<SYSTEM_TASK:>
Solve the following problem using Python, implementing the functions described below, one line at a time
<END_TASK>
<USER_TASK:>
Description:

def alive(opts):
    '''
    Return the connection status with the network device.
    '''
    log.debug('Checking if %s is still alive', opts.get('id', ''))
    if not netmiko_device['always_alive']:
        return True
    if ping() and initialized():
        return netmiko_device['connection'].remote_conn.transport.is_alive()
    return False