Methods, systems, and computer program products for sharing information for detecting a time period

In one embodiment, an apparatus and method are provided to: receive, by the apparatus from a node, a set up packet during a setup of a connection, the set up packet for use in a protocol that is not transmission control protocol (TCP); identify first metadata in a time period parameter field in the set up packet, for a time period, where, as a result of a detection of the time period, the connection is at least partial deactivated; and determine, based on the first metadata, a timeout attribute associated with the connection.