Changes Pending when declaration sent to a BIG-IP device group with dry-run in AS3_Class or ADC_Controls

[eatlife]

Is your feature request related to a problem? Please describe.

Sending a declaration with dry-run either via the AS3_Class or ADC_Controls, results in a 'Changes Pending' message on the BIG-IP HA device group, even though no changes should have been made because of the dry-run action. Determining whether the changes pending state on the BIG-IP device group is benign because of a dry-run or reflects a config drift between the active and standby devices adds complexity. It causes the issue to be investigated every time a dry-run is executed. This impacts productivity and the efficiency of our operational model.

Observed on: TMOS version: 15.1.6 and 17.1.0.2 AS3 version: AS 3.36.1

Describe the solution you'd like

The dry-run feature should allow you to test the declaration but not apply ANY changes to the BIG-IP system. This functionality is critical for integration into our production automation pipeline and should function as described in: https://clouddocs.f5.com/products/extensions/f5-appsvcs-extension/latest/declarations/miscellaneous.html#using-dry-run-as-an-adc-controls-object.

Per the documentation: When you submit a declaration using dry-run set to true, BIG-IP AS3 does NOT deploy the declaration or make any changes to the configuration, but responds letting you know whether or not it would succeed. This behavior is the same whether you are using the dry-run action, or as an ADC Controls object. This not what we are experiencing.

Describe alternatives you've considered

Additional context

[sunitharonan]

Thank you for reaching out. In order to prioritize and understand the issue better, please reach out to us at automation_toolchain_pm@f5.com

[sunitharonan]

I have created an internal backlog item AUTOTOOL-4273 and added to product backlog