How to Upgrade from AAP 2.4 to AAP 2.6 — Step-by-Step Guide

Introduction

Red Hat provides a direct upgrade path from Ansible Automation Platform 2.4 to 2.6, with streamlined processes for topology migration, enterprise authentication, and IAM migration. This guide walks you through the upgrade process.

See also: AAP 2.6 RPM Deprecation — Planning Your Containerized Migration

Pre-Upgrade Planning

Compatibility Check

Before upgrading, verify: • Your current AAP version is 2.4.x • You're running on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 (required for RPM installations) • All current jobs and workflows are in a stable state • You have recent backups of your database and configurations

What's Included in the Upgrade

| Feature | AAP 2.4 → 2.6 | |---------|----------------| | Direct upgrade path | ✅ Yes | | Supported topology migration | ✅ Yes | | Streamlined enterprise auth migration | ✅ Yes | | Automated IAM migration | ✅ Yes |

Step-by-Step Upgrade Process

Step 1: Backup Your Environment

# Backup the AAP database
pg_dump -U awx awx > aap_backup_$(date +%Y%m%d).sql
# Backup configuration files
tar czf aap_config_backup.tar.gz /etc/ansible-automation-platform/

Step 2: Download AAP 2.6

Download the AAP 2.6 installer from the Red Hat Customer Portal or use the subscription manager:

# Via subscription-manager
subscription-manager repos --enable ansible-automation-platform-2.6-for-rhel-9-x86_64-rpms

Step 3: Run the Installer

The AAP 2.6 installer detects your existing 2.4 installation and handles the upgrade automatically:

# Extract and run the installer
tar xf ansible-automation-platform-setup-2.6.tar.gz
cd ansible-automation-platform-setup-2.6/
./setup.sh

Step 4: Verify the Upgrade

After the installer completes:

# Check platform version
automation-controller-service status
# Verify all services are running
systemctl status automation-controller
systemctl status automation-hub
systemctl status automation-eda-controller

See also: Standardized Environment Variables in AAP 2.6 — Migration Guide

Topology Migration (RPM to Containerized)

AAP 2.6 supports a documented "lift and shift" process to move from RPM-based to containerized installations: Export your current configuration Deploy a containerized AAP 2.6 environment Import your jobs, data, and configurations Validate and cut over

This is especially important since RPM installations are deprecated after AAP 2.6.

Enterprise Authentication Migration

SAML, LDAP, and OIDC configurations are seamlessly migrated to the platform gateway. The automated migration: • Preserves all authentication settings • Migrates users, teams, roles, and permissions • Maintains RBAC model and administrator privileges

See also: How to Upgrade from AAP 2.5 to AAP 2.6 — Quick Guide

Post-Upgrade Checklist

• [ ] Verify all job templates execute successfully • [ ] Test enterprise authentication (LDAP/SAML/OIDC) • [ ] Confirm Event-Driven Ansible rulebooks are functional • [ ] Review the new automation dashboard • [ ] Test the Lightspeed intelligent assistant • [ ] Plan your migration to containerized installation

Conclusion

The upgrade from AAP 2.4 to 2.6 is a well-supported path with automated migration of authentication and IAM. Start planning your upgrade now, especially given the RPM deprecation timeline.

For more Ansible tutorials and guides, explore the complete article collection on Ansible Pilot.

Related Articles

• template lookups in Ansible • job templates in Ansible AWX • what Ansible roles are and how to use them