Need your iOS devops in the cloud? We can help.
Ten iPhone apps for IT | Macminicolo Blog - Tips, tutorials and reviews on running a Mac mini server

Ten iPhone apps for IT

image


Four years ago, I wrote a post about seven iPhone apps for IT. They were great apps at the time and that page still gets a ton of traffic via search engines. The app landscape has really changed since then and most of those apps are either gone or abandoned. So here is an updated list that is a little more accurate for 2013 and the great options out there. Let's look at some that are good for working with a Mac server remotely, and also that work with services that one might run on their Mac server. (And if you have suggestions to add to this list, please  tweet them @macminicolo.)


For Screen Sharing, I've landed on iTeleport. I like that you can use the Mac username login and they have a nice iTeleport Connect that will let you reach computers without a static IP address. Screens is also very nice, but I wasn't able to accurately select items with my fingers. With iTeleport, you move a cursor around on screen. 


image


iStat is made by Bjango, who are customers of Macminicolo. But, I've used iStat long before doing business with the company. It's a very simple way to monitor the important stats of your server. (i.e., bandwidth, RAM, Processor, etc). 


If you want to see a sad genre of apps, take a look at the network utility tools. It makes you want to perform pings or traceroutes with your eyes closed. (Let's be honest, if we're doing an emergency ping, it's usually in the middle of the night anyway so our eyes are mostly closed.) In any regard, PingTool is the app I've settled on. It has a good design, and a number of useful tools. (ping, traceroute, DNS lookup, Port scan, etc)


image


We do a lot of our sales and support through iChat/Messages. When I'm away from the computer, Verbs is the best way to keep up with chats on the AIM network. 


In the original list, I posted the app for GrandCentral. Of course, that service eventually became Google Voice, and I think it's great. The official Google Voice app is not bad either. Real easy way to route business calls and texts to the right people. 


We all like to keep an eye on our website stats. (You should see what happens when Fireballed.org gets hit well.) For me, Analytiks has been a great option to check sites on the go. It will allow you to watch eight sites from your Google Analytics account. 


image


If you are running Wordpress blogs, Poster is a great interface to make posts from your iPhone.  


For SSH, Prompt is my preference. It's a great app now, but it's also backed by a great software company so you know it will remain great. It will also help you telnet into a server.


If you need to get connected with FTP (or SFTP), Textastic can get you connected, and let you edit text. 


<img align="left" alt="image" src="http://www.macminicolo.net/i_mini/apps/istat.png"Sometimes you just need to sketch out a network diagram to keep things straight, or to send to someone else. Ink for iOS is nice for that. (Paper is fantastic for that on the iPad, but there is no iPhone version.)


So those are the iPhone apps we're using to run Macminicolo. If you have more that should be considered for the list, I hope you'll tweet them @macminicolo



image


About Macminicolo.net


 Macminicolo.net, a Las Vegas colocation company, has been hosting Mac minis since their introduction in January 2005. Low cost. High performance. They are the leaders in this niche market and are known for their personal service. They currently host hundreds of Mac minis for satisfied customers located in 47 different countries around the world. Get more info on our frequently asked questions page.


image