diff --git a/staging/src/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/util/httpstream/spdy/BUILD b/staging/src/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/util/httpstream/spdy/BUILD
index 4b12052def1..fab9cc90f75 100644
--- a/staging/src/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/util/httpstream/spdy/BUILD
+++ b/staging/src/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/util/httpstream/spdy/BUILD
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ go_test(
     embed = [":go_default_library"],
     deps = [
         "//staging/src/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/util/httpstream:go_default_library",
+        "//vendor/github.com/docker/spdystream:go_default_library",
         "//vendor/github.com/elazarl/goproxy:go_default_library",
     ],
 )
diff --git a/staging/src/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/util/httpstream/spdy/connection.go b/staging/src/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/util/httpstream/spdy/connection.go
index 7a68812500f..336b4908b4c 100644
--- a/staging/src/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/util/httpstream/spdy/connection.go
+++ b/staging/src/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/util/httpstream/spdy/connection.go
@@ -34,38 +34,62 @@ type connection struct {
 	streams          []httpstream.Stream
 	streamLock       sync.Mutex
 	newStreamHandler httpstream.NewStreamHandler
+	ping             func() (time.Duration, error)
 }
 
 // NewClientConnection creates a new SPDY client connection.
 func NewClientConnection(conn net.Conn) (httpstream.Connection, error) {
+	return NewClientConnectionWithPings(conn, 0)
+}
+
+// NewClientConnectionWithPings creates a new SPDY client connection.
+//
+// If pingPeriod is non-zero, a background goroutine will send periodic Ping
+// frames to the server. Use this to keep idle connections through certain load
+// balancers alive longer.
+func NewClientConnectionWithPings(conn net.Conn, pingPeriod time.Duration) (httpstream.Connection, error) {
 	spdyConn, err := spdystream.NewConnection(conn, false)
 	if err != nil {
 		defer conn.Close()
 		return nil, err
 	}
 
-	return newConnection(spdyConn, httpstream.NoOpNewStreamHandler), nil
+	return newConnection(spdyConn, httpstream.NoOpNewStreamHandler, pingPeriod, spdyConn.Ping), nil
 }
 
 // NewServerConnection creates a new SPDY server connection. newStreamHandler
 // will be invoked when the server receives a newly created stream from the
 // client.
 func NewServerConnection(conn net.Conn, newStreamHandler httpstream.NewStreamHandler) (httpstream.Connection, error) {
+	return NewServerConnectionWithPings(conn, newStreamHandler, 0)
+}
+
+// NewServerConnectionWithPings creates a new SPDY server connection.
+// newStreamHandler will be invoked when the server receives a newly created
+// stream from the client.
+//
+// If pingPeriod is non-zero, a background goroutine will send periodic Ping
+// frames to the server. Use this to keep idle connections through certain load
+// balancers alive longer.
+func NewServerConnectionWithPings(conn net.Conn, newStreamHandler httpstream.NewStreamHandler, pingPeriod time.Duration) (httpstream.Connection, error) {
 	spdyConn, err := spdystream.NewConnection(conn, true)
 	if err != nil {
 		defer conn.Close()
 		return nil, err
 	}
 
-	return newConnection(spdyConn, newStreamHandler), nil
+	return newConnection(spdyConn, newStreamHandler, pingPeriod, spdyConn.Ping), nil
 }
 
 // newConnection returns a new connection wrapping conn. newStreamHandler
 // will be invoked when the server receives a newly created stream from the
 // client.
-func newConnection(conn *spdystream.Connection, newStreamHandler httpstream.NewStreamHandler) httpstream.Connection {
-	c := &connection{conn: conn, newStreamHandler: newStreamHandler}
+func newConnection(conn *spdystream.Connection, newStreamHandler httpstream.NewStreamHandler, pingPeriod time.Duration, pingFn func() (time.Duration, error)) httpstream.Connection {
+	c := &connection{conn: conn, newStreamHandler: newStreamHandler, ping: pingFn}
 	go conn.Serve(c.newSpdyStream)
+	if pingPeriod > 0 && pingFn != nil {
+		go c.sendPings(pingPeriod)
+	}
 	return c
 }
 
@@ -143,3 +167,21 @@ func (c *connection) newSpdyStream(stream *spdystream.Stream) {
 func (c *connection) SetIdleTimeout(timeout time.Duration) {
 	c.conn.SetIdleTimeout(timeout)
 }
+
+func (c *connection) sendPings(period time.Duration) {
+	t := time.NewTicker(period)
+	defer t.Stop()
+	for {
+		select {
+		case <-c.conn.CloseChan():
+			return
+		case <-t.C:
+		}
+		if _, err := c.ping(); err != nil {
+			klog.V(3).Infof("SPDY Ping failed: %v", err)
+			// Continue, in case this is a transient failure.
+			// c.conn.CloseChan above will tell us when the connection is
+			// actually closed.
+		}
+	}
+}
diff --git a/staging/src/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/util/httpstream/spdy/connection_test.go b/staging/src/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/util/httpstream/spdy/connection_test.go
index e00b29c461e..fa228d71fb5 100644
--- a/staging/src/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/util/httpstream/spdy/connection_test.go
+++ b/staging/src/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/util/httpstream/spdy/connection_test.go
@@ -17,13 +17,16 @@ limitations under the License.
 package spdy
 
 import (
+	"fmt"
 	"io"
 	"net"
 	"net/http"
 	"sync"
+	"sync/atomic"
 	"testing"
 	"time"
 
+	"github.com/docker/spdystream"
 	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/util/httpstream"
 )
 
@@ -178,3 +181,112 @@ func TestConnectionCloseIsImmediateThroughAProxy(t *testing.T) {
 		}
 	}
 }
+
+func TestConnectionPings(t *testing.T) {
+	const pingPeriod = 10 * time.Millisecond
+	timeout := time.After(10 * time.Second)
+
+	// Set up server connection.
+	listener, err := net.Listen("tcp4", "localhost:0")
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	defer listener.Close()
+
+	srvErr := make(chan error, 1)
+	go func() {
+		defer close(srvErr)
+
+		srvConn, err := listener.Accept()
+		if err != nil {
+			srvErr <- fmt.Errorf("server: error accepting connection: %v", err)
+			return
+		}
+		defer srvConn.Close()
+
+		spdyConn, err := spdystream.NewConnection(srvConn, true)
+		if err != nil {
+			srvErr <- fmt.Errorf("server: error creating spdy connection: %v", err)
+			return
+		}
+
+		var pingsSent int64
+		srvSPDYConn := newConnection(
+			spdyConn,
+			func(stream httpstream.Stream, replySent <-chan struct{}) error {
+				// Echo all the incoming data.
+				go io.Copy(stream, stream)
+				return nil
+			},
+			pingPeriod,
+			func() (time.Duration, error) {
+				atomic.AddInt64(&pingsSent, 1)
+				return 0, nil
+			})
+		defer srvSPDYConn.Close()
+
+		// Wait for the connection to close, to prevent defers from running
+		// early.
+		select {
+		case <-timeout:
+			srvErr <- fmt.Errorf("server: timeout waiting for connection to close")
+			return
+		case <-srvSPDYConn.CloseChan():
+		}
+
+		// Count pings sent by the server.
+		gotPings := atomic.LoadInt64(&pingsSent)
+		if gotPings < 1 {
+			t.Errorf("server: failed to send any pings (check logs)")
+		}
+	}()
+
+	// Set up client connection.
+	clConn, err := net.Dial("tcp4", listener.Addr().String())
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("client: error connecting to proxy: %v", err)
+	}
+	defer clConn.Close()
+	start := time.Now()
+	clSPDYConn, err := NewClientConnection(clConn)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("client: error creating spdy connection: %v", err)
+	}
+	defer clSPDYConn.Close()
+	clSPDYStream, err := clSPDYConn.CreateStream(http.Header{})
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("client: error creating stream: %v", err)
+	}
+	defer clSPDYStream.Close()
+
+	// Send some data both ways, to make sure pings don't interfere with
+	// regular messages.
+	in := "foo"
+	if _, err := fmt.Fprintln(clSPDYStream, in); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("client: error writing data to stream: %v", err)
+	}
+	var out string
+	if _, err := fmt.Fscanln(clSPDYStream, &out); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("client: error reading data from stream: %v", err)
+	}
+	if in != out {
+		t.Errorf("client: received data doesn't match sent data: got %q, want %q", out, in)
+	}
+
+	// Wait for at least 2 pings to get sent each way before closing the
+	// connection.
+	elapsed := time.Since(start)
+	if elapsed < 3*pingPeriod {
+		time.Sleep(3*pingPeriod - elapsed)
+	}
+	clSPDYConn.Close()
+
+	select {
+	case err, ok := <-srvErr:
+		if ok && err != nil {
+			t.Error(err)
+		}
+	case <-timeout:
+		t.Errorf("timed out waiting for server to exit")
+	}
+}
diff --git a/staging/src/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/util/httpstream/spdy/roundtripper.go b/staging/src/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/util/httpstream/spdy/roundtripper.go
index 6309fbc26bb..4cb1cfadcb0 100644
--- a/staging/src/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/util/httpstream/spdy/roundtripper.go
+++ b/staging/src/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/util/httpstream/spdy/roundtripper.go
@@ -30,6 +30,7 @@ import (
 	"net/http/httputil"
 	"net/url"
 	"strings"
+	"time"
 
 	apierrors "k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/api/errors"
 	metav1 "k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/apis/meta/v1"
@@ -70,6 +71,9 @@ type SpdyRoundTripper struct {
 	// requireSameHostRedirects restricts redirect following to only follow redirects to the same host
 	// as the original request.
 	requireSameHostRedirects bool
+	// pingPeriod is a period for sending Ping frames over established
+	// connections.
+	pingPeriod time.Duration
 }
 
 var _ utilnet.TLSClientConfigHolder = &SpdyRoundTripper{}
@@ -79,18 +83,51 @@ var _ utilnet.Dialer = &SpdyRoundTripper{}
 // NewRoundTripper creates a new SpdyRoundTripper that will use the specified
 // tlsConfig.
 func NewRoundTripper(tlsConfig *tls.Config, followRedirects, requireSameHostRedirects bool) *SpdyRoundTripper {
-	return NewRoundTripperWithProxy(tlsConfig, followRedirects, requireSameHostRedirects, utilnet.NewProxierWithNoProxyCIDR(http.ProxyFromEnvironment))
+	return NewRoundTripperWithConfig(RoundTripperConfig{
+		TLS:                      tlsConfig,
+		FollowRedirects:          followRedirects,
+		RequireSameHostRedirects: requireSameHostRedirects,
+	})
 }
 
 // NewRoundTripperWithProxy creates a new SpdyRoundTripper that will use the
 // specified tlsConfig and proxy func.
 func NewRoundTripperWithProxy(tlsConfig *tls.Config, followRedirects, requireSameHostRedirects bool, proxier func(*http.Request) (*url.URL, error)) *SpdyRoundTripper {
-	return &SpdyRoundTripper{
-		tlsConfig:                tlsConfig,
-		followRedirects:          followRedirects,
-		requireSameHostRedirects: requireSameHostRedirects,
-		proxier:                  proxier,
+	return NewRoundTripperWithConfig(RoundTripperConfig{
+		TLS:                      tlsConfig,
+		FollowRedirects:          followRedirects,
+		RequireSameHostRedirects: requireSameHostRedirects,
+		Proxier:                  proxier,
+	})
+}
+
+// NewRoundTripperWithProxy creates a new SpdyRoundTripper with the specified
+// configuration.
+func NewRoundTripperWithConfig(cfg RoundTripperConfig) *SpdyRoundTripper {
+	if cfg.Proxier == nil {
+		cfg.Proxier = utilnet.NewProxierWithNoProxyCIDR(http.ProxyFromEnvironment)
 	}
+	return &SpdyRoundTripper{
+		tlsConfig:                cfg.TLS,
+		followRedirects:          cfg.FollowRedirects,
+		requireSameHostRedirects: cfg.RequireSameHostRedirects,
+		proxier:                  cfg.Proxier,
+		pingPeriod:               cfg.PingPeriod,
+	}
+}
+
+// RoundTripperConfig is a set of options for an SpdyRoundTripper.
+type RoundTripperConfig struct {
+	// TLS configuration used by the round tripper.
+	TLS *tls.Config
+	// Proxier is a proxy function invoked on each request. Optional.
+	Proxier func(*http.Request) (*url.URL, error)
+	// PingPeriod is a period for sending SPDY Pings on the connection.
+	// Optional.
+	PingPeriod time.Duration
+
+	FollowRedirects          bool
+	RequireSameHostRedirects bool
 }
 
 // TLSClientConfig implements pkg/util/net.TLSClientConfigHolder for proper TLS checking during
@@ -316,7 +353,7 @@ func (s *SpdyRoundTripper) NewConnection(resp *http.Response) (httpstream.Connec
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("unable to upgrade connection: %s", responseError)
 	}
 
-	return NewClientConnection(s.conn)
+	return NewClientConnectionWithPings(s.conn, s.pingPeriod)
 }
 
 // statusScheme is private scheme for the decoding here until someone fixes the TODO in NewConnection
diff --git a/staging/src/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/util/httpstream/spdy/upgrade.go b/staging/src/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/util/httpstream/spdy/upgrade.go
index 045d214d2b7..f17eb09e960 100644
--- a/staging/src/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/util/httpstream/spdy/upgrade.go
+++ b/staging/src/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/util/httpstream/spdy/upgrade.go
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@ import (
 	"net/http"
 	"strings"
 	"sync/atomic"
+	"time"
 
 	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/util/httpstream"
 	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/util/runtime"
@@ -34,6 +35,7 @@ const HeaderSpdy31 = "SPDY/3.1"
 // responseUpgrader knows how to upgrade HTTP responses. It
 // implements the httpstream.ResponseUpgrader interface.
 type responseUpgrader struct {
+	pingPeriod time.Duration
 }
 
 // connWrapper is used to wrap a hijacked connection and its bufio.Reader. All
@@ -64,7 +66,18 @@ func (w *connWrapper) Close() error {
 // capable of upgrading HTTP responses using SPDY/3.1 via the
 // spdystream package.
 func NewResponseUpgrader() httpstream.ResponseUpgrader {
-	return responseUpgrader{}
+	return NewResponseUpgraderWithPings(0)
+}
+
+// NewResponseUpgraderWithPings returns a new httpstream.ResponseUpgrader that
+// is capable of upgrading HTTP responses using SPDY/3.1 via the spdystream
+// package.
+//
+// If pingPeriod is non-zero, for each incoming connection a background
+// goroutine will send periodic Ping frames to the server. Use this to keep
+// idle connections through certain load balancers alive longer.
+func NewResponseUpgraderWithPings(pingPeriod time.Duration) httpstream.ResponseUpgrader {
+	return responseUpgrader{pingPeriod: pingPeriod}
 }
 
 // UpgradeResponse upgrades an HTTP response to one that supports multiplexed
@@ -97,7 +110,7 @@ func (u responseUpgrader) UpgradeResponse(w http.ResponseWriter, req *http.Reque
 	}
 
 	connWithBuf := &connWrapper{Conn: conn, bufReader: bufrw.Reader}
-	spdyConn, err := NewServerConnection(connWithBuf, newStreamHandler)
+	spdyConn, err := NewServerConnectionWithPings(connWithBuf, newStreamHandler, u.pingPeriod)
 	if err != nil {
 		runtime.HandleError(fmt.Errorf("unable to upgrade: error creating SPDY server connection: %v", err))
 		return nil