VMware has just published a new App for Andorid and iOS: vSphere Mobile Watchlist. The App which has been announced at the last VMware Partner Exchange 2014 allows to monitor your virtual machines in your vSphere infrastructure remotely on your phone. I've tested the app on my HTC One to see how powerful it is.

Getting Started

After downloading (2,5 MB) and installing the App, you have to setup the connection to a vCenter Server. You do not have to use an Administrator user. Depending on your needs, a read-only user or an user with VM interaction permissons is sufficient. You can configure the app to remember passwords, so you only have to login once.

Creating Watchlists

The App is made for monitoring virtual machines. You have to select the VMs you want to monitor. Creating Watchlists might help to seperate virtual machines from each other. After you've created Watchlist, you can start to add virtual machines from the inventory.

Virtual Machines

After creating and configuring watchlists, you can start to interact with your virtual machines. You can check the status (CPU, Memory, Stroage, IP address,..), see the last console picture and use power options against the virtual machine. There are no configuration options available by now.

Alarms

When you have an alert on your virtual machine, vSphere Mobile Watchlist suggests what KB Articles might help you.

vSphere Mobile Watchlist is not a fully featured replacement for the vSphere Client or the vSphere Web Client. But it might help you in some situations. You can quickly restart a crashed virtual machine from everywhere in seconds. If you need a more comprehensive administration tool for your smartpone, try a SSH Client and connect to a system that has Ruby vSphere Console (RVC).