Ten Server & Admin Apps for Your IOS Device (iPhone or iPad)
January 2012
(Click Here for Android Devices, January 2012)
1. ServerMonitor (Free)
Find out the 10 best iOS-powered apps for server monitoring, transferring files and administering your data center from your iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad.
This is a simple server or workstation monitoring app. It can connect to and monitor Linux, Mac OS X, and FreeBSD machines via the SSH protocol. It shows uptime, load averages and memory status.
2. Network Utility (Free)
This provides tools to do on-demand checking of websites or servers, troubleshooting, and simple security auditing. You can enter the hostname or IP address of a server to do pings, TCP/IP port scans, GeoIP lookups or Whois queries. It also features IP address information and can save the remote address.
3. iSSH – SSH / VNC Console ($9.99)
This is a full-featured SSH, Telnet, VNC and RDP client, and X server. It supports multiple simultaneous connections via EDGE, Wi-Fi or 3G on standard or custom ports. You can store unlimited connection configurations, organize them into groups, and import/export between devices. It can generate RSA and DSA keys and distribute via email, password-connected SSH or pasteboard.
4. OpenSSH (Free)
This gives you an OpenSSH server on your jail broken iOS device so you can transfer files between a computer via Wi-Fi. On your computer, you can use the SSH command-line via a client like Putty or do drag-and-drop transfers via SFTP/SCP protocol using a client like WinSCP. To connect, you must check for the IP address assigned to your iOS device: Just tap Settings > Wi-Fi and select the Wi-Fi network’s details.
5. GuizmOVPN (Free)
This is an OpenVPN client for jail broken iOS devices. It is great for remote file/network access and secure web browsing when using Wi-Fi hotspots. It’s a GUI-based port of the OpenVPN command-line client with a tunemu patch.
The connection settings must be defined in an OpenVPN configuration file (.conf or .ovpn), just like the PC version of the OpenVPN client. Within the app you can download config files for third-party VPN providers.
You can import custom settings by packaging your OpenVPN configuration file and any certificates into a ZIP file using your PC. Then you can upload it to GuizmOVPN via Wi-Fi with the app’s built-in web interface, or you can upload to a web server on the Internet and download within GuizmOVPN.
6. MySQL Mobile Database Client ($7.99)
This gives you the ability to directly connect to your MySQL databases so you can browse, search, and update data right on your iOS device. Run queries with the Query Designer or use custom SQL, generate charts, and build reports. Export data to Numbers, Mail, CSV files, or save for offline access. It’s compatible with MySQL versions 3, 4, and 5. For a secure link you can connect when using a VPN or use the built-in SSH tunneling.
7. VMware vSphere Client for iPad (Free)
This is a companion interface to the traditional VMware vSphere client. You can monitor the performance and mange vSphere hosts and virtual machines, right from your iPad. Start, stop and suspend virtual machines, and view and restore their snapshots. Reboot vSphere hosts or enable maintenance mode. Do troubleshooting using built-in ping and traceroute tools.
VMware vSphere and VMware vCenter Server 4.x or higher are supported. Other requirements include the vCenter Mobile Access (vCMA) virtual appliance and network connection to the vCMA virtual appliance (via built-in VPN client).
8. MFreeNAS 7 (Free or $0.99)
This lets you control a FreeNAS server from your iOS device. The free version only allows an HTTP connection and limited ports. It supports Wake-On-LAN, shutdown, and for the iPad only an integrated WebGUI. The premium version adds HTTPS and custom port connections. It also features support for reboot, system info, and hard drive info.
9. Linux Command Reference (Free)
This is a simple (but free) Linux command-line reference guide, great for beginners or those that only occasionally work. You can browse for commands by categories, such as file commands, file permissions, installation, network, and SSH. Then you’d see a list of commands with a short description.
10. Linux Command Reference+ ($0.99)
This is a more thorough reference guide to Linux commands, designed for both the iPhone/iPod touch and the iPad. It’s useful for both beginner and advanced Linux users. It provides over 1200 man pages for commands and tools and 100 command-line tips and tricks. You can search for commands by typing the first few letters. When you see the command show in the search results, tap it to see a brief summary of the command. Then tap it again to bring up the full man page.
