Docs: Updates the release and maintenance page to reflect new cadences (#73781)

Co-authored-by: Andrew Klychkov <aaklychkov@mail.ru>
Co-authored-by: John R Barker <john@johnrbarker.com>
Co-authored-by: Sandra McCann <samccann@redhat.com>
Co-authored-by: Alicia Cozine <acozine@users.noreply.github.com>
Co-authored-by: Andrew Klychkov <aaklychkov@mail.ru>
Co-authored-by: John R Barker <john@johnrbarker.com>
Co-authored-by: Sandra McCann <samccann@redhat.com>

1 files changed, 134 insertions, 120 deletions

diff --git a/docs/docsite/rst/reference_appendices/release_and_maintenance.rst b/docs/docsite/rst/reference_appendices/release_and_maintenance.rst
index 0a946e00f8..63be89851f 100644
--- a/docs/docsite/rst/reference_appendices/release_and_maintenance.rst
+++ b/docs/docsite/rst/reference_appendices/release_and_maintenance.rst
@@ -1,101 +1,105 @@
 .. _release_and_maintenance:
 
-Release and maintenance
-=======================
+************************
+Releases and maintenance
+************************
 
-This section describes the Ansible and ``ansible-core`` releases.
-Ansible is the package that most users install. ``ansible-core`` is
-primarily for developers.
+This section describes release cycles, rules, and maintenance schedules for both Ansible community projects: the Ansible community package and ``ansible-core``. The two projects have different versioning systems, maintenance structures, contents, and workflows.
+
+====================================================  ========================================================
+Ansible community package                             ansible-core
+====================================================  ========================================================
+Uses new versioning (2.10, then 3.0.0)                Continues "classic Ansible" versioning (2.10, then 2.11)
+Follows semantic versioning rules                     Does not use semantic versioning
+Maintains only one version at a time                  Maintains latest version plus two older versions
+Includes language, runtime, and selected Collections  Includes language, runtime, and builtin plugins
+Developed and maintained in Collection repositories   Developed and maintained in ansible/ansible repository
+====================================================  ========================================================
+
+Many community users install the Ansible community package. The Ansible community package offers the functionality that existed in Ansible 2.9, with more than 85 Collections containing thousands of modules and plugins. The ``ansible-core`` option is primarily for developers and users who want to install only the collections they need.
 
 .. contents::
    :local:
 
 .. _release_cycle:
 
-Ansible release cycle
------------------------
+Release cycle overview
+======================
+
+The two community releases are related - the release cycle follows this pattern:
+
+#. Release of a new ansible-core major version, for example, ansible-core 2.11
+
+   * New release of ansible-core and two prior versions are now maintained (in this case, ansible-base 2.10, Ansible 2.9)
+   * Work on new features for ansible-core continues in the ``devel`` branch
+
+#. Collection freeze (no new Collections or new versions of existing Collections) on the Ansible community package
+#. Release candidate for Ansible community package, testing, additional release candidates as necessary
+#. Release of a new Ansible community package major version based on the new ansible-core, for example, Ansible 4.0.0 based on ansible-core 2.11
+
+   * Newest release of the Ansible community package is the only version now maintained
+   * Work on new features continues in Collections
+   * Individual Collections can make multiple minor and/or major releases
 
-Ansible is developed and released on a flexible release cycle.
-This cycle can be extended in order to allow for larger changes to be properly
-implemented and tested before a new release is made available. See :ref:`roadmaps` for upcoming release details.
+#. Minor releases of three maintained ansible-core versions every three weeks (2.11.1)
+#. Minor releases of the single maintained Ansible community package version every three weeks (4.1.0)
+#. Feature freeze on ansible-core
+#. Release candidate for ansible-core, testing, additional release candidates as necessary
+#. Release of the next ansible-core major version, cycle begins again
 
-For Ansible version 2.10 or later, the major release is maintained for one release cycle. When the next release comes out (for example, 2.11), the older release (2.10 in this example) is no longer maintained.
+Release cycle for the Ansible community package
+-----------------------------------------------
 
-If you are using a release of Ansible that is no longer maintained, we strongly
-encourage you to upgrade as soon as possible in order to benefit from the
-latest features and security fixes.
+The Ansible community team typically releases two major versions of the community package per year, on a flexible release cycle that trails the release of ``ansible-core``. This cycle can be extended to allow for larger changes to be properly implemented and tested before a new release is made available. See :ref:`roadmaps` for upcoming release details. Between major versions, we release a new minor version of the Ansible community package every three weeks. Minor releases include new backwards-compatible features, modules and plugins, as well as bug fixes.
 
-Older, unmaintained versions of Ansible can contain unfixed security
-vulnerabilities (*CVE*).
+Starting with version 2.10, the Ansible community team guarantees maintenance for only one major community package release at a time. For example, when Ansible 4.0.0 gets released, the team will stop making new 3.x releases. Community members may maintain older versions if desired.
 
-You can refer to the :ref:`porting guides<porting_guides>` for tips on updating your Ansible
-playbooks to run on newer versions. For Ansible 2.10 and later releases, you can install the Ansible package with ``pip``. See :ref:`intro_installation_guide` for details.  For older releases, You can download the Ansible release from `<https://releases.ansible.com/ansible/>`_.
+.. note::
 
+   Older, unmaintained versions of the Ansible community package might contain unfixed security vulnerabilities (*CVEs*). If you are using a release of the Ansible community package that is no longer maintained, we strongly encourage you to upgrade as soon as possible in order to benefit from the latest features and security fixes.
 
+Each major release of the Ansible community package accepts the latest released version of each included Collection and the latest released version of ansible-core. For specific schedules and deadlines, see the :ref:`ansible_roadmaps` for each version. Major releases of the Ansible community package can contain breaking changes in the modules and other plugins within the included Collections and/or in core features.
 
+The Ansible community package follows semantic versioning rules. Minor releases of the Ansible community package accept only backwards-compatible changes in included Collections, in other words, not Collections major releases. Collections must also use semantic versioning, so the Collection version numbers reflect this rule. For example, if Ansible 3.0.0 releases with community.general 2.0.0, then all minor releases of Ansible 3.x (such as Ansible 3.1.0 or Ansible 3.5.0) must include a 2.x release of community.general (such as 2.8.0 or 2.9.5) and not 3.x.x or later major releases.
+
+Work in Collections is tracked within the individual Collection repositories.
+
+You can refer to the :ref:`Ansible package porting guides<porting_guides>` for tips on updating your playbooks to run on newer versions of Ansible. For Ansible 2.10 and later releases, you can install the Ansible package with ``pip``. See :ref:`intro_installation_guide` for details.  For older releases, you can download the Ansible release from `<https://releases.ansible.com/ansible/>`_.
 
 This table links to the release notes for each major Ansible release. These release notes (changelogs) contain the dates and significant changes in each minor release.
 
 ==================================      =================================================
-Ansible Release                         Status
+Ansible Community Package Release       Status
 ==================================      =================================================
-devel                                   In development (2.11 unreleased, trunk)
-`2.10 Release Notes`_                   In development (2.10 alpha/beta)
-`2.9 Release Notes`_                    Maintained (security **and** general bug fixes)
-`2.8 Release Notes`_                    Maintained (security fixes)
-`2.7 Release Notes`_                    Unmaintained (end of life)
-`2.6 Release Notes`_                    Unmaintained (end of life)
-`2.5 Release Notes`_                    Unmaintained (end of life)
-<2.5                                    Unmaintained (end of life)
+4.0.0                                   In development (unreleased)
+`3.x Release Notes`_                    Current
+`2.10 Release Notes`_                   Unmaintained (end of life)
 ==================================      =================================================
 
 
-.. Comment: devel used to point here but we're currently revamping our changelog process and have no
-   link to a static changelog for devel _2.6: https://github.com/ansible/ansible/blob/devel/CHANGELOG.md
-.. _2.10 Release Notes:
-.. _2.10: https://github.com/ansible-community/ansible-build-data/blob/main/2.10/CHANGELOG-v2.10.rst
-.. _2.9 Release Notes:
-.. _2.9: https://github.com/ansible/ansible/blob/stable-2.9/changelogs/CHANGELOG-v2.9.rst
-.. _2.8 Release Notes:
-.. _2.8: https://github.com/ansible/ansible/blob/stable-2.8/changelogs/CHANGELOG-v2.8.rst
-.. _2.7 Release Notes: https://github.com/ansible/ansible/blob/stable-2.7/changelogs/CHANGELOG-v2.7.rst
-.. _2.6 Release Notes:
-.. _2.6: https://github.com/ansible/ansible/blob/stable-2.6/changelogs/CHANGELOG-v2.6.rst
-.. _2.5 Release Notes: https://github.com/ansible/ansible/blob/stable-2.5/changelogs/CHANGELOG-v2.5.rst
+.. _3.x Release Notes: https://github.com/ansible-community/ansible-build-data/blob/main/3/CHANGELOG-v3.rst
+.. _2.10 Release Notes: https://github.com/ansible-community/ansible-build-data/blob/main/2.10/CHANGELOG-v2.10.rst
 
 
-ansible-core release cycle
---------------------------
+Release cycle for ansible-core
+-------------------------------
 
-``ansible-core`` is developed and released on a flexible release cycle.
-This cycle can be extended in order to allow for larger changes to be properly
-implemented and tested before a new release is made available. See :ref:`roadmaps` for upcoming release details.
+``ansible-core`` is developed and released on a flexible release cycle. This cycle can be extended in order to allow for larger changes to be properly implemented and tested before a new release is made available. See :ref:`roadmaps` for upcoming release details.
 
 ``ansible-core`` has a graduated maintenance structure that extends to three major releases.
 For more information, read about the :ref:`development_and_stable_version_maintenance_workflow` or
 see the chart in :ref:`release_schedule` for the degrees to which current releases are maintained.
 
-If you are using a release of ``ansible-core`` that is no longer maintained, we strongly
-encourage you to upgrade as soon as possible in order to benefit from the
-latest features and security fixes.
+.. note::
 
-Older, unmaintained versions of ``ansible-core`` can contain unfixed security
-vulnerabilities (*CVE*).
+   Older, unmaintained versions of ``ansible-core`` can contain unfixed security vulnerabilities (*CVEs*). If you are using a release of ``ansible-core`` that is no longer maintained, we strongly encourage you to upgrade as soon as possible to benefit from the latest features and security fixes. ``ansible-core`` maintenance continues for 3 releases.  Thus the latest release receives security and general bug fixes when it is first released, security and critical bug fixes when the next ``ansible-core`` version is released, and **only** security fixes once the follow on to that version is released.
 
-You can refer to the :ref:`porting guides<porting_guides>` for tips on updating your Ansible
-playbooks to run on newer versions.
+You can refer to the :ref:`core_porting_guides` for tips on updating your playbooks to run on newer versions of ``ansible-core``.
 
 You can install ``ansible-core`` with ``pip``. See :ref:`intro_installation_guide` for details.
 
-.. note:: ``ansible-core`` maintenance continues for 3 releases.  Thus the latest release receives
-    security and general bug fixes when it is first released, security and critical bug fixes when
-    the next ``ansible-core`` version is released, and **only** security fixes once the follow on
-    to that version is released.
-
-
 .. _release_schedule:
 
-
 This table links to the release notes for each major ``ansible-core``
 release. These release notes (changelogs) contain the dates and
 significant changes in each minor release.
@@ -105,105 +109,115 @@ significant changes in each minor release.
 ============================================= ======================================================
 devel                                         In development (ansible-core 2.11 unreleased, trunk)
 `2.10 ansible-base Release Notes`_            Maintained (security **and** general bug fixes)
+`2.9 Release Notes`_                          Maintained (pre-collections) (security **and** critical bug fixes)
+`2.8 Release Notes`_                          Maintained (pre-collections) (security fixes only)
+`2.7 Release Notes`_                          Unmaintained (end of life)
+`2.6 Release Notes`_                          Unmaintained (end of life)
+`2.5 Release Notes`_                          Unmaintained (end of life)
+<2.5                                          Unmaintained (end of life)
 ============================================= ======================================================
 
-
 .. _2.10 ansible-base Release Notes:
 .. _2.10-base: https://github.com/ansible/ansible/blob/stable-2.10/changelogs/CHANGELOG-v2.10.rst
+.. _2.9 Release Notes:
+.. _2.9: https://github.com/ansible/ansible/blob/stable-2.9/changelogs/CHANGELOG-v2.9.rst
+.. _2.8 Release Notes:
+.. _2.8: https://github.com/ansible/ansible/blob/stable-2.8/changelogs/CHANGELOG-v2.8.rst
+.. _2.7 Release Notes: https://github.com/ansible/ansible/blob/stable-2.7/changelogs/CHANGELOG-v2.7.rst
+.. _2.6 Release Notes:
+.. _2.6: https://github.com/ansible/ansible/blob/stable-2.6/changelogs/CHANGELOG-v2.6.rst
+.. _2.5 Release Notes: https://github.com/ansible/ansible/blob/stable-2.5/changelogs/CHANGELOG-v2.5.rst
 .. _support_life:
 .. _methods:
 
-.. _development_and_stable_version_maintenance_workflow:
+Preparing for a new release
+===========================
+
+.. _release_freezing:
 
-Development and stable version maintenance workflow
------------------------------------------------------
+Feature freezes
+---------------
 
-The Ansible community develops and maintains Ansible and ``ansible-core`` on GitHub_.
+During final preparations for a new release, core developers and maintainers focus on improving the release candidate, not on adding or reviewing new features. We may impose a feature freeze.
 
-Collection updates (new modules, plugins, features and bugfixes) will always be integrated in what will become the next version of Ansible. This work is tracked within the individual collection repositories.
+A feature freeze means that we delay new features and fixes that are not related to the pending release so we can ship the new release as soon as possible.
 
-Ansible and ``ansible-core`` provide bugfixes and security improvements
-for the most recent major release. The previous major release of
-``ansible-core`` will only receive fixes for security issues and
-critical bugs. ``ansible-core`` only applies security fixes to releases
-which are two releases old. This work is tracked on the
-``stable-<version>`` git branches.
 
-The fixes that land in maintained stable branches will eventually be released
-as a new version when necessary.
+Release candidates
+------------------
 
-Note that while there are no guarantees for providing fixes for unmaintained
-releases of Ansible, there can sometimes be exceptions for critical issues.
+We create at least one release candidate before each new major release of Ansible or ``ansible-core``. Release candidates allow the Ansible community to try out new features, test existing playbooks on the release candidate, and report bugs or issues they find.
 
-.. _GitHub: https://github.com/ansible/ansible
+Ansible and ``ansible-core`` tag the first release candidate (RC1) which is usually scheduled to last five business days. If no major bugs or issues are identified during this period, the release candidate becomes the final release.
 
-.. _release_changelogs:
+If there are major problems with the first candidate, the team and the community fix them and tag a second release candidate (RC2). This second candidate lasts for a shorter duration than the first. If no problems have been reported for an RC2 after two business days, the second release candidate becomes the final release.
 
-Changelogs
-^^^^^^^^^^^^
+If there are major problems in RC2, the cycle begins again with another release candidate and repeats until the maintainers agree that all major problems have been fixed.
 
-We generate changelogs based on fragments. Here is the generated changelog for 2.9_ as an example. When creating new features or fixing bugs, create a changelog fragment describing the change. A changelog entry is not needed for new modules or plugins. Details for those items will be generated from the module documentation.
 
-We've got :ref:`examples and instructions on creating changelog fragments <changelogs_how_to>` in the Community Guide.
+.. _development_and_stable_version_maintenance_workflow:
 
+Development and maintenance workflows
+=====================================
 
-Release candidates
-^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+In between releases, the Ansible community develops new features, maintains existing functionality, and fixes bugs in ``ansible-core`` and in the collections included in the Ansible community package.
 
-Before a new release or version of Ansible or ``ansible-core`` can be
-done, it will typically go through a release candidate process.
+Workflow for the Ansible community package
+------------------------------------------
 
-This provides the Ansible community the opportunity to test these releases and report
-bugs or issues they might come across.
+The Ansible community develops and maintains the features and functionality included in the Ansible community package in Collections repositories, with a workflow that looks like this:
 
-Ansible and ``ansible-core`` tag the first release candidate (``RC1``)
-which is usually scheduled to last five business days. The final release
-is done if no major bugs or issues are identified during this period.
+ * Developers add new features and bug fixes to the individual Collections, following each Collection's rules on contributing.
+ * Each new feature and each bug fix includes a changelog fragment describing the work.
+ * Release engineers create a minor release for the current version every three weeks to ensure that the latest bug fixes are available to users.
+ * At the end of the development period, the release engineers announce which Collections, and which major version of each included Collection,  will be included in the next release of the Ansible community package. New Collections and new major versions may not be added after this, and the work of creating a new release begins.
 
-If there are major problems with the first candidate, a second candidate will
-be tagged (``RC2``) once the necessary fixes have landed.
-This second candidate lasts for a shorter duration than the first.
-If no problems have been reported after two business days, the final release is
-done.
+We generally do not provide fixes for unmaintained releases of the Ansible community package, however, there can sometimes be exceptions for critical issues.
 
-More release candidates can be tagged as required, so long as there are
-bugs that the Ansible  or ``ansible-core`` core maintainers consider
-should be fixed before the final release.
+Some Collections are maintained by the Ansible team, some by Partner organizations, and some by community teams. For more information on adding features or fixing bugs in Ansible-maintained Collections, see :ref:`contributing_maintained_collections`.
 
-.. _release_freezing:
+Workflow for ansible-core
+-------------------------
 
-Feature freeze
-^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+The Ansible community develops and maintains ``ansible-core`` on GitHub_, with a workflow that looks like this:
 
-While there is a pending release candidate, the focus of core developers and
-maintainers will on fixes towards the release candidate.
+ * Developers add new features and bug fixes to the ``devel`` branch.
+ * Each new feature and each bug fix includes a changelog fragment describing the work.
+ * The development team backports bug fixes to one, two, or three stable branches, depending on the severity of the bug. They do not backport new features.
+ * Release engineers create a minor release for each maintained version every three weeks to ensure that the latest bug fixes are available to users.
+ * At the end of the development period, the release engineers impose a feature freeze and the work of creating a new release begins.
 
-Merging new features or fixes that are not related to the release candidate may
-be delayed in order to allow the new release to be shipped as soon as possible.
+We generally do not provide fixes for unmaintained releases of ``ansible-core``, however, there can sometimes be exceptions for critical issues.
 
+For more information on adding features or fixing bugs in ``ansible-core`` see :ref:`community_development_process`.
 
-Deprecation Cycle
-------------------
+.. _GitHub: https://github.com/ansible/ansible
+
+.. _release_changelogs:
+
+Changelogs
+----------
+
+We generate changelogs based on fragments. When creating new features for existing modules and plugins or fixing bugs, create a changelog fragment describing the change. A changelog entry is not needed for new modules or plugins. Details for those items will be generated from the module documentation.
+
+To add changelog fragments to Collections in the Ansible community package, we recommend the `antsibull-changelog utility <https://github.com/ansible-community/antsibull-changelog/blob/main/docs/changelogs.rst>`_.
+
+To add changelog fragments for new features and bux fixes in ``ansible-core``, see the :ref:`changelog examples and instructions<changelogs_how_to>` in the Community Guide.
 
-Sometimes we need to remove a feature, normally in favor of a reimplementation that we hope does a better job.
-To do this we have a deprecation cycle. First we mark a feature as 'deprecated'. This is normally accompanied with warnings
-to the user as to why we deprecated it, what alternatives they should switch to and when (which version) we are scheduled
-to remove the feature permanently.
+Deprecation cycles
+==================
 
-Ansible deprecation cycle
-^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+Sometimes we remove a feature, normally in favor of a reimplementation that we hope does a better job. To do this we have a deprecation cycle. First we mark a feature as 'deprecated'. This is normally accompanied with warnings to the user as to why we deprecated it, what alternatives they should switch to and when (which version) we are scheduled to remove the feature permanently.
 
-Since Ansible is a package of individual collections, the deprecation cycle depends on the collection maintainers. We recommend the collection maintainers deprecate a feature in one Ansible major version and do not remove that feature for one year, or at least until the next major Ansible version. For example, deprecate the feature in 2.10.2, and do not remove the feature until 2.12.0.  Collections should use semantic versioning, such that the major collection version cannot be changed within an Ansible major version. Thus the removal should not happen before the next major Ansible release. This is up to each collection maintainer and cannot be guaranteed.
+Deprecation cycle for the Ansible community package
+---------------------------------------------------
 
-ansible-core deprecation cycle
-^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+Since Ansible is a package of individual collections, the deprecation cycle depends on the collection maintainers. We recommend the collection maintainers deprecate a feature in one Ansible major version and do not remove that feature for one year, or at least until the next major Ansible version. For example, deprecate the feature in 3.1.0, and do not remove the feature until 5.0.0, or 4.0.0 at the earliest. Collections should use semantic versioning, such that the major collection version cannot be changed within an Ansible major version. Thus the removal should not happen before the next major Ansible community package release. This is up to each collection maintainer and cannot be guaranteed.
 
-The cycle is normally across 4 feature releases (2.x.y, where the x marks a feature release and the y a bugfix release),
-so the feature is normally removed in the 4th release after we announce the deprecation.
-For example, something deprecated in 2.9 will be removed in 2.13, assuming we don't jump to 3.x before that point.
-The tracking is tied to the number of releases, not the release numbering.
+Deprecation cycle for ansible-core
+----------------------------------
 
-For modules/plugins, we keep the documentation after the removal for users of older versions.
+The deprecation cycle in ``ansible-core`` is normally across 4 feature releases (2.x.y, where the x marks a feature release and the y a bugfix release), so the feature is normally removed in the 4th release after we announce the deprecation. For example, something deprecated in 2.9 will be removed in 2.13, assuming we do not jump to 3.x before that point. The tracking is tied to the number of releases, not the release numbering.
 
 .. seealso::