diff --git a/awx/main/conf.py b/awx/main/conf.py
index 0015e768d0..fc13e4fa23 100644
--- a/awx/main/conf.py
+++ b/awx/main/conf.py
@@ -159,7 +159,7 @@ register(
     'AWX_ISOLATED_CHECK_INTERVAL',
     field_class=fields.IntegerField,
     label=_('Isolated status check interval'),
-    help_text=_('The number of seconds to sleep between status checks for jobs running on isolated instances.'),  # noqa
+    help_text=_('The number of seconds to sleep between status checks for jobs running on isolated instances.'),
     category=_('Jobs'),
     category_slug='jobs',
 )
@@ -168,7 +168,19 @@ register(
     'AWX_ISOLATED_LAUNCH_TIMEOUT',
     field_class=fields.IntegerField,
     label=_('Isolated launch timeout'),
-    help_text=_('The timeout (in seconds) for launching jobs on isolated instances.  This includes the time needed to copy source control files (playbooks) to the isolated instance.'),
+    help_text=_('The timeout (in seconds) for launching jobs on isolated instances.  '
+                'This includes the time needed to copy source control files (playbooks) to the isolated instance.'),
+    category=_('Jobs'),
+    category_slug='jobs',
+)
+
+register(
+    'AWX_ISOLATED_CONNECTION_TIMEOUT',
+    field_class=fields.IntegerField,
+    default=10,
+    label=_('Isolated connection timeout'),
+    help_text=_('Ansible SSH connection timeout (in seconds) to use when communicating with isolated instances. '
+                'Value should be substantially greater than expected network latency.'),
     category=_('Jobs'),
     category_slug='jobs',
 )
diff --git a/awx/main/isolated/isolated_manager.py b/awx/main/isolated/isolated_manager.py
index 9a5e940a58..73d8e2c970 100644
--- a/awx/main/isolated/isolated_manager.py
+++ b/awx/main/isolated/isolated_manager.py
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ from awx.main.utils import OutputEventFilter
 from awx.main.queue import CallbackQueueDispatcher
 
 logger = logging.getLogger('awx.isolated.manager')
+playbook_logger = logging.getLogger('awx.isolated.manager.playbooks')
 
 
 class IsolatedManager(object):
@@ -57,9 +58,8 @@ class IsolatedManager(object):
         """
         self.args = args
         self.cwd = cwd
-        self.env = env.copy()
-        # Do not use callbacks for controller's management jobs
-        self.env.update(self._base_management_env())
+        self.isolated_env = self._redact_isolated_env(env.copy())
+        self.management_env = self._base_management_env()
         self.stdout_handle = stdout_handle
         self.ssh_key_path = ssh_key_path
         self.expect_passwords = {k.pattern: v for k, v in expect_passwords.items()}
@@ -73,14 +73,48 @@ class IsolatedManager(object):
 
     @staticmethod
     def _base_management_env():
-        return {
-            'ANSIBLE_CALLBACK_PLUGINS': '',
-            'CALLBACK_QUEUE': '',
-            'CALLBACK_CONNECTION': '',
-            'ANSIBLE_RETRY_FILES_ENABLED': 'False',
-            'ANSIBLE_HOST_KEY_CHECKING': 'False',
-            'ANSIBLE_LIBRARY': os.path.join(os.path.dirname(awx.__file__), 'plugins', 'isolated')
-        }
+        '''
+        Returns environment variables to use when running a playbook
+        that manages the isolated instance.
+        Use of normal job callback and other such configurations are avoided.
+        '''
+        env = dict(os.environ.items())
+        env['ANSIBLE_RETRY_FILES_ENABLED'] = 'False'
+        env['ANSIBLE_HOST_KEY_CHECKING'] = 'False'
+        env['ANSIBLE_LIBRARY'] = os.path.join(os.path.dirname(awx.__file__), 'plugins', 'isolated')
+        return env
+
+    @staticmethod
+    def _build_args(playbook, hosts, extra_vars=None):
+        '''
+        Returns list of Ansible CLI command arguments for a management task
+
+        :param playbook:   name of the playbook to run
+        :param hosts:      host pattern to operate on, ex. "localhost,"
+        :param extra_vars: optional dictionary of extra_vars to apply
+        '''
+        args = [
+            'ansible-playbook',
+            playbook,
+            '-u', settings.AWX_ISOLATED_USERNAME,
+            '-T', str(settings.AWX_ISOLATED_CONNECTION_TIMEOUT),
+            '-i', hosts
+        ]
+        if extra_vars:
+            args.extend(['-e', json.dumps(extra_vars)])
+        return args
+
+    @staticmethod
+    def _redact_isolated_env(env):
+        '''
+        strips some environment variables that aren't applicable to
+        job execution within the isolated instance
+        '''
+        for var in (
+                'HOME', 'RABBITMQ_HOST', 'RABBITMQ_PASS', 'RABBITMQ_USER', 'CACHE',
+                'DJANGO_PROJECT_DIR', 'DJANGO_SETTINGS_MODULE', 'RABBITMQ_VHOST'):
+            env.pop(var, None)
+        return env
 
     @classmethod
     def awx_playbook_path(cls):
@@ -99,7 +133,7 @@ class IsolatedManager(object):
         '''
         self.started_at = time.time()
         secrets = {
-            'env': self.env.copy(),
+            'env': self.isolated_env,
             'passwords': self.expect_passwords,
             'ssh_key_data': None,
             'idle_timeout': self.idle_timeout,
@@ -116,12 +150,6 @@ class IsolatedManager(object):
             secrets['ssh_key_data'] = buff.getvalue()
             os.remove(self.ssh_key_path)
 
-        # strip some environment variables that aren't applicable to isolated
-        # execution
-        for var in (
-                'HOME', 'RABBITMQ_HOST', 'RABBITMQ_PASS', 'RABBITMQ_USER', 'CACHE',
-                'DJANGO_PROJECT_DIR', 'DJANGO_SETTINGS_MODULE', 'RABBITMQ_VHOST'):
-            secrets['env'].pop(var, None)
         self.build_isolated_job_data()
 
         extra_vars = {
@@ -137,15 +165,13 @@ class IsolatedManager(object):
         # - copies encrypted job data from the controlling host to the isolated host (with rsync)
         # - writes the encryption secret to a named pipe on the isolated host
         # - launches the isolated playbook runner via `tower-expect start <job-id>`
-        args = ['ansible-playbook', '-u', settings.AWX_ISOLATED_USERNAME, '-i',
-                '%s,' % self.host, 'run_isolated.yml', '-e',
-                json.dumps(extra_vars)]
+        args = self._build_args('run_isolated.yml', '%s,' % self.host, extra_vars)
         if self.instance.verbosity:
             args.append('-%s' % ('v' * min(5, self.instance.verbosity)))
         buff = StringIO.StringIO()
         logger.debug('Starting job on isolated host with `run_isolated.yml` playbook.')
         status, rc = IsolatedManager.run_pexpect(
-            args, self.awx_playbook_path(), self.env, buff,
+            args, self.awx_playbook_path(), self.management_env, buff,
             expect_passwords={
                 re.compile(r'Secret:\s*?$', re.M): base64.b64encode(json.dumps(secrets))
             },
@@ -153,8 +179,10 @@ class IsolatedManager(object):
             job_timeout=settings.AWX_ISOLATED_LAUNCH_TIMEOUT,
             pexpect_timeout=5
         )
+        output = buff.getvalue()
+        playbook_logger.info('Job {} management started\n{}'.format(self.instance.id, output))
         if status != 'successful':
-            self.stdout_handle.write(buff.getvalue())
+            self.stdout_handle.write(output)
         return status, rc
 
     @classmethod
@@ -201,13 +229,13 @@ class IsolatedManager(object):
             os.chmod(path, stat.S_IRUSR)
 
         # symlink the scm checkout (if there is one) so that it's rsync'ed over, too
-        if 'AD_HOC_COMMAND_ID' not in self.env:
+        if 'AD_HOC_COMMAND_ID' not in self.isolated_env:
             os.symlink(self.cwd, self.path_to('project'))
 
         # create directories for build artifacts to live in
         os.makedirs(self.path_to('artifacts', 'job_events'), mode=stat.S_IXUSR + stat.S_IWUSR + stat.S_IRUSR)
 
-    def _missing_artifacts(self, path_list, buff):
+    def _missing_artifacts(self, path_list, output):
         missing_artifacts = filter(lambda path: not os.path.exists(path), path_list)
         for path in missing_artifacts:
             self.stdout_handle.write('ansible did not exit cleanly, missing `{}`.\n'.format(path))
@@ -219,7 +247,7 @@ class IsolatedManager(object):
                     self.stdout_handle.write(f.read())
             else:
                 # Provide the management playbook standard out if not available
-                self.stdout_handle.write(buff.getvalue())
+                self.stdout_handle.write(output)
             return True
         return False
 
@@ -239,9 +267,7 @@ class IsolatedManager(object):
         """
         interval = interval if interval is not None else settings.AWX_ISOLATED_CHECK_INTERVAL
         extra_vars = {'src': self.private_data_dir}
-        args = ['ansible-playbook', '-u', settings.AWX_ISOLATED_USERNAME, '-i',
-                '%s,' % self.host, 'check_isolated.yml', '-e',
-                json.dumps(extra_vars)]
+        args = self._build_args('check_isolated.yml', '%s,' % self.host, extra_vars)
         if self.instance.verbosity:
             args.append('-%s' % ('v' * min(5, self.instance.verbosity)))
 
@@ -271,13 +297,15 @@ class IsolatedManager(object):
             buff = cStringIO.StringIO()
             logger.debug('Checking job on isolated host with `check_isolated.yml` playbook.')
             status, rc = IsolatedManager.run_pexpect(
-                args, self.awx_playbook_path(), self.env, buff,
+                args, self.awx_playbook_path(), self.management_env, buff,
                 cancelled_callback=self.cancelled_callback,
                 idle_timeout=remaining,
                 job_timeout=remaining,
                 pexpect_timeout=5,
                 proot_cmd=self.proot_cmd
             )
+            output = buff.getvalue()
+            playbook_logger.info(output)
 
             path = self.path_to('artifacts', 'stdout')
             if os.path.exists(path):
@@ -292,7 +320,7 @@ class IsolatedManager(object):
         if status == 'successful':
             status_path = self.path_to('artifacts', 'status')
             rc_path = self.path_to('artifacts', 'rc')
-            if self._missing_artifacts([status_path, rc_path], buff):
+            if self._missing_artifacts([status_path, rc_path], output):
                 status = 'failed'
                 rc = 1
             else:
@@ -303,7 +331,7 @@ class IsolatedManager(object):
         elif status == 'failed':
             # if we were unable to retrieve job reults from the isolated host,
             # print stdout of the `check_isolated.yml` playbook for clues
-            self.stdout_handle.write(buff.getvalue())
+            self.stdout_handle.write(output)
 
         return status, rc
 
@@ -316,20 +344,21 @@ class IsolatedManager(object):
                 self.proot_temp_dir,
             ],
         }
-        args = ['ansible-playbook', '-u', settings.AWX_ISOLATED_USERNAME, '-i',
-                '%s,' % self.host, 'clean_isolated.yml', '-e',
-                json.dumps(extra_vars)]
+        args = self._build_args('clean_isolated.yml', '%s,' % self.host, extra_vars)
         logger.debug('Cleaning up job on isolated host with `clean_isolated.yml` playbook.')
         buff = cStringIO.StringIO()
+        timeout = max(60, 2 * settings.AWX_ISOLATED_CONNECTION_TIMEOUT)
         status, rc = IsolatedManager.run_pexpect(
-            args, self.awx_playbook_path(), self.env, buff,
-            idle_timeout=60, job_timeout=60,
+            args, self.awx_playbook_path(), self.management_env, buff,
+            idle_timeout=timeout, job_timeout=timeout,
             pexpect_timeout=5
         )
+        output = buff.getvalue()
+        playbook_logger.info(output)
 
         if status != 'successful':
             # stdout_handle is closed by this point so writing output to logs is our only option
-            logger.warning('Cleanup from isolated job encountered error, output:\n{}'.format(buff.getvalue()))
+            logger.warning('Cleanup from isolated job encountered error, output:\n{}'.format(output))
 
     @classmethod
     def health_check(cls, instance_qs):
@@ -345,15 +374,16 @@ class IsolatedManager(object):
         hostname_string = ''
         for instance in instance_qs:
             hostname_string += '{},'.format(instance.hostname)
-        args = ['ansible-playbook', '-u', settings.AWX_ISOLATED_USERNAME, '-i',
-                hostname_string, 'heartbeat_isolated.yml']
+        args = cls._build_args('heartbeat_isolated.yml', hostname_string)
+        args.extend(['--forks', str(len(instance_qs))])
         env = cls._base_management_env()
         env['ANSIBLE_STDOUT_CALLBACK'] = 'json'
 
         buff = cStringIO.StringIO()
+        timeout = max(60, 2 * settings.AWX_ISOLATED_CONNECTION_TIMEOUT)
         status, rc = IsolatedManager.run_pexpect(
             args, cls.awx_playbook_path(), env, buff,
-            idle_timeout=60, job_timeout=60,
+            idle_timeout=timeout, job_timeout=timeout,
             pexpect_timeout=5
         )
         output = buff.getvalue()
diff --git a/awx/main/isolated/run.py b/awx/main/isolated/run.py
index 0b466228aa..00c6c423e9 100755
--- a/awx/main/isolated/run.py
+++ b/awx/main/isolated/run.py
@@ -259,7 +259,7 @@ def __run__(private_data_dir):
 
 
 if __name__ == '__main__':
-    __version__ = 'devel'
+    __version__ = '3.2.0'
     try:
         import awx
         __version__ = awx.__version__
diff --git a/awx/main/tasks.py b/awx/main/tasks.py
index 68172a3085..5ccdf589d9 100644
--- a/awx/main/tasks.py
+++ b/awx/main/tasks.py
@@ -189,7 +189,7 @@ def cluster_node_heartbeat(self):
     for other_inst in recent_inst:
         if other_inst.version == "":
             continue
-        if Version(other_inst.version.split('-', 1)[0]) > Version(tower_application_version):
+        if Version(other_inst.version.split('-', 1)[0]) > Version(tower_application_version) and not settings.DEBUG:
             logger.error("Host {} reports Tower version {}, but this node {} is at {}, shutting down".format(other_inst.hostname,
                                                                                                              other_inst.version,
                                                                                                              inst.hostname,
diff --git a/awx/main/tests/unit/isolated/test_expect.py b/awx/main/tests/unit/isolated/test_expect.py
index 5d5c79f150..c44ba681f3 100644
--- a/awx/main/tests/unit/isolated/test_expect.py
+++ b/awx/main/tests/unit/isolated/test_expect.py
@@ -264,11 +264,14 @@ def test_check_isolated_job(private_data_dir, rsa_key):
 
         run_pexpect.assert_called_with(
             [
-                'ansible-playbook', '-u', settings.AWX_ISOLATED_USERNAME, '-i', 'isolated-host,',
-                'check_isolated.yml', '-e', '{"src": "%s"}' % private_data_dir,
+                'ansible-playbook', 'check_isolated.yml',
+                '-u', settings.AWX_ISOLATED_USERNAME,
+                '-T', str(settings.AWX_ISOLATED_CONNECTION_TIMEOUT),
+                '-i', 'isolated-host,',
+                '-e', '{"src": "%s"}' % private_data_dir,
                 '-vvvvv'
             ],
-            '/tower_devel/awx/playbooks', mgr.env, mock.ANY,
+            '/tower_devel/awx/playbooks', mgr.management_env, mock.ANY,
             cancelled_callback=None,
             idle_timeout=0,
             job_timeout=0,
diff --git a/awx/main/tests/unit/test_tasks.py b/awx/main/tests/unit/test_tasks.py
index c7abfe52cb..6607c25df2 100644
--- a/awx/main/tests/unit/test_tasks.py
+++ b/awx/main/tests/unit/test_tasks.py
@@ -341,8 +341,9 @@ class TestIsolatedExecution(TestJobExecution):
 
         playbook_run = self.run_pexpect.call_args_list[0][0]
         assert ' '.join(playbook_run[0]).startswith(' '.join([
-            'ansible-playbook', '-u', settings.AWX_ISOLATED_USERNAME, '-i', self.REMOTE_HOST + ',',
-            'run_isolated.yml', '-e',
+            'ansible-playbook', 'run_isolated.yml', '-u', settings.AWX_ISOLATED_USERNAME,
+            '-T', str(settings.AWX_ISOLATED_CONNECTION_TIMEOUT), '-i', self.REMOTE_HOST + ',',
+            '-e',
         ]))
         extra_vars = playbook_run[0][playbook_run[0].index('-e') + 1]
         extra_vars = json.loads(extra_vars)
diff --git a/awx/playbooks/check_isolated.yml b/awx/playbooks/check_isolated.yml
index 5d4753025f..60ccfd1ddf 100644
--- a/awx/playbooks/check_isolated.yml
+++ b/awx/playbooks/check_isolated.yml
@@ -3,22 +3,25 @@
 # The following variables will be set by the runner of this playbook:
 # src: /tmp/some/path/private_data_dir/
 
-- hosts: all
+- name: Poll for status of active job.
+  hosts: all
   gather_facts: false
 
   tasks:
 
-    - shell: "tower-expect is-alive {{src}}"
+    - name: Determine if daemon process is alive.
+      shell: "tower-expect is-alive {{src}}"
       register: is_alive
       ignore_errors: true
 
-    - name: copy artifacts from the isolated host
+    - name: Copy artifacts from the isolated host.
       synchronize:
         src: "{{src}}/artifacts/"
         dest: "{{src}}/artifacts/"
         mode: pull
         recursive: yes
 
-    - fail:
+    - name: Fail if previous check determined that process is not alive.
+      fail:
         msg: "isolated task is still running"
       when: "is_alive.rc == 0"
diff --git a/awx/playbooks/clean_isolated.yml b/awx/playbooks/clean_isolated.yml
index 0ab4be6d48..0945411318 100644
--- a/awx/playbooks/clean_isolated.yml
+++ b/awx/playbooks/clean_isolated.yml
@@ -4,7 +4,8 @@
 # cleanup_dirs: ['/tmp/path/private_data_dir/', '/tmp//path/proot_temp_dir/']
 # private_data_dir: '/tmp/path/private_data_dir/'
 
-- hosts: all
+- name: Clean up from isolated job run.
+  hosts: all
   gather_facts: false
 
   tasks:
diff --git a/awx/playbooks/heartbeat_isolated.yml b/awx/playbooks/heartbeat_isolated.yml
index 58b2f52b3c..9c100c84af 100644
--- a/awx/playbooks/heartbeat_isolated.yml
+++ b/awx/playbooks/heartbeat_isolated.yml
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 ---
-- hosts: all
+- name: Periodic background status check of isolated instances.
+  hosts: all
   gather_facts: false
 
   tasks:
diff --git a/awx/playbooks/run_isolated.yml b/awx/playbooks/run_isolated.yml
index c5f20c29c1..7bec2bf8a2 100644
--- a/awx/playbooks/run_isolated.yml
+++ b/awx/playbooks/run_isolated.yml
@@ -5,11 +5,13 @@
 # dest: /tmp/some/path/
 # proot_temp_dir: /tmp/some/path
 
-- hosts: all
+- name: Prepare data, dispatch job in isolated environment.
+  hosts: all
   gather_facts: false
   vars_prompt:
     - prompt: "Secret"
       name: "secret"
+      private: yes
 
   tasks:
 
diff --git a/awx/settings/defaults.py b/awx/settings/defaults.py
index 263a0ab569..6ad511ef50 100644
--- a/awx/settings/defaults.py
+++ b/awx/settings/defaults.py
@@ -611,6 +611,9 @@ AWX_ISOLATED_CHECK_INTERVAL = 30
 # The timeout (in seconds) for launching jobs on isolated nodes
 AWX_ISOLATED_LAUNCH_TIMEOUT = 600
 
+# Ansible connection timeout (in seconds) for communicating with isolated instances
+AWX_ISOLATED_CONNECTION_TIMEOUT = 10
+
 # The time (in seconds) between the periodic isolated heartbeat status check
 AWX_ISOLATED_PERIODIC_CHECK = 600
 
@@ -1008,6 +1011,15 @@ LOGGING = {
             'backupCount': 5,
             'formatter':'simple',
         },
+        'management_playbooks': {
+            'level': 'DEBUG',
+            'class':'logging.handlers.RotatingFileHandler',
+            'filters': ['require_debug_false'],
+            'filename': os.path.join(LOG_ROOT, 'management_playbooks.log'),
+            'maxBytes': 1024 * 1024 * 5, # 5 MB
+            'backupCount': 5,
+            'formatter':'simple',
+        },
         'fact_receiver': {
             'level': 'WARNING',
             'class':'logging.handlers.RotatingFileHandler',
@@ -1066,10 +1078,13 @@ LOGGING = {
         },
         'awx.main': {
             'handlers': ['null']
-        },
-        'awx.main.commands.run_callback_receiver': {
+        }, 'awx.main.commands.run_callback_receiver': {
             'handlers': ['callback_receiver'],
         },
+        'awx.isolated.manager.playbooks': {
+            'handlers': ['management_playbooks'],
+            'propagate': False
+        },
         'awx.main.commands.inventory_import': {
             'handlers': ['inventory_import'],
             'propagate': False
diff --git a/awx/settings/development.py b/awx/settings/development.py
index 8ca0f923a9..f098833ba1 100644
--- a/awx/settings/development.py
+++ b/awx/settings/development.py
@@ -24,6 +24,9 @@ from defaults import *  # NOQA
 LOGGING['handlers']['console']['()'] = 'awx.main.utils.handlers.ColorHandler'
 COLOR_LOGS = True
 
+# Pipe management playbook output to console
+LOGGING['loggers']['awx.isolated.manager.playbooks']['propagate'] = True
+
 ALLOWED_HOSTS = ['*']
 
 mimetypes.add_type("image/svg+xml", ".svg", True)
diff --git a/awx/settings/production.py b/awx/settings/production.py
index d0e014f196..84179f643a 100644
--- a/awx/settings/production.py
+++ b/awx/settings/production.py
@@ -54,6 +54,7 @@ LOGGING['handlers']['tower_warnings']['filename'] = '/var/log/tower/tower.log'
 LOGGING['handlers']['callback_receiver']['filename'] = '/var/log/tower/callback_receiver.log'
 LOGGING['handlers']['task_system']['filename'] = '/var/log/tower/task_system.log'
 LOGGING['handlers']['fact_receiver']['filename'] = '/var/log/tower/fact_receiver.log'
+LOGGING['handlers']['management_playbooks']['filename'] = '/var/log/tower/management_playbooks.log'
 LOGGING['handlers']['system_tracking_migrations']['filename'] = '/var/log/tower/tower_system_tracking_migrations.log'
 LOGGING['handlers']['rbac_migrations']['filename'] = '/var/log/tower/tower_rbac_migrations.log'