Upgrade AEM 6.5 from SP15 to SP18

Hi @zisongli ,

No, you do not need to install SP16 and SP17 before SP18. You can directly install SP18 from SP15.
AEM Service Packs are cumulative, meaning each Service Pack contains all the bug fixes and enhancements of the previous packs.

Moreover, you should install the same Service Pack version on both Author and Publish environments to ensure consistency across your AEM topology and reduces the risk of unexpected issues due to environment mismatches.

Dispatcher release numbers are independent of the Adobe Experience Manager release numbers and are compatible with Adobe Experience Manager 6.x. Please refer to the official documentation for detailed information here.

Hello @zisongli ,

You can directly install AEM 6.5.18.0 (Service Pack 18) without installing SP16 or SP17 first , AEM service packs are cumulative, so SP18 already includes all fixes and updates from previous service packs.

It’s also recommended to maintain the same service pack version across all Author and Publish instances to ensure environment consistency and avoid replication or compatibility issues.

For the Dispatcher, it’s not mandatory to upgrade it every time you apply an AEM service pack, but it’s a good practice to verify you’re running a Dispatcher version compatible with AEM 6.5.18.0 (as per Adobe’s Technical Requirements). Updating to the latest supported Dispatcher release is generally advised to benefit from security and performance improvements.

In summary:

• You can go directly from SP15 → SP18.