Pocket PC Remote Administration

sonicadmin
The polished interface of Sonic Mobility's sonicadmin gives you menu-driven access to most common remote administration actions. A full command prompt provides access to your favorite console-based utilities or commands on the server. If you prefer, you can use SSH or Telnet to connect to managed servers. Auditors will appreciate sonicadmin's ability to log remote-access commands and activities.

sonicadmin's proprietary client/server architecture lets it compress and encrypt network traffic without requiring additional configuration. Loading the sonicadmin client on your Pocket PC and connecting to the sonicadmin server require several security steps, such as setting up users and authorizing the mobile device. The server provides the gateway to all your other network servers. You use the sonicadmin management console, which resides on the server, to add roles, mobile devices, and users, as Figure 8 shows, and to enable Windows or SSH and Telnet servers for remote control. Sonicadmin stores configuration information in a Microsoft Access database, which you don't have to configure.

The proprietary client is well designed and easy to navigate. Viewing processes, services, and other data lists is fast and easy. Sonicadmin includes a command-line utility that comes prepopulated with common commands (e.g., Ipconfig, Netstat, Nbtstat, Net Use, Tracert) and lets you enter your own commands.

The Right Tool for You
Each of these tools lets you manage the most common remote administration tasks, such as monitoring and restarting services. True to the adage that you get what you pay for, the more expensive products include enterprise features that might be too costly for some companies. Individuals or small companies might not mind the shared security model of Net Tools or NT Services and will most definitely like its low cost. But the thoughtful and robust features that ASG-MobileControl Administrator or Expand Beyond Mobile Suite for Microsoft provide might be worth the higher price. Most of these products offer full-featured evaluation licenses. Take advantage of them to test-drive products that interest you before you make a purchase.