ansible/changelogs/fragments/ansible-test-container-overhaul.yml

major_changes:
  - ansible-test - SSH port forwarding and redirection is now used exclusively to make container ports available on non-container hosts.
                   When testing on POSIX systems this requires SSH login as root.
                   Previously SSH port forwarding was combined with firewall rules or other port redirection methods, with some platforms being unsupported.
  - ansible-test - All "cloud" plugins which use containers can now be used with all POSIX and Windows hosts.
                   Previously the plugins did not work with Windows at all, and support for hosts created with the ``--remote`` option was inconsistent.
  - ansible-test - Most container features are now supported under Podman.
                   Previously a symbolic link for ``docker`` pointing to ``podman`` was required.
minor_changes:
  - ansible-test - All "cloud" plugins have been refactored for more consistency.
                   For those that use docker containers, management of the containers has been standardized.
  - ansible-test - All "cloud" plugins now use fixed hostnames and ports in tests.
                   Previously some tests used IP addresses and/or randomly assigned ports.
  - ansible-test - The HTTP Tester has been converted to a "cloud" plugin and can now be requested using the ``cloud/httptester`` alias.
                   The original ``needs/httptester`` alias is still supported for backwards compatibility.
  - ansible-test - The HTTP Tester can now be used without the ``--docker`` or `--remote`` options.
                   It still requires use of the ``docker`` command to run the container.
  - ansible-test - The ``docker run`` option ``--link`` is no longer used to connect test containers.
                   As a result, changes are made to the ``/etc/hosts`` file as needed on all test containers.
                   Previously containers which were used with the ``--link`` option did not require changes to the ``/etc/hosts`` file.
  - ansible-test - Changes made to the ``hosts`` file on test systems are now done using an Ansible playbook for both POSIX and Windows systems.
                   Changes are applied before a test target runs and are reverted after the test target finishes.
  - ansible-test - Environment variables exposed by "cloud" plugins are now available to the controller for role based tests.
                   Previously only script based tests had access to the exposed environment variables.
breaking_changes:
  - ansible-test - The ``--httptester`` option is no longer available.
                   To override the container used for HTTP Tester tests, set the ``ANSIBLE_HTTP_TEST_CONTAINER`` environment variable instead.
  - ansible-test - The ``--disable-httptester`` option is no longer available.
                   The HTTP Tester is no longer optional for tests that specify it.
  - ansible-test - The HTTP Tester is no longer available with the ``ansible-test shell`` command.
                   Only the ``integration`` and ``windows-integration`` commands provide HTTP Tester.
bugfixes:
  - ansible-test - Running tests in a single test run with multiple "cloud" plugins no longer results in port conflicts.
                   Previously two or more containers with overlapping ports could not be used in the same test run.
  - ansible-test - Random port selection is no longer handled by ``ansible-test``, avoiding possible port conflicts.
                   Previously ``ansible-test`` would, under some circumstances, use one host's available ports to determine those of another host.
  - ansible-test - The ``docker inspect`` command is now used to check for existing images instead of the ``docker images`` command.
                   This resolves an issue where a ``docker pull`` would be unnecessarily executed for an image referenced by checksum.
  - ansible-test - Failure to download test results from a remote host no longer hide test failures.
                   If a download failure occurs after tests fail, a warning will be issued instead.