Azure has become quite a popular cloud computing platform for developers and engineers. If you are running something in production on Azure, then this might be good news for you. Microsoft has released Azure Mobile apps that lets you manage your resources and view notifications on the fly. The application was first released around the same time last year but has now been finally made available to the public. The application comes handy when you want to act against your service, and you do not have access to a computer.
Azure Mobile app for Android & iOS
The app is available for both Android and iOS platforms and offers a consistent UI across both. You will find the Azure app a lot easier than the web interface. The applications support multiple Azure accounts, which means you can use your work and personal account from the same application.
To get started, you need to log in using your account. You cannot sign-up for Azure using this app. This application is merely an extension of the web application and does not promise to provide all the features. It can only give you essential features that are helpful on the fly.
The UI is neatly organized into four different pages as discussed below:
Favorites
This section maintains a list of resources that you’ve bookmarked for easier access. You can mark the resource you are currently working on a favorite. And the app will make sure it is easily accessible.
Resources
Resources lets you view all cloud resources that your account has access to. You cannot create new resource groups, but you can only view the existing ones. You can tap open any resource to view metrics and usage. Activity Log will give you the entire activity history of that resource. Under Metrics, you can view a graphical representation of parameters such as the number of requests and HTTP server errors. Metrics are a great way to stay updated about your application on the go, they provide some useful information and are easy to crunch. Other than that, you can view some simple properties about the resource that you have opened.
At the bottom, there are some critical actions available. For example, you can stop or restart a web app service or a virtual machine right from your mobile device. The actions might be useful if something goes wrong and you are out somewhere without your PC.
Notifications
This section always keeps you notified of what is going on in your cloud. You are notified about all the critical actions that require your attention, build deployments and billing. The aim of this page is to keep you posted always.
Cloud Shell
If you’ve used Azure Cloud Shell earlier on your PC, then you are simply going to love this. The Azure Mobile app comes with a full-fledged Azure cloud shell. You can run the shell in either PowerShell or Bash mode, and it can execute all the commands as it would normally do. Since it is running in the cloud, the performance of your device is not affected at all. Cloud Shell is a great feature and gives you more access from your mobile device. If you are familiar with Azure Cloud Shell, then you can do a lot more from the mobile application that other users.
Azure Mobile application is a great extension to the web application. It comes with a right number of features which makes it useful and easy to use at the same time. The addition of Cloud Shell lets you perform almost any operation on your resources. The app also comes with essential security features such as fingerprint lock, etc. All in all, if you use Azure in production, then this application can be a lifesaver at times.
Click here to download Azure Mobile App from Google Play Store. Go here to download Azure Mobile App from Apple Store.
