10 iPhone Apps for IT Administrators

by Nicholas Kolakowski

$5.99This App keeps a record of all clients’ network configurations, and allows those records to be shared with technicians and managers (the information itself is protected by 128-bit AES encryption using a private key, and is accessible with the entering of a four-digit PIN number). Users can create custom categories for organizing information. The application requires an Internet connection, but data is also cached for 12 hours in the event that no such connection exists at a work site.

$4.99 Based on the PuTTY desktop client, this App provides an SSH, Telnet and raw TCP client for the iPhone or iPod touch, and features xterm terminal emulation, RSA/DSA key generation and authentication, SOCKS4, SOCKS5, HTTP and Telnet proxy support, and works over Edge, 3G or Wi-Fi.

$11.99 A Microsoft Windows RDP (remote desktop protocol) client for iPhone and iPod touch, which lets administrators have access to and manage systems remotely. Supports Windows 2000 Server, XP Professional, Vista (Business, Enterprise and Ultimate Editions), and Windows Server 2008 (Terminal Services Gateway is not supported), and has the capability to configure and save settings on a per-server basis.

Free A functional SSH terminal client application, TouchTerm includes server, connection and password management; VT100 terminal emulation; RSA/DSA public key authentication, and is powered by OpenSSH and OpenSSL open-source libraries that theoretically make it workable with the substantial majority of SSH-capable servers. Also available in a $14.99 TouchTerm Pro version that includes extensive configurability and a 50-count command library.

$3.99This App offers a number of tools for the IT administrator, including the ability to ping a single IP address, ping a subnet to give an overview for 253 IP addresses, Traceroute (for determining the route taken by packets across an IP network), a Telnet console for router or Unix server access. When looking at the subnet, green numbers indicate working devices, yellow represents problematic devices, and red lets the administrator know that the device is no longer connected to the LAN.

$1.99A mobile file manager that allows administrators on the road to transfer, edit, compress and otherwise modify files. Editable file formats include plain text, images, .tiff, .wav, .aif, and .zif. Viewable file formats include Microsoft Office applications such as Word and Excel, text documents, PowerPoint and MPEGs. The application comes with password protection and file-level read/write protection.

$0.99 With this App, administrators can use the iPhone’s touch-screen interface to calculate IPv4 subnets, sliding through the 32 possibilities of an IPv4 network. The software will display, in real time, the Netmask, number of possible hosts, network address and broadcast address; the user can then edit the desired host address and recalculate. Shaking the iPhone will set the WLAN address as an IP address.

Free Whether or not the future is SAAS (software as a service) and cloud-based platforms, IT administrators of today will most likely find themselves fixing something in the data center at some point. And should the data center in question not be adequately lit, this App’s clean bright light can help determine whether a port on a particular rack is the one they’re looking for.

$24.99 This App provides the iPhone or iPod user with remote access and control to their computer, along with a full-size display of the computer’s screen. The application connects to any device running a VNC server, and includes a touch-pad interface, a connection utility for automatically configuring router and network settings, and support for ulta-high-resolution displays.

$0.99 Web administrators can enter a domain name and, at the press of a button, have the App perform a Whois lookup. In addition to displaying a domain’s name servers and contact information, this application also supports all major TLDs.