So with the new jenkins requiring java 11, I finally have everything setup except one slave node. This node is running Ubuntu 16, 32-bit, and I cannot find a 32 bit java 11 for Linux anywhere. I’m reading online that java 8 was the last version supporting 32 bit.
With that being said, is there a way to connect to a 32 bit node running java 8 with the new Jenkins java v 11 mandate?
Not reliably. Jenkins sends Java byte code from the controller to the agent as needed. If any of that byte code requires Java 11, then the Java 8 virtual machine will not be able to execute it.
You will need to rework your environment to act as though the thing that can’t run the Jenkins agent is a remote target (similar to development for embedded systems). Use ssh or other remote process tools to invoke commands on the remote machine.
As far as I can tell from my use of Java 11 on a 32 bit Raspberry Pi, there are still organizations (like the Eclipse Temurin distribution) that support Java 11 on a 32 bit processor. Azul Systems also provides a 32 bit amd64 Java 11 for Linux and Windows and 32 bit Java 11 for ARM processors running Linux.