Being a student majoring in Network and System Administration I am always looking for more ways to help me do my job. With the huge amount of applications and the abilities that Android phones have I went on a search and was surprised what I found. There were so many applications designed to remotely control and administer computers and devices I was overwhelmed. Today I am going to share with you 5 of them that are available for anyone to download and use for personal and even business needs.

1) AndFTP – This utility is great for transferring files to and from your device to an FTP server. This makes it handy if you need to take a file from one server to another. I have used this several time to repair broken files from my backup server to my production servers.

Market Link

2) Astro File Manager – I chose Astro File Manager because with a FTP program you are limited to uploading and downloading files only. With Astro and your Wi-Fi connection you can setup a network location via SMB on the application which will let you have full control over your files on a network shared folder or system. You can copy, move delete, rename, view details and check file permissions.

Market Link

3) ConnectBot – Connect but is a very handy tool to have especially if you are working with Linux/Unix systems, or what I found it very useful for and that is connecting and administering Cisco devices. This tool has been a god send with keeping up with Cisco routers, switches, and security appliances in my day to day life. ConnectBot allows you to a device either locally, through unsecured Telnet, or with a secure connecting through SSH. Once connected you can enter commands just as if you were sitting in front of the system (provided you set up access permissions ahead of time).

Market Link

4) WiFi Analyzer – This handy app is perfect for those who deploy wireless access points in their businesses or homes. With WiFi Analyzer you can view the properties of wireless signals around you. With the data you can find the correct channel to place your access point on, view signal strength, and what other access points are around you.

Market Link

5) WYSE Pocket Cloud Beta – Any admin knows that they will eventually need to remotely access their systems. There are plenty of Remote apps out there but from what I have tested this is by far the best one in my opinion. It is still in the Beta stages so there are the occasional bugs but for on the go remote access to your systems this is hands down awesome. Once you add the server and connect the screen size will automatically adjust to your device resolution. You can double click and drag just as with a mouse. For added controls like right clicking and ctrl+alt+del you can enable the on screen mouse.

Market Link

There are two more apps I wanted to share with you but were not included in the top 5 because they are only available on rooted devices. The first one is Wireless Tether which I am sure a lot of you have heard of. Wireless Tether uses your 3G signal as the internet source and allows your phone to act like a wireless access point. You can configure security on the connection so everyone is not jumping on it and you can even view your incoming and outgoing data transfer amounts.

The second app for root only users is PacketSniffer. This app, as I am sure most admin’s are aware of, allows you to grab packets from your wireless or Bluetooth connections and analyze them. You can view on the device or export them for a better look on a computer.

Wireless Tether Market Link

Packet Sniffer Market Code

I hope you have found these suggestions as helpful as I have. If you have any other suggestions for great apps for Admins, let us know about them in the comments!