diff --git a/playbooks/boilerplate.yml b/playbooks/boilerplate.yml
index f3198023f..789384773 100644
--- a/playbooks/boilerplate.yml
+++ b/playbooks/boilerplate.yml
@@ -30,6 +30,13 @@
         key: "{{ (group_names | intersect(item.value) | length > 0) | ternary(item.key, '_all') }}"
       loop: "{{ group_mappings | dict2items }}"
 
+- name: Check inventory settings
+  hosts: all
+  gather_facts: false
+  tags: always
+  roles:
+    - validate_inventory
+
 - name: Install bastion ssh config
   hosts: bastion[0]
   gather_facts: false
diff --git a/roles/kubernetes/preinstall/tasks/0040-verify-settings.yml b/roles/kubernetes/preinstall/tasks/0040-verify-settings.yml
index 26c1233f1..489a45a3f 100644
--- a/roles/kubernetes/preinstall/tasks/0040-verify-settings.yml
+++ b/roles/kubernetes/preinstall/tasks/0040-verify-settings.yml
@@ -1,57 +1,4 @@
 ---
-- name: Stop if some versions have a 'v' left at the start
-  # TODO: drop this task after 2.28.0 is released
-  # The 'not defined' tests are exception for applications which version in not defined
-  # in kubespray-defaults, only in their own roles.
-  assert:
-    msg: |
-      All version string used in kubespray have been normalized to not use a leading 'v'.
-      This check will be dropped in the next minor release.
-    that:
-      - argocd_version is not defined or not argocd_version.startswith('v')
-      - not aws_ebs_csi_plugin_version.startswith('v')
-      - not azure_csi_plugin_version.startswith('v')
-      - not calico_version.startswith('v')
-      - not calico_apiserver_version.startswith('v')
-      - not calico_ctl_version.startswith('v')
-      - not calico_typha_version.startswith('v')
-      - not cert_manager_version.startswith('v')
-      - not cilium_cli_version.startswith('v')
-      - not cilium_version.startswith('v')
-      - not cinder_csi_plugin_version.startswith('v')
-      - not cni_version.startswith('v')
-      - not dnsautoscaler_version.startswith('v')
-      - not flannel_cni_version.startswith('v')
-      - not flannel_version.startswith('v')
-      - gateway_api_version is not defined or not gateway_api_version.startswith('v')
-      - not gcp_pd_csi_plugin_version.startswith('v')
-      - not helm_version.startswith('v')
-      - not kube_ovn_version.startswith('v')
-      - not kube_router_version.startswith('v')
-      - not kube_version.startswith('v')
-      - kube_vip_version is not defined or not kube_vip_version.startswith('v')
-      - not local_path_provisioner_version.startswith('v')
-      - not local_volume_provisioner_version.startswith('v')
-      - not metallb_version.startswith('v')
-      - not metrics_server_version.startswith('v')
-      - not multus_version.startswith('v')
-      - not netcheck_version.startswith('v')
-      - not runc_version.startswith('v')
-      - not skopeo_version.startswith('v')
-      - not yq_version.startswith('v')
-
-- name: Stop if some derived versions have a 'v' left at the start
-  # TODO: drop this task after 2.28.0 is released
-  # The 'not defined' tests are exception for applications which version in not defined
-  # in kubespray-defaults, only in their own roles.
-  assert:
-    msg: |
-      All version string used in kubespray have been normalized to not use a leading 'v'.
-      This check will be dropped in the next minor release.
-    that:
-      - not etcd_version.startswith('v')
-      - not pod_infra_version.startswith('v')
-
 - name: Stop if any host not in '--limit' does not have a fact cache
   vars:
     uncached_hosts: "{{ hostvars | dict2items | selectattr('value.ansible_default_ipv6', 'undefined') | selectattr('value.ansible_default_ipv4', 'undefined') | map(attribute='key') }}"
@@ -66,21 +13,6 @@
   when:
     - ansible_limit is defined
     - not ignore_assert_errors
-
-- name: Stop if kube_control_plane group is empty
-  assert:
-    that: groups.get( 'kube_control_plane' )
-  run_once: true
-  when: not ignore_assert_errors
-
-- name: Stop if etcd group is empty in external etcd mode
-  assert:
-    that: groups.get('etcd') or etcd_deployment_type == 'kubeadm'
-    fail_msg: "Group 'etcd' cannot be empty in external etcd mode"
-  run_once: true
-  when:
-    - not ignore_assert_errors
-
 - name: Stop if non systemd OS type
   assert:
     that: ansible_service_mgr == "systemd"
@@ -92,38 +24,6 @@
     msg: "{{ ansible_distribution }} is not a known OS"
   when: not ignore_assert_errors
 
-- name: Warn if `kube_network_plugin` is `none
-  debug:
-    msg: |
-      "WARNING! => `kube_network_plugin` is set to `none`. The network configuration will be skipped.
-      The cluster won't be ready to use, we recommend to select one of the available plugins"
-  when:
-    - kube_network_plugin == 'none'
-
-- name: Stop if unsupported version of Kubernetes
-  assert:
-    that: kube_version is version(kube_version_min_required, '>=')
-    msg: "The current release of Kubespray only support newer version of Kubernetes than {{ kube_version_min_required }} - You are trying to apply {{ kube_version }}"
-  when: not ignore_assert_errors
-
-- name: "Stop if known booleans are set as strings (Use JSON format on CLI: -e \"{'key': true }\")"
-  assert:
-    that:
-      - download_run_once | type_debug == 'bool'
-      - deploy_netchecker | type_debug == 'bool'
-      - download_always_pull | type_debug == 'bool'
-      - helm_enabled | type_debug == 'bool'
-      - openstack_lbaas_enabled | type_debug == 'bool'
-  run_once: true
-  when: not ignore_assert_errors
-
-- name: Stop if even number of etcd hosts
-  assert:
-    that: groups.get('etcd', groups.kube_control_plane) | length is not divisibleby 2
-  run_once: true
-  when:
-    - not ignore_assert_errors
-
 - name: Stop if memory is too small for control plane nodes
   assert:
     that: ansible_memtotal_mb >= minimal_master_memory_mb
@@ -145,21 +45,6 @@
   changed_when: false
   when: not ignore_assert_errors
 
-# This assertion will fail on the safe side: One can indeed schedule more pods
-# on a node than the CIDR-range has space for when additional pods use the host
-# network namespace. It is impossible to ascertain the number of such pods at
-# provisioning time, so to establish a guarantee, we factor these out.
-# NOTICE: the check blatantly ignores the inet6-case
-- name: Guarantee that enough network address space is available for all pods
-  assert:
-    that: "{{ (kubelet_max_pods | default(110)) | int <= (2 ** (32 - kube_network_node_prefix | int)) - 2 }}"
-    msg: "Do not schedule more pods on a node than inet addresses are available."
-  when:
-    - not ignore_assert_errors
-    - ('k8s_cluster' in group_names)
-    - kube_network_plugin not in ['calico', 'none']
-    - ipv4_stack | bool
-
 - name: Stop if ip var does not match local ips
   assert:
     that: (ip in ansible_all_ipv4_addresses) or (ip in ansible_all_ipv6_addresses)
@@ -193,13 +78,6 @@
     - ping_access_ip
   changed_when: false
 
-- name: Stop if RBAC is not enabled when dashboard is enabled
-  assert:
-    that: rbac_enabled
-  when:
-    - dashboard_enabled
-    - not ignore_assert_errors
-
 - name: Stop if kernel version is too low for cilium
   assert:
     that: ansible_kernel.split('-')[0] is version('4.9.17', '>=')
@@ -220,114 +98,6 @@
     msg: "Hostname must consist of lower case alphanumeric characters, '.' or '-', and must start and end with an alphanumeric character"
   when: not ignore_assert_errors
 
-- name: Check cloud_provider value
-  assert:
-    that: cloud_provider == 'external'
-  when:
-    - cloud_provider
-    - not ignore_assert_errors
-  tags:
-    - cloud-provider
-    - facts
-
-- name: Check external_cloud_provider value
-  assert:
-    that: external_cloud_provider in ['hcloud', 'huaweicloud', 'oci', 'openstack', 'vsphere', 'manual']
-  when:
-    - cloud_provider == 'external'
-    - not ignore_assert_errors
-  tags:
-    - cloud-provider
-    - facts
-
-- name: Warn if `enable_dual_stack_networks` is set
-  debug:
-    msg: "WARNING! => `enable_dual_stack_networks` deprecation. Please switch to using ipv4_stack and ipv6_stack."
-  when:
-    - enable_dual_stack_networks is defined
-
-- name: "Check that kube_service_addresses is a network range"
-  assert:
-    that:
-      - kube_service_addresses | ansible.utils.ipaddr('net')
-    msg: "kube_service_addresses = '{{ kube_service_addresses }}' is not a valid network range"
-  run_once: true
-  when: ipv4_stack | bool
-
-- name: "Check that kube_pods_subnet is a network range"
-  assert:
-    that:
-      - kube_pods_subnet | ansible.utils.ipaddr('net')
-    msg: "kube_pods_subnet = '{{ kube_pods_subnet }}' is not a valid network range"
-  run_once: true
-  when: ipv4_stack | bool
-
-- name: "Check that kube_pods_subnet does not collide with kube_service_addresses"
-  assert:
-    that:
-      - kube_pods_subnet | ansible.utils.ipaddr(kube_service_addresses) | string == 'None'
-    msg: "kube_pods_subnet cannot be the same network segment as kube_service_addresses"
-  run_once: true
-  when: ipv4_stack | bool
-
-- name: "Check that ipv4 IP range is enough for the nodes"
-  assert:
-    that:
-      - 2 ** (kube_network_node_prefix - kube_pods_subnet | ansible.utils.ipaddr('prefix')) >= groups['k8s_cluster'] | length
-    msg: "Not enough ipv4 IPs are available for the desired node count."
-  when:
-    - ipv4_stack | bool
-    - kube_network_plugin != 'calico'
-  run_once: true
-
-- name: "Check that kube_service_addresses_ipv6 is a network range"
-  assert:
-    that:
-      - kube_service_addresses_ipv6 | ansible.utils.ipaddr('net')
-    msg: "kube_service_addresses_ipv6 = '{{ kube_service_addresses_ipv6 }}' is not a valid network range"
-  run_once: true
-  when: ipv6_stack | bool
-
-- name: "Check that kube_pods_subnet_ipv6 is a network range"
-  assert:
-    that:
-      - kube_pods_subnet_ipv6 | ansible.utils.ipaddr('net')
-    msg: "kube_pods_subnet_ipv6 = '{{ kube_pods_subnet_ipv6 }}' is not a valid network range"
-  run_once: true
-  when: ipv6_stack | bool
-
-- name: "Check that kube_pods_subnet_ipv6 does not collide with kube_service_addresses_ipv6"
-  assert:
-    that:
-      - kube_pods_subnet_ipv6 | ansible.utils.ipaddr(kube_service_addresses_ipv6) | string == 'None'
-    msg: "kube_pods_subnet_ipv6 cannot be the same network segment as kube_service_addresses_ipv6"
-  run_once: true
-  when: ipv6_stack | bool
-
-- name: "Check that ipv6 IP range is enough for the nodes"
-  assert:
-    that:
-      - 2 ** (kube_network_node_prefix_ipv6 - kube_pods_subnet_ipv6 | ansible.utils.ipaddr('prefix')) >= groups['k8s_cluster'] | length
-    msg: "Not enough ipv6 IPs are available for the desired node count."
-  when:
-    - ipv6_stack | bool
-    - kube_network_plugin != 'calico'
-  run_once: true
-
-- name: Stop if unsupported options selected
-  assert:
-    that:
-      - kube_network_plugin in ['calico', 'flannel', 'weave', 'cloud', 'cilium', 'cni', 'kube-ovn', 'kube-router', 'macvlan', 'custom_cni', 'none']
-      - dns_mode in ['coredns', 'coredns_dual', 'manual', 'none']
-      - kube_proxy_mode in ['iptables', 'ipvs', 'nftables']
-      - cert_management in ['script', 'none']
-      - resolvconf_mode in ['docker_dns', 'host_resolvconf', 'none']
-      - etcd_deployment_type in ['host', 'docker', 'kubeadm']
-      - etcd_deployment_type in ['host', 'kubeadm'] or container_manager == 'docker'
-      - container_manager in ['docker', 'crio', 'containerd']
-    msg: The selected choice is not supported
-  run_once: true
-
 - name: Stop if /etc/resolv.conf has no configured nameservers
   assert:
     that: configured_nameservers | length>0
@@ -337,56 +107,12 @@
     - not disable_host_nameservers
     - dns_mode in ['coredns', 'coredns_dual']
 
-# TODO: Clean this task up after 2.28 is released
-- name: Stop if etcd_kubeadm_enabled is defined
-  run_once: true
-  assert:
-    that: etcd_kubeadm_enabled is not defined
-    msg: |
-      `etcd_kubeadm_enabled` is removed.
-       You can set `etcd_deployment_type` to `kubeadm` instead of setting `etcd_kubeadm_enabled` to `true`."
-
-- name: Stop if download_localhost is enabled but download_run_once is not
-  assert:
-    that: download_run_once
-    msg: "download_localhost requires enable download_run_once"
-  when: download_localhost
-
-- name: Stop if kata_containers_enabled is enabled when container_manager is docker
-  assert:
-    that: container_manager != 'docker'
-    msg: "kata_containers_enabled support only for containerd and crio-o. See https://github.com/kata-containers/documentation/blob/1.11.4/how-to/run-kata-with-k8s.md#install-a-cri-implementation for details"
-  when: kata_containers_enabled
-
-- name: Stop if gvisor_enabled is enabled when container_manager is not containerd
-  assert:
-    that: container_manager == 'containerd'
-    msg: "gvisor_enabled support only compatible with containerd. See https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/kubespray/issues/7650 for details"
-  when: gvisor_enabled
-
 - name: Stop if download_localhost is enabled for Flatcar Container Linux
   assert:
     that: ansible_os_family not in ["Flatcar", "Flatcar Container Linux by Kinvolk"]
     msg: "download_run_once not supported for Flatcar Container Linux"
   when: download_run_once or download_force_cache
 
-- name: Ensure minimum containerd version
-  assert:
-    that: containerd_version is version(containerd_min_version_required, '>=')
-    msg: "containerd_version is too low. Minimum version {{ containerd_min_version_required }}"
-  run_once: true
-  when:
-    - containerd_version not in ['latest', 'edge', 'stable']
-    - container_manager == 'containerd'
-
-- name: Stop if auto_renew_certificates is enabled when certificates are managed externally (kube_external_ca_mode is true)
-  assert:
-    that: not auto_renew_certificates
-    msg: "Variable auto_renew_certificates must be disabled when CA are managed externally:  kube_external_ca_mode = true"
-  when:
-    - kube_external_ca_mode
-    - not ignore_assert_errors
-
 - name: Verify that the packages list is sorted
   vars:
     pkgs_lists: "{{ pkgs.keys() | list }}"
diff --git a/roles/validate_inventory/tasks/main.yml b/roles/validate_inventory/tasks/main.yml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..4168aefe8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/roles/validate_inventory/tasks/main.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,270 @@
+---
+# This should only contains check of the inventory itself, nothing depending on facts
+# Checks depending on current state (of the nodes or the cluster)
+# should be in roles/kubernetes/preinstall/tasks/0040-verify-settings.yml
+- name: Stop if some versions have a 'v' left at the start
+  # TODO: drop this task after 2.28.0 is released
+  # The 'not defined' tests are exception for applications which version in not defined
+  # in kubespray-defaults, only in their own roles.
+  assert:
+    msg: |
+      All version string used in kubespray have been normalized to not use a leading 'v'.
+      This check will be dropped in the next minor release.
+    that:
+      - argocd_version is not defined or not argocd_version.startswith('v')
+      - not aws_ebs_csi_plugin_version.startswith('v')
+      - not azure_csi_plugin_version.startswith('v')
+      - not calico_version.startswith('v')
+      - not calico_apiserver_version.startswith('v')
+      - not calico_ctl_version.startswith('v')
+      - not calico_typha_version.startswith('v')
+      - not cert_manager_version.startswith('v')
+      - not cilium_cli_version.startswith('v')
+      - not cilium_version.startswith('v')
+      - not cinder_csi_plugin_version.startswith('v')
+      - not cni_version.startswith('v')
+      - not dnsautoscaler_version.startswith('v')
+      - not flannel_cni_version.startswith('v')
+      - not flannel_version.startswith('v')
+      - gateway_api_version is not defined or not gateway_api_version.startswith('v')
+      - not gcp_pd_csi_plugin_version.startswith('v')
+      - not helm_version.startswith('v')
+      - not kube_ovn_version.startswith('v')
+      - not kube_router_version.startswith('v')
+      - not kube_version.startswith('v')
+      - kube_vip_version is not defined or not kube_vip_version.startswith('v')
+      - not local_path_provisioner_version.startswith('v')
+      - not local_volume_provisioner_version.startswith('v')
+      - not metallb_version.startswith('v')
+      - not metrics_server_version.startswith('v')
+      - not multus_version.startswith('v')
+      - not netcheck_version.startswith('v')
+      - not runc_version.startswith('v')
+      - not skopeo_version.startswith('v')
+      - not yq_version.startswith('v')
+
+- name: Stop if some derived versions have a 'v' left at the start
+  # TODO: drop this task after 2.28.0 is released
+  # The 'not defined' tests are exception for applications which version in not defined
+  # in kubespray-defaults, only in their own roles.
+  assert:
+    msg: |
+      All version string used in kubespray have been normalized to not use a leading 'v'.
+      This check will be dropped in the next minor release.
+    that:
+      - not etcd_version.startswith('v')
+      - not pod_infra_version.startswith('v')
+
+- name: Stop if kube_control_plane group is empty
+  assert:
+    that: groups.get( 'kube_control_plane' )
+  run_once: true
+  when: not ignore_assert_errors
+
+- name: Stop if etcd group is empty in external etcd mode
+  assert:
+    that: groups.get('etcd') or etcd_deployment_type == 'kubeadm'
+    fail_msg: "Group 'etcd' cannot be empty in external etcd mode"
+  run_once: true
+  when:
+    - not ignore_assert_errors
+
+- name: Warn if `kube_network_plugin` is `none
+  debug:
+    msg: |
+      "WARNING! => `kube_network_plugin` is set to `none`. The network configuration will be skipped.
+      The cluster won't be ready to use, we recommend to select one of the available plugins"
+  when:
+    - kube_network_plugin == 'none'
+
+- name: Stop if unsupported version of Kubernetes
+  assert:
+    that: kube_version is version(kube_version_min_required, '>=')
+    msg: "The current release of Kubespray only support newer version of Kubernetes than {{ kube_version_min_required }} - You are trying to apply {{ kube_version }}"
+  when: not ignore_assert_errors
+
+- name: "Stop if known booleans are set as strings (Use JSON format on CLI: -e \"{'key': true }\")"
+  assert:
+    that:
+      - download_run_once | type_debug == 'bool'
+      - deploy_netchecker | type_debug == 'bool'
+      - download_always_pull | type_debug == 'bool'
+      - helm_enabled | type_debug == 'bool'
+      - openstack_lbaas_enabled | type_debug == 'bool'
+  run_once: true
+  when: not ignore_assert_errors
+
+- name: Stop if even number of etcd hosts
+  assert:
+    that: groups.get('etcd', groups.kube_control_plane) | length is not divisibleby 2
+  run_once: true
+  when:
+    - not ignore_assert_errors
+
+# This assertion will fail on the safe side: One can indeed schedule more pods
+# on a node than the CIDR-range has space for when additional pods use the host
+# network namespace. It is impossible to ascertain the number of such pods at
+# provisioning time, so to establish a guarantee, we factor these out.
+# NOTICE: the check blatantly ignores the inet6-case
+- name: Guarantee that enough network address space is available for all pods
+  assert:
+    that: "{{ (kubelet_max_pods | default(110)) | int <= (2 ** (32 - kube_network_node_prefix | int)) - 2 }}"
+    msg: "Do not schedule more pods on a node than inet addresses are available."
+  when:
+    - not ignore_assert_errors
+    - ('k8s_cluster' in group_names)
+    - kube_network_plugin not in ['calico', 'none']
+    - ipv4_stack | bool
+
+- name: Stop if RBAC is not enabled when dashboard is enabled
+  assert:
+    that: rbac_enabled
+  when:
+    - dashboard_enabled
+    - not ignore_assert_errors
+
+- name: Check cloud_provider value
+  assert:
+    that: cloud_provider == 'external'
+  when:
+    - cloud_provider
+    - not ignore_assert_errors
+
+- name: Check external_cloud_provider value
+  assert:
+    that: external_cloud_provider in ['hcloud', 'huaweicloud', 'oci', 'openstack', 'vsphere', 'manual']
+  when:
+    - cloud_provider == 'external'
+    - not ignore_assert_errors
+
+- name: "Check that kube_service_addresses is a network range"
+  assert:
+    that:
+      - kube_service_addresses | ansible.utils.ipaddr('net')
+    msg: "kube_service_addresses = '{{ kube_service_addresses }}' is not a valid network range"
+  run_once: true
+  when: ipv4_stack | bool
+
+- name: "Check that kube_pods_subnet is a network range"
+  assert:
+    that:
+      - kube_pods_subnet | ansible.utils.ipaddr('net')
+    msg: "kube_pods_subnet = '{{ kube_pods_subnet }}' is not a valid network range"
+  run_once: true
+  when: ipv4_stack | bool
+
+- name: "Check that kube_pods_subnet does not collide with kube_service_addresses"
+  assert:
+    that:
+      - kube_pods_subnet | ansible.utils.ipaddr(kube_service_addresses) | string == 'None'
+    msg: "kube_pods_subnet cannot be the same network segment as kube_service_addresses"
+  run_once: true
+  when: ipv4_stack | bool
+
+- name: "Check that ipv4 IP range is enough for the nodes"
+  assert:
+    that:
+      - 2 ** (kube_network_node_prefix - kube_pods_subnet | ansible.utils.ipaddr('prefix')) >= groups['k8s_cluster'] | length
+    msg: "Not enough ipv4 IPs are available for the desired node count."
+  when:
+    - ipv4_stack | bool
+    - kube_network_plugin != 'calico'
+  run_once: true
+
+- name: "Check that kube_service_addresses_ipv6 is a network range"
+  assert:
+    that:
+      - kube_service_addresses_ipv6 | ansible.utils.ipaddr('net')
+    msg: "kube_service_addresses_ipv6 = '{{ kube_service_addresses_ipv6 }}' is not a valid network range"
+  run_once: true
+  when: ipv6_stack | bool
+
+- name: "Check that kube_pods_subnet_ipv6 is a network range"
+  assert:
+    that:
+      - kube_pods_subnet_ipv6 | ansible.utils.ipaddr('net')
+    msg: "kube_pods_subnet_ipv6 = '{{ kube_pods_subnet_ipv6 }}' is not a valid network range"
+  run_once: true
+  when: ipv6_stack | bool
+
+- name: "Check that kube_pods_subnet_ipv6 does not collide with kube_service_addresses_ipv6"
+  assert:
+    that:
+      - kube_pods_subnet_ipv6 | ansible.utils.ipaddr(kube_service_addresses_ipv6) | string == 'None'
+    msg: "kube_pods_subnet_ipv6 cannot be the same network segment as kube_service_addresses_ipv6"
+  run_once: true
+  when: ipv6_stack | bool
+
+- name: "Check that ipv6 IP range is enough for the nodes"
+  assert:
+    that:
+      - 2 ** (kube_network_node_prefix_ipv6 - kube_pods_subnet_ipv6 | ansible.utils.ipaddr('prefix')) >= groups['k8s_cluster'] | length
+    msg: "Not enough ipv6 IPs are available for the desired node count."
+  when:
+    - ipv6_stack | bool
+    - kube_network_plugin != 'calico'
+  run_once: true
+
+- name: Stop if unsupported options selected
+  assert:
+    that:
+      - kube_network_plugin in ['calico', 'flannel', 'weave', 'cloud', 'cilium', 'cni', 'kube-ovn', 'kube-router', 'macvlan', 'custom_cni', 'none']
+      - dns_mode in ['coredns', 'coredns_dual', 'manual', 'none']
+      - kube_proxy_mode in ['iptables', 'ipvs', 'nftables']
+      - cert_management in ['script', 'none']
+      - resolvconf_mode in ['docker_dns', 'host_resolvconf', 'none']
+      - etcd_deployment_type in ['host', 'docker', 'kubeadm']
+      - etcd_deployment_type in ['host', 'kubeadm'] or container_manager == 'docker'
+      - container_manager in ['docker', 'crio', 'containerd']
+    msg: The selected choice is not supported
+  run_once: true
+
+- name: Warn if `enable_dual_stack_networks` is set
+  debug:
+    msg: "WARNING! => `enable_dual_stack_networks` deprecation. Please switch to using ipv4_stack and ipv6_stack."
+  when:
+    - enable_dual_stack_networks is defined
+
+# TODO: Clean this task up after 2.28 is released
+- name: Stop if etcd_kubeadm_enabled is defined
+  run_once: true
+  assert:
+    that: etcd_kubeadm_enabled is not defined
+    msg: |
+      `etcd_kubeadm_enabled` is removed.
+       You can set `etcd_deployment_type` to `kubeadm` instead of setting `etcd_kubeadm_enabled` to `true`."
+
+- name: Stop if download_localhost is enabled but download_run_once is not
+  assert:
+    that: download_run_once
+    msg: "download_localhost requires enable download_run_once"
+  when: download_localhost
+
+- name: Stop if kata_containers_enabled is enabled when container_manager is docker
+  assert:
+    that: container_manager != 'docker'
+    msg: "kata_containers_enabled support only for containerd and crio-o. See https://github.com/kata-containers/documentation/blob/1.11.4/how-to/run-kata-with-k8s.md#install-a-cri-implementation for details"
+  when: kata_containers_enabled
+
+- name: Stop if gvisor_enabled is enabled when container_manager is not containerd
+  assert:
+    that: container_manager == 'containerd'
+    msg: "gvisor_enabled support only compatible with containerd. See https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/kubespray/issues/7650 for details"
+  when: gvisor_enabled
+
+- name: Ensure minimum containerd version
+  assert:
+    that: containerd_version is version(containerd_min_version_required, '>=')
+    msg: "containerd_version is too low. Minimum version {{ containerd_min_version_required }}"
+  run_once: true
+  when:
+    - containerd_version not in ['latest', 'edge', 'stable']
+    - container_manager == 'containerd'
+
+- name: Stop if auto_renew_certificates is enabled when certificates are managed externally (kube_external_ca_mode is true)
+  assert:
+    that: not auto_renew_certificates
+    msg: "Variable auto_renew_certificates must be disabled when CA are managed externally:  kube_external_ca_mode = true"
+  when:
+    - kube_external_ca_mode
+    - not ignore_assert_errors