diff --git a/tests/templates/ansible.cfg.j2 b/tests/templates/ansible.cfg.j2
index 96dba37dc8..fa07a12a0a 100644
--- a/tests/templates/ansible.cfg.j2
+++ b/tests/templates/ansible.cfg.j2
@@ -10,3 +10,4 @@ inject_facts_as_vars = False
 [ssh_connection]
 pipelining = True
 retries = 3
+ssh_args = -C -o ControlMaster=auto -o ControlPersist=300