remote network timeouts

hi all,

I have the following situation:

I connect to a database:

mysql -u 123 -h 456 -p 789

then issue the command:

show tables

wait 20 minutes

run show tables again

------------------------------------

The issue is:

-When I connect from a host on the local subnet all is fine

-When I connect from a host on a remote subnet the second
show tables just hangs as if the connection timed out

------------------------------------

Assuming there is nothing in the network tearing down the
connection (I have been assured this is the case), what else could be
the issue?

thx
Frank