sonicadmin

Sonic Mobility (www.sonicmobility.com) offers an easy way for network administrators to manage their network servers anytime and anywhere using their Pocket PCs. It's called sonicadmin. The concept behind this product is to allow network administrators to have functionality on their Pocket PCs that is similar to the Administrative Tools in Windows 2000 server. Of course, sonicadmin also works with Windows NT servers, and it has a command-line interface for any non-Windows network device that supports Telnet or SSH, such as Unix and Linux servers, printers, switches, routers, and databases.

POCKET PC SUMMIT--HANDS-ON EXPERIENCE

I personally used sonicadmin to manage the HP Proliant ML-370 server at the Pocket PC Summit. The HP server was used to provide a local Web server and NAT (Network Address Translation) so that users could access the Internet. Barry Shilmover, Sonic Mobility's Chief Technical Evangelist, was kind enough to install sonicadmin on the server the first day and it sure came in handy!

During the show, I heard comments from different users about having problems getting a DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol)-assigned IP address. Well, with sonicadmin, I was able to go out and see that the DHCP service was running! Also, I was able to stop and start it as well, right from my Pocket PC. Later on I figured out that the problem was not with the server but with the driver that Symbol was installing, which was not displaying the assigned IP address for approximately two minutes after it had been assigned.

I did find out a few things that I wish that Sonic Mobility would add to sonicadmin. For instance, I was working with DHCP, but I was unable to see a list of DHCP clients, so I had to switch to the cumbersome use of Terminal Services client, which makes you scroll around an 800 x 600 desktop display on your Pocket PC, to view the DHCP client list. Sonicadmin is so much easier to use since it fits on the Pocket PC screen.

Overall, sonicadmin's allowed me to manage the HP server from my Pocket PC at the Pocket PC Summit, which contributed to the success of the event. I was able to configure and manage the server without once having to log in at the console for the whole event! Also, it allowed me to determine the resources that were being used on the server, so I was able to monitor the amount of RAM and disk space in use.

SECURITY

Sonic Mobility has not forgotten about the importance of keeping your server information secure. It offers multiple encryption options including RC4 256-bit keys, which are stronger than the 128-bit key you use to access your brokerage account via the Web. Sonicadmin also requires the network administrator to register both usernames and Pocket PCs for enhanced security. This way, if a Pocket PC is lost or stolen, the network administrator can easily disable that specific Pocket PC without compromising all other users' access to sonicadmin. Also, sonicadmin can list the servers that users can access. This allows a network administrator to give a local administrator control over his own server but still manage all servers without extra effort. It's this kind of attention to detail that really shows how well sonicadmin has been thought out.

FUNCTIONALITY

Sonicadmin provides the ability to manage users, printers, services, processes, monitor server statistics, and review the event logs (including DNS server events). Further, you can use sonicadmin to edit system files (also, full file Explorer to delete, move, copy, paste and even e-mail files from a managed server), run command line programs, and even reboot or shut down a server (and manage power). It expands what you can do beyond the server by adding Telnet and SSH access to Linux servers, routers and firewalls (Fig. 1).

Fig. 1. Overview of features

Managing users, printers, services and processes