SolarWinds Mobile Admin
How cool is correcting a minor problem on a server with a couple of taps on your smartphone? Thanks to the SolarWinds Mobile Admin, you can carryout routine tasks with a flick of your fingers on a phone screen.
Evaluation of SolarWinds Mobile Admin
- Scenarios for SolarWinds Mobile Admin™
- Technologies You Can Control with the Mobile Admin App
- Reacting to Real-time Alerts
- Mobile Admin™ Guided Tour from SolarWinds
- Installing SolarWinds Mobile IT Administration
- How to Install the Mobile Admin Software on the Client
Scenarios for SolarWinds Mobile Admin™
- Operate your iPad to unlock the MD's Active Directory account on your Windows Server 2008 R2.
- Use your Blackberry to check Windows Updates on your Exchange Server 2010.
- From your Android, SSH into your Linux server.
- Get alerts on your Blackberry from an IBM's System Z mainframe, then connect via Telnet to see what's wrong with the configuration.
My experience of Mobile IT Administration App is from configuring Windows Servers; however, I see Solarwinds' app has over 40 IT management tools some of which support Windows, Linux, and others mainframe connections. The benefit is that you can correct any IT problem from any location that has network access for your mobile device.
Technologies You Can Control with the Mobile Admin App
My point of listing these uses is to illustrate how you can configure complex technologies with a humble phone; naturally, you need the know how to make the configuration changes once this Mobile App enables the connection.
- Active Directory tasks.
- Virtualization including HyperV.
- Microsoft Active Sync integration.
- Review Exchange or database servers.
- Cloud computing – Amazon Web Services.
- Cluster Administrator.
- Backup systems.
- Citrix Management.
Reacting to Real-time Alerts
SolarWinds Mobile Admin can be setup to provide instant notification of server events. When an event triggers an alert the phone buzzes, and you can see what's causing the problem in the Mobile Admin Dashboard. Click on the message and the clever technology takes you straight to corresponding GUI on the host computer.
More good news, top-ten lists prioritize the alerts; and you can fix the problem using one of Mobile Admins growing number of resolver plug-ins.
Mobile Security Concerns
Connecting remotely by phone saves you lugging a laptop, or worse, a long car journey to the server; nevertheless, security is a concern. Fortunately, Mobile Admin™ has anticipated the twin worries of encryption and authentication by supporting these technologies:
- BlackBerry Enterprise Server.
- Encryption with VPN (iOS and Android devices).
- Encryption with HTTPS (iOS, Android and BlackBerry devices.
- This Solarwinds App also supports mobile Admin Proxy and three different levels of Authentication.
Mobile Admin™ Guided Tour from SolarWinds
Nomar Boden explains in this video how to mange the services and the hosts, he also deals with notifications and bookmarks.
Installing SolarWinds Mobile IT Administration
Solarwinds Mobile IT Administration relies on classic client server technology. Downloading the zip file from Solarwinds site was easy, and installing the server's services component was straightforward.
I particularly liked the Solarwinds Deployment Check screen because it helped to prepare the server for accepting mobile clients. See on the screenshot below how to create a firewall rule that will open port 4054 for Mobile Admin SSL traffic.
How to Install the Mobile Admin Software on the Client
From the browser on your smartphone or tablet, connect to the server via this url:
http:// [YourServer]:4054*. [YourServer ] is the hostname or IP address of the computer where you installed the Mobile Admin server, and it connects via a VPN or
* Remember that firewall exception?
Alternatively, connect to the Apple® App Store, search for "Rove Mobile Admin" and then install the client. This techniques works for Apple iPhone®, iPod®, or iPad® products.
As for Blackberry® and Android™ mobile users, they can download the Solarwinds client from Blackberry App World or Google® Marketplace. There is even a download for Kindle Fire™ users at the Amazon® Appstore.
For those who need extra details, or like to read the instruction guides, Solarwinds provide extensive online documentation for this Mobile IT Admin App.
Review New Features in Mobile Admin 7.0
Here is a good way to evaluate the Mobile Admin App:
Download your fully functional 14-day trial version of this handy mobile app.
Phone Techniques
- Pinch the screen to zoom.
- Swipe to scroll.
- A long press to right click.
- Look out for Ctrl, Alt, Tab F (Function)
Another Mobile IT Admin
Client – Server Technologies Supported
- Remote Desktop Connection using RDP
- Good old Telnet / SSH for Linux and mainframes
- TN3270 and TN5250
- Citrix
- HP iLO
Summary: Review of SolarWinds Mobile IT Administration App
Employ this client server technology to connect to your server from a smartphone. Thanks to this Solarwinds App, you can carryout routine tasks by flicking your fingers on mobile device.
Additional Free and Trial SolarWinds Network Software
Here are nifty gadgets which I have evaluating on my network. Some are completely free, while other downloads are trial versions of the full product. I think SolarWinds have a great strategy, namely, supplying a free utility, yet providing a big-brother suite of programs for larger organizations.
• SolarWinds Permissions Analyzer • Review PC Engineers Toolset • LanSurveyor • Home
• SolarWinds Netflow • Review SolarWinds TFTP Server • Review of Network Topology Mapper
• Mobile IT Admin App • Netflow Monitoring • Free NetFlow Analyzer • CSVDE Import Tool
