Ansible Certified Collections Update May 2026 — MCP, NetCommon, VMware

Introduction

Red Hat certifies collections that meet quality, security, and support standards for use with Ansible Automation Platform. The May 8, 2026 Bullhorn newsletter announced seven certified collection updates. Here's what changed and whether you should upgrade.

Updated Collections

ansible.mcp 1.1.0

The Model Context Protocol (MCP) collection enables Ansible to interact with AI/ML model serving infrastructure.

# Install
ansible-galaxy collection install ansible.mcp:1.1.0

ansible.netcommon 8.5.2

Core networking collection — provides shared plugins for all network modules. This update is especially important given the Paramiko deprecation timeline (removal after 2028-02-01).

# Upgrade netcommon for libssh improvements
ansible-galaxy collection install ansible.netcommon:8.5.2

# Verify libssh is configured
- name: Check network connection plugin
  ansible.builtin.debug:
    msg: "Using {{ ansible_network_cli_ssh_type | default('paramiko') }}"

hpe.oneview 11.2.0

HPE OneView server management — profile templates, server hardware, firmware baselines.

- name: Manage HPE servers
  hosts: localhost
  collections:
    - hpe.oneview
  tasks:
    - name: Get server profiles
      oneview_server_profile_facts:
      register: profiles

juniper.apstra 1.0.8

Juniper Apstra intent-based networking — data center fabric management.

onepassword.connect 2.4.0

1Password Connect — secrets management integration for Ansible.

# Retrieve secrets from 1Password
- name: Get database password
  ansible.builtin.set_fact:
    db_password: "{{ lookup('onepassword.connect.item', 'Database', field='password') }}"
  no_log: true

redhat.eap 1.5.11

Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application Platform — Java application server management.

vmware.vmware 2.8.0

VMware vSphere automation — VM lifecycle, networking, storage management.

- name: Manage VMs
  hosts: localhost
  collections:
    - vmware.vmware
  tasks:
    - name: List VMs
      vmware.vmware.guest_info:
        hostname: "{{ vcenter_host }}"
        username: "{{ vcenter_user }}"
        password: "{{ vcenter_pass }}"
        validate_certs: false
      register: vms

Quick Upgrade

# requirements.yml — pin to May 2026 certified versions
collections:
  - name: ansible.mcp
    version: "1.1.0"
  - name: ansible.netcommon
    version: "8.5.2"
  - name: hpe.oneview
    version: "11.2.0"
  - name: juniper.apstra
    version: "1.0.8"
  - name: onepassword.connect
    version: "2.4.0"
  - name: redhat.eap
    version: "1.5.11"
  - name: vmware.vmware
    version: "2.8.0"

ansible-galaxy collection install -r requirements.yml --force

Priority Guide

Certified vs Community

Best Practices

1. Use Automation Hub for certified collections — guaranteed compatibility with AAP
2. Pin versions — avoid surprise breaking changes
3. Test before production — even certified collections can have regressions
4. Review changelogs — check what changed before upgrading
5. Prioritize netcommon — networking foundation affects all network modules

Conclusion

The May 2026 certified collection updates bring improvements across networking (netcommon 8.5.2 with libssh), virtualization (vmware 2.8.0), AI/ML infrastructure (mcp 1.1.0), and secrets management (onepassword 2.4.0). If you use Ansible Automation Platform, update your requirements.yml to these certified versions for guaranteed support and compatibility.