diff --git a/bin/ansible-connection b/bin/ansible-connection
index c49354a30d2..de118aecb81 100755
--- a/bin/ansible-connection
+++ b/bin/ansible-connection
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env python
 
-# (c) 2016, Ansible, Inc. <support@ansible.com>
+# (c) 2017, Ansible, Inc. <support@ansible.com>
 #
 # This file is part of Ansible
 #
@@ -33,18 +33,17 @@ import os
 import shlex
 import signal
 import socket
-import struct
 import sys
 import time
 import traceback
-import syslog
 import datetime
-import logging
+import errno
 
 from ansible import constants as C
 from ansible.module_utils._text import to_bytes, to_native
 from ansible.module_utils.six import PY3
 from ansible.module_utils.six.moves import cPickle
+from ansible.module_utils.connection import send_data, recv_data
 from ansible.playbook.play_context import PlayContext
 from ansible.plugins import connection_loader
 from ansible.utils.path import unfrackpath, makedirs_safe
@@ -88,33 +87,11 @@ def do_fork():
     except OSError as e:
         sys.exit(1)
 
-def send_data(s, data):
-    packed_len = struct.pack('!Q', len(data))
-    return s.sendall(packed_len + data)
-
-def recv_data(s):
-    header_len = 8 # size of a packed unsigned long long
-    data = b""
-    while len(data) < header_len:
-        d = s.recv(header_len - len(data))
-        if not d:
-            return None
-        data += d
-    data_len = struct.unpack('!Q', data[:header_len])[0]
-    data = data[header_len:]
-    while len(data) < data_len:
-        d = s.recv(data_len - len(data))
-        if not d:
-            return None
-        data += d
-    return data
-
 
 class Server():
 
-    def __init__(self, path, play_context):
-
-        self.path = path
+    def __init__(self, socket_path, play_context):
+        self.socket_path = socket_path
         self.play_context = play_context
 
         display.display(
@@ -123,135 +100,163 @@ class Server():
             log_only=True
         )
 
-        display.display('control socket path is %s' % path, log_only=True)
+        display.display('control socket path is %s' % socket_path, log_only=True)
         display.display('current working directory is %s' % os.getcwd(), log_only=True)
 
         self._start_time = datetime.datetime.now()
 
         display.display("using connection plugin %s" % self.play_context.connection, log_only=True)
 
-        self.conn = connection_loader.get(play_context.connection, play_context, sys.stdin)
-        self.conn._connect()
-        if not self.conn.connected:
+        self.connection = connection_loader.get(play_context.connection, play_context, sys.stdin)
+        self.connection._connect()
+
+        if not self.connection.connected:
             raise AnsibleConnectionFailure('unable to connect to remote host %s' % self._play_context.remote_addr)
 
         connection_time = datetime.datetime.now() - self._start_time
         display.display('connection established to %s in %s' % (play_context.remote_addr, connection_time), log_only=True)
 
         self.socket = socket.socket(socket.AF_UNIX, socket.SOCK_STREAM)
-        self.socket.bind(path)
+        self.socket.bind(self.socket_path)
         self.socket.listen(1)
-
-        signal.signal(signal.SIGALRM, self.alarm_handler)
-
-    def dispatch(self, obj, name, *args, **kwargs):
-        meth = getattr(obj, name, None)
-        if meth:
-            return meth(*args, **kwargs)
-
-    def alarm_handler(self, signum, frame):
-        '''
-        Alarm handler
-        '''
-        # FIXME: this should also set internal flags for other
-        #        areas of code to check, so they can terminate
-        #        earlier than the socket going back to the accept
-        #        call and failing there.
-        #
-        # hooks the connection plugin to handle any cleanup
-        self.dispatch(self.conn, 'alarm_handler', signum, frame)
-        self.socket.close()
+        display.display('local socket is set to listening', log_only=True)
 
     def run(self):
         try:
             while True:
-                # set the alarm, if we don't get an accept before it
-                # goes off we exit (via an exception caused by the socket
-                # getting closed while waiting on accept())
-                # FIXME: is this the best way to exit? as noted above in the
-                #        handler we should probably be setting a flag to check
-                #        here and in other parts of the code
+                signal.signal(signal.SIGALRM, self.connect_timeout)
+                signal.signal(signal.SIGTERM, self.handler)
                 signal.alarm(C.PERSISTENT_CONNECT_TIMEOUT)
-                try:
-                    (s, addr) = self.socket.accept()
-                    display.display('incoming request accepted on persistent socket', log_only=True)
-                    # clear the alarm
-                    # FIXME: potential race condition here between the accept and
-                    #        time to this call.
-                    signal.alarm(0)
-                except:
-                    break
+
+                (s, addr) = self.socket.accept()
+                display.display('incoming request accepted on persistent socket', log_only=True)
+                signal.alarm(0)
 
                 while True:
                     data = recv_data(s)
                     if not data:
                         break
 
+                    signal.signal(signal.SIGALRM, self.command_timeout)
                     signal.alarm(self.play_context.timeout)
 
+                    op = data.split(':')[0]
+                    display.display('socket operation is %s' % op, log_only=True)
+
+                    method = getattr(self, 'do_%s' % op, None)
+
                     rc = 255
-                    try:
-                        if data.startswith(b'EXEC: '):
-                            display.display("socket operation is EXEC", log_only=True)
-                            cmd = data.split(b'EXEC: ')[1]
-                            (rc, stdout, stderr) = self.conn.exec_command(cmd)
-                        elif data.startswith(b'PUT: ') or data.startswith(b'FETCH: '):
-                            (op, src, dst) = shlex.split(to_native(data))
-                            stdout = stderr = ''
-                            try:
-                                if op == 'FETCH:':
-                                    display.display("socket operation is FETCH", log_only=True)
-                                    self.conn.fetch_file(src, dst)
-                                elif op == 'PUT:':
-                                    display.display("socket operation is PUT", log_only=True)
-                                    self.conn.put_file(src, dst)
-                                rc = 0
-                            except:
-                                pass
-                        elif data.startswith(b'CONTEXT: '):
-                            display.display("socket operation is CONTEXT", log_only=True)
-                            pc_data = data.split(b'CONTEXT: ', 1)[1]
-
-                            if PY3:
-                                pc_data = cPickle.loads(pc_data, encoding='bytes')
-                            else:
-                                pc_data = cPickle.loads(pc_data)
-
-                            pc = PlayContext()
-                            pc.deserialize(pc_data)
-
-                            self.dispatch(self.conn, 'update_play_context', pc)
-                            continue
-                        else:
-                            display.display("socket operation is UNKNOWN", log_only=True)
-                            stdout = ''
-                            stderr = 'Invalid action specified'
-                    except:
-                        stdout = ''
-                        stderr = traceback.format_exc()
+                    stdout = stderr = ''
+
+                    if not method:
+                        stderr = 'Invalid action specified'
+                    else:
+                        rc, stdout, stderr = method(data)
 
                     signal.alarm(0)
 
-                    display.display("socket operation completed with rc %s" % rc, log_only=True)
+                    display.display('socket operation completed with rc %s' % rc, log_only=True)
 
                     send_data(s, to_bytes(rc))
                     send_data(s, to_bytes(stdout))
                     send_data(s, to_bytes(stderr))
+
                 s.close()
+
         except Exception as e:
-            display.display(traceback.format_exc(), log_only=True)
+            # socket.accept() will raise EINTR if the socket.close() is called
+            if e.errno != errno.EINTR:
+                display.display(traceback.format_exc(), log_only=True)
+
         finally:
             # when done, close the connection properly and cleanup
             # the socket file so it can be recreated
+            self.shutdown()
             end_time = datetime.datetime.now()
             delta = end_time - self._start_time
-            display.display('shutting down control socket, connection was active for %s secs' % delta, log_only=True)
-            try:
-                self.conn.close()
+            display.display('shutdown local socket, connection was active for %s secs' % delta, log_only=True)
+
+    def connect_timeout(self, signum, frame):
+        display.display('connect timeout triggered, timeout value is %s secs' % C.PERSISTENT_CONNECT_TIMEOUT, log_only=True)
+        self.shutdown()
+
+    def command_timeout(self, signum, frame):
+        display.display('commnad timeout triggered, timeout value is %s secs' % self.play_context.timeout, log_only=True)
+        self.shutdown()
+
+    def handler(self, signum, frame):
+        display.display('signal handler called with signal %s' % signum, log_only=True)
+        self.shutdown()
+
+    def shutdown(self):
+        display.display('shutdown persistent connection requested', log_only=True)
+
+        if not os.path.exists(self.socket_path):
+            display.display('persistent connection is not active', log_only=True)
+            return
+
+        try:
+            if self.socket:
+                display.display('closing local listener', log_only=True)
                 self.socket.close()
-            except Exception as e:
-                pass
-            os.remove(self.path)
+            if self.connection:
+                display.display('closing the connection', log_only=True)
+                self.close()
+        except:
+            pass
+        finally:
+            if os.path.exists(self.socket_path):
+                display.display('removing the local control socket', log_only=True)
+                os.remove(self.socket_path)
+
+        display.display('shutdown complete', log_only=True)
+
+    def do_EXEC(self, data):
+        cmd = data.split(b'EXEC: ')[1]
+        return self.connection.exec_command(cmd)
+
+    def do_PUT(self, data):
+        (op, src, dst) = shlex.split(to_native(data))
+        return self.connection.fetch_file(src, dst)
+
+    def do_FETCH(self, data):
+        (op, src, dst) = shlex.split(to_native(data))
+        return self.connection.put_file(src, dst)
+
+    def do_CONTEXT(self, data):
+        pc_data = data.split(b'CONTEXT: ', 1)[1]
+
+        if PY3:
+            pc_data = cPickle.loads(pc_data, encoding='bytes')
+        else:
+            pc_data = cPickle.loads(pc_data)
+
+        pc = PlayContext()
+        pc.deserialize(pc_data)
+
+        try:
+            self.connection.update_play_context(pc)
+        except AttributeError:
+            pass
+
+        return (0, 'ok', '')
+
+    def do_RUN(self, data):
+        timeout = self.play_context.timeout
+        while bool(timeout):
+            if os.path.exists(self.socket_path):
+                break
+            time.sleep(1)
+            timeout -= 1
+        return (0, self.socket_path, '')
+
+
+def communicate(sock, data):
+    send_data(sock, data)
+    rc = int(recv_data(sock), 10)
+    stdout = recv_data(sock)
+    stderr = recv_data(sock)
+    return (rc, stdout, stderr)
 
 def main():
     # Need stdin as a byte stream
@@ -279,30 +284,32 @@ def main():
 
         pc = PlayContext()
         pc.deserialize(pc_data)
+
     except Exception as e:
         # FIXME: better error message/handling/logging
         sys.stderr.write(traceback.format_exc())
         sys.exit("FAIL: %s" % e)
 
     ssh = connection_loader.get('ssh', class_only=True)
-    m = ssh._create_control_path(pc.remote_addr, pc.port, pc.remote_user)
+    cp = ssh._create_control_path(pc.remote_addr, pc.connection, pc.remote_user)
 
     # create the persistent connection dir if need be and create the paths
     # which we will be using later
-    tmp_path = unfrackpath("$HOME/.ansible/pc")
+    tmp_path = unfrackpath(C.PERSISTENT_CONTROL_PATH_DIR)
     makedirs_safe(tmp_path)
-    lk_path = unfrackpath("%s/.ansible_pc_lock" % tmp_path)
-    sf_path = unfrackpath(m % dict(directory=tmp_path))
+    lock_path = unfrackpath("%s/.ansible_pc_lock" % tmp_path)
+    socket_path = unfrackpath(cp % dict(directory=tmp_path))
 
     # if the socket file doesn't exist, spin up the daemon process
-    lock_fd = os.open(lk_path, os.O_RDWR|os.O_CREAT, 0o600)
+    lock_fd = os.open(lock_path, os.O_RDWR|os.O_CREAT, 0o600)
     fcntl.lockf(lock_fd, fcntl.LOCK_EX)
-    if not os.path.exists(sf_path):
+
+    if not os.path.exists(socket_path):
         pid = do_fork()
         if pid == 0:
             rc = 0
             try:
-                server = Server(sf_path, pc)
+                server = Server(socket_path, pc)
             except AnsibleConnectionFailure as exc:
                 display.display('connecting to host %s returned an error' % pc.remote_addr, log_only=True)
                 display.display(str(exc), log_only=True)
@@ -318,50 +325,57 @@ def main():
             sys.exit(rc)
     else:
         display.display('re-using existing socket for %s@%s:%s' % (pc.remote_user, pc.remote_addr, pc.port), log_only=True)
+
     fcntl.lockf(lock_fd, fcntl.LOCK_UN)
     os.close(lock_fd)
 
+    timeout = pc.timeout
+    while bool(timeout):
+        if os.path.exists(socket_path):
+            display.vvvv('connected to local socket in %s' % (pc.timeout - timeout), pc.remote_addr)
+            break
+        time.sleep(1)
+        timeout -= 1
+    else:
+        raise AnsibleConnectionFailure('timeout waiting for local socket', pc.remote_addr)
+
     # now connect to the daemon process
     # FIXME: if the socket file existed but the daemonized process was killed,
     #        the connection will timeout here. Need to make this more resilient.
-    rc = 0
-    while rc == 0:
+    while True:
         data = stdin.readline()
         if data == b'':
             break
         if data.strip() == b'':
             continue
-        sf = socket.socket(socket.AF_UNIX, socket.SOCK_STREAM)
-        attempts = 1
-        while True:
+
+        sock = socket.socket(socket.AF_UNIX, socket.SOCK_STREAM)
+
+        attempts = C.PERSISTENT_CONNECT_RETRIES
+        while bool(attempts):
             try:
-                sf.connect(sf_path)
+                sock.connect(socket_path)
                 break
             except socket.error:
-                # FIXME: better error handling/logging/message here
                 time.sleep(C.PERSISTENT_CONNECT_INTERVAL)
-                attempts += 1
-                if attempts > C.PERSISTENT_CONNECT_RETRIES:
-                    display.display('number of connection attempts exceeded, unable to connect to control socket', pc.remote_addr, pc.remote_user, log_only=True)
-                    display.display('persistent_connect_interval=%s, persistent_connect_retries=%s' % (C.PERSISTENT_CONNECT_INTERVAL, C.PERSISTENT_CONNECT_RETRIES), pc.remote_addr, pc.remote_user, log_only=True)
-                    sys.stderr.write('failed to connect to control socket')
-                    sys.exit(255)
+                attempts -= 1
+        else:
+            display.display('number of connection attempts exceeded, unable to connect to control socket', pc.remote_addr, pc.remote_user, log_only=True)
+            display.display('persistent_connect_interval=%s, persistent_connect_retries=%s' % (C.PERSISTENT_CONNECT_INTERVAL, C.PERSISTENT_CONNECT_RETRIES), pc.remote_addr, pc.remote_user, log_only=True)
+            sys.stderr.write('failed to connect to control socket')
+            sys.exit(255)
 
         # send the play_context back into the connection so the connection
         # can handle any privilege escalation activities
         pc_data = b'CONTEXT: %s' % init_data
-        send_data(sf, pc_data)
-
-        send_data(sf, data.strip())
+        communicate(sock, pc_data)
 
-        rc = int(recv_data(sf), 10)
-        stdout = recv_data(sf)
-        stderr = recv_data(sf)
+        rc, stdout, stderr = communicate(sock, data.strip())
 
         sys.stdout.write(to_native(stdout))
         sys.stderr.write(to_native(stderr))
 
-        sf.close()
+        sock.close()
         break
 
     sys.exit(rc)
diff --git a/lib/ansible/constants.py b/lib/ansible/constants.py
index de4875d6468..fe01ed6ff79 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/constants.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/constants.py
@@ -394,6 +394,7 @@ PARAMIKO_LOOK_FOR_KEYS = get_config(p, 'paramiko_connection', 'look_for_keys', '
 PERSISTENT_CONNECT_TIMEOUT = get_config(p, 'persistent_connection', 'connect_timeout', 'ANSIBLE_PERSISTENT_CONNECT_TIMEOUT', 30, value_type='integer')
 PERSISTENT_CONNECT_RETRIES = get_config(p, 'persistent_connection', 'connect_retries', 'ANSIBLE_PERSISTENT_CONNECT_RETRIES', 30, value_type='integer')
 PERSISTENT_CONNECT_INTERVAL = get_config(p, 'persistent_connection', 'connect_interval', 'ANSIBLE_PERSISTENT_CONNECT_INTERVAL', 1, value_type='integer')
+PERSISTENT_CONTROL_PATH_DIR = get_config(p, 'persistent_connection', 'control_path_dir', 'ANSIBLE_PERSISTENT_CONTROL_PATH_DIR', u'~/.ansible/pc')
 
 # obsolete -- will be formally removed
 ACCELERATE_PORT = get_config(p, 'accelerate', 'accelerate_port', 'ACCELERATE_PORT', 5099, value_type='integer')
diff --git a/lib/ansible/module_utils/connection.py b/lib/ansible/module_utils/connection.py
index 785af210ba0..821716c0c1f 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/module_utils/connection.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/module_utils/connection.py
@@ -29,9 +29,13 @@
 import signal
 import socket
 import struct
+import os
+import uuid
+
+from functools import partial
 
 from ansible.module_utils.basic import get_exception
-from ansible.module_utils._text import to_bytes, to_native
+from ansible.module_utils._text import to_bytes, to_native, to_text
 
 
 def send_data(s, data):
@@ -75,4 +79,63 @@ def exec_command(module, command):
 
     sf.close()
 
-    return (rc, to_native(stdout), to_native(stderr))
+    return rc, to_native(stdout), to_native(stderr)
+
+
+class Connection:
+
+    def __init__(self, module):
+        self._module = module
+
+    def __getattr__(self, name):
+        try:
+            return self.__dict__[name]
+        except KeyError:
+            if name.startswith('_'):
+                raise AttributeError("'%s' object has no attribute '%s'" % (self.__class__.__name__, name))
+            return partial(self.__rpc__, name)
+
+    def __rpc__(self, name, *args, **kwargs):
+        """Executes the json-rpc and returns the output received
+           from remote device.
+           :name: rpc method to be executed over connection plugin that implements jsonrpc 2.0
+           :args: Ordered list of params passed as arguments to rpc method
+           :kwargs: Dict of valid key, value pairs passed as arguments to rpc method
+
+           For usage refer the respective connection plugin docs.
+        """
+
+        reqid = str(uuid.uuid4())
+        req = {'jsonrpc': '2.0', 'method': name, 'id': reqid}
+
+        params = list(args) or kwargs or None
+        if params:
+            req['params'] = params
+
+        if not self._module._socket_path:
+            self._module.fail_json(msg='provider support not available for this host')
+
+        if not os.path.exists(self._module._socket_path):
+            self._module.fail_json(msg='provider socket does not exist, is the provider running?')
+
+        try:
+            data = self._module.jsonify(req)
+            rc, out, err = exec_command(self._module, data)
+
+        except socket.error:
+            exc = get_exception()
+            self._module.fail_json(msg='unable to connect to socket', err=str(exc))
+
+        try:
+            response = self._module.from_json(to_text(out, errors='surrogate_then_replace'))
+        except ValueError as exc:
+            self._module.fail_json(msg=to_text(exc, errors='surrogate_then_replace'))
+
+        if response['id'] != reqid:
+            self._module.fail_json(msg='invalid id received')
+
+        if 'error' in response:
+            msg = response['error'].get('data') or response['error']['message']
+            self._module.fail_json(msg=to_text(msg, errors='surrogate_then_replace'))
+
+        return response['result']
diff --git a/lib/ansible/plugins/__init__.py b/lib/ansible/plugins/__init__.py
index 2a4110eaae3..d9ab31c0723 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/plugins/__init__.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/plugins/__init__.py
@@ -550,3 +550,19 @@ vars_loader = PluginLoader(
     C.DEFAULT_VARS_PLUGIN_PATH,
     'vars_plugins',
 )
+
+cliconf_loader = PluginLoader(
+    'Cliconf',
+    'ansible.plugins.cliconf',
+    'cliconf_plugins',
+    'cliconf_plugins',
+    required_base_class='CliconfBase'
+)
+
+netconf_loader = PluginLoader(
+    'Netconf',
+    'ansible.plugins.netconf',
+    'netconf_plugins',
+    'netconf_plugins',
+    required_base_class='NetconfBase'
+)
diff --git a/lib/ansible/plugins/action/ce.py b/lib/ansible/plugins/action/ce.py
index f10ff293d77..e3d1d57dcb8 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/plugins/action/ce.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/plugins/action/ce.py
@@ -19,17 +19,13 @@
 from __future__ import (absolute_import, division, print_function)
 __metaclass__ = type
 
-import os
 import sys
 import copy
 
 from ansible.plugins.action.normal import ActionModule as _ActionModule
-from ansible.utils.path import unfrackpath
-from ansible.plugins import connection_loader
 from ansible.module_utils.six import iteritems
 from ansible.module_utils.ce import ce_argument_spec
 from ansible.module_utils.basic import AnsibleFallbackNotFound
-from ansible.module_utils._text import to_bytes
 
 try:
     from __main__ import display
@@ -71,26 +67,21 @@ class ActionModule(_ActionModule):
             )
             display.vvv('using connection plugin %s' % pc.connection, pc.remote_addr)
             connection = self._shared_loader_obj.connection_loader.get('persistent', pc, sys.stdin)
-            socket_path = self._get_socket_path(pc)
-            display.vvvv('socket_path: %s' % socket_path, pc.remote_addr)
 
-            if not os.path.exists(socket_path):
-                # start the connection if it isn't started
-                rc, out, err = connection.exec_command('open_shell()')
-                display.vvvv('open_shell() returned %s %s %s' % (rc, out, err))
-                if rc != 0:
-                    return {'failed': True,
-                            'msg': 'unable to open shell. Please see: ' +
-                            'https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/network_debug_troubleshooting.html#unable-to-open-shell',
-                            'rc': rc}
-            else:
-                # make sure we are in the right cli context which should be
-                # enable mode and not config module
+            socket_path = connection.run()
+            display.vvvv('socket_path: %s' % socket_path, pc.remote_addr)
+            if not socket_path:
+                return {'failed': True,
+                        'msg': 'unable to open shell. Please see: ' +
+                               'https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/network_debug_troubleshooting.html#unable-to-open-shell'}
+
+            # make sure we are in the right cli context which should be
+            # enable mode and not config module
+            rc, out, err = connection.exec_command('prompt()')
+            while str(out).strip().endswith(']'):
+                display.vvvv('wrong context, sending exit to device', self._play_context.remote_addr)
+                connection.exec_command('return')
                 rc, out, err = connection.exec_command('prompt()')
-                while str(out).strip().endswith(']'):
-                    display.vvvv('wrong context, sending exit to device', self._play_context.remote_addr)
-                    connection.exec_command('return')
-                    rc, out, err = connection.exec_command('prompt()')
 
             task_vars['ansible_socket'] = socket_path
 
@@ -100,12 +91,6 @@ class ActionModule(_ActionModule):
         result = super(ActionModule, self).run(tmp, task_vars)
         return result
 
-    def _get_socket_path(self, play_context):
-        ssh = connection_loader.get('ssh', class_only=True)
-        cp = ssh._create_control_path(play_context.remote_addr, play_context.port, play_context.remote_user)
-        path = unfrackpath("$HOME/.ansible/pc")
-        return cp % dict(directory=path)
-
     def load_provider(self):
         provider = self._task.args.get('provider', {})
         for key, value in iteritems(ce_argument_spec):
diff --git a/lib/ansible/plugins/action/dellos10.py b/lib/ansible/plugins/action/dellos10.py
index 171a917beef..b58cf154156 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/plugins/action/dellos10.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/plugins/action/dellos10.py
@@ -21,17 +21,13 @@
 from __future__ import (absolute_import, division, print_function)
 __metaclass__ = type
 
-import os
 import sys
 import copy
 
 from ansible.plugins.action.normal import ActionModule as _ActionModule
-from ansible.utils.path import unfrackpath
-from ansible.plugins import connection_loader
 from ansible.module_utils.six import iteritems
 from ansible.module_utils.dellos10 import dellos10_argument_spec
 from ansible.module_utils.basic import AnsibleFallbackNotFound
-from ansible.module_utils._text import to_bytes
 
 try:
     from __main__ import display
@@ -67,26 +63,20 @@ class ActionModule(_ActionModule):
         display.vvv('using connection plugin %s' % pc.connection, pc.remote_addr)
         connection = self._shared_loader_obj.connection_loader.get('persistent', pc, sys.stdin)
 
-        socket_path = self._get_socket_path(pc)
+        socket_path = connection.run()
         display.vvvv('socket_path: %s' % socket_path, pc.remote_addr)
-
-        if not os.path.exists(socket_path):
-            # start the connection if it isn't started
-            rc, out, err = connection.exec_command('open_shell()')
-            display.vvvv('open_shell() returned %s %s %s' % (rc, out, err))
-            if not rc == 0:
-                return {'failed': True,
-                        'msg': 'unable to open shell. Please see: ' +
-                               'https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/network_debug_troubleshooting.html#unable-to-open-shell',
-                        'rc': rc}
-        else:
-            # make sure we are in the right cli context which should be
-            # enable mode and not config module
+        if not socket_path:
+            return {'failed': True,
+                    'msg': 'unable to open shell. Please see: ' +
+                           'https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/network_debug_troubleshooting.html#unable-to-open-shell'}
+
+        # make sure we are in the right cli context which should be
+        # enable mode and not config module
+        rc, out, err = connection.exec_command('prompt()')
+        while str(out).strip().endswith(')#'):
+            display.vvvv('wrong context, sending exit to device', self._play_context.remote_addr)
+            connection.exec_command('exit')
             rc, out, err = connection.exec_command('prompt()')
-            while str(out).strip().endswith(')#'):
-                display.vvvv('wrong context, sending exit to device', self._play_context.remote_addr)
-                connection.exec_command('exit')
-                rc, out, err = connection.exec_command('prompt()')
 
         task_vars['ansible_socket'] = socket_path
 
@@ -97,12 +87,6 @@ class ActionModule(_ActionModule):
         result = super(ActionModule, self).run(tmp, task_vars)
         return result
 
-    def _get_socket_path(self, play_context):
-        ssh = connection_loader.get('ssh', class_only=True)
-        cp = ssh._create_control_path(play_context.remote_addr, play_context.port, play_context.remote_user)
-        path = unfrackpath("$HOME/.ansible/pc")
-        return cp % dict(directory=path)
-
     def load_provider(self):
         provider = self._task.args.get('provider', {})
         for key, value in iteritems(dellos10_argument_spec):
diff --git a/lib/ansible/plugins/action/dellos6.py b/lib/ansible/plugins/action/dellos6.py
index 944e6b0a0b8..85c1d638b37 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/plugins/action/dellos6.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/plugins/action/dellos6.py
@@ -18,17 +18,13 @@
 from __future__ import (absolute_import, division, print_function)
 __metaclass__ = type
 
-import os
 import sys
 import copy
 
 from ansible.plugins.action.normal import ActionModule as _ActionModule
-from ansible.utils.path import unfrackpath
-from ansible.plugins import connection_loader
 from ansible.module_utils.six import iteritems
 from ansible.module_utils.dellos6 import dellos6_argument_spec
 from ansible.module_utils.basic import AnsibleFallbackNotFound
-from ansible.module_utils._text import to_bytes
 
 try:
     from __main__ import display
@@ -63,26 +59,20 @@ class ActionModule(_ActionModule):
         display.vvv('using connection plugin %s' % pc.connection, pc.remote_addr)
         connection = self._shared_loader_obj.connection_loader.get('persistent', pc, sys.stdin)
 
-        socket_path = self._get_socket_path(pc)
+        socket_path = connection.run()
         display.vvvv('socket_path: %s' % socket_path, pc.remote_addr)
-
-        if not os.path.exists(socket_path):
-            # start the connection if it isn't started
-            rc, out, err = connection.exec_command('open_shell()')
-            display.vvvv('open_shell() returned %s %s %s' % (rc, out, err))
-            if not rc == 0:
-                return {'failed': True,
-                        'msg': 'unable to open shell. Please see: ' +
-                               'https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/network_debug_troubleshooting.html#unable-to-open-shell',
-                        'rc': rc}
-        else:
-            # make sure we are in the right cli context which should be
-            # enable mode and not config module
+        if not socket_path:
+            return {'failed': True,
+                    'msg': 'unable to open shell. Please see: ' +
+                           'https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/network_debug_troubleshooting.html#unable-to-open-shell'}
+
+        # make sure we are in the right cli context which should be
+        # enable mode and not config module
+        rc, out, err = connection.exec_command('prompt()')
+        while str(out).strip().endswith(')#'):
+            display.vvvv('wrong context, sending exit to device', self._play_context.remote_addr)
+            connection.exec_command('exit')
             rc, out, err = connection.exec_command('prompt()')
-            while str(out).strip().endswith(')#'):
-                display.vvvv('wrong context, sending exit to device', self._play_context.remote_addr)
-                connection.exec_command('exit')
-                rc, out, err = connection.exec_command('prompt()')
 
         task_vars['ansible_socket'] = socket_path
 
@@ -93,12 +83,6 @@ class ActionModule(_ActionModule):
         result = super(ActionModule, self).run(tmp, task_vars)
         return result
 
-    def _get_socket_path(self, play_context):
-        ssh = connection_loader.get('ssh', class_only=True)
-        cp = ssh._create_control_path(play_context.remote_addr, play_context.port, play_context.remote_user)
-        path = unfrackpath("$HOME/.ansible/pc")
-        return cp % dict(directory=path)
-
     def load_provider(self):
         provider = self._task.args.get('provider', {})
         for key, value in iteritems(dellos6_argument_spec):
diff --git a/lib/ansible/plugins/action/dellos9.py b/lib/ansible/plugins/action/dellos9.py
index d5ecdb161ef..795043d1421 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/plugins/action/dellos9.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/plugins/action/dellos9.py
@@ -21,17 +21,13 @@
 from __future__ import (absolute_import, division, print_function)
 __metaclass__ = type
 
-import os
 import sys
 import copy
 
 from ansible.plugins.action.normal import ActionModule as _ActionModule
-from ansible.utils.path import unfrackpath
-from ansible.plugins import connection_loader
 from ansible.module_utils.six import iteritems
 from ansible.module_utils.dellos9 import dellos9_argument_spec
 from ansible.module_utils.basic import AnsibleFallbackNotFound
-from ansible.module_utils._text import to_bytes
 
 try:
     from __main__ import display
@@ -67,26 +63,20 @@ class ActionModule(_ActionModule):
         display.vvv('using connection plugin %s' % pc.connection, pc.remote_addr)
         connection = self._shared_loader_obj.connection_loader.get('persistent', pc, sys.stdin)
 
-        socket_path = self._get_socket_path(pc)
+        socket_path = connection.run()
         display.vvvv('socket_path: %s' % socket_path, pc.remote_addr)
-
-        if not os.path.exists(socket_path):
-            # start the connection if it isn't started
-            rc, out, err = connection.exec_command('open_shell()')
-            display.vvvv('open_shell() returned %s %s %s' % (rc, out, err))
-            if not rc == 0:
-                return {'failed': True,
-                        'msg': 'unable to open shell. Please see: ' +
-                               'https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/network_debug_troubleshooting.html#unable-to-open-shell',
-                        'rc': rc}
-        else:
-            # make sure we are in the right cli context which should be
-            # enable mode and not config module
+        if not socket_path:
+            return {'failed': True,
+                    'msg': 'unable to open shell. Please see: ' +
+                           'https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/network_debug_troubleshooting.html#unable-to-open-shell'}
+
+        # make sure we are in the right cli context which should be
+        # enable mode and not config module
+        rc, out, err = connection.exec_command('prompt()')
+        while str(out).strip().endswith(')#'):
+            display.vvvv('wrong context, sending exit to device', self._play_context.remote_addr)
+            connection.exec_command('exit')
             rc, out, err = connection.exec_command('prompt()')
-            while str(out).strip().endswith(')#'):
-                display.vvvv('wrong context, sending exit to device', self._play_context.remote_addr)
-                connection.exec_command('exit')
-                rc, out, err = connection.exec_command('prompt()')
 
         task_vars['ansible_socket'] = socket_path
 
@@ -97,12 +87,6 @@ class ActionModule(_ActionModule):
         result = super(ActionModule, self).run(tmp, task_vars)
         return result
 
-    def _get_socket_path(self, play_context):
-        ssh = connection_loader.get('ssh', class_only=True)
-        cp = ssh._create_control_path(play_context.remote_addr, play_context.port, play_context.remote_user)
-        path = unfrackpath("$HOME/.ansible/pc")
-        return cp % dict(directory=path)
-
     def load_provider(self):
         provider = self._task.args.get('provider', {})
         for key, value in iteritems(dellos9_argument_spec):
diff --git a/lib/ansible/plugins/action/eos.py b/lib/ansible/plugins/action/eos.py
index 965536932b4..3645ad7c47a 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/plugins/action/eos.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/plugins/action/eos.py
@@ -19,16 +19,13 @@
 from __future__ import (absolute_import, division, print_function)
 __metaclass__ = type
 
-import os
 import sys
 import copy
 
 from ansible.module_utils.basic import AnsibleFallbackNotFound
 from ansible.module_utils.eos import ARGS_DEFAULT_VALUE, eos_argument_spec
 from ansible.module_utils.six import iteritems
-from ansible.plugins import connection_loader
 from ansible.plugins.action.normal import ActionModule as _ActionModule
-from ansible.utils.path import unfrackpath
 
 try:
     from __main__ import display
@@ -68,25 +65,20 @@ class ActionModule(_ActionModule):
             display.vvv('using connection plugin %s' % pc.connection, pc.remote_addr)
             connection = self._shared_loader_obj.connection_loader.get('persistent', pc, sys.stdin)
 
-            socket_path = self._get_socket_path(pc)
+            socket_path = connection.run()
             display.vvvv('socket_path: %s' % socket_path, pc.remote_addr)
-
-            if not os.path.exists(socket_path):
-                # start the connection if it isn't started
-                rc, out, err = connection.exec_command('open_shell()')
-                display.vvvv('open_shell() returned %s %s %s' % (rc, out, err))
-                if not rc == 0:
-                    return {'failed': True,
-                            'msg': 'unable to open shell. Please see: ' +
-                                   'https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/network_debug_troubleshooting.html#unable-to-open-shell'}
-            else:
-                # make sure we are in the right cli context which should be
-                # enable mode and not config module
+            if not socket_path:
+                return {'failed': True,
+                        'msg': 'unable to open shell. Please see: ' +
+                               'https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/network_debug_troubleshooting.html#unable-to-open-shell'}
+
+            # make sure we are in the right cli context which should be
+            # enable mode and not config module
+            rc, out, err = connection.exec_command('prompt()')
+            while str(out).strip().endswith(')#'):
+                display.vvvv('wrong context, sending exit to device', self._play_context.remote_addr)
+                connection.exec_command('exit')
                 rc, out, err = connection.exec_command('prompt()')
-                while str(out).strip().endswith(')#'):
-                    display.vvvv('wrong context, sending exit to device', self._play_context.remote_addr)
-                    connection.exec_command('exit')
-                    rc, out, err = connection.exec_command('prompt()')
 
             task_vars['ansible_socket'] = socket_path
 
@@ -123,12 +115,6 @@ class ActionModule(_ActionModule):
         result = super(ActionModule, self).run(tmp, task_vars)
         return result
 
-    def _get_socket_path(self, play_context):
-        ssh = connection_loader.get('ssh', class_only=True)
-        cp = ssh._create_control_path(play_context.remote_addr, play_context.port, play_context.remote_user)
-        path = unfrackpath("$HOME/.ansible/pc")
-        return cp % dict(directory=path)
-
     def load_provider(self):
         provider = self._task.args.get('provider', {})
         for key, value in iteritems(eos_argument_spec):
diff --git a/lib/ansible/plugins/action/ios.py b/lib/ansible/plugins/action/ios.py
index fa3fb8bddea..ec6c5480987 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/plugins/action/ios.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/plugins/action/ios.py
@@ -19,17 +19,13 @@
 from __future__ import (absolute_import, division, print_function)
 __metaclass__ = type
 
-import os
 import sys
 import copy
 
 from ansible.plugins.action.normal import ActionModule as _ActionModule
-from ansible.utils.path import unfrackpath
-from ansible.plugins import connection_loader
 from ansible.module_utils.basic import AnsibleFallbackNotFound
 from ansible.module_utils.ios import ios_argument_spec
 from ansible.module_utils.six import iteritems
-from ansible.module_utils._text import to_bytes
 
 try:
     from __main__ import display
@@ -66,25 +62,19 @@ class ActionModule(_ActionModule):
         display.vvv('using connection plugin %s' % pc.connection, pc.remote_addr)
         connection = self._shared_loader_obj.connection_loader.get('persistent', pc, sys.stdin)
 
-        socket_path = self._get_socket_path(pc)
+        socket_path = connection.run()
         display.vvvv('socket_path: %s' % socket_path, pc.remote_addr)
-
-        if not os.path.exists(socket_path):
-            # start the connection if it isn't started
-            rc, out, err = connection.exec_command('open_shell()')
-            display.vvvv('open_shell() returned %s %s %s' % (rc, out, err))
-            if not rc == 0:
-                return {'failed': True,
-                        'msg': 'unable to open shell. Please see: ' +
-                               'https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/network_debug_troubleshooting.html#unable-to-open-shell',
-                        'rc': rc}
-        else:
-            # make sure we are in the right cli context which should be
-            # enable mode and not config module
-            rc, out, err = connection.exec_command('prompt()')
-            if str(out).strip().endswith(')#'):
-                display.vvvv('wrong context, sending exit to device', self._play_context.remote_addr)
-                connection.exec_command('exit')
+        if not socket_path:
+            return {'failed': True,
+                    'msg': 'unable to open shell. Please see: ' +
+                           'https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/network_debug_troubleshooting.html#unable-to-open-shell'}
+
+        # make sure we are in the right cli context which should be
+        # enable mode and not config module
+        rc, out, err = connection.exec_command('prompt()')
+        if str(out).strip().endswith(')#'):
+            display.vvvv('wrong context, sending exit to device', self._play_context.remote_addr)
+            connection.exec_command('exit')
 
         task_vars['ansible_socket'] = socket_path
 
@@ -95,12 +85,6 @@ class ActionModule(_ActionModule):
         result = super(ActionModule, self).run(tmp, task_vars)
         return result
 
-    def _get_socket_path(self, play_context):
-        ssh = connection_loader.get('ssh', class_only=True)
-        cp = ssh._create_control_path(play_context.remote_addr, play_context.port, play_context.remote_user)
-        path = unfrackpath("$HOME/.ansible/pc")
-        return cp % dict(directory=path)
-
     def load_provider(self):
         provider = self._task.args.get('provider', {})
         for key, value in iteritems(ios_argument_spec):
diff --git a/lib/ansible/plugins/action/iosxr.py b/lib/ansible/plugins/action/iosxr.py
index aa2ae69332e..28d81e209cd 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/plugins/action/iosxr.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/plugins/action/iosxr.py
@@ -19,17 +19,13 @@
 from __future__ import (absolute_import, division, print_function)
 __metaclass__ = type
 
-import os
 import sys
 import copy
 
 from ansible.module_utils.basic import AnsibleFallbackNotFound
 from ansible.module_utils.iosxr import iosxr_argument_spec
 from ansible.module_utils.six import iteritems
-from ansible.module_utils._text import to_bytes
-from ansible.plugins import connection_loader
 from ansible.plugins.action.normal import ActionModule as _ActionModule
-from ansible.utils.path import unfrackpath
 
 try:
     from __main__ import display
@@ -63,38 +59,26 @@ class ActionModule(_ActionModule):
         display.vvv('using connection plugin %s' % pc.connection, pc.remote_addr)
         connection = self._shared_loader_obj.connection_loader.get('persistent', pc, sys.stdin)
 
-        socket_path = self._get_socket_path(pc)
+        socket_path = connection.run()
         display.vvvv('socket_path: %s' % socket_path, pc.remote_addr)
-
-        if not os.path.exists(socket_path):
-            # start the connection if it isn't started
-            rc, out, err = connection.exec_command('open_shell()')
-            display.vvvv('open_shell() returned %s %s %s' % (rc, out, err))
-            if rc != 0:
-                return {'failed': True,
-                        'msg': 'unable to open shell. Please see: ' +
-                               'https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/network_debug_troubleshooting.html#unable-to-open-shell',
-                        'rc': rc}
-        else:
-            # make sure we are in the right cli context which should be
-            # enable mode and not config module
+        if not socket_path:
+            return {'failed': True,
+                    'msg': 'unable to open shell. Please see: ' +
+                           'https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/network_debug_troubleshooting.html#unable-to-open-shell'}
+
+        # make sure we are in the right cli context which should be
+        # enable mode and not config module
+        rc, out, err = connection.exec_command('prompt()')
+        while str(out).strip().endswith(')#'):
+            display.vvvv('wrong context, sending exit to device', self._play_context.remote_addr)
+            connection.exec_command('exit')
             rc, out, err = connection.exec_command('prompt()')
-            while str(out).strip().endswith(')#'):
-                display.vvvv('wrong context, sending exit to device', self._play_context.remote_addr)
-                connection.exec_command('exit')
-                rc, out, err = connection.exec_command('prompt()')
 
         task_vars['ansible_socket'] = socket_path
 
         result = super(ActionModule, self).run(tmp, task_vars)
         return result
 
-    def _get_socket_path(self, play_context):
-        ssh = connection_loader.get('ssh', class_only=True)
-        cp = ssh._create_control_path(play_context.remote_addr, play_context.port, play_context.remote_user)
-        path = unfrackpath("$HOME/.ansible/pc")
-        return cp % dict(directory=path)
-
     def load_provider(self):
         provider = self._task.args.get('provider', {})
         for key, value in iteritems(iosxr_argument_spec):
diff --git a/lib/ansible/plugins/action/junos.py b/lib/ansible/plugins/action/junos.py
index 1d63c4a5ef7..e3972899cdd 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/plugins/action/junos.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/plugins/action/junos.py
@@ -19,7 +19,6 @@
 from __future__ import (absolute_import, division, print_function)
 __metaclass__ = type
 
-import os
 import sys
 import copy
 
@@ -28,7 +27,6 @@ from ansible.module_utils.junos import junos_argument_spec
 from ansible.module_utils.six import iteritems
 from ansible.plugins import connection_loader, module_loader
 from ansible.plugins.action.normal import ActionModule as _ActionModule
-from ansible.utils.path import unfrackpath
 
 try:
     from __main__ import display
@@ -75,25 +73,14 @@ class ActionModule(_ActionModule):
         display.vvv('using connection plugin %s' % pc.connection, pc.remote_addr)
         connection = self._shared_loader_obj.connection_loader.get('persistent', pc, sys.stdin)
 
-        socket_path = self._get_socket_path(pc)
+        socket_path = connection.run()
         display.vvvv('socket_path: %s' % socket_path, pc.remote_addr)
+        if not socket_path:
+            return {'failed': True,
+                    'msg': 'unable to open shell. Please see: ' +
+                           'https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/network_debug_troubleshooting.html#unable-to-open-shell'}
 
-        if not os.path.exists(socket_path):
-            # start the connection if it isn't started
-            if pc.connection == 'netconf':
-                rc, out, err = connection.exec_command('open_session()')
-                display.vvvv('open_session() returned %s %s %s' % (rc, out, err))
-            else:
-                rc, out, err = connection.exec_command('open_shell()')
-                display.vvvv('open_shell() returned %s %s %s' % (rc, out, err))
-
-            if rc != 0:
-                return {'failed': True,
-                        'msg': 'unable to open shell. Please see: ' +
-                               'https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/network_debug_troubleshooting.html#unable-to-open-shell',
-                        'rc': rc}
-
-        elif pc.connection == 'network_cli':
+        if pc.connection == 'network_cli':
             # make sure we are in the right cli context which should be
             # enable mode and not config module
             rc, out, err = connection.exec_command('prompt()')
@@ -107,15 +94,6 @@ class ActionModule(_ActionModule):
         result = super(ActionModule, self).run(tmp, task_vars)
         return result
 
-    def _get_socket_path(self, play_context):
-        ssh = connection_loader.get('ssh', class_only=True)
-        path = unfrackpath("$HOME/.ansible/pc")
-        # use play_context.connection instea of play_context.port to avoid
-        # collision if netconf is listening on port 22
-        # cp = ssh._create_control_path(play_context.remote_addr, play_context.connection, play_context.remote_user)
-        cp = ssh._create_control_path(play_context.remote_addr, play_context.port, play_context.remote_user)
-        return cp % dict(directory=path)
-
     def load_provider(self):
         provider = self._task.args.get('provider', {})
         for key, value in iteritems(junos_argument_spec):
diff --git a/lib/ansible/plugins/action/junos_config.py b/lib/ansible/plugins/action/junos_config.py
index b166f23b3ac..aa9fa617ca5 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/plugins/action/junos_config.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/plugins/action/junos_config.py
@@ -55,7 +55,7 @@ class ActionModule(_ActionModule):
 
         # strip out any keys that have two leading and two trailing
         # underscore characters
-        for key in result.keys():
+        for key in list(result):
             if PRIVATE_KEYS_RE.match(key):
                 del result[key]
 
diff --git a/lib/ansible/plugins/action/net_base.py b/lib/ansible/plugins/action/net_base.py
index 6df0bdc09c2..3bde543b864 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/plugins/action/net_base.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/plugins/action/net_base.py
@@ -17,16 +17,12 @@
 from __future__ import (absolute_import, division, print_function)
 __metaclass__ = type
 
-import os
 import sys
 import copy
 
 from ansible.plugins.action import ActionBase
-from ansible.utils.path import unfrackpath
-from ansible.plugins import connection_loader
 from ansible.module_utils.basic import AnsibleFallbackNotFound
 from ansible.module_utils.six import iteritems
-from ansible.module_utils._text import to_bytes
 
 from imp import find_module, load_module
 
@@ -99,25 +95,19 @@ class ActionModule(ActionBase):
         connection = self._shared_loader_obj.connection_loader.get('persistent',
                                                                    play_context, sys.stdin)
 
-        socket_path = self._get_socket_path(play_context)
+        socket_path = connection.run()
         display.vvvv('socket_path: %s' % socket_path, play_context.remote_addr)
-
-        if not os.path.exists(socket_path):
-            # start the connection if it isn't started
-            rc, out, err = connection.exec_command('open_shell()')
-            display.vvvv('open_shell() returned %s %s %s' % (rc, out, err))
-            if not rc == 0:
-                return {'failed': True,
-                        'msg': 'unable to open shell. Please see: ' +
-                               'https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/network_debug_troubleshooting.html#unable-to-open-shell',
-                        'rc': rc}
-        else:
-            # make sure we are in the right cli context which should be
-            # enable mode and not config module
-            rc, out, err = connection.exec_command('prompt()')
-            if str(out).strip().endswith(')#'):
-                display.vvvv('wrong context, sending exit to device', self._play_context.remote_addr)
-                connection.exec_command('exit')
+        if not socket_path:
+            return {'failed': True,
+                    'msg': 'unable to open shell. Please see: ' +
+                           'https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/network_debug_troubleshooting.html#unable-to-open-shell'}
+
+        # make sure we are in the right cli context which should be
+        # enable mode and not config module
+        rc, out, err = connection.exec_command('prompt()')
+        if str(out).strip().endswith(')#'):
+            display.vvvv('wrong context, sending exit to device', self._play_context.remote_addr)
+            connection.exec_command('exit')
 
         if self._play_context.become_method == 'enable':
             self._play_context.become = False
@@ -151,13 +141,6 @@ class ActionModule(ActionBase):
 
         return implementation_module
 
-    # this will be removed once the new connection work is done
-    def _get_socket_path(self, play_context):
-        ssh = connection_loader.get('ssh', class_only=True)
-        cp = ssh._create_control_path(play_context.remote_addr, play_context.port, play_context.remote_user)
-        path = unfrackpath("$HOME/.ansible/pc")
-        return cp % dict(directory=path)
-
     def _load_provider(self, network_os):
         # we should be able to stream line this a bit by creating a common
         # provider argument spec in module_utils/network_common.py or another
diff --git a/lib/ansible/plugins/action/nxos.py b/lib/ansible/plugins/action/nxos.py
index 37a0b9eea1c..7b82f0ea07d 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/plugins/action/nxos.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/plugins/action/nxos.py
@@ -19,17 +19,13 @@
 from __future__ import (absolute_import, division, print_function)
 __metaclass__ = type
 
-import os
 import sys
 import copy
 
 from ansible.plugins.action.normal import ActionModule as _ActionModule
-from ansible.utils.path import unfrackpath
-from ansible.plugins import connection_loader
 from ansible.module_utils.basic import AnsibleFallbackNotFound
 from ansible.module_utils.nxos import nxos_argument_spec
 from ansible.module_utils.six import iteritems
-from ansible.module_utils._text import to_bytes
 
 try:
     from __main__ import display
@@ -73,28 +69,23 @@ class ActionModule(_ActionModule):
             display.vvv('using connection plugin %s' % pc.connection, pc.remote_addr)
             connection = self._shared_loader_obj.connection_loader.get('persistent', pc, sys.stdin)
 
-            socket_path = self._get_socket_path(pc)
+            socket_path = connection.run()
             display.vvvv('socket_path: %s' % socket_path, pc.remote_addr)
-
-            if not os.path.exists(socket_path):
-                # start the connection if it isn't started
-                rc, out, err = connection.exec_command('open_shell()')
-                display.vvvv('open_shell() returned %s %s %s' % (rc, out, err))
-                if rc != 0:
-                    return {'failed': True,
-                            'msg': 'unable to open shell. Please see: ' +
-                            'https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/network_debug_troubleshooting.html#unable-to-open-shell',
-                            'rc': rc}
-            else:
-                # make sure we are in the right cli context which should be
-                # enable mode and not config module
+            if not socket_path:
+                return {'failed': True,
+                        'msg': 'unable to open shell. Please see: ' +
+                               'https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/network_debug_troubleshooting.html#unable-to-open-shell'}
+
+            # make sure we are in the right cli context which should be
+            # enable mode and not config module
+            rc, out, err = connection.exec_command('prompt()')
+            while str(out).strip().endswith(')#'):
+                display.vvvv('wrong context, sending exit to device', self._play_context.remote_addr)
+                connection.exec_command('exit')
                 rc, out, err = connection.exec_command('prompt()')
-                while str(out).strip().endswith(')#'):
-                    display.vvvv('wrong context, sending exit to device', self._play_context.remote_addr)
-                    connection.exec_command('exit')
-                    rc, out, err = connection.exec_command('prompt()')
 
             task_vars['ansible_socket'] = socket_path
+
         else:
             provider['transport'] = 'nxapi'
             if provider.get('host') is None:
@@ -126,12 +117,6 @@ class ActionModule(_ActionModule):
         result = super(ActionModule, self).run(tmp, task_vars)
         return result
 
-    def _get_socket_path(self, play_context):
-        ssh = connection_loader.get('ssh', class_only=True)
-        cp = ssh._create_control_path(play_context.remote_addr, play_context.port, play_context.remote_user)
-        path = unfrackpath("$HOME/.ansible/pc")
-        return cp % dict(directory=path)
-
     def load_provider(self):
         provider = self._task.args.get('provider', {})
         for key, value in iteritems(nxos_argument_spec):
diff --git a/lib/ansible/plugins/action/sros.py b/lib/ansible/plugins/action/sros.py
index d510a773aff..8b1b45b5597 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/plugins/action/sros.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/plugins/action/sros.py
@@ -19,17 +19,13 @@
 from __future__ import (absolute_import, division, print_function)
 __metaclass__ = type
 
-import os
 import sys
 import copy
 
 from ansible.plugins.action.normal import ActionModule as _ActionModule
-from ansible.utils.path import unfrackpath
-from ansible.plugins import connection_loader
 from ansible.module_utils.sros import sros_argument_spec
 from ansible.module_utils.basic import AnsibleFallbackNotFound
 from ansible.module_utils.six import iteritems
-from ansible.module_utils._text import to_bytes
 
 try:
     from __main__ import display
@@ -64,30 +60,18 @@ class ActionModule(_ActionModule):
         display.vvv('using connection plugin %s' % pc.connection, pc.remote_addr)
         connection = self._shared_loader_obj.connection_loader.get('persistent', pc, sys.stdin)
 
-        socket_path = self._get_socket_path(pc)
+        socket_path = connection.run()
         display.vvvv('socket_path: %s' % socket_path, pc.remote_addr)
-
-        if not os.path.exists(socket_path):
-            # start the connection if it isn't started
-            rc, out, err = connection.exec_command('open_shell()')
-            display.vvvv('open_shell() returned %s %s %s' % (rc, out, err))
-            if not rc == 0:
-                return {'failed': True,
-                        'msg': 'unable to open shell. Please see: ' +
-                               'https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/network_debug_troubleshooting.html#unable-to-open-shell',
-                        'rc': rc}
+        if not socket_path:
+            return {'failed': True,
+                    'msg': 'unable to open shell. Please see: ' +
+                           'https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/network_debug_troubleshooting.html#unable-to-open-shell'}
 
         task_vars['ansible_socket'] = socket_path
 
         result = super(ActionModule, self).run(tmp, task_vars)
         return result
 
-    def _get_socket_path(self, play_context):
-        ssh = connection_loader.get('ssh', class_only=True)
-        cp = ssh._create_control_path(play_context.remote_addr, play_context.port, play_context.remote_user)
-        path = unfrackpath("$HOME/.ansible/pc")
-        return cp % dict(directory=path)
-
     def load_provider(self):
         provider = self._task.args.get('provider', {})
         for key, value in iteritems(sros_argument_spec):
diff --git a/lib/ansible/plugins/action/vyos.py b/lib/ansible/plugins/action/vyos.py
index f8668b89289..2af967dd6ef 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/plugins/action/vyos.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/plugins/action/vyos.py
@@ -19,16 +19,12 @@
 from __future__ import (absolute_import, division, print_function)
 __metaclass__ = type
 
-import os
 import sys
 import copy
 
 from ansible.plugins.action.normal import ActionModule as _ActionModule
-from ansible.utils.path import unfrackpath
-from ansible.plugins import connection_loader
 from ansible.module_utils.basic import AnsibleFallbackNotFound
 from ansible.module_utils.six import iteritems
-from ansible.module_utils._text import to_bytes
 from ansible.module_utils.vyos import vyos_argument_spec
 
 try:
@@ -63,38 +59,26 @@ class ActionModule(_ActionModule):
         display.vvv('using connection plugin %s' % pc.connection, pc.remote_addr)
         connection = self._shared_loader_obj.connection_loader.get('persistent', pc, sys.stdin)
 
-        socket_path = self._get_socket_path(pc)
+        socket_path = connection.run()
         display.vvvv('socket_path: %s' % socket_path, pc.remote_addr)
-
-        if not os.path.exists(socket_path):
-            # start the connection if it isn't started
-            rc, out, err = connection.exec_command('open_shell()')
-            display.vvvv('open_shell() returned %s %s %s' % (rc, out, err))
-            if not rc == 0:
-                return {'failed': True,
-                        'msg': 'unable to open shell. Please see: ' +
-                               'https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/network_debug_troubleshooting.html#unable-to-open-shell',
-                        'rc': rc}
-        else:
-            # make sure we are in the right cli context which should be
-            # enable mode and not config module
+        if not socket_path:
+            return {'failed': True,
+                    'msg': 'unable to open shell. Please see: ' +
+                           'https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/network_debug_troubleshooting.html#unable-to-open-shell'}
+
+        # make sure we are in the right cli context which should be
+        # enable mode and not config module
+        rc, out, err = connection.exec_command('prompt()')
+        while str(out).strip().endswith('#'):
+            display.vvvv('wrong context, sending exit to device', self._play_context.remote_addr)
+            connection.exec_command('exit')
             rc, out, err = connection.exec_command('prompt()')
-            while str(out).strip().endswith('#'):
-                display.vvvv('wrong context, sending exit to device', self._play_context.remote_addr)
-                connection.exec_command('exit')
-                rc, out, err = connection.exec_command('prompt()')
 
         task_vars['ansible_socket'] = socket_path
 
         result = super(ActionModule, self).run(tmp, task_vars)
         return result
 
-    def _get_socket_path(self, play_context):
-        ssh = connection_loader.get('ssh', class_only=True)
-        cp = ssh._create_control_path(play_context.remote_addr, play_context.port, play_context.remote_user)
-        path = unfrackpath("$HOME/.ansible/pc")
-        return cp % dict(directory=path)
-
     def load_provider(self):
         provider = self._task.args.get('provider', {})
         for key, value in iteritems(vyos_argument_spec):
diff --git a/lib/ansible/plugins/cliconf/__init__.py b/lib/ansible/plugins/cliconf/__init__.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..b7e3c2fd8a7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/ansible/plugins/cliconf/__init__.py
@@ -0,0 +1,188 @@
+#
+# (c) 2017 Red Hat Inc.
+#
+# This file is part of Ansible
+#
+# Ansible is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
+# it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
+# the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
+# (at your option) any later version.
+#
+# Ansible is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+# but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+# MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+# GNU General Public License for more details.
+#
+# You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
+# along with Ansible.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+#
+from __future__ import (absolute_import, division, print_function)
+__metaclass__ = type
+
+import signal
+
+from abc import ABCMeta, abstractmethod
+from functools import wraps
+
+from ansible.errors import AnsibleError, AnsibleConnectionFailure
+from ansible.module_utils.six import with_metaclass
+
+try:
+    from __main__ import display
+except ImportError:
+    from ansible.utils.display import Display
+    display = Display()
+
+
+def enable_mode(func):
+    @wraps(func)
+    def wrapped(self, *args, **kwargs):
+        prompt = self.get_prompt()
+        if not str(prompt).strip().endswith('#'):
+            raise AnsibleError('operation requires privilege escalation')
+        return func(self, *args, **kwargs)
+    return wrapped
+
+
+class CliconfBase(with_metaclass(ABCMeta, object)):
+    """
+    A base class for implementing cli connections
+
+    .. note:: Unlike most of Ansible, nearly all strings in
+        :class:`CliconfBase` plugins are byte strings.  This is because of
+        how close to the underlying platform these plugins operate.  Remember
+        to mark literal strings as byte string (``b"string"``) and to use
+        :func:`~ansible.module_utils._text.to_bytes` and
+        :func:`~ansible.module_utils._text.to_text` to avoid unexpected
+        problems.
+
+    List of supported rpc's:
+        :get_config: Retrieves the specified configuration from the device
+        :edit_config: Loads the specified commands into the remote device
+        :get: Execute specified command on remote device
+        :get_capabilities: Retrieves device information and supported rpc methods
+        :commit: Load configuration from candidate to running
+        :discard_changes: Discard changes to candidate datastore
+
+    Note: List of supported rpc's for remote device can be extracted from
+          output of get_capabilities()
+
+    :returns: Returns output received from remote device as byte string
+
+            Usage:
+            from ansible.module_utils.connection import Connection
+
+            conn = Connection()
+            conn.get('show lldp neighbors detail'')
+            conn.get_config('running')
+            conn.edit_config(['hostname test', 'netconf ssh'])
+    """
+
+    def __init__(self, connection):
+        self._connection = connection
+
+    def _alarm_handler(self, signum, frame):
+        raise AnsibleConnectionFailure('timeout waiting for command to complete')
+
+    def send_command(self, command, prompt=None, answer=None, sendonly=False):
+        """Executes a cli command and returns the results
+        This method will execute the CLI command on the connection and return
+        the results to the caller.  The command output will be returned as a
+        string
+        """
+        timeout = self._connection._play_context.timeout or 30
+        signal.signal(signal.SIGALRM, self._alarm_handler)
+        signal.alarm(timeout)
+        display.display("command: %s" % command, log_only=True)
+        resp = self._connection.send(command, prompt, answer, sendonly)
+        signal.alarm(0)
+        return resp
+
+    def get_prompt(self):
+        """Returns the current prompt from the device"""
+        return self._connection._matched_prompt
+
+    def get_base_rpc(self):
+        """Returns list of base rpc method supported by remote device"""
+        return ['get_config', 'edit_config', 'get_capabilities', 'get']
+
+    @abstractmethod
+    def get_config(self, source='running', format='text'):
+        """Retrieves the specified configuration from the device
+        This method will retrieve the configuration specified by source and
+        return it to the caller as a string.  Subsequent calls to this method
+        will retrieve a new configuration from the device
+        :args:
+            arg[0] source: Datastore from which configuration should be retrieved eg: running/candidate/startup. (optional)
+                           default is running.
+            arg[1] format: Output format in which configuration is retrieved
+                           Note: Specified datastore should be supported by remote device.
+        :kwargs:
+          Keywords supported
+            :command: the command string to execute
+            :source: Datastore from which configuration should be retrieved
+            :format: Output format in which configuration is retrieved
+        :returns: Returns output received from remote device as byte string
+        """
+        pass
+
+    @abstractmethod
+    def edit_config(self, commands):
+        """Loads the specified commands into the remote device
+        This method will load the commands into the remote device.  This
+        method will make sure the device is in the proper context before
+        send the commands (eg config mode)
+        :args:
+            arg[0] command: List of configuration commands
+        :kwargs:
+          Keywords supported
+            :command: the command string to execute
+        :returns: Returns output received from remote device as byte string
+        """
+        pass
+
+    @abstractmethod
+    def get(self, *args, **kwargs):
+        """Execute specified command on remote device
+        This method will retrieve the specified data and
+        return it to the caller as a string.
+        :args:
+             arg[0] command: command in string format to be executed on remote device
+             arg[1] prompt: the expected prompt generated by executing command.
+                            This can be a string or a list of strings (optional)
+             arg[2] answer: the string to respond to the prompt with (optional)
+             arg[3] sendonly: bool to disable waiting for response, default is false (optional)
+        :kwargs:
+            :command: the command string to execute
+            :prompt: the expected prompt generated by executing command.
+                     This can be a string or a list of strings
+            :answer: the string to respond to the prompt with
+            :sendonly: bool to disable waiting for response
+        :returns: Returns output received from remote device as byte string
+        """
+        pass
+
+    @abstractmethod
+    def get_capabilities(self):
+        """Retrieves device information and supported
+        rpc methods by device platform and return result
+        as a string
+        :returns: Returns output received from remote device as byte string
+        """
+        pass
+
+    def commit(self, comment=None):
+        """Commit configuration changes"""
+        return self._connection.method_not_found("commit is not supported by network_os %s" % self._play_context.network_os)
+
+    def discard_changes(self):
+        "Discard changes in candidate datastore"
+        return self._connection.method_not_found("discard_changes is not supported by network_os %s" % self._play_context.network_os)
+
+    def put_file(self, source, destination):
+        """Copies file over scp to remote device"""
+        pass
+
+    def fetch_file(self, source, destination):
+        """Fetch file over scp from remote device"""
+        pass
diff --git a/lib/ansible/plugins/cliconf/eos.py b/lib/ansible/plugins/cliconf/eos.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..400d55fbbb3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/ansible/plugins/cliconf/eos.py
@@ -0,0 +1,73 @@
+#
+# (c) 2017 Red Hat Inc.
+#
+# This file is part of Ansible
+#
+# Ansible is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
+# it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
+# the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
+# (at your option) any later version.
+#
+# Ansible is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+# but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+# MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+# GNU General Public License for more details.
+#
+# You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
+# along with Ansible.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+#
+from __future__ import (absolute_import, division, print_function)
+__metaclass__ = type
+
+import json
+
+from itertools import chain
+
+from ansible.module_utils.network_common import to_list
+from ansible.plugins.cliconf import CliconfBase, enable_mode
+
+
+class Cliconf(CliconfBase):
+
+    def get_device_info(self):
+        device_info = {}
+
+        device_info['network_os'] = 'eos'
+        reply = self.get(b'show version | json')
+        data = json.loads(reply)
+
+        device_info['network_os_version'] = data['version']
+        device_info['network_os_model'] = data['modelName']
+
+        reply = self.get(b'show hostname | json')
+        data = json.loads(reply)
+
+        device_info['network_os_hostname'] = data['hostname']
+
+        return device_info
+
+    @enable_mode
+    def get_config(self, source='running', format='text'):
+        lookup = {'running': 'running-config', 'startup': 'startup-config'}
+        if source not in lookup:
+            return self.invalid_params("fetching configuration from %s is not supported" % source)
+        if format == 'text':
+            cmd = b'show %s' % lookup[source]
+        else:
+            cmd = b'show %s | %s' % (lookup[source], format)
+        return self.send_command(cmd)
+
+    @enable_mode
+    def edit_config(self, command):
+        for cmd in chain([b'configure'], to_list(command), [b'end']):
+            self.send_command(cmd)
+
+    def get(self, *args, **kwargs):
+        return self.send_command(*args, **kwargs)
+
+    def get_capabilities(self):
+        result = {}
+        result['rpc'] = self.get_base_rpc()
+        result['network_api'] = 'cliconf'
+        result['device_info'] = self.get_device_info()
+        return json.dumps(result)
diff --git a/lib/ansible/plugins/cliconf/ios.py b/lib/ansible/plugins/cliconf/ios.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..68a3ce413d1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/ansible/plugins/cliconf/ios.py
@@ -0,0 +1,78 @@
+#
+# (c) 2017 Red Hat Inc.
+#
+# This file is part of Ansible
+#
+# Ansible is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
+# it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
+# the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
+# (at your option) any later version.
+#
+# Ansible is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+# but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+# MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+# GNU General Public License for more details.
+#
+# You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
+# along with Ansible.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+#
+from __future__ import (absolute_import, division, print_function)
+__metaclass__ = type
+
+import re
+import json
+
+from itertools import chain
+
+from ansible.module_utils._text import to_bytes, to_text
+from ansible.module_utils.network_common import to_list
+from ansible.plugins.cliconf import CliconfBase, enable_mode
+
+
+class Cliconf(CliconfBase):
+
+    def get_device_info(self):
+        device_info = {}
+
+        device_info['network_os'] = 'ios'
+        reply = self.get(b'show version')
+        data = to_text(reply, errors='surrogate_or_strict').strip()
+
+        match = re.search(r'Version (\S+),', data)
+        if match:
+            device_info['network_os_version'] = match.group(1)
+
+        match = re.search(r'^Cisco (.+) \(revision', data, re.M)
+        if match:
+            device_info['network_os_model'] = match.group(1)
+
+        match = re.search(r'^(.+) uptime', data, re.M)
+        if match:
+            device_info['network_os_hostname'] = match.group(1)
+
+        return device_info
+
+    @enable_mode
+    def get_config(self, source='running'):
+        if source not in ('running', 'startup'):
+            return self.invalid_params("fetching configuration from %s is not supported" % source)
+        if source == 'running':
+            cmd = b'show running-config all'
+        else:
+            cmd = b'show startup-config'
+        return self.send_command(cmd)
+
+    @enable_mode
+    def edit_config(self, command):
+        for cmd in chain([b'configure terminal'], to_list(command), [b'end']):
+            self.send_command(cmd)
+
+    def get(self, *args, **kwargs):
+        return self.send_command(*args, **kwargs)
+
+    def get_capabilities(self):
+        result = {}
+        result['rpc'] = self.get_base_rpc()
+        result['network_api'] = 'cliconf'
+        result['device_info'] = self.get_device_info()
+        return json.dumps(result)
diff --git a/lib/ansible/plugins/cliconf/iosxr.py b/lib/ansible/plugins/cliconf/iosxr.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..fe890c22cc9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/ansible/plugins/cliconf/iosxr.py
@@ -0,0 +1,87 @@
+#
+# (c) 2017 Red Hat Inc.
+#
+# This file is part of Ansible
+#
+# Ansible is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
+# it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
+# the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
+# (at your option) any later version.
+#
+# Ansible is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+# but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+# MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+# GNU General Public License for more details.
+#
+# You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
+# along with Ansible.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+#
+from __future__ import (absolute_import, division, print_function)
+__metaclass__ = type
+
+import re
+import json
+
+from itertools import chain
+
+from ansible.module_utils._text import to_bytes, to_text
+from ansible.module_utils.network_common import to_list
+from ansible.plugins.cliconf import CliconfBase
+
+
+class Cliconf(CliconfBase):
+
+    def get_device_info(self):
+        device_info = {}
+
+        device_info['network_os'] = 'iosxr'
+        reply = self.get(b'show version brief')
+        data = to_text(reply, errors='surrogate_or_strict').strip()
+
+        match = re.search(r'Version (\S+)$', data, re.M)
+        if match:
+            device_info['network_os_version'] = match.group(1)
+
+        match = re.search(r'image file is "(.+)"', data)
+        if match:
+            device_info['network_os_image'] = match.group(1)
+
+        match = re.search(r'^Cisco (.+) \(revision', data, re.M)
+        if match:
+            device_info['network_os_model'] = match.group(1)
+
+        match = re.search(r'^(.+) uptime', data, re.M)
+        if match:
+            device_info['network_os_hostname'] = match.group(1)
+
+        return device_info
+
+    def get_config(self, source='running'):
+        lookup = {'running': 'running-config'}
+        if source not in lookup:
+            return self.invalid_params("fetching configuration from %s is not supported" % source)
+        return self.send_command(to_bytes(b'show %s' % lookup[source], errors='surrogate_or_strict'))
+
+    def edit_config(self, command):
+        for cmd in chain([b'configure'], to_list(command), [b'end']):
+            self.send_command(cmd)
+
+    def get(self, *args, **kwargs):
+        return self.send_command(*args, **kwargs)
+
+    def commit(self, comment=None):
+        if comment:
+            command = b'commit comment {0}'.format(comment)
+        else:
+            command = b'commit'
+        self.send_command(command)
+
+    def discard_changes(self):
+        self.send_command(b'abort')
+
+    def get_capabilities(self):
+        result = {}
+        result['rpc'] = self.get_base_rpc() + ['commit', 'discard_changes']
+        result['network_api'] = 'cliconf'
+        result['device_info'] = self.get_device_info()
+        return json.dumps(result)
diff --git a/lib/ansible/plugins/cliconf/junos.py b/lib/ansible/plugins/cliconf/junos.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..a3cbf4c2dc2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/ansible/plugins/cliconf/junos.py
@@ -0,0 +1,87 @@
+#
+# (c) 2017 Red Hat Inc.
+#
+# This file is part of Ansible
+#
+# Ansible is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
+# it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
+# the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
+# (at your option) any later version.
+#
+# Ansible is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+# but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+# MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+# GNU General Public License for more details.
+#
+# You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
+# along with Ansible.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+#
+from __future__ import (absolute_import, division, print_function)
+__metaclass__ = type
+
+import re
+import json
+
+from itertools import chain
+from xml.etree.ElementTree import fromstring
+
+from ansible.module_utils._text import to_bytes, to_text
+from ansible.module_utils.network_common import to_list
+from ansible.plugins.cliconf import CliconfBase, enable_mode
+
+
+class Cliconf(CliconfBase):
+
+    def get_text(self, ele, tag):
+        try:
+            return to_text(ele.find(tag).text, errors='surrogate_then_replace').strip()
+        except AttributeError:
+            pass
+
+    def get_device_info(self):
+        device_info = {}
+
+        device_info['network_os'] = 'junos'
+        reply = self.get(b'show version | display xml')
+        data = fromstring(to_text(reply, errors='surrogate_then_replace').strip())
+
+        sw_info = data.find('.//software-information')
+
+        device_info['network_os_version'] = self.get_text(sw_info, 'junos-version')
+        device_info['network_os_hostname'] = self.get_text(sw_info, 'host-name')
+        device_info['network_os_model'] = self.get_text(sw_info, 'product-model')
+
+        return device_info
+
+    def get_config(self, source='running', format='text'):
+        if source != 'running':
+            return self.invalid_params("fetching configuration from %s is not supported" % source)
+        if format == 'text':
+            cmd = b'show configuration'
+        else:
+            cmd = b'show configuration | display %s' % format
+        return self.send_command(to_bytes(cmd), errors='surrogate_or_strict')
+
+    def edit_config(self, command):
+        for cmd in chain([b'configure'], to_list(command)):
+            self.send_command(cmd)
+
+    def get(self, *args, **kwargs):
+        return self.send_command(*args, **kwargs)
+
+    def commit(self, comment=None):
+        if comment:
+            command = b'commit comment {0}'.format(comment)
+        else:
+            command = b'commit'
+        self.send_command(command)
+
+    def discard_changes(self):
+        self.send_command(b'rollback')
+
+    def get_capabilities(self):
+        result = {}
+        result['rpc'] = self.get_base_rpc() + ['commit', 'discard_changes']
+        result['network_api'] = 'cliconf'
+        result['device_info'] = self.get_device_info()
+        return json.dumps(result)
diff --git a/lib/ansible/plugins/cliconf/nxos.py b/lib/ansible/plugins/cliconf/nxos.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..2f58aec7b5b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/ansible/plugins/cliconf/nxos.py
@@ -0,0 +1,62 @@
+#
+# (c) 2017 Red Hat Inc.
+#
+# This file is part of Ansible
+#
+# Ansible is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
+# it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
+# the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
+# (at your option) any later version.
+#
+# Ansible is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+# but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+# MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+# GNU General Public License for more details.
+#
+# You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
+# along with Ansible.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+#
+from __future__ import (absolute_import, division, print_function)
+__metaclass__ = type
+
+import json
+
+from itertools import chain
+
+from ansible.module_utils.network_common import to_list
+from ansible.plugins.cliconf import CliconfBase
+
+
+class Cliconf(CliconfBase):
+
+    def get_device_info(self):
+        device_info = {}
+
+        device_info['network_os'] = 'nxos'
+        reply = self.get(b'show version | json')
+        data = json.loads(reply)
+
+        device_info['network_os_version'] = data['sys_ver_str']
+        device_info['network_os_model'] = data['chassis_id']
+        device_info['network_os_hostname'] = data['host_name']
+        device_info['network_os_image'] = data['isan_file_name']
+
+        return device_info
+
+    def get_config(self, source='running'):
+        lookup = {'running': 'running-config', 'startup': 'startup-config'}
+        return self.send_command(b'show %s' % lookup[source])
+
+    def edit_config(self, command):
+        for cmd in chain([b'configure'], to_list(command), [b'end']):
+            self.send_command(cmd)
+
+    def get(self, *args, **kwargs):
+        return self.send_command(*args, **kwargs)
+
+    def get_capabilities(self):
+        result = {}
+        result['rpc'] = self.get_base_rpc()
+        result['network_api'] = 'cliconf'
+        result['device_info'] = self.get_device_info()
+        return json.dumps(result)
diff --git a/lib/ansible/plugins/cliconf/vyos.py b/lib/ansible/plugins/cliconf/vyos.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..c8e5d819864
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/ansible/plugins/cliconf/vyos.py
@@ -0,0 +1,79 @@
+#
+# (c) 2017 Red Hat Inc.
+#
+# This file is part of Ansible
+#
+# Ansible is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
+# it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
+# the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
+# (at your option) any later version.
+#
+# Ansible is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+# but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+# MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+# GNU General Public License for more details.
+#
+# You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
+# along with Ansible.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+#
+from __future__ import (absolute_import, division, print_function)
+__metaclass__ = type
+
+import re
+import json
+
+from itertools import chain
+
+from ansible.module_utils._text import to_bytes, to_text
+from ansible.module_utils.network_common import to_list
+from ansible.plugins.cliconf import CliconfBase, enable_mode
+
+
+class Cliconf(CliconfBase):
+
+    def get_device_info(self):
+        device_info = {}
+
+        device_info['network_os'] = 'vyos'
+        reply = self.get(b'show version')
+        data = to_text(reply, errors='surrogate_or_strict').strip()
+
+        match = re.search(r'Version:\s*(\S+)', data)
+        if match:
+            device_info['network_os_version'] = match.group(1)
+
+        match = re.search(r'HW model:\s*(\S+)', data)
+        if match:
+            device_info['network_os_model'] = match.group(1)
+
+        reply = self.get(b'show host name')
+        device_info['network_os_hostname'] = to_text(reply, errors='surrogate_or_strict').strip()
+
+        return device_info
+
+    def get_config(self):
+        return self.send_command(b'show configuration all')
+
+    def edit_config(self, command):
+        for cmd in chain([b'configure'], to_list(command)):
+            self.send_command(cmd)
+
+    def get(self, *args, **kwargs):
+        return self.send_command(*args, **kwargs)
+
+    def commit(self, comment=None):
+        if comment:
+            command = b'commit comment {0}'.format(comment)
+        else:
+            command = b'commit'
+        self.send_command(command)
+
+    def discard_changes(self, *args, **kwargs):
+        self.send_command(b'discard')
+
+    def get_capabilities(self):
+        result = {}
+        result['rpc'] = self.get_base_rpc() + ['commit', 'discard_changes']
+        result['network_api'] = 'cliconf'
+        result['device_info'] = self.get_device_info()
+        return json.dumps(result)
diff --git a/lib/ansible/plugins/connection/netconf.py b/lib/ansible/plugins/connection/netconf.py
index 8143bea696a..0c9f4259c87 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/plugins/connection/netconf.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/plugins/connection/netconf.py
@@ -20,10 +20,14 @@ __metaclass__ = type
 
 import os
 import logging
+import json
 
 from ansible import constants as C
 from ansible.errors import AnsibleConnectionFailure, AnsibleError
+from ansible.module_utils._text import to_bytes, to_native, to_text
+from ansible.plugins import netconf_loader
 from ansible.plugins.connection import ConnectionBase, ensure_connect
+from ansible.utils.jsonrpc import Rpc
 
 try:
     from ncclient import manager
@@ -42,8 +46,8 @@ except ImportError:
 logging.getLogger('ncclient').setLevel(logging.INFO)
 
 
-class Connection(ConnectionBase):
-    ''' NetConf connections '''
+class Connection(Rpc, ConnectionBase):
+    """NetConf connections"""
 
     transport = 'netconf'
     has_pipelining = False
@@ -90,12 +94,20 @@ class Connection(ConnectionBase):
             raise AnsibleConnectionFailure(str(exc))
 
         if not self._manager.connected:
-            return (1, '', 'not connected')
+            return 1, b'', b'not connected'
 
         display.display('ncclient manager object created successfully', log_only=True)
 
         self._connected = True
-        return (0, self._manager.session_id, '')
+
+        self._netconf = netconf_loader.get(self._network_os, self)
+        if self._netconf:
+            self._rpc.add(self._netconf)
+            display.display('loaded netconf plugin for network_os %s' % self._network_os, log_only=True)
+        else:
+            display.display('unable to load netconf for network_os %s' % self._network_os)
+
+        return 0, to_bytes(self._manager.session_id, errors='surrogate_or_strict'), b''
 
     def close(self):
         if self._manager:
@@ -106,20 +118,37 @@ class Connection(ConnectionBase):
     @ensure_connect
     def exec_command(self, request):
         """Sends the request to the node and returns the reply
+        The method accepts two forms of request.  The first form is as a byte
+        string that represents xml string be send over netconf session.
+        The second form is a json-rpc (2.0) byte string.
         """
-        if request == 'open_session()':
-            return (0, 'ok', '')
+        try:
+            obj = json.loads(to_text(request, errors='surrogate_or_strict'))
+
+            if 'jsonrpc' in obj:
+                if self._netconf:
+                    out = self._exec_rpc(obj)
+                else:
+                    out = self.internal_error("netconf plugin is not supported for network_os %s" % self._play_context.network_os)
+                return 0, to_bytes(out, errors='surrogate_or_strict'), b''
+            else:
+                err = self.invalid_request(obj)
+                return 1, b'', to_bytes(err, errors='surrogate_or_strict')
+
+        except (ValueError, TypeError):
+            # to_ele operates on native strings
+            request = to_native(request, errors='surrogate_or_strict')
 
         req = to_ele(request)
         if req is None:
-            return (1, '', 'unable to parse request')
+            return 1, b'', b'unable to parse request'
 
         try:
             reply = self._manager.rpc(req)
         except RPCError as exc:
-            return (1, '', to_xml(exc.xml))
+            return 1, b'', to_bytes(to_xml(exc.xml), errors='surrogate_or_strict')
 
-        return (0, reply.data_xml, '')
+        return 0, to_bytes(reply.data_xml, errors='surrogate_or_strict'), b''
 
     def put_file(self, in_path, out_path):
         """Transfer a file from local to remote"""
diff --git a/lib/ansible/plugins/connection/network_cli.py b/lib/ansible/plugins/connection/network_cli.py
index dd2b1800135..6814272fc2f 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/plugins/connection/network_cli.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/plugins/connection/network_cli.py
@@ -24,15 +24,17 @@ import re
 import signal
 import socket
 import traceback
+
 from collections import Sequence
 
 from ansible import constants as C
 from ansible.errors import AnsibleConnectionFailure
 from ansible.module_utils.six import BytesIO, binary_type
 from ansible.module_utils._text import to_bytes, to_text
+from ansible.plugins import cliconf_loader
 from ansible.plugins import terminal_loader
-from ansible.plugins.connection import ensure_connect
 from ansible.plugins.connection.paramiko_ssh import Connection as _Connection
+from ansible.utils.jsonrpc import Rpc
 
 try:
     from __main__ import display
@@ -41,7 +43,7 @@ except ImportError:
     display = Display()
 
 
-class Connection(_Connection):
+class Connection(Rpc, _Connection):
     ''' CLI (shell) SSH connections on Paramiko '''
 
     transport = 'network_cli'
@@ -51,11 +53,13 @@ class Connection(_Connection):
         super(Connection, self).__init__(play_context, new_stdin, *args, **kwargs)
 
         self._terminal = None
+        self._cliconf = None
         self._shell = None
         self._matched_prompt = None
         self._matched_pattern = None
         self._last_response = None
         self._history = list()
+        self._play_context = play_context
 
         if play_context.verbosity > 3:
             logging.getLogger('paramiko').setLevel(logging.DEBUG)
@@ -84,6 +88,9 @@ class Connection(_Connection):
 
         display.display('ssh connection done, setting terminal', log_only=True)
 
+        self._shell = self.ssh.invoke_shell()
+        self._shell.settimeout(self._play_context.timeout)
+
         network_os = self._play_context.network_os
         if not network_os:
             raise AnsibleConnectionFailure(
@@ -95,46 +102,45 @@ class Connection(_Connection):
         if not self._terminal:
             raise AnsibleConnectionFailure('network os %s is not supported' % network_os)
 
-        self._connected = True
-        display.display('ssh connection has completed successfully', log_only=True)
+        display.display('loaded terminal plugin for network_os %s' % network_os, log_only=True)
 
-    @ensure_connect
-    def open_shell(self):
-        display.display('attempting to open shell to device', log_only=True)
-        self._shell = self.ssh.invoke_shell()
-        self._shell.settimeout(self._play_context.timeout)
+        self._cliconf = cliconf_loader.get(network_os, self)
+        if self._cliconf:
+            self._rpc.add(self._cliconf)
+            display.display('loaded cliconf plugin for network_os %s' % network_os, log_only=True)
+        else:
+            display.display('unable to load cliconf for network_os %s' % network_os)
 
         self.receive()
 
-        if self._shell:
-            self._terminal.on_open_shell()
+        display.display('firing event: on_open_shell()', log_only=True)
+        self._terminal.on_open_shell()
 
         if getattr(self._play_context, 'become', None):
+            display.display('firing event: on_authorize', log_only=True)
             auth_pass = self._play_context.become_pass
             self._terminal.on_authorize(passwd=auth_pass)
 
-        display.display('shell successfully opened', log_only=True)
-        return (0, b'ok', b'')
+        self._connected = True
+        display.display('ssh connection has completed successfully', log_only=True)
 
     def close(self):
-        display.display('closing connection', log_only=True)
-        self.close_shell()
-        super(Connection, self).close()
-        self._connected = False
-
-    def close_shell(self):
-        """Closes the vty shell if the device supports multiplexing"""
-        display.display('closing shell on device', log_only=True)
+        """Close the active connection to the device
+        """
+        display.display("closing ssh connection to device", log_only=True)
         if self._shell:
+            display.display("firing event: on_close_shell()", log_only=True)
             self._terminal.on_close_shell()
-
-        if self._shell:
             self._shell.close()
             self._shell = None
+            display.display("cli session is now closed", log_only=True)
 
-        return (0, b'ok', b'')
+        super(Connection, self).close()
 
-    def receive(self, obj=None):
+        self._connected = False
+        display.display("ssh connection has been closed successfully", log_only=True)
+
+    def receive(self, command=None, prompts=None, answer=None):
         """Handles receiving of output from command"""
         recv = BytesIO()
         handled = False
@@ -150,23 +156,22 @@ class Connection(_Connection):
 
             window = self._strip(recv.read())
 
-            if obj and (obj.get('prompt') and not handled):
-                handled = self._handle_prompt(window, obj['prompt'], obj['answer'])
+            if prompts and not handled:
+                handled = self._handle_prompt(window, prompts, answer)
 
             if self._find_prompt(window):
                 self._last_response = recv.getvalue()
                 resp = self._strip(self._last_response)
-                return self._sanitize(resp, obj)
+                return self._sanitize(resp, command)
 
-    def send(self, obj):
+    def send(self, command, prompts=None, answer=None, send_only=False):
         """Sends the command to the device in the opened shell"""
         try:
-            command = obj['command']
             self._history.append(command)
             self._shell.sendall(b'%s\r' % command)
-            if obj.get('sendonly'):
+            if send_only:
                 return
-            return self.receive(obj)
+            return self.receive(command, prompts, answer)
         except (socket.timeout, AttributeError):
             display.display(traceback.format_exc(), log_only=True)
             raise AnsibleConnectionFailure("timeout trying to send command: %s" % command.strip())
@@ -195,10 +200,9 @@ class Connection(_Connection):
                 return True
         return False
 
-    def _sanitize(self, resp, obj=None):
+    def _sanitize(self, resp, command=None):
         """Removes elements from the response before returning to the caller"""
         cleaned = []
-        command = obj.get('command') if obj else None
         for line in resp.splitlines():
             if (command and line.startswith(command.strip())) or self._matched_prompt.strip() in line:
                 continue
@@ -243,10 +247,10 @@ class Connection(_Connection):
     def exec_command(self, cmd):
         """Executes the cmd on in the shell and returns the output
 
-        The method accepts two forms of cmd.  The first form is as a byte
+        The method accepts three forms of cmd.  The first form is as a byte
         string that represents the command to be executed in the shell.  The
         second form is as a utf8 JSON byte string with additional keywords.
-
+        The third form is a json-rpc (2.0)
         Keywords supported for cmd:
             :command: the command string to execute
             :prompt: the expected prompt generated by executing command.
@@ -275,27 +279,23 @@ class Connection(_Connection):
             else:
                 # Prompt was a Sequence of strings.  Make sure they're byte strings
                 obj['prompt'] = [to_bytes(p, errors='surrogate_or_strict') for p in obj['prompt'] if p is not None]
-        if obj['command'] == b'close_shell()':
-            return self.close_shell()
-        elif obj['command'] == b'open_shell()':
-            return self.open_shell()
-        elif obj['command'] == b'prompt()':
-            return (0, self._matched_prompt, b'')
 
-        try:
-            if self._shell is None:
-                self.open_shell()
-        except AnsibleConnectionFailure as exc:
-            # FIXME: Feels like we should raise this rather than return it
-            return (1, b'', to_bytes(exc))
+        if 'jsonrpc' in obj:
+            if self._cliconf:
+                out = self._exec_rpc(obj)
+            else:
+                out = self.internal_error("cliconf is not supported for network_os %s" % self._play_context.network_os)
+            return 0, to_bytes(out, errors='surrogate_or_strict'), b''
+
+        if obj['command'] == b'prompt()':
+            return 0, self._matched_prompt, b''
 
         try:
             if not signal.getsignal(signal.SIGALRM):
                 signal.signal(signal.SIGALRM, self.alarm_handler)
             signal.alarm(self._play_context.timeout)
-            out = self.send(obj)
+            out = self.send(obj['command'], obj.get('prompt'), obj.get('answer'), obj.get('sendonly'))
             signal.alarm(0)
-            return (0, out, b'')
+            return 0, out, b''
         except (AnsibleConnectionFailure, ValueError) as exc:
-            # FIXME: Feels like we should raise this rather than return it
-            return (1, b'', to_bytes(exc))
+            return 1, b'', to_bytes(exc)
diff --git a/lib/ansible/plugins/connection/persistent.py b/lib/ansible/plugins/connection/persistent.py
index fc210a9766d..6b3adff3c17 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/plugins/connection/persistent.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/plugins/connection/persistent.py
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-# (c) 2016 Red Hat Inc.
+# (c) 2017 Red Hat Inc.
 #
 # This file is part of Ansible
 #
@@ -41,7 +41,6 @@ class Connection(ConnectionBase):
     has_pipelining = False
 
     def _connect(self):
-
         self._connected = True
         return self
 
@@ -83,3 +82,7 @@ class Connection(ConnectionBase):
 
     def close(self):
         self._connected = False
+
+    def run(self):
+        rc, out, err = self._do_it('RUN:')
+        return out
diff --git a/lib/ansible/plugins/netconf/__init__.py b/lib/ansible/plugins/netconf/__init__.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..ce7680f44a0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/ansible/plugins/netconf/__init__.py
@@ -0,0 +1,189 @@
+#
+# (c) 2017 Red Hat Inc.
+#
+# This file is part of Ansible
+#
+# Ansible is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
+# it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
+# the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
+# (at your option) any later version.
+#
+# Ansible is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+# but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+# MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+# GNU General Public License for more details.
+#
+# You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
+# along with Ansible.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+#
+from __future__ import (absolute_import, division, print_function)
+__metaclass__ = type
+
+from abc import ABCMeta, abstractmethod
+from functools import wraps
+
+from ansible.module_utils.six import with_metaclass
+
+
+def ensure_connected(func):
+    @wraps(func)
+    def wrapped(self, *args, **kwargs):
+        if not self._connection._connected:
+            self._connection._connect()
+        return func(self, *args, **kwargs)
+    return wrapped
+
+
+class NetconfBase(with_metaclass(ABCMeta, object)):
+    """
+    A base class for implementing Netconf connections
+
+    .. note:: Unlike most of Ansible, nearly all strings in
+        :class:`TerminalBase` plugins are byte strings.  This is because of
+        how close to the underlying platform these plugins operate.  Remember
+        to mark literal strings as byte string (``b"string"``) and to use
+        :func:`~ansible.module_utils._text.to_bytes` and
+        :func:`~ansible.module_utils._text.to_text` to avoid unexpected
+        problems.
+
+        List of supported rpc's:
+            :get_config: Retrieves the specified configuration from the device
+            :edit_config: Loads the specified commands into the remote device
+            :get: Execute specified command on remote device
+            :get_capabilities: Retrieves device information and supported rpc methods
+            :commit: Load configuration from candidate to running
+            :discard_changes: Discard changes to candidate datastore
+            :validate: Validate the contents of the specified configuration.
+            :lock: Allows the client to lock the configuration system of a device.
+            :unlock: Release a configuration lock, previously obtained with the lock operation.
+            :copy_config: create or replace an entire configuration datastore with the contents of another complete
+                          configuration datastore.
+            For JUNOS:
+            :execute_rpc: RPC to be execute on remote device
+            :load_configuration: Loads given configuration on device
+
+        Note: rpc support depends on the capabilites of remote device.
+
+        :returns: Returns output received from remote device as byte string
+        Note: the 'result' or 'error' from response should to be converted to object
+              of ElementTree using 'fromstring' to parse output as xml doc
+
+              'get_capabilities()' returns 'result' as a json string.
+
+            Usage:
+            from ansible.module_utils.connection import Connection
+
+            conn = Connection()
+            data = conn.execute_rpc(rpc)
+            reply = fromstring(reply)
+
+            data = conn.get_capabilities()
+            json.loads(data)
+
+            conn.load_configuration(config=[''set system ntp server 1.1.1.1''], action='set', format='text')
+    """
+
+    def __init__(self, connection):
+        self._connection = connection
+        self.m = self._connection._manager
+
+    @ensure_connected
+    def get_config(self, *args, **kwargs):
+        """Retrieve all or part of a specified configuration.
+           :source: name of the configuration datastore being queried
+           :filter: specifies the portion of the configuration to retrieve
+           (by default entire configuration is retrieved)"""
+        return self.m.get_config(*args, **kwargs).data_xml
+
+    @ensure_connected
+    def get(self, *args, **kwargs):
+        """Retrieve running configuration and device state information.
+        *filter* specifies the portion of the configuration to retrieve
+        (by default entire configuration is retrieved)
+        """
+        return self.m.get(*args, **kwargs).data_xml
+
+    @ensure_connected
+    def edit_config(self, *args, **kwargs):
+        """Loads all or part of the specified *config* to the *target* configuration datastore.
+
+            :target: is the name of the configuration datastore being edited
+            :config: is the configuration, which must be rooted in the `config` element.
+                        It can be specified either as a string or an :class:`~xml.etree.ElementTree.Element`.
+            :default_operation: if specified must be one of { `"merge"`, `"replace"`, or `"none"` }
+            :test_option: if specified must be one of { `"test_then_set"`, `"set"` }
+            :error_option: if specified must be one of { `"stop-on-error"`, `"continue-on-error"`, `"rollback-on-error"` }
+            The `"rollback-on-error"` *error_option* depends on the `:rollback-on-error` capability.
+        """
+        return self.m.get_config(*args, **kwargs).data_xml
+
+    @ensure_connected
+    def validate(self, *args, **kwargs):
+        """Validate the contents of the specified configuration.
+        :source: is the name of the configuration datastore being validated or `config`
+        element containing the configuration subtree to be validated
+        """
+        return self.m.validate(*args, **kwargs).data_xml
+
+    @ensure_connected
+    def copy_config(self, *args, **kwargs):
+        """Create or replace an entire configuration datastore with the contents of another complete
+        configuration datastore.
+        :source: is the name of the configuration datastore to use as the source of the
+                 copy operation or `config` element containing the configuration subtree to copy
+        :target: is the name of the configuration datastore to use as the destination of the copy operation"""
+        return self.m.copy_config(*args, **kwargs).data_xml
+
+    @ensure_connected
+    def lock(self, *args, **kwargs):
+        """Allows the client to lock the configuration system of a device.
+        *target* is the name of the configuration datastore to lock
+        """
+        return self.m.lock(*args, **kwargs).data_xml
+
+    @ensure_connected
+    def unlock(self, *args, **kwargs):
+        """Release a configuration lock, previously obtained with the lock operation.
+        :target: is the name of the configuration datastore to unlock
+        """
+        return self.m.lock(*args, **kwargs).data_xml
+
+    @ensure_connected
+    def discard_changes(self, *args, **kwargs):
+        """Revert the candidate configuration to the currently running configuration.
+        Any uncommitted changes are discarded."""
+        return self.m.discard_changes(*args, **kwargs).data_xml
+
+    @ensure_connected
+    def commit(self, *args, **kwargs):
+        """Commit the candidate configuration as the device's new current configuration.
+           Depends on the `:candidate` capability.
+           A confirmed commit (i.e. if *confirmed* is `True`) is reverted if there is no
+           followup commit within the *timeout* interval. If no timeout is specified the
+           confirm timeout defaults to 600 seconds (10 minutes).
+           A confirming commit may have the *confirmed* parameter but this is not required.
+           Depends on the `:confirmed-commit` capability.
+        :confirmed: whether this is a confirmed commit
+        :timeout: specifies the confirm timeout in seconds
+        """
+        return self.m.commit(*args, **kwargs).data_xml
+
+    @abstractmethod
+    def get_capabilities(self, commands):
+        """Retrieves device information and supported
+        rpc methods by device platform and return result
+        as a string
+        """
+        pass
+
+    def get_base_rpc(self):
+        """Returns list of base rpc method supported by remote device"""
+        return ['get_config', 'edit_config', 'get_capabilities', 'get']
+
+    def put_file(self, source, destination):
+        """Copies file over scp to remote device"""
+        pass
+
+    def fetch_file(self, source, destination):
+        """Fetch file over scp from remote device"""
+        pass
diff --git a/lib/ansible/plugins/netconf/junos.py b/lib/ansible/plugins/netconf/junos.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..54c020c6cc9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/ansible/plugins/netconf/junos.py
@@ -0,0 +1,79 @@
+#
+# (c) 2017 Red Hat Inc.
+#
+# This file is part of Ansible
+#
+# Ansible is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
+# it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
+# the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
+# (at your option) any later version.
+#
+# Ansible is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+# but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+# MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+# GNU General Public License for more details.
+#
+# You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
+# along with Ansible.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+#
+from __future__ import (absolute_import, division, print_function)
+__metaclass__ = type
+
+import json
+
+from xml.etree.ElementTree import fromstring
+
+from ansible.module_utils._text import to_bytes, to_text
+from ansible.plugins.netconf import NetconfBase
+from ansible.plugins.netconf import ensure_connected
+
+from ncclient.xml_ import new_ele
+
+
+class Netconf(NetconfBase):
+
+    def get_text(self, ele, tag):
+        try:
+            return to_text(ele.find(tag).text, errors='surrogate_then_replace').strip()
+        except AttributeError:
+            pass
+
+    def get_device_info(self):
+        device_info = {}
+
+        device_info['network_os'] = 'junos'
+        data = self.execute_rpc('get-software-information')
+        reply = fromstring(data)
+        sw_info = reply.find('.//software-information')
+
+        device_info['network_os_version'] = self.get_text(sw_info, 'junos-version')
+        device_info['network_os_hostname'] = self.get_text(sw_info, 'host-name')
+        device_info['network_os_model'] = self.get_text(sw_info, 'product-model')
+
+        return device_info
+
+    @ensure_connected
+    def execute_rpc(self, rpc):
+        """RPC to be execute on remote device
+           :rpc: Name of rpc in string format"""
+        name = new_ele(rpc)
+        return self.m.rpc(name).data_xml
+
+    @ensure_connected
+    def load_configuration(self, *args, **kwargs):
+        """Loads given configuration on device
+        :format: Format of configuration (xml, text, set)
+        :action: Action to be performed (merge, replace, override, update)
+        :target: is the name of the configuration datastore being edited
+        :config: is the configuration in string format."""
+        return self.m.load_configuration(*args, **kwargs).data_xml
+
+    def get_capabilities(self):
+        result = {}
+        result['rpc'] = self.get_base_rpc() + ['commit', 'discard_changes', 'validate', 'lock', 'unlock', 'copy_copy']
+        result['network_api'] = 'netconf'
+        result['device_info'] = self.get_device_info()
+        result['server_capabilities'] = [c for c in self.m.server_capabilities]
+        result['client_capabilities'] = [c for c in self.m.client_capabilities]
+        result['session_id'] = self.m.session_id
+        return json.dumps(result)
diff --git a/lib/ansible/utils/jsonrpc.py b/lib/ansible/utils/jsonrpc.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..70c35427a4f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/ansible/utils/jsonrpc.py
@@ -0,0 +1,115 @@
+#
+# (c) 2016 Red Hat Inc.
+#
+# This file is part of Ansible
+#
+# Ansible is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
+# it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
+# the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
+# (at your option) any later version.
+#
+# Ansible is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+# but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+# MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+# GNU General Public License for more details.
+#
+# You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
+# along with Ansible.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+from __future__ import (absolute_import, division, print_function)
+__metaclass__ = type
+
+import json
+import traceback
+
+from ansible.module_utils._text import to_text
+
+try:
+    from __main__ import display
+except ImportError:
+    from ansible.utils.display import Display
+    display = Display()
+
+
+class Rpc:
+
+    def __init__(self, *args, **kwargs):
+        self._rpc = set()
+        super(Rpc, self).__init__(*args, **kwargs)
+
+    def _exec_rpc(self, request):
+        method = request.get('method')
+
+        if method.startswith('rpc.') or method.startswith('_'):
+            error = self.invalid_request()
+            return json.dumps(error)
+
+        params = request.get('params')
+        setattr(self, '_identifier', request.get('id'))
+        args = []
+        kwargs = {}
+
+        if all((params, isinstance(params, list))):
+            args = params
+        elif all((params, isinstance(params, dict))):
+            kwargs = params
+
+        rpc_method = None
+        for obj in self._rpc:
+            rpc_method = getattr(obj, method, None)
+            if rpc_method:
+                break
+
+        if not rpc_method:
+            error = self.method_not_found()
+            response = json.dumps(error)
+        else:
+            try:
+                result = rpc_method(*args, **kwargs)
+                display.display(" -- result -- %s" % result, log_only=True)
+            except Exception as exc:
+                display.display(traceback.format_exc(), log_only=True)
+                error = self.internal_error(data=to_text(exc, errors='surrogate_then_replace'))
+                response = json.dumps(error)
+            else:
+                if isinstance(result, dict) and 'jsonrpc' in result:
+                    response = result
+                else:
+                    response = self.response(result)
+
+                response = json.dumps(response)
+
+        display.display(" -- response -- %s" % response, log_only=True)
+        delattr(self, '_identifier')
+        return response
+
+    def header(self):
+        return {'jsonrpc': '2.0', 'id': self._identifier}
+
+    def response(self, result=None):
+        response = self.header()
+        response['result'] = result or 'ok'
+        return response
+
+    def error(self, code, message, data=None):
+        response = self.header()
+        error = {'code': code, 'message': message}
+        if data:
+            error['data'] = data
+        response['error'] = error
+        return response
+
+    # json-rpc standard errors (-32768 .. -32000)
+    def parse_error(self, data=None):
+        return self.error(-32700, 'Parse error', data)
+
+    def method_not_found(self, data=None):
+        return self.error(-32601, 'Method not found', data)
+
+    def invalid_request(self, data=None):
+        return self.error(-32600, 'Invalid request', data)
+
+    def invalid_params(self, data=None):
+        return self.error(-32602, 'Invalid params', data)
+
+    def internal_error(self, data=None):
+        return self.error(-32603, 'Internal error', data)
diff --git a/test/units/plugins/connection/test_netconf.py b/test/units/plugins/connection/test_netconf.py
index 64d7554ea22..4e924bd92f6 100644
--- a/test/units/plugins/connection/test_netconf.py
+++ b/test/units/plugins/connection/test_netconf.py
@@ -76,8 +76,8 @@ class TestNetconfConnectionClass(unittest.TestCase):
         rc, out, err = conn._connect()
 
         self.assertEqual(0, rc)
-        self.assertEqual('123456789', out)
-        self.assertEqual('', err)
+        self.assertEqual(b'123456789', out)
+        self.assertEqual(b'', err)
         self.assertTrue(conn._connected)
 
     def test_netconf_exec_command(self):
@@ -101,8 +101,8 @@ class TestNetconfConnectionClass(unittest.TestCase):
         netconf.to_ele.assert_called_with('<test/>')
 
         self.assertEqual(0, rc)
-        self.assertEqual('<test/>', out)
-        self.assertEqual('', err)
+        self.assertEqual(b'<test/>', out)
+        self.assertEqual(b'', err)
 
     def test_netconf_exec_command_invalid_request(self):
         pc = PlayContext()
@@ -116,5 +116,5 @@ class TestNetconfConnectionClass(unittest.TestCase):
         rc, out, err = conn.exec_command('test string')
 
         self.assertEqual(1, rc)
-        self.assertEqual('', out)
-        self.assertEqual('unable to parse request', err)
+        self.assertEqual(b'', out)
+        self.assertEqual(b'unable to parse request', err)
diff --git a/test/units/plugins/connection/test_network_cli.py b/test/units/plugins/connection/test_network_cli.py
index 0f5a8efe1f1..cb93aceb9a0 100644
--- a/test/units/plugins/connection/test_network_cli.py
+++ b/test/units/plugins/connection/test_network_cli.py
@@ -35,34 +35,38 @@ from ansible.plugins.connection import network_cli
 
 class TestConnectionClass(unittest.TestCase):
 
-    @patch("ansible.plugins.connection.network_cli.terminal_loader")
     @patch("ansible.plugins.connection.network_cli._Connection._connect")
-    def test_network_cli__connect(self, mocked_super, mocked_terminal_loader):
+    def test_network_cli__connect_error(self, mocked_super):
         pc = PlayContext()
         new_stdin = StringIO()
 
         conn = network_cli.Connection(pc, new_stdin)
-        conn.ssh = None
-
+        conn.ssh = MagicMock()
+        conn.receive = MagicMock()
+        conn._terminal = MagicMock()
+        pc.network_os = None
         self.assertRaises(AnsibleConnectionFailure, conn._connect)
 
-        mocked_terminal_loader.reset_mock()
-        mocked_terminal_loader.get.return_value = None
+    @patch("ansible.plugins.connection.network_cli._Connection._connect")
+    def test_network_cli__invalid_os(self, mocked_super):
+        pc = PlayContext()
+        new_stdin = StringIO()
 
-        pc.network_os = 'invalid'
+        conn = network_cli.Connection(pc, new_stdin)
+        conn.ssh = MagicMock()
+        conn.receive = MagicMock()
+        conn._terminal = MagicMock()
+        pc.network_os = None
         self.assertRaises(AnsibleConnectionFailure, conn._connect)
-        self.assertFalse(mocked_terminal_loader.all.called)
-
-        mocked_terminal_loader.reset_mock()
-        mocked_terminal_loader.get.return_value = 'valid'
-
-        conn._connect()
-        self.assertEqual(conn._terminal, 'valid')
 
-    def test_network_cli_open_shell(self):
+    @patch("ansible.plugins.connection.network_cli.terminal_loader")
+    @patch("ansible.plugins.connection.network_cli._Connection._connect")
+    def test_network_cli__connect(self, mocked_super, mocked_terminal_loader):
         pc = PlayContext()
         new_stdin = StringIO()
+
         conn = network_cli.Connection(pc, new_stdin)
+        pc.network_os = 'ios'
 
         conn.ssh = MagicMock()
         conn.receive = MagicMock()
@@ -70,26 +74,19 @@ class TestConnectionClass(unittest.TestCase):
         mock_terminal = MagicMock()
         conn._terminal = mock_terminal
 
-        mock__connect = MagicMock()
-        conn._connect = mock__connect
-
-        conn.open_shell()
-
-        self.assertTrue(mock__connect.called)
-        self.assertTrue(mock_terminal.on_open_shell.called)
-        self.assertFalse(mock_terminal.on_authorize.called)
-
-        mock_terminal.reset_mock()
+        conn._connect()
+        self.assertTrue(conn._terminal.on_open_shell.called)
+        self.assertFalse(conn._terminal.on_authorize.called)
 
         conn._play_context.become = True
         conn._play_context.become_pass = 'password'
 
-        conn.open_shell()
+        conn._connect()
 
-        self.assertTrue(mock__connect.called)
-        mock_terminal.on_authorize.assert_called_with(passwd='password')
+        conn._terminal.on_authorize.assert_called_with(passwd='password')
 
-    def test_network_cli_close_shell(self):
+    @patch("ansible.plugins.connection.network_cli._Connection.close")
+    def test_network_cli_close(self, mocked_super):
         pc = PlayContext()
         new_stdin = StringIO()
         conn = network_cli.Connection(pc, new_stdin)
@@ -97,51 +94,43 @@ class TestConnectionClass(unittest.TestCase):
         terminal = MagicMock(supports_multiplexing=False)
         conn._terminal = terminal
 
-        conn.close_shell()
+        conn.close()
 
         conn._shell = MagicMock()
 
-        conn.close_shell()
+        conn.close()
         self.assertTrue(terminal.on_close_shell.called)
 
         terminal.supports_multiplexing = True
 
-        conn.close_shell()
+        conn.close()
         self.assertIsNone(conn._shell)
 
-    def test_network_cli_exec_command(self):
+    @patch("ansible.plugins.connection.network_cli._Connection._connect")
+    def test_network_cli_exec_command(self, mocked_super):
         pc = PlayContext()
         new_stdin = StringIO()
         conn = network_cli.Connection(pc, new_stdin)
 
-        mock_open_shell = MagicMock()
-        conn.open_shell = mock_open_shell
-
         mock_send = MagicMock(return_value=b'command response')
         conn.send = mock_send
 
         # test sending a single command and converting to dict
         rc, out, err = conn.exec_command('command')
         self.assertEqual(out, b'command response')
-        self.assertTrue(mock_open_shell.called)
-        mock_send.assert_called_with({'command': b'command'})
-
-        mock_open_shell.reset_mock()
+        mock_send.assert_called_with(b'command', None, None, None)
 
         # test sending a json string
         rc, out, err = conn.exec_command(json.dumps({'command': 'command'}))
         self.assertEqual(out, b'command response')
-        mock_send.assert_called_with({'command': b'command'})
-        self.assertTrue(mock_open_shell.called)
+        mock_send.assert_called_with(b'command', None, None, None)
 
-        mock_open_shell.reset_mock()
         conn._shell = MagicMock()
 
         # test _shell already open
         rc, out, err = conn.exec_command('command')
         self.assertEqual(out, b'command response')
-        self.assertFalse(mock_open_shell.called)
-        mock_send.assert_called_with({'command': b'command'})
+        mock_send.assert_called_with(b'command', None, None, None)
 
     def test_network_cli_send(self):
         pc = PlayContext()
@@ -163,7 +152,7 @@ class TestConnectionClass(unittest.TestCase):
 
         mock__shell.recv.return_value = response
 
-        output = conn.send({'command': b'command'})
+        output = conn.send(b'command', None, None, None)
 
         mock__shell.sendall.assert_called_with(b'command\r')
         self.assertEqual(output, b'command response')
@@ -172,5 +161,5 @@ class TestConnectionClass(unittest.TestCase):
         mock__shell.recv.return_value = b"ERROR: error message device#"
 
         with self.assertRaises(AnsibleConnectionFailure) as exc:
-            conn.send({'command': b'command'})
+            conn.send(b'command', None, None, None)
         self.assertEqual(str(exc.exception), 'ERROR: error message device#')