Apple on Wednesday surprised many with the release of AirPort Utility for iOS. The software runs on iPhones, iPods and iPads, but requires iOS 5.0. It’s free.

AirPort Utility makes it possible for the first time to manage your 802.11n-equipped AirPort Express, AirPort Extreme Base Station or Time Capsule using an iOS device.

The software offers a graphical overview of the Wi-Fi network, with information about the status of connected devices. You can change network and Wi-Fi settings, restart and restore base stations, update their firmware, update or view passworks for networks, base stations or disk, access network information including IP address, DNS servers and router addresses and more.