Juniper Junos Pulse SSL VPN for iPhone

When Apple announced iOS 4.0 back in April they detailed support for both Cisco AnyConnect and Juniper SSL VPN connections. Although the underlining technology is built in to iOS 4.x, it still requires a standalone application for you to terminate the full layer 3 SSL VPN. As a result I have been eagerly waiting for either Cisco or Juniper to release the required application to the Apple AppStore. After months of silence I was beginning to wonder whether we would ever see the applications, with the only proof that it is even possible being in the iPhone Configuration Utility, where it allows you to pre-configure SSL VPN settings:

Finally it looks like the wait is nearly over as Juniper have released a video showing that the application is more then just a myth.

The video shows Juniper Junos Pulse (Beta) running on iOS 4.0 supporting a full layer 3 SSL VPN connection. The app looks like it takes advantage of Apple's multi-tasking capabilities by establishing the VPN connection within the Junos Pulse app and then leaving to load third party client/server apps such as Citrix Receiver, Wyse PocketCloud and even a VoIP client.

This video is certainly exciting (for anyone interested in remote access) and I hope Cisco follow-up by showing AnyConnect for iPhone soon. Juniper have said that Junos Pulse will be available in the Apple AppStore sometime this summer, which to be honest is still a little vague for my liking.