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42655f737a
* Clarify the release and maintenance cycle * Namespace refs a little * Fix an unrelated problem with plugin return docs to fix docs build
148 lines
6.3 KiB
ReStructuredText
148 lines
6.3 KiB
ReStructuredText
Release and maintenance
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=======================
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.. contents:: Topics
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:local:
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.. _release_cycle:
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Release cycle
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`````````````
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Ansible is developed and released on a flexible 4 months release cycle.
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This cycle can be extended in order to allow for larger changes to be properly
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implemented and tested before a new release is made available.
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Ansible has a graduated support structure that extends to three major releases.
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For more information, read about the `development and stable version maintenance workflow`_ or see
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the chart in :ref:`schedule` for the degrees to which current releases are supported.
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.. note:: Support for three major releases began with Ansible-2.4. Ansible-2.3 and older versions
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are only supported for two releases.
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If you are using a release of Ansible that is no longer supported, we strongly
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encourage you to upgrade as soon as possible in order to benefit from the
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latest features and security fixes.
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Older, unsupported versions of Ansible can contain unfixed security
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vulnerabilities (*CVE*).
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You can refer to the `porting guides`_ for tips on updating your Ansible
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playbooks to run on newer versions.
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.. _porting guides: https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/porting_guides.html
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.. _release_schedule:
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Release status
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``````````````
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=============== ========================== =================================================
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Ansible Release Latest Version Status
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=============== ========================== =================================================
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devel `2.5`_ (unreleased, trunk) In development
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2.4 `2.4.1`_ (2017-10-25) Supported (security **and** general bug fixes)
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2.3 `2.3.2`_ (2017-08-08) Supported (security **and** critical bug fixes)
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2.2 `2.2.3`_ (2017-05-09) Unsupported (end of life)
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2.1 `2.1.6`_ (2017-06-01) Unsupported (end of life)
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2.0 `2.0.2`_ (2016-04-19) Unsupported (end of life)
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1.9 `1.9.6`_ (2016-04-15) Unsupported (end of life)
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<1.9 n/a Unsupported (end of life)
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=============== ========================== =================================================
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.. note:: Starting with Ansible-2.4, support lasts for 3 releases. Thus Ansible-2.4 will receive
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security and general bug fixes when it is first released, security and critical bug fixes when
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2.5 is released, and **only** security fixes once 2.6 is released.
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.. _2.5: https://github.com/ansible/ansible/blob/devel/CHANGELOG.md
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.. _2.4.1: https://github.com/ansible/ansible/blob/stable-2.4/CHANGELOG.md
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.. _2.3.2: https://github.com/ansible/ansible/blob/stable-2.3/CHANGELOG.md
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.. _2.2.3: https://github.com/ansible/ansible/blob/stable-2.2/CHANGELOG.md
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.. _2.1.6: https://github.com/ansible/ansible/blob/stable-2.1/CHANGELOG.md
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.. _2.0.2: https://github.com/ansible/ansible/blob/stable-2.0/CHANGELOG.md
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.. _1.9.6: https://github.com/ansible/ansible/blob/stable-1.9/CHANGELOG.md
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.. _support_life:
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.. _methods:
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Development and stable version maintenance workflow
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```````````````````````````````````````````````````
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The Ansible community develops and maintains Ansible on GitHub_.
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New modules, plugins, features and bugfixes will always be integrated in what will become the next
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major version of Ansible. This work is tracked on the ``devel`` git branch.
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Ansible provides bugfixes and security improvements for the most recent major release. The previous
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major release will only receive fixes for security issues and critical bugs. Ansible only applies
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security fixes to releases which are two releases old. This work is tracked on the
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``stable-<version>`` git branches.
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.. note:: Support for three major releases began with Ansible-2.4. Ansible-2.3 and older versions
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are only supported for two releases with the first stage including both security and general bug
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fixes while the second stage includes security and critical bug fixes
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The fixes that land in supported stable branches will eventually be released
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as a new version when necessary.
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For more information on the changes included in each new version, you can refer
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to the changelog_, available on GitHub.
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Note that while there are no guarantees for providing fixes for unsupported
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releases of Ansible, there can sometimes be exceptions for critical issues.
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.. _GitHub: https://github.com/ansible/ansible
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.. _changelog: https://github.com/ansible/ansible/blob/devel/CHANGELOG.md
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Release candidates
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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Before a new release or version of Ansible can be done, it will typically go
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through a release candidate process.
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This provides the Ansible community the opportunity to test Ansible and report
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bugs or issues they might come across.
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Ansible tags the first release candidate (``RC1``) which is usually scheduled
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to last five business days. The final release is done if no major bugs or
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issues are identified during this period.
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If there are major problems with the first candidate, a second candidate will
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be tagged (``RC2``) once the necessary fixes have landed.
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This second candidate lasts for a shorter duration than the first.
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If no problems have been reported after two business days, the final release is
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done.
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More release candidates can be tagged as required, so long as there are
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bugs that the Ansible core maintainers consider should be fixed before the
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final release.
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.. _release_freezing:
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Feature freeze
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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While there is a pending release candidate, the focus of core developers and
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maintainers will on fixes towards the release candidate.
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Merging new features or fixes that are not related to the release candidate may
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be delayed in order to allow the new release to be shipped as soon as possible.
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.. seealso::
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:doc:`committer_guidelines`
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Guidelines for Ansible core contributors and maintainers
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:doc:`test_strategies`
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Testing strategies
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:doc:`community`
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Community information and contributing
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`Ansible Changelog <https://github.com/ansible/ansible/blob/devel/CHANGELOG.md>`_
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Documentation of the improvements for each version of Ansible
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`Ansible release tarballs <https://releases.ansible.com/ansible/>`_
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Ansible release tarballs
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`Development Mailing List <http://groups.google.com/group/ansible-devel>`_
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Mailing list for development topics
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`irc.freenode.net <http://irc.freenode.net>`_
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#ansible IRC chat channel
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