# GRE keep-alive on IX20 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cellular Routers\ **Tags:** tunnel, keep-alive, gre, ix20\ **Created:** [July 22, 2021, 9:03am UTC](https://forums.digi.com/t/gre-keep-alive-on-ix20/22563 "2021-07-22T09:03:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![karoch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ce73a5/32.png) [@karoch](https://forums.digi.com/u/karoch)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2021, 9:03am UTC](https://forums.digi.com/t/gre-keep-alive-on-ix20/22563/1 "2021-07-22T09:03:14Z")
Hi, is there any way to enable keep-alive GRE tunnel on IX20 router? I only found the option “Enable keep-alive reply”. I need the router itself to verify the tunnel status. Yes there is a Surelink function but it can only reboot the interface or the whole router. Thank you for your help. ---
**Author:** ![jpaczkow](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forums.digi.com/jpaczkow/32/9_2.png) [@jpaczkow](https://forums.digi.com/u/jpaczkow)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2022, 3:59pm UTC](https://forums.digi.com/t/gre-keep-alive-on-ix20/22563/2 "2022-12-08T15:59:52Z")
Hello! I know this topic is now old but I wanted to answer this for anyone else with this question. Digi SureLink is the method to do keep-alive after creating the new interface for the GRE tunnel. Instead of rebooting, just select the “restart interface” and select the test target as the other side of the tunnel. This will restart the GRE interface if the tests fail. ---
**Author:** ![karoch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ce73a5/32.png) [@karoch](https://forums.digi.com/u/karoch)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2022, 4:23pm UTC](https://forums.digi.com/t/gre-keep-alive-on-ix20/22563/3 "2022-12-08T16:23:24Z")
Hi jpaczkow, Thank you for your reply. But if the other side is unavailable it will just restart the GRE interface. when using the keep-live method, the GRE interface is marked as unavailable and the routing entries to the GRE tunnel are not active. This allows backup routes with higher metrics to be used.