Ansible 11

This is a proposed Change for Fedora Linux.
This document represents a proposed Change. As part of the Changes process, proposals are publicly announced in order to receive community feedback. This proposal will only be implemented if approved by the Fedora Engineering Steering Committee.

Summary

Update to Ansible 11 and Ansible Core 2.18, which no longer supports Python 2.7 and Python 3.6 target nodes, including EL 7 and EL 8 hosts.

Owner

Name: Maxwell G; Kevin Fenzi
Email: maxwell@gtmx.me; kevin@scrye.com

Current status

Targeted release: Fedora Linux 42
Last updated: 2024-09-15
[Announced]
[<will be assigned by the Wrangler> Discussion thread]
FESCo issue: <will be assigned by the Wrangler>
Tracker bug: <will be assigned by the Wrangler>
Release notes tracker: <will be assigned by the Wrangler>

Detailed Description

The premise of the change proposal is simple — a major version update from Ansible 9 (ansible) / Ansible Core 2.16 (ansible-core) to Ansible 11 / Ansible Core 2.18. This is being filed as a Change proposal instead of a standard update due to major breaking changes.

Ansible Core 2.18's minimum supported Python version on target nodes is Python 3.8 - 3.13. This means that Ansible will no longer be able to interact with RHEL 8 hosts (Python 3.6) or RHEL 7 hosts (Python 2.7). Ansible Core upstream plans to be more aggressive with dropping support for older Python versions on target nodes in the feature.

Ansible 9, the last release that supports Python 2.7 and Python 3.6 target nodes, will go EOL upstream in November 2024, so we must update to the latest Ansible to continue receiving upstream support.

The collections included in the Ansible 11 package will also receive the usual updates to their latest respective major versions. See the upstream roadmaps in the Documentation section for more details about other more minor Ansible Core changes and the release schedules for both Ansible and Ansible Core.

Feedback

Benefit to Fedora

Fedora will have the latest version of Ansible and continue receiving upstream support.

Scope

Proposal owners:
- Update the ansible and ansible-core packages
- Ensure Ansible Collections packages in Fedora are up to date and compatible with the latest Ansible version.

Other developers:
- Ensure Ansible Collections packages in Fedora that are not maintained by the Change owners are up to date and compatible with the latest Ansible version.

Upgrade/compatibility impact

Ansible Core 2.18's minimum supported Python version on target nodes is Python 3.8 - 3.13. This means that Ansible will no longer be able to interact with RHEL 8 hosts (Python 3.6) or RHEL 7 hosts (Python 2.7).

How To Test

Install the latest ansible/ansible-core packages once they arrive in the Fedora repos and ensure that your existing playbooks and installed collections and roles continue to function as they did before.

User Experience

Users will have the latest version of Ansible and Ansible Core.

Dependencies

Ansible Collection packages in Fedora should be tested against the new ansible-core release.

Contingency Plan

Contingency mechanism: (What to do? Who will do it?) N/A (not a System Wide Change)
Contingency deadline: N/A (not a System Wide Change)
Blocks release? N/A (not a System Wide Change), Yes/No

Documentation

Release Notes