diff --git a/lib/ansible/executor/task_executor.py b/lib/ansible/executor/task_executor.py
index e883a64ddf..e918b415a3 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/executor/task_executor.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/executor/task_executor.py
@@ -818,9 +818,9 @@ class TaskExecutor:
         stdin.close()
 
         if p.returncode == 0:
-            result = json.loads(stdout)
+            result = json.loads(to_text(stdout))
         else:
-            result = json.loads(stderr)
+            result = json.loads(to_text(stderr))
 
         if 'messages' in result:
             for msg in result.get('messages'):
diff --git a/test/runner/lib/manage_ci.py b/test/runner/lib/manage_ci.py
index 7ff7083e59..0138f5654c 100644
--- a/test/runner/lib/manage_ci.py
+++ b/test/runner/lib/manage_ci.py
@@ -72,11 +72,17 @@ class ManageNetworkCI(object):
 
     def wait(self):
         """Wait for instance to respond to ansible ping."""
+        if self.core_ci.platform in ('vyos',):
+            connection_type = 'network_cli'
+        else:
+            connection_type = 'local'
+
         extra_vars = [
             'ansible_host=%s' % self.core_ci.connection.hostname,
             'ansible_port=%s' % self.core_ci.connection.port,
-            'ansible_connection=local',
+            'ansible_connection=%s' % connection_type,
             'ansible_ssh_private_key_file=%s' % self.core_ci.ssh_key.key,
+            'ansible_network_os=%s' % self.core_ci.platform,
         ]
 
         name = '%s-%s' % (self.core_ci.platform, self.core_ci.version.replace('.', '-'))