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

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

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

See also: How to Use the AAP 2.6 Automation Dashboard to Measure ROI

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.

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.

Related Articles

• using Ansible Vault for secrets • dynamic config with Ansible template • the Ansible AWS reference • Windows users and groups via Ansible