diff --git a/playbooks/files/patch-ssh-client-config.sh b/playbooks/files/patch-ssh-client-config.sh
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2dfe0b1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/playbooks/files/patch-ssh-client-config.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+# Copyright (c) 2014 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
+#
+# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+# you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+# You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#
+#    http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or
+# implied.
+# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+# limitations under the License.
+set -eux
+set -o pipefail
+
+# This turns on an internal heartbeat mechanism in the ssh client
+# to prevent the client from believing inactivity is a connection
+# failure.
+if ! grep -q '^\s*ServerAliveInterval' /etc/ssh/ssh_config; then
+    echo "    ServerAliveInterval 30" >>/etc/ssh/ssh_config
+fi
+
+# This causes the connection to wait until the defined number of
+# heartbeats are missed before terminating the connection.
+if ! grep -q '^\s*ServerAliveCountMax' /etc/ssh/ssh_config; then
+    echo "    ServerAliveCountMax 6" >>/etc/ssh/ssh_config
+fi
+
diff --git a/playbooks/update_cloud.yml b/playbooks/update_cloud.yml
index 6fa46af..9a6db5f 100644
--- a/playbooks/update_cloud.yml
+++ b/playbooks/update_cloud.yml
@@ -14,6 +14,12 @@
 # limitations under the License.
 ---
 - include: step_ping.yml
+- hosts: localhost
+  name: "Setup local environment for upgrade processes to run"
+  gather_facts: no
+  max_fail_percentage: 0
+  tasks:
+    - include: update_local_ssh_config.yml
 - hosts: undercloud
   name: Disable Undercloud
   sudo: yes
diff --git a/playbooks/update_local_ssh_config.yml b/playbooks/update_local_ssh_config.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..35de515
--- /dev/null
+++ b/playbooks/update_local_ssh_config.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+# Copyright (c) 2014 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
+#
+# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+# you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+# You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#
+#    http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or
+# implied.
+# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+# limitations under the License.
+---
+- name: "Patching the ssh client configuration to avoid timeout issues."
+  sudo: yes
+  script: files/patch-ssh-client-config.sh