Juniper Networks on Tuesday announced the release of Juno Pulse, a downloadable SSL VPN client for verifying a device's compliance with endpoint security policies and creating secure connections between an enterprise network and laptops, netbooks, non-mobile devices, as well as a number of smartphones, including Microsoft Windows devices, Nokia Symbian, and the forthcoming iPhone 4G.

Juniper also announced the release of new AppTrack software for providing detailed information about types of applications used, as well as how they're used, across an enterprise for designing better security policies. The software, which is compatible with Juniper's SRX Series Services Gateways, also adds application identification information to firewall logs.

"Paramount to the success of today's global organizations is the ability for authenticated, authorized users to seamlessly access all necessary applications -- from any device, any location, and any resource," said Karim Toubba, a VP of marketing at Juniper, in a statement.

Juno Pulse provides a single, consistent SSL VPN client that IT organizations could use across a range of different platforms. When used with Juniper's SSL VPN and unified access control (UAC) appliances, devices running the Juno Pulse client can also be handed off from VPN access to a direct connection, such as once a remote user arrives at their corporate campus.

From an endpoint security standpoint, Juno Pulse also provides network access control -- per the Trusted Computing Group's Trusted Network Connect standard -- when used in conjunction with Juniper's SA Series SSL VPN Appliances, WXC Series Application Acceleration Platforms, or UAC appliances.

For the iPhone, Juno Pulse builds on new capabilities first announced by Apple in April. In a statement, Apple said that iOS4 -- the recently renamed iPhone 4 OS -- would support "forthcoming SSL VPN applications from Juniper Networks and Cisco."

According to Juniper's Brendan Lewis, iOS4 "will have integrated, world-class SSL VPN capabilities, versus just supporting IPSec VPNs." One advantage of using an SSL VPN, typically, is that it provides more fine-grained access control -- for example, role-based access to a subset of enterprise applications. Another advantage, historically, has been a lower cost of support, versus IPsec VPN clients.

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