TechniTip.Net

VNC Client for iPhone

It sounds quite strange, a VNC client for the iPhone. But incredible it works! I’ve used the Mocha VNC client because it is compatible with all known VNC server solutions. There are also other VNC clients available, but as far as I know they are not working together with all VNC server solutions.

I’ve tested the VNC client in a WiFi via a VPN connection to a Linux Red Hat Enterprise 3 server with the VNC server that comes with the Red Hat Enterprise distribution. After creating a profile and starting the remote connection a small surprise: a warning the my iPhone is low on memory. Funny, never seen such a warning before on my iPhone. But nevertheless the connection works.

The client supports landscape mode as well. And it’s possible to change the zoom of the remote display. Mouse handling is maybe not perfect but basically it works to remote control your server. I’ve not yet checked it over a G3 connection, it maybe a little bit slow. But for emergency cases it can be useful.

Links:

• Mocha VNC Homepage
• Download link Mocha VNC Lite iTunes Store
• Download link Mocha VNC iTunes Store

“Network Ping Lite” for iPhone

Another nice free admin tool “Network Ping Lite” with useful features:

• Ping a single IP address
• Ping a subnet to get an overview
• Traceroute to determine the route taken by packets
• Telnet console for simple access to a router or Unix server

Get it from here:

Download link iTunes Store.

Whois Tool “Domain Scout” for iPhone

“Domain Scout” is maybe not a power tool but it’s free and useful for IT and network administrators. It’s helpful for easy whois queries to check if a domain is available, have a look at the DNS and registrar details.

Get it from here:

Download link iTunes Store.

Free Windows Command Line Sync Tool

For Windows there is a cute little tool from Microsoft available which can be used to synchronize folders. It is part of the Windows Server 2003 Resource Tool Kit and called “Robocopy”. It is a command line tool which supports UNC path names. So it’s a useful tool to sync folders e.g. to a network storage (NAS).

A simple call to sync a folder to a second local hard disc looks like:

robocopy c:\temp\Privat "e:\backup" /MIR

/MIR mirror a directory tree

If you want to sync to a NAS storage which is not based on a Microsoft Operating System you need to add some further flags:

robocopy c:\temp\Privat "\\ts-101\USB Disk 1\Test" /MIR /Z /A /M

/Z copy files in restartable mode (useful when sync e.g. over DSL connection which may sometimes terminate)

/M copy only files with the Archive attribute set and reset it (needed if you want to sync to a NAS storage which is not based on Microsoft)

/A copy only files with the Archive attribute set (needed if you want to sync to a NAS storage which is not based on Microsoft)

Obtaining Robocopy

• Robocopy download from Microsoft (if link is no longer available search in Google for “Windows Server 2003 Resource Tool Kit)

Simple Free Setup Builder

For personal use there is a simple free setup builder GkSetup available. It’s suitable for standard setups. So if you are looking for one give this one a try.

The FREE Edition offers:

• Uninstaller
• Start Menu Links
• Readme/License Texts
• Multiple Setup Types
• OCX, OLE/COM Server registration
• Registry/INI-File modifications
• Multilanguage support
• and much more