iPhone And iPad Usher In New Era Of Remote Server Management

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Remote server management has long since been a way of life for IT professionals. While there are many tools that allow systems administrators to perform the majority of their job functions remotely, those tools are typically run on an administration PC – an approach that is effective but not always convenient. Today, HP announced that it planning to make the life of sysadmins a bit easier by shipping mobile server management tools for its Gen8 server line that can run on iOS and Android.

The new tools will provide monitoring and overall server health dashboard functionality. More importantly, they will offer systems administrators login, management, and even shut down capabilities. For organizations centered around HP’s server lineup, this will allow significantly more remote troubleshooting and problem resolution options.

The new apps will allow remote administrators to perform many functions that currently can only be done from a management console in the data center. The ability to monitor, investigate problems, and take corrective action through iOS and Android apps will increase response time and cut down on travel requirements, making them excellent cost and time savers.

The tools are intended to take advantage of HP’s new Gen8 servers, which were announced on Monday. The new server line offers a tighter integration between hardware and software than some of its competitors, which allow servers to be more energy efficient while delivering greater performance. The remote apps will integrate diagnostic features for the Gen8 platform that can continually report on over 1600 parameters captured by a dedicated on-device processor – a feature that HP refers to as the Integrated Lights-Out (iLO) management engine.

According to IDG News Service, the mobile apps will be able to run scripts and configure applications on the Gen8 servers and will be able to help onsite administrators locate specific servers in a data center.

This isn’t the first remote management solution for IT professionals to be made available on iOS, but the fact that one of the world’s largest server vendors is now taking iOS and mobile administration seriously enough to ship such solutions is still significant. It illustrates an understanding and acceptance of the fact that IT professionals are less tied to their desks than ever before as well as the fact that mobile devices like iPhones and iPads are becoming 21st century swiss army knives for IT professionals.

 

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