diff --git a/buildSrc/src/integTest/groovy/org/elasticsearch/gradle/DistributionDownloadPluginFuncTest.groovy b/buildSrc/src/integTest/groovy/org/elasticsearch/gradle/DistributionDownloadPluginFuncTest.groovy
index 0cf70a1845fca..d7648c860130e 100644
--- a/buildSrc/src/integTest/groovy/org/elasticsearch/gradle/DistributionDownloadPluginFuncTest.groovy
+++ b/buildSrc/src/integTest/groovy/org/elasticsearch/gradle/DistributionDownloadPluginFuncTest.groovy
@@ -20,7 +20,6 @@
 package org.elasticsearch.gradle
 
 import org.elasticsearch.gradle.fixtures.AbstractGradleFuncTest
-import org.elasticsearch.gradle.transform.SymbolicLinkPreservingUntarTransform
 import org.gradle.testkit.runner.TaskOutcome
 import spock.lang.Unroll
 
@@ -61,17 +60,21 @@ class DistributionDownloadPluginFuncTest extends AbstractGradleFuncTest {
         """
 
         when:
-        def runner = gradleRunner('clean', 'setupDistro', '-i')
+        def guh = new File(testProjectDir.getRoot(), "gradle-user-home").absolutePath;
+        def runner = gradleRunner('clean', 'setupDistro', '-i', '-g', guh)
         def result = withMockedDistributionDownload(version, platform, runner) {
             // initial run
-            build()
+            def firstRun = build()
+            assertOutputContains(firstRun.output, "Unpacking elasticsearch-${version}-linux-x86_64.tar.gz " +
+                    "using SymbolicLinkPreservingUntarTransform")
             // 2nd invocation
             build()
         }
 
         then:
         result.task(":setupDistro").outcome == TaskOutcome.SUCCESS
-        assertOutputContains(result.output, "Skipping ${SymbolicLinkPreservingUntarTransform.class.simpleName}")
+        assertOutputMissing(result.output, "Unpacking elasticsearch-${version}-linux-x86_64.tar.gz " +
+                "using SymbolicLinkPreservingUntarTransform")
     }
 
     def "transforms are reused across projects"() {
@@ -109,7 +112,7 @@ class DistributionDownloadPluginFuncTest extends AbstractGradleFuncTest {
         then:
         result.tasks.size() == 3
         result.output.count("Unpacking elasticsearch-${version}-linux-x86_64.tar.gz " +
-                "using SymbolicLinkPreservingUntarTransform.") == 1
+                "using SymbolicLinkPreservingUntarTransform") == 1
     }
 
     private boolean assertExtractedDistroCreated(String relativePath) {
diff --git a/buildSrc/src/integTest/groovy/org/elasticsearch/gradle/ElasticsearchJavaPluginFuncTest.groovy b/buildSrc/src/integTest/groovy/org/elasticsearch/gradle/ElasticsearchJavaPluginFuncTest.groovy
index b13c0cc61dbf6..f104473278291 100644
--- a/buildSrc/src/integTest/groovy/org/elasticsearch/gradle/ElasticsearchJavaPluginFuncTest.groovy
+++ b/buildSrc/src/integTest/groovy/org/elasticsearch/gradle/ElasticsearchJavaPluginFuncTest.groovy
@@ -58,11 +58,4 @@ class ElasticsearchJavaPluginFuncTest extends AbstractGradleFuncTest {
         then:
         gradleRunner("help").build()
     }
-
-    private File someJavaSource() {
-        file("src/main/java/org/acme/SomeClass.java") << """
-        package org.acme;
-        public class SomeClass {}
-        """
-    }
 }
diff --git a/buildSrc/src/integTest/groovy/org/elasticsearch/gradle/JdkDownloadPluginFuncTest.groovy b/buildSrc/src/integTest/groovy/org/elasticsearch/gradle/JdkDownloadPluginFuncTest.groovy
index 643f5c6eacbbd..804fe2ef350a2 100644
--- a/buildSrc/src/integTest/groovy/org/elasticsearch/gradle/JdkDownloadPluginFuncTest.groovy
+++ b/buildSrc/src/integTest/groovy/org/elasticsearch/gradle/JdkDownloadPluginFuncTest.groovy
@@ -135,7 +135,7 @@ class JdkDownloadPluginFuncTest extends AbstractGradleFuncTest {
 
         then:
         result.tasks.size() == 3
-        result.output.count("Unpacking linux-12.0.2-x64.tar.gz using ${SymbolicLinkPreservingUntarTransform.simpleName}.") == 1
+        result.output.count("Unpacking linux-12.0.2-x64.tar.gz using ${SymbolicLinkPreservingUntarTransform.simpleName}") == 1
 
         where:
         platform | jdkVendor           | jdkVersion        | expectedJavaBin
@@ -177,18 +177,20 @@ class JdkDownloadPluginFuncTest extends AbstractGradleFuncTest {
 
             def commonGradleUserHome = testProjectDir.newFolder().toString()
             // initial run
-            gradleRunner('clean', 'getJdk', '-g', commonGradleUserHome).build()
+            def firstResult = gradleRunner('clean', 'getJdk', '-i', '--warning-mode', 'all', '-g', commonGradleUserHome).build()
+            // assert the output of an executed transform is shown
+            assertOutputContains(firstResult.output, "Unpacking $expectedArchiveName using $transformType")
             // run against up-to-date transformations
-            gradleRunner('clean', 'getJdk', '-i', '-g', commonGradleUserHome).build()
+            gradleRunner('clean', 'getJdk', '-i', '--warning-mode', 'all', '-g', commonGradleUserHome).build()
         }
 
         then:
-        assertOutputContains(result.output, "Skipping $transformType")
+        normalized(result.output).contains("Unpacking $expectedArchiveName using $transformType") == false
 
         where:
-        platform  | transformType
-        "linux"   | SymbolicLinkPreservingUntarTransform.class.simpleName
-        "windows" | UnzipTransform.class.simpleName
+        platform  | expectedArchiveName       | transformType
+        "linux"   | "linux-12.0.2-x64.tar.gz" | SymbolicLinkPreservingUntarTransform.class.simpleName
+        "windows" | "windows-12.0.2-x64.zip"  | UnzipTransform.class.simpleName
     }
 
     static boolean assertExtraction(String output, String javaBin) {
@@ -237,6 +239,7 @@ class JdkDownloadPluginFuncTest extends AbstractGradleFuncTest {
                     if(repo.name == "jdk_repo_${jdkVendor}_${jdkVersion}") {
                       repo.setUrl('${server.baseUrl()}')
                     }
+                    allowInsecureProtocol = true
                 }
            }"""
     }
diff --git a/buildSrc/src/integTest/groovy/org/elasticsearch/gradle/fixtures/AbstractGradleFuncTest.groovy b/buildSrc/src/integTest/groovy/org/elasticsearch/gradle/fixtures/AbstractGradleFuncTest.groovy
index a0f1033e0a131..716ba3cb62b88 100644
--- a/buildSrc/src/integTest/groovy/org/elasticsearch/gradle/fixtures/AbstractGradleFuncTest.groovy
+++ b/buildSrc/src/integTest/groovy/org/elasticsearch/gradle/fixtures/AbstractGradleFuncTest.groovy
@@ -35,11 +35,14 @@ abstract class AbstractGradleFuncTest extends Specification {
 
     File settingsFile
     File buildFile
+    File propertiesFile
 
     def setup() {
         settingsFile = testProjectDir.newFile('settings.gradle')
         settingsFile << "rootProject.name = 'hello-world'\n"
         buildFile = testProjectDir.newFile('build.gradle')
+        propertiesFile = testProjectDir.newFile('gradle.properties')
+        propertiesFile << "org.gradle.java.installations.fromEnv=JAVA_HOME,RUNTIME_JAVA_HOME,JAVA15_HOME,JAVA14_HOME,JAVA13_HOME,JAVA12_HOME,JAVA11_HOME,JAVA8_HOME"
     }
 
     GradleRunner gradleRunner(String... arguments) {
@@ -60,6 +63,10 @@ abstract class AbstractGradleFuncTest extends Specification {
         true
     }
 
+    def assertOutputMissing(String givenOutput, String expected) {
+        assert normalized(givenOutput).contains(normalized(expected)) == false
+        true
+    }
     String normalized(String input) {
         String normalizedPathPrefix = testProjectDir.root.canonicalPath.replace('\\', '/')
         return input.readLines()
diff --git a/buildSrc/src/integTest/java/org/elasticsearch/gradle/BuildPluginIT.java b/buildSrc/src/integTest/java/org/elasticsearch/gradle/BuildPluginIT.java
index 3097a738446f1..2000f61fbc32c 100644
--- a/buildSrc/src/integTest/java/org/elasticsearch/gradle/BuildPluginIT.java
+++ b/buildSrc/src/integTest/java/org/elasticsearch/gradle/BuildPluginIT.java
@@ -105,7 +105,9 @@ private void runInsecureArtifactRepositoryTest(final String name, final String u
             .withProjectDir(tmpDir.getRoot())
             .withArguments("clean", "hello", "-s", "-i", "--warning-mode=all", "--scan")
             .withPluginClasspath()
+            .forwardOutput()
             .buildAndFail();
+
         assertOutputContains(
             result.getOutput(),
             "repository [" + name + "] on project with path [:] is not using a secure protocol for artifacts on [" + url + "]"
diff --git a/buildSrc/src/integTest/java/org/elasticsearch/gradle/precommit/TestingConventionsTasksIT.java b/buildSrc/src/integTest/java/org/elasticsearch/gradle/precommit/TestingConventionsTasksIT.java
index 1ac206b2a5d36..374dfe40991bc 100644
--- a/buildSrc/src/integTest/java/org/elasticsearch/gradle/precommit/TestingConventionsTasksIT.java
+++ b/buildSrc/src/integTest/java/org/elasticsearch/gradle/precommit/TestingConventionsTasksIT.java
@@ -62,7 +62,7 @@ public void testNamingConvention() {
             "  * org.elasticsearch.gradle.testkit.LooksLikeATestWithoutNamingConvention2",
             "  * org.elasticsearch.gradle.testkit.LooksLikeATestWithoutNamingConvention3"
         );
-        assertOutputDoesNotContain(result.getOutput(), "LooksLikeTestsButAbstract");
+        assertOutputMissing(result.getOutput(), "LooksLikeTestsButAbstract");
     }
 
     public void testNoEmptyTasks() {
diff --git a/buildSrc/src/integTest/java/org/elasticsearch/gradle/precommit/ThirdPartyAuditTaskIT.java b/buildSrc/src/integTest/java/org/elasticsearch/gradle/precommit/ThirdPartyAuditTaskIT.java
index e9431bbb3badc..2359cdf97ebd1 100644
--- a/buildSrc/src/integTest/java/org/elasticsearch/gradle/precommit/ThirdPartyAuditTaskIT.java
+++ b/buildSrc/src/integTest/java/org/elasticsearch/gradle/precommit/ThirdPartyAuditTaskIT.java
@@ -74,7 +74,7 @@ public void testViolationFoundAndCompileOnlyIgnored() {
 
         assertTaskFailed(result, ":absurd");
         assertOutputContains(result.getOutput(), "Classes with violations:", "  * TestingIO", "> Audit of third party dependencies failed");
-        assertOutputDoesNotContain(result.getOutput(), "Missing classes:");
+        assertOutputMissing(result.getOutput(), "Missing classes:");
         assertNoDeprecationWarning(result);
     }
 
@@ -96,7 +96,7 @@ public void testClassNotFoundAndCompileOnlyIgnored() {
             "  * org.apache.logging.log4j.LogManager",
             "> Audit of third party dependencies failed"
         );
-        assertOutputDoesNotContain(result.getOutput(), "Classes with violations:");
+        assertOutputMissing(result.getOutput(), "Classes with violations:");
         assertNoDeprecationWarning(result);
     }
 
@@ -118,7 +118,7 @@ public void testJarHellWithJDK() {
             "   Jar Hell with the JDK:",
             "    * java.lang.String"
         );
-        assertOutputDoesNotContain(result.getOutput(), "Classes with violations:");
+        assertOutputMissing(result.getOutput(), "Classes with violations:");
         assertNoDeprecationWarning(result);
     }
 
diff --git a/buildSrc/src/integTest/resources/org/elasticsearch/gradle/internal/fake_git/remote/gradle.properties b/buildSrc/src/integTest/resources/org/elasticsearch/gradle/internal/fake_git/remote/gradle.properties
index 6761776ee0ce4..8d6d05f0c768e 100644
--- a/buildSrc/src/integTest/resources/org/elasticsearch/gradle/internal/fake_git/remote/gradle.properties
+++ b/buildSrc/src/integTest/resources/org/elasticsearch/gradle/internal/fake_git/remote/gradle.properties
@@ -19,4 +19,7 @@
 
 # forcing to use TLS1.2 to avoid failure in vault
 # see https://github.com/hashicorp/vault/issues/8750#issuecomment-631236121
-systemProp.jdk.tls.client.protocols=TLSv1.2
\ No newline at end of file
+systemProp.jdk.tls.client.protocols=TLSv1.2
+
+# java homes resolved by environment variables
+org.gradle.java.installations.fromEnv=JAVA_HOME,RUNTIME_JAVA_HOME,JAVA15_HOME,JAVA14_HOME,JAVA13_HOME,JAVA12_HOME,JAVA11_HOME,JAVA8_HOME
diff --git a/buildSrc/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/gradle/info/GlobalBuildInfoPlugin.java b/buildSrc/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/gradle/info/GlobalBuildInfoPlugin.java
index 1478c0d78f355..482e622e480c3 100644
--- a/buildSrc/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/gradle/info/GlobalBuildInfoPlugin.java
+++ b/buildSrc/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/gradle/info/GlobalBuildInfoPlugin.java
@@ -28,12 +28,12 @@
 import org.gradle.api.Project;
 import org.gradle.api.logging.Logger;
 import org.gradle.api.logging.Logging;
-import org.gradle.api.model.ObjectFactory;
-import org.gradle.api.provider.Provider;
 import org.gradle.api.provider.ProviderFactory;
 import org.gradle.internal.jvm.Jvm;
-import org.gradle.jvm.toolchain.JavaInstallation;
-import org.gradle.jvm.toolchain.JavaInstallationRegistry;
+import org.gradle.internal.jvm.inspection.JvmInstallationMetadata;
+import org.gradle.internal.jvm.inspection.JvmMetadataDetector;
+import org.gradle.jvm.toolchain.internal.InstallationLocation;
+import org.gradle.jvm.toolchain.internal.SharedJavaInstallationRegistry;
 import org.gradle.util.GradleVersion;
 
 import javax.inject.Inject;
@@ -50,7 +50,6 @@
 import java.nio.file.Paths;
 import java.time.ZoneOffset;
 import java.time.ZonedDateTime;
-import java.util.ArrayList;
 import java.util.Arrays;
 import java.util.HashMap;
 import java.util.Iterator;
@@ -68,14 +67,18 @@ public class GlobalBuildInfoPlugin implements Plugin<Project> {
     private static final String DEFAULT_VERSION_JAVA_FILE_PATH = "server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/Version.java";
     private static Integer _defaultParallel = null;
 
-    private final JavaInstallationRegistry javaInstallationRegistry;
-    private final ObjectFactory objects;
+    private final SharedJavaInstallationRegistry javaInstallationRegistry;
+    private final JvmMetadataDetector metadataDetector;
     private final ProviderFactory providers;
 
     @Inject
-    public GlobalBuildInfoPlugin(JavaInstallationRegistry javaInstallationRegistry, ObjectFactory objects, ProviderFactory providers) {
+    public GlobalBuildInfoPlugin(
+        SharedJavaInstallationRegistry javaInstallationRegistry,
+        JvmMetadataDetector metadataDetector,
+        ProviderFactory providers
+    ) {
         this.javaInstallationRegistry = javaInstallationRegistry;
-        this.objects = objects;
+        this.metadataDetector = metadataDetector;
         this.providers = providers;
     }
 
@@ -105,8 +108,8 @@ public void apply(Project project) {
             params.setRuntimeJavaHome(runtimeJavaHome);
             params.setRuntimeJavaVersion(determineJavaVersion("runtime java.home", runtimeJavaHome, minimumRuntimeVersion));
             params.setIsRutimeJavaHomeSet(Jvm.current().getJavaHome().equals(runtimeJavaHome) == false);
-            params.setRuntimeJavaDetails(getJavaInstallation(runtimeJavaHome).getImplementationName());
-            params.setJavaVersions(getAvailableJavaVersions(minimumCompilerVersion));
+            params.setRuntimeJavaDetails(getJavaInstallation(runtimeJavaHome).getDisplayName());
+            params.setJavaVersions(getAvailableJavaVersions());
             params.setMinimumCompilerVersion(minimumCompilerVersion);
             params.setMinimumRuntimeVersion(minimumRuntimeVersion);
             params.setGradleJavaVersion(Jvm.current().getJavaVersion());
@@ -146,20 +149,22 @@ private void logGlobalBuildInfo() {
         final String osVersion = System.getProperty("os.version");
         final String osArch = System.getProperty("os.arch");
         final Jvm gradleJvm = Jvm.current();
-        final String gradleJvmDetails = getJavaInstallation(gradleJvm.getJavaHome()).getImplementationName();
-
+        JvmInstallationMetadata gradleJvmMetadata = metadataDetector.getMetadata(gradleJvm.getJavaHome());
+        final String gradleJvmVendorDetails = gradleJvmMetadata.getVendor().getDisplayName();
         LOGGER.quiet("=======================================");
         LOGGER.quiet("Elasticsearch Build Hamster says Hello!");
         LOGGER.quiet("  Gradle Version        : " + GradleVersion.current().getVersion());
         LOGGER.quiet("  OS Info               : " + osName + " " + osVersion + " (" + osArch + ")");
         if (BuildParams.getIsRuntimeJavaHomeSet()) {
-            String runtimeJvmDetails = getJavaInstallation(BuildParams.getRuntimeJavaHome()).getImplementationName();
-            LOGGER.quiet("  Runtime JDK Version   : " + BuildParams.getRuntimeJavaVersion() + " (" + runtimeJvmDetails + ")");
+            final String runtimeJvmVendorDetails = metadataDetector.getMetadata(BuildParams.getRuntimeJavaHome())
+                .getVendor()
+                .getDisplayName();
+            LOGGER.quiet("  Runtime JDK Version   : " + BuildParams.getRuntimeJavaVersion() + " (" + runtimeJvmVendorDetails + ")");
             LOGGER.quiet("  Runtime java.home     : " + BuildParams.getRuntimeJavaHome());
-            LOGGER.quiet("  Gradle JDK Version    : " + gradleJvm.getJavaVersion() + " (" + gradleJvmDetails + ")");
+            LOGGER.quiet("  Gradle JDK Version    : " + gradleJvm.getJavaVersion() + " (" + gradleJvmVendorDetails + ")");
             LOGGER.quiet("  Gradle java.home      : " + gradleJvm.getJavaHome());
         } else {
-            LOGGER.quiet("  JDK Version           : " + gradleJvm.getJavaVersion() + " (" + gradleJvmDetails + ")");
+            LOGGER.quiet("  JDK Version           : " + gradleJvm.getJavaVersion() + " (" + gradleJvmVendorDetails + ")");
             LOGGER.quiet("  JAVA_HOME             : " + gradleJvm.getJavaHome());
         }
         LOGGER.quiet("  Random Testing Seed   : " + BuildParams.getTestSeed());
@@ -168,8 +173,8 @@ private void logGlobalBuildInfo() {
     }
 
     private JavaVersion determineJavaVersion(String description, File javaHome, JavaVersion requiredVersion) {
-        JavaInstallation installation = getJavaInstallation(javaHome);
-        JavaVersion actualVersion = installation.getJavaVersion();
+        InstallationLocation installation = getJavaInstallation(javaHome);
+        JavaVersion actualVersion = metadataDetector.getMetadata(installation.getLocation()).getLanguageVersion();
         if (actualVersion.isCompatibleWith(requiredVersion) == false) {
             throwInvalidJavaHomeException(
                 description,
@@ -182,46 +187,33 @@ private JavaVersion determineJavaVersion(String description, File javaHome, Java
         return actualVersion;
     }
 
-    private JavaInstallation getJavaInstallation(File javaHome) {
-        JavaInstallation installation;
-        if (isCurrentJavaHome(javaHome)) {
-            installation = javaInstallationRegistry.getInstallationForCurrentVirtualMachine().get();
-        } else {
-            installation = javaInstallationRegistry.installationForDirectory(objects.directoryProperty().fileValue(javaHome)).get();
-        }
-
-        return installation;
+    private InstallationLocation getJavaInstallation(File javaHome) {
+        return javaInstallationRegistry.listInstallations()
+            .stream()
+            .filter(installationLocation -> isSameFile(javaHome, installationLocation))
+            .findFirst()
+            .get();
     }
 
-    private List<JavaHome> getAvailableJavaVersions(JavaVersion minimumCompilerVersion) {
-        final List<JavaHome> javaVersions = new ArrayList<>();
-        for (int v = 8; v <= Integer.parseInt(minimumCompilerVersion.getMajorVersion()); v++) {
-            int version = v;
-            String javaHomeEnvVarName = getJavaHomeEnvVarName(Integer.toString(version));
-            if (System.getenv(javaHomeEnvVarName) != null) {
-                File javaHomeDirectory = new File(findJavaHome(Integer.toString(version)));
-                Provider<JavaInstallation> javaInstallationProvider = javaInstallationRegistry.installationForDirectory(
-                    objects.directoryProperty().fileValue(javaHomeDirectory)
-                );
-                JavaHome javaHome = JavaHome.of(version, providers.provider(() -> {
-                    int actualVersion = Integer.parseInt(javaInstallationProvider.get().getJavaVersion().getMajorVersion());
-                    if (actualVersion != version) {
-                        throwInvalidJavaHomeException("env variable " + javaHomeEnvVarName, javaHomeDirectory, version, actualVersion);
-                    }
-                    return javaHomeDirectory;
-                }));
-                javaVersions.add(javaHome);
-            }
+    private boolean isSameFile(File javaHome, InstallationLocation installationLocation) {
+        try {
+            return Files.isSameFile(installationLocation.getLocation().toPath(), javaHome.toPath());
+        } catch (IOException ioException) {
+            throw new UncheckedIOException(ioException);
         }
-        return javaVersions;
     }
 
-    private static boolean isCurrentJavaHome(File javaHome) {
-        try {
-            return Files.isSameFile(javaHome.toPath(), Jvm.current().getJavaHome().toPath());
-        } catch (IOException e) {
-            throw new UncheckedIOException(e);
-        }
+    /**
+     * We resolve all available java versions using auto detected by gradles tool chain
+     * To make transition more reliable we only take env var provided installations into account for now
+     */
+    private List<JavaHome> getAvailableJavaVersions() {
+        return javaInstallationRegistry.listInstallations().stream().map(installationLocation -> {
+            File installationDir = installationLocation.getLocation();
+            JvmInstallationMetadata metadata = metadataDetector.getMetadata(installationDir);
+            int actualVersion = Integer.parseInt(metadata.getLanguageVersion().getMajorVersion());
+            return JavaHome.of(actualVersion, providers.provider(() -> installationDir));
+        }).collect(Collectors.toList());
     }
 
     private static String getTestSeed() {
diff --git a/buildSrc/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/gradle/precommit/JarHellPrecommitPlugin.java b/buildSrc/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/gradle/precommit/JarHellPrecommitPlugin.java
index 6cb5dd7f7a2a5..33f7b3a265e82 100644
--- a/buildSrc/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/gradle/precommit/JarHellPrecommitPlugin.java
+++ b/buildSrc/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/gradle/precommit/JarHellPrecommitPlugin.java
@@ -32,6 +32,9 @@ public class JarHellPrecommitPlugin extends PrecommitPlugin {
     public TaskProvider<? extends Task> createTask(Project project) {
         Configuration jarHellConfig = project.getConfigurations().create("jarHell");
         if (BuildParams.isInternal() && project.getPath().equals(":libs:elasticsearch-core") == false) {
+            // ideally we would configure this as a default dependency. But Default dependencies do not work correctly
+            // with gradle project dependencies as they're resolved to late in the build and don't setup according task
+            // dependencies properly
             project.getDependencies().add("jarHell", project.project(":libs:elasticsearch-core"));
         }
         TaskProvider<JarHellTask> jarHell = project.getTasks().register("jarHell", JarHellTask.class);
diff --git a/buildSrc/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/gradle/transform/SymbolicLinkPreservingUntarTransform.java b/buildSrc/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/gradle/transform/SymbolicLinkPreservingUntarTransform.java
index 95cf2108766fb..5c6e7b4cb7ff0 100644
--- a/buildSrc/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/gradle/transform/SymbolicLinkPreservingUntarTransform.java
+++ b/buildSrc/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/gradle/transform/SymbolicLinkPreservingUntarTransform.java
@@ -22,7 +22,6 @@
 import org.apache.commons.compress.archivers.tar.TarArchiveEntry;
 import org.apache.commons.compress.archivers.tar.TarArchiveInputStream;
 import org.apache.commons.compress.compressors.gzip.GzipCompressorInputStream;
-import org.gradle.api.logging.Logging;
 
 import java.io.File;
 import java.io.FileInputStream;
@@ -40,8 +39,6 @@ public abstract class SymbolicLinkPreservingUntarTransform implements UnpackTran
     private static final Path CURRENT_DIR_PATH = Paths.get(".");
 
     public void unpack(File tarFile, File targetDir) throws IOException {
-        Logging.getLogger(SymbolicLinkPreservingUntarTransform.class)
-            .info("Unpacking " + tarFile.getName() + " using " + SymbolicLinkPreservingUntarTransform.class.getSimpleName() + ".");
         Function<String, Path> pathModifier = pathResolver();
 
         TarArchiveInputStream tar = new TarArchiveInputStream(new GzipCompressorInputStream(new FileInputStream(tarFile)));
diff --git a/buildSrc/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/gradle/transform/UnpackTransform.java b/buildSrc/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/gradle/transform/UnpackTransform.java
index 5994fdb2374ee..742ebc0b6803f 100644
--- a/buildSrc/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/gradle/transform/UnpackTransform.java
+++ b/buildSrc/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/gradle/transform/UnpackTransform.java
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@
 import org.gradle.api.artifacts.transform.TransformOutputs;
 import org.gradle.api.artifacts.transform.TransformParameters;
 import org.gradle.api.file.FileSystemLocation;
+import org.gradle.api.logging.Logging;
 import org.gradle.api.provider.Provider;
 import org.gradle.api.tasks.Input;
 import org.gradle.api.tasks.Optional;
@@ -56,6 +57,8 @@ default void transform(TransformOutputs outputs) {
         File archiveFile = getArchiveFile().get().getAsFile();
         File extractedDir = outputs.dir(archiveFile.getName());
         try {
+            Logging.getLogger(UnpackTransform.class)
+                .info("Unpacking " + archiveFile.getName() + " using " + getClass().getSimpleName() + ".");
             unpack(archiveFile, extractedDir);
         } catch (IOException e) {
             throw UncheckedException.throwAsUncheckedException(e);
diff --git a/buildSrc/src/main/resources/minimumGradleVersion b/buildSrc/src/main/resources/minimumGradleVersion
index ba92e72f5775b..8004d903c33d8 100644
--- a/buildSrc/src/main/resources/minimumGradleVersion
+++ b/buildSrc/src/main/resources/minimumGradleVersion
@@ -1 +1 @@
-6.6.1
\ No newline at end of file
+6.8
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/buildSrc/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/gradle/plugin/PluginBuildPluginTests.java b/buildSrc/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/gradle/plugin/PluginBuildPluginTests.java
deleted file mode 100644
index 1ec0ad93dfa45..0000000000000
--- a/buildSrc/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/gradle/plugin/PluginBuildPluginTests.java
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,73 +0,0 @@
-/*
- * Licensed to Elasticsearch under one or more contributor
- * license agreements. See the NOTICE file distributed with
- * this work for additional information regarding copyright
- * ownership. Elasticsearch licenses this file to you under
- * the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License"); you may
- * not use this file except in compliance with the License.
- * You may obtain a copy of the License at
- *
- *    http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
- *
- * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
- * software distributed under the License is distributed on an
- * "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY
- * KIND, either express or implied.  See the License for the
- * specific language governing permissions and limitations
- * under the License.
- */
-package org.elasticsearch.gradle.plugin;
-
-import org.elasticsearch.gradle.BwcVersions;
-import org.elasticsearch.gradle.test.GradleUnitTestCase;
-import org.gradle.api.Project;
-import org.gradle.api.Task;
-import org.gradle.api.internal.project.ProjectInternal;
-import org.gradle.testfixtures.ProjectBuilder;
-import org.junit.Before;
-import org.junit.Ignore;
-import org.mockito.Mockito;
-
-import java.util.stream.Collectors;
-
-public class PluginBuildPluginTests extends GradleUnitTestCase {
-
-    private Project project;
-
-    @Before
-    public void setUp() throws Exception {
-        project = ProjectBuilder.builder().withName(getClass().getName()).build();
-    }
-
-    public void testApply() {
-        // FIXME: distribution download plugin doesn't support running externally
-        project.getExtensions().getExtraProperties().set("bwcVersions", Mockito.mock(BwcVersions.class));
-        project.getPlugins().apply(PluginBuildPlugin.class);
-
-        assertNotNull(
-            "plugin extension created with the right name",
-            project.getExtensions().findByName(PluginBuildPlugin.PLUGIN_EXTENSION_NAME)
-        );
-        assertNotNull("plugin extensions has the right type", project.getExtensions().findByType(PluginPropertiesExtension.class));
-
-        assertNull("plugin should not create the integTest task", project.getTasks().findByName("integTest"));
-    }
-
-    @Ignore("https://github.com/elastic/elasticsearch/issues/47123")
-    public void testApplyWithAfterEvaluate() {
-        project.getExtensions().getExtraProperties().set("bwcVersions", Mockito.mock(BwcVersions.class));
-        project.getPlugins().apply(PluginBuildPlugin.class);
-        PluginPropertiesExtension extension = project.getExtensions().getByType(PluginPropertiesExtension.class);
-        extension.setNoticeFile(project.file("test.notice"));
-        extension.setLicenseFile(project.file("test.license"));
-        extension.setDescription("just a test");
-        extension.setClassname(getClass().getName());
-
-        ((ProjectInternal) project).evaluate();
-
-        assertNotNull(
-            "Task to generate notice not created: " + project.getTasks().stream().map(Task::getPath).collect(Collectors.joining(", ")),
-            project.getTasks().findByName("generateNotice")
-        );
-    }
-}
diff --git a/buildSrc/src/testFixtures/java/org/elasticsearch/gradle/test/GradleIntegrationTestCase.java b/buildSrc/src/testFixtures/java/org/elasticsearch/gradle/test/GradleIntegrationTestCase.java
index 6c0a763745b42..2f8c8e82dde2c 100644
--- a/buildSrc/src/testFixtures/java/org/elasticsearch/gradle/test/GradleIntegrationTestCase.java
+++ b/buildSrc/src/testFixtures/java/org/elasticsearch/gradle/test/GradleIntegrationTestCase.java
@@ -99,13 +99,13 @@ protected void assertOutputContains(String output, String line) {
         assertThat("Expected the following line in output:\n\n" + line + "\n\nOutput is:\n" + output, output, containsString(line));
     }
 
-    protected void assertOutputDoesNotContain(String output, String line) {
+    protected void assertOutputMissing(String output, String line) {
         assertFalse("Expected the following line not to be in output:\n\n" + line + "\n\nOutput is:\n" + output, output.contains(line));
     }
 
-    protected void assertOutputDoesNotContain(String output, String... lines) {
+    protected void assertOutputMissing(String output, String... lines) {
         for (String line : lines) {
-            assertOutputDoesNotContain(line);
+            assertOutputMissing(line);
         }
     }
 
@@ -167,7 +167,7 @@ protected void assertTaskUpToDate(BuildResult result, String... taskNames) {
     }
 
     protected void assertNoDeprecationWarning(BuildResult result) {
-        assertOutputDoesNotContain(result.getOutput(), "Deprecated Gradle features were used in this build");
+        assertOutputMissing(result.getOutput(), "Deprecated Gradle features were used in this build");
     }
 
     protected void assertBuildFileExists(BuildResult result, String projectName, String path) {
diff --git a/buildSrc/src/testKit/elasticsearch-build-resources/gradle.properties b/buildSrc/src/testKit/elasticsearch-build-resources/gradle.properties
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..60d628bb36ffc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/buildSrc/src/testKit/elasticsearch-build-resources/gradle.properties
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+#
+# Licensed to Elasticsearch under one or more contributor
+# license agreements. See the NOTICE file distributed with
+# this work for additional information regarding copyright
+# ownership. Elasticsearch licenses this file to you under
+# the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License"); you may
+# not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+# You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#
+#     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
+# software distributed under the License is distributed on an
+# "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY
+# KIND, either express or implied.  See the License for the
+# specific language governing permissions and limitations
+# under the License.
+#
+
+# java homes resolved by environment variables
+org.gradle.java.installations.auto-detect=false
+org.gradle.java.installations.fromEnv=JAVA_HOME,RUNTIME_JAVA_HOME,JAVA15_HOME,JAVA14_HOME,JAVA13_HOME,JAVA12_HOME,JAVA11_HOME,JAVA8_HOME
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/buildSrc/src/testKit/elasticsearch.build/gradle.properties b/buildSrc/src/testKit/elasticsearch.build/gradle.properties
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..60d628bb36ffc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/buildSrc/src/testKit/elasticsearch.build/gradle.properties
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+#
+# Licensed to Elasticsearch under one or more contributor
+# license agreements. See the NOTICE file distributed with
+# this work for additional information regarding copyright
+# ownership. Elasticsearch licenses this file to you under
+# the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License"); you may
+# not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+# You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#
+#     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
+# software distributed under the License is distributed on an
+# "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY
+# KIND, either express or implied.  See the License for the
+# specific language governing permissions and limitations
+# under the License.
+#
+
+# java homes resolved by environment variables
+org.gradle.java.installations.auto-detect=false
+org.gradle.java.installations.fromEnv=JAVA_HOME,RUNTIME_JAVA_HOME,JAVA15_HOME,JAVA14_HOME,JAVA13_HOME,JAVA12_HOME,JAVA11_HOME,JAVA8_HOME
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/buildSrc/src/testKit/reaper/gradle.properties b/buildSrc/src/testKit/reaper/gradle.properties
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..689e43304173e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/buildSrc/src/testKit/reaper/gradle.properties
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+#
+# Licensed to Elasticsearch under one or more contributor
+# license agreements. See the NOTICE file distributed with
+# this work for additional information regarding copyright
+# ownership. Elasticsearch licenses this file to you under
+# the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License"); you may
+# not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+# You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#
+#     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
+# software distributed under the License is distributed on an
+# "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY
+# KIND, either express or implied.  See the License for the
+# specific language governing permissions and limitations
+# under the License.
+#
+
+# java homes resolved by environment variables
+org.gradle.java.installations.auto-detect=false
+org.gradle.java.installations.fromEnv=JAVA_HOME,RUNTIME_JAVA_HOME,JAVA15_HOME,JAVA14_HOME,JAVA13_HOME,JAVA12_HOME,JAVA11_HOME,JAVA8_HOME
diff --git a/buildSrc/src/testKit/thirdPartyAudit/gradle.properties b/buildSrc/src/testKit/thirdPartyAudit/gradle.properties
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..689e43304173e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/buildSrc/src/testKit/thirdPartyAudit/gradle.properties
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+#
+# Licensed to Elasticsearch under one or more contributor
+# license agreements. See the NOTICE file distributed with
+# this work for additional information regarding copyright
+# ownership. Elasticsearch licenses this file to you under
+# the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License"); you may
+# not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+# You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#
+#     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
+# software distributed under the License is distributed on an
+# "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY
+# KIND, either express or implied.  See the License for the
+# specific language governing permissions and limitations
+# under the License.
+#
+
+# java homes resolved by environment variables
+org.gradle.java.installations.auto-detect=false
+org.gradle.java.installations.fromEnv=JAVA_HOME,RUNTIME_JAVA_HOME,JAVA15_HOME,JAVA14_HOME,JAVA13_HOME,JAVA12_HOME,JAVA11_HOME,JAVA8_HOME
diff --git a/gradle.properties b/gradle.properties
index 479f71390fa93..f884f0194bada 100644
--- a/gradle.properties
+++ b/gradle.properties
@@ -12,3 +12,7 @@ systemProp.org.gradle.warning.mode=fail
 # forcing to use TLS1.2 to avoid failure in vault
 # see https://github.com/hashicorp/vault/issues/8750#issuecomment-631236121
 systemProp.jdk.tls.client.protocols=TLSv1.2
+
+# java homes resolved by environment variables
+org.gradle.java.installations.auto-detect=false
+org.gradle.java.installations.fromEnv=JAVA_HOME,RUNTIME_JAVA_HOME,JAVA15_HOME,JAVA14_HOME,JAVA13_HOME,JAVA12_HOME,JAVA11_HOME,JAVA8_HOME
diff --git a/gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.properties b/gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.properties
index 0c2d86efbc66d..b0ec4f40f948c 100644
--- a/gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.properties
+++ b/gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.properties
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 distributionBase=GRADLE_USER_HOME
 distributionPath=wrapper/dists
-distributionUrl=https\://services.gradle.org/distributions/gradle-6.6.1-all.zip
+distributionUrl=https\://services.gradle.org/distributions/gradle-6.8-all.zip
 zipStoreBase=GRADLE_USER_HOME
 zipStorePath=wrapper/dists
-distributionSha256Sum=11657af6356b7587bfb37287b5992e94a9686d5c8a0a1b60b87b9928a2decde5
+distributionSha256Sum=a7ca23b3ccf265680f2bfd35f1f00b1424f4466292c7337c85d46c9641b3f053