[ANN] Tomcat 9.0.x End of Support and Tomcat 9 long term support plan

The Tomcat team has consistently stated that long term support (LTS) 
will be provided for Tomcat 9 as it is the last Tomcat version that 
supports Java EE. Tomcat 10 onwards switched to Jakarta EE. The details 
of that LTS have been evolving over time. As we approach the point where 
we'd normally be announcing end-of-support (EOS) for Tomcat 9, the 
Tomcat team is pleased to announce the following LTS plan for Tomcat 9.

- Tomcat 9 support will continue until 31 December 2030 - the same
   date as EOS for many Java 8 distributions.

- Tomcat 9.0.x support will continue until 31 March 2027.

- Shortly before 9.0.x support ends, releases from a new 9.1.x branch
   will be made available. Releases from the 9.1.x branch will continue
   until 31 December 2030.

The differences between 9.0.x and 9.1.x will be minimal and users can 
start making the necessary transition now. Those changes are:

- the APR/native connectors for HTTP, HTTPS and AJP will not be
   available

- Support for Tomcat Native 2.0.x will continue but Tomcat Native 1.3.x
   will not be supported (see the separate EOS announcement for Tomcat
   Native 1.3.x)

Users of the APR/native AJP connector are strongly encouraged to migrate 
to the NIO AJP connector and discontinue using Tomcat Native.

Users of the APR/native HTTP connector are strongly encouraged to 
migrate to the NIO HTTP connector and discontinue using Tomcat Native.

Users of the APR/native HTTPS connector are strongly encouraged to 
migrate to either the the HTTPS NIO+JSSE connector or the HTTPS 
NIO+OpenSSL connector.

Those migrating to the HTTP NIO+OpenSSL connector should then upgrade 
Tomcat Native to 2.0.x.

For users that are not using Tomcat Native or are using Tomcat Native 
2.0.x, the transition from 9.0.x to 9.1.x will be no different to a 
normal Tomcat point release upgrade.

Rather than continuing on 9.1.x, Tomcat 9 users are strongly encouraged 
to consider upgrading to a more recent Tomcat version making use of 
tools like the Tomcat Migration Tool for Jakarta EE.