New Collections and Integrations in Ansible Automation Platform 2.6

Introduction

Ansible Automation Platform 2.6 ships with a significant expansion of certified collections and strategic integrations. These cover networking, cloud, infrastructure, and AIOps domains, extending AAP's reach across the modern enterprise.

See also: Using the AAP 2.6 Self-Service Portal for Network Automation

Networking Collections

Arista

Automate Arista EOS network devices:

- name: Configure Arista switch
  arista.eos.eos_config:
    lines:
      - ip routing
      - interface Ethernet1
      - no shutdown

Cisco and Cisco Meraki

New and updated modules for Cisco IOS, NX-OS, and the Meraki cloud platform:

- name: Configure Meraki network
  cisco.meraki.meraki_network:
    auth_key: "{{ meraki_api_key }}"
    org_name: "My Organization"
    net_name: "Production Network"
    state: present

Nautobot

Integration with Nautobot for network automation and source of truth:

- name: Get devices from Nautobot
  networktocode.nautobot.query_graphql:
    url: "{{ nautobot_url }}"
    query: |
      { devices { name role { name } } }

Cloud Collections

HashiCorp

Improved HashiCorp integration for Vault, Terraform, and Consul:

• Secret management with Vault
• Infrastructure provisioning with Terraform
• Service mesh configuration with Consul

AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud

Updated cloud collections with new modules for latest cloud services:

• AWS — New EC2, EKS, and S3 modules
• Azure — Updated ARM template and AKS support
• Google Cloud — GKE and Cloud Run automation

Infrastructure Collections

Windows Server

Enhanced Windows automation capabilities:

• Windows Server 2025 support
• Improved DSC (Desired State Configuration) integration
• Active Directory management modules

OpenShift Virtualization

Manage virtual machines on OpenShift:

• VM lifecycle management
• Network and storage configuration
• Migration from VMware

VMware

Continued VMware support for hybrid environments:

• vSphere 8.x compatibility
• VM provisioning and management
• Network and datastore automation

AIOps Collections

Red Hat AI

Integration with Red Hat's AI platform:

• Model deployment automation
• AI infrastructure management
• MLOps pipeline automation

Splunk

Automate Splunk for observability:

• Index and search configuration
• Alert management
• Dashboard deployment

Platform Management Collections

AAP 2.6 includes new platform management collections with standardized naming:

# New standardized variable naming
# Before (component-specific):
# CONTROLLER_HOST, HUB_HOST, EDA_HOST

# After (unified):
# AAP_HOST, AAP_USERNAME, AAP_PASSWORD

The ansible.platform collection centralizes RBAC settings via the Gateway API.

See also: AI-Assisted Inventory Generation in AAP 2.6 — Developer Preview

Conclusion

The expanded collection ecosystem in AAP 2.6 means more automation possibilities out of the box. Whether you're managing networks, clouds, or AI infrastructure, there's likely a certified collection ready to help.

For more Ansible tutorials and guides, explore the complete article collection on Ansible Pilot.

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