Friday, June 17, 2011

Essential Android Tools

I've been slowly migrating off of doing remote administration from a laptop, and moving almost exclusively to my Android device. I've got a screen in Launcher Pro set up exclusively for system administration related items.

This is what's on there:
  • Adao File Manager: Keep PDFs of documentation in a folder right on your system administration screen
  • Barcode Scanner: Use it to read those service tags
  • Bubble Level
  • Calculator
  • Calendar: You do keep a calendar, right?
  • Camera: Take snaps of screens with error messages on them, use it to note where things are plugged in before you take them apart.
  • CamScanner: Uses the camera as a scanner to create PDFs
  • Color Flashlight: Either use it to illuminate that hard to see part of that rack in that poorly lit closet, or turn it into a rave.
  • ConnectBot: Great little SSH Client, also lets you access the console on your phone
  • DNS Lookup
  • Evernote: Keeps any random notes on both your phone and the web
  • K-9 Mail: Best email client out there for IMAP on Android
  • LED Light: Turns on the LED flash on your camera. Great for nice bright light when you need it.
  • Maps
  • Messaging: Nagios notifications
  • Miren Browser: Best browser currently available for Android
  • Overlook Fing: Network scanner and port scanner
  • Ping
  • PocketCloud: Wyse is apparently still around. Free version allows you to connect to one host (either RDP or VNC!) and the Pro version allows multiple hosts.
  • Remember The Milk: Task list on both your phone and the web. You'll need to subscribe to get the Android client, but it is so worth it
  • Trillian: Multi IM Client. Most stable I've tried so far.
  • VPN Show: Just puts a shortcut to your VPN connection on the screen, so you don't have to go digging through the menu
  • Wifi Analyzer: Shows pretty graphs of signal strength. Useful for both analysis and explaining to users why they can't connect to the wifi from the Faraday cage that is their tiny office.
  • WoL Wake On Lan Wan: Send magic packets to turn on your (appropriately configured) computer

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

APC Network Management Card AP9630/AP9631 Installation Manual is Wrong!

I'm sure I'm not the only one that has suffered through this.

The manual says that "by default, the Network Managemnt Card ignores DHCP offers that do not encapsulate the APC cookie in DHCP option 43" and then proceeds to explain how to disable that requirement in the web interface. Then it gives several examples of alternate ways to configure an IP without the web interface.

I tried them all but they didn't work. Yeah, so, turns out they didn't work because the system had grabbed a DHCP no problem, without the cookie.

So, the APC NIC does NOT actually require option 43 to be set on your DHCP server.

You're welcome!

Friday, November 12, 2010

LTO Barcodes, for free!

Seriously, $100 for *barcode labels*?

Instead, pick up some sheets of 8"x11" Avery label stock, and print your own.

This site generates an appropriate PDF to print right on label stock:
http://tapelabels.librelogiciel.com/