no telnet timeout

Hi,

I have some scripts that are doing a telnet to a machines port to check if that application is running. However, even when the machine is down, the script stops after about 3 minutes. When I execute the telnet command from another machine, I receive a time-out after 5 seconds. Do I need to change a parameter somewhere ? I don't think you can specify a timeout with a telnet command.

Thanks.

I would consider replacing telnet with a tool that is designed for the purpose you require. nmap is such a program.