Small Management
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I saw this article on server management from a handheld and it's always seen like something that's very cool and handy, but I've almost never been in a situation where I really needed to manage my server while stopped on the side of the road or eating dinner. There's times I got called away from something to go into work, but usually it's not something I think I could have solved, or even wanted to solve, on a 320x240 screen.
But recently while I was at TechEd, I saw some really cool new handheld devices. The capabilities of handheld devices, usually PDAs converged into phones, is really amazing. So I wanted to know:
How many of you can, or would, manage your servers from a handheld?
I've never had a phone with a keyboard, like a Blackberry. I've been a candy-bay Nokia guy for a long time, though my updated Startac, errr Razr, adorns my belt these days. Not by choice, but for another 6 or 7 months I'm stuck with it.
Years ago I also had a small form factor laptop to test for my boss. It was a Casio Cassiopeia A-10, and it ran CE and limited applications (this was circa 1997). I run pcAnywhere on it and actually logged into a workstation at work and tried to manage our SQL Server and other applications. It didn't work, at least not without frustration. Granted that was over dial-up, but it was way worse than my laptop because of the small form factor.
Recently I saw APC giving a self-guided tour of their new racks using PDAs. You could pick up a Dell Axim, click a button to start the video or move to the next section, and watch the tour while you walked around the rack. With headphones you could get the sales pitch and pause or move forward as you wanted. And it actually worked pretty well.
That's not quite typing in a T-SQL command and I'm not sure how difficult it would be to try and navigate SSMS thorough a Terminal Services screen, but it gave me some hope that it might be something I'd try down the road.
So let me know if you think it's something you might do.
PS - In case you want to help develop some security tools, there's a survey here.
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That looks suspiciously similar to my phone, although mine is a month old now so is probably obsolete
Generally I agree, there's next to no time when you'd want to manage a server from one of these, but that said, i have been known to use mine to TS into my servers at 3am simply because i couldnt be bothered to get out of bed and switch on the laptop or desktop.
For that they are good, but not something that you'd want to use full time.
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I have used TS on my PocketPC numerous times to reboot a server, run a job, restart a service, etc. Yes, it's not pretty, and I will always use a real machine to do so if one is available, but there are plenty of times when one isn't.
How's this to test your patience: I have had to TS on a tiny screen that is connected to the server via the normal cell data wireless, but the server on the other end is connected to the world via a satellite...a very, very slow satellite. Even on a desktop it's a "click the mouse, wait several seconds, type a letter or two, wait...repeat then rinse.
What using my PPC benefits me is I rarely now have to race to get to an office, find a free desktop, then try to get logged on to the server. Yes, I could probably carry my ultra portable laptop everywhere, but I don't. My PPC, though, is with me all the time.
My husband benefits as well, as he was often invovled in the race to find a desktop issue, even on vacation.
Yes, you really won't want to do much work at all on that screen, but having a set of jobs you can run makes everything go faster. I find having a portable, always available terminal service client wth me means that users get much faster response than if they waited 30-60 minutes for me to find a real computer to use. It has been a real treat to stop for a couple of minutes to do what needs to be done, then get back to my vacation.
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I've used an Axim X30 for the last 3 years. Managing servers on the small TS client is a bit difficult, but helpful in tight places. The hardest part has been finding wireless. As the "smart phone" market continues to advance and data plans become more and more cost effective, I see this becoming a better market. I was however, disturbed to see that Dell has exited the PDA business. The Axim is dead, rest in peace.
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I struggle with little things, so using a handheld PDA to manage servers wouldn't work well for me. I'd rather use my laptop and dial out over Bluetooth to connect in. It's bigger, but if I'm doing something on a server, I need to sit still and stay focused, and my laptop would help in situations like that.
My husband on the other hand has no problems RDP-ing into work from his Axim x51. He dials out over either his work cell phone or our house phone (the faster of the two) and then connects in easily.
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I suspect it's one of those things that is useful for only a small subset of people, but for them its very valuable. I've never had to do it, but when we travel my wife has done basic administration of her (Photoshop user) website via her Treo
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I've done it, but I didn't like it. Using a Samsung i730 with big fingers means using the stylus a lot, but it can be done. As mentioned by others, it's almost trivially easy to restart a service, unlock an account, or start a job. Fortunately for me, T-SQL has never been necessary. For that, I'd almost have to hunt down a laptop.
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...plus I've used something like this http://msmobiles.com/news.php/4798.html or this http://www.xb.com/products/pocketdba/ which means I don't have to use TS. A real bonus, as I have both a sliding qwerty keyboard and a separate, full size folding keyboard for my PPC for when I am on the road in meetings.
Karen
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Karen,
That's very cool. I suppose a small web app or custom app like this would make it easier. TS is definitely not what I'd prefer.
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I'm hoping for something that would give me remote access. I have a server that's a little bit twitchy and likes to crash on the weekends (we're an 8-5, M-F shop) and I hate finding it dead on Monday AM. I would really like to remote in Sunday night and see if it's healthy and reboot it if required, but I have no way of doing that. We're pretty tight with our security, but I think too tight if we can't use TS or something else with reasonable confidence.
Since Palm has surrendered the war to WinCE, I guess my next PDA will be a Compaq or something. I know there are SQL Server management tools available for them, I just don't know if we'll be able to open a port for me to be able to get in to our network. At previous jobs I've never had a problem getting in via Citrix or TS, it's annoying that I can't on my new/current job.
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If you can get remote access established, then you can also run some of the free server monitor applications like Spiceworks or OpManager to ping SQL server or even other services to see if they are up or just responding in a timely fashion. Most can be tailored to send an e-mail, text message, or page if they find a problem. The monitoring software can run anywhere -- but don't put it on the server you are trying to monitor. I have mine installed on a couple of spare PCs at home.
That way you can be more proactive if the server decided to take a three day holiday much sooner.
Karen
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They give me a legit reason to be rude during a meeting while I'm "checking the production servers". The boss loves it that I'm always multi-tasking
Karen
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I've tried a variety of solutions on my Verizon XV-6700.
The most successful approach for me thus far was via the Citrix client. It was very responsive and had decent panning capabilities to allow me to work with a more or less full sized-screen and have a "viewport" feeling as I panned over the work surface.
Because of the limited screen real estate, these converged devices may not reach a high level of usefulness for writing queries (sliding QWERTY keyboard or not), but I do use it to check servers, run scheduled jobs, run pre-written queries, initialize replication, etc. Basic DBA stuff.
What I would really like is one of those powerful VAIO portables running on Cingular Edge, or perhaps write a custom application that would be like a web-based Enterprise Manager.
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It would definitely be convenient for off-hours support. Log in, do a couple of quick queries, disconnect. No need to break out the laptop or anything else. No need to worry about whether or not I have my PC handy or if I have to drive to go get it. Just find a dark corner, do the work, rejoin whatever event is in progress.
I tried SQL Mobile Manager briefly - cool, but pricy. I looked into a Cisco VPN client for my WM device, also a little pricy, but < $100 for the one I reviewed. That would get me in to actually use a Remote Desktop session - cool, but probably slow.
I'd really appreciate it if MS could develop some sort of scaled-down mobile client, but I realize that's unlikely for a while. I'd probably be one of the first to test it, though.
-Pete
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