to use the Internet. Routers are very popular these days, but the trouble is that it is difficult for an inexperienced person to understand the settings, and it is often necessary to use them. The most common questions arise about the keep alive mode.

Why do you need keep alive in a router?

Keep alive mode is a set of algorithms that allows you to maintain the connection between the base and the peripheral device. It is also called “Persistent HTTP connection”. When enabled, a persistent connection is used, and if problems occur in one of the network sections (for example, overload), the operating device continues to send multiple requests instead of creating new circuit pairs. This significantly relieves the system load and reduces response time.

Keep alive is formed as an additional signature in the request. Due to the fact that a new protocol is not being created to provide this function, the configuration does not require an official specification. This signature appears not only in the input message, but also in the response.

Benefits of this feature:

• Reducing the load on RAM;
• Possibility of using accelerated data processing based on the pipeline principle.
• The likelihood of network failure is much lower.
• If there are errors in the protocols, they are corrected independently.
• Setting up work occurs right during the connection session.

This mode is definitely needed as “insurance” in case of an unstable connection.

How to set up keep alive in a router

First you need to find out the IP address of the router. To do this, just enter the “Start” search mode and write cmd, press Enter. A command prompt will open. Now all that remains is to enter ipconfig and press Enter again. The user will be presented with an address in the form of numbers “000.000.0.0”.

To access the router settings interface, you need to enter the numbers obtained from the command line in the browser address bar. The screen will display two fields – username and password. The login is always the same - admin, and the password is either printed on the bottom of the box of the router itself, or has been changed by the user. You need to enter the current password at the moment.

After the interface is presented to the user, he needs to follow the path:

“Network” - “Connection” - “Settings” - “PPP Settings” - check the keep alive box.

Save changes and log out.