Why upgrade to AEM 6.6 ?

[aanchal-sikka]

Our team is considering migrating to AEM 6.6. While we've seen documentation highlighting performance enhancements and Java 17 compatibility, we're looking for a more comprehensive understanding of the advantages this upgrade provides.

Specifically, are there any significant new features, improved functionalities, or other notable benefits we should be aware of before making the decision? Thanks in advance for your expertise!

[arunpatidar]

Hi @aanchal-sikka 

You can watch a adaptTo video where Adobe specify the motivation to switch

https://adapt.to/2024/schedule/aem-65-and-java-17 

[SantoshSai]

Hi @aanchal-sikka,

In addition to the excellent AdaptTo 2024 video that @Arun Patidar shared ( AEM 6.5 and Java 17 – adaptTo() 2024), I wanted to provide a few more key resources that may help your team evaluate the upgrade more comprehensively.

You may have already come across some of these—but in case not, they're well worth a look:

What is changing with AEM 6.5 (or 6.6) on JDK 17 – by Adobe
Watch on YouTube
A practical walkthrough from Adobe engineers explaining what's changing under the hood, why Java 17 was chosen, and what to expect in real-world upgrades.

Arbory Digital: “AEM 6.6 (aka AEM 6.5 LTS) on Java 17”
A comprehensive blog post that covers GA release, version naming, deprecations, and upgrade strategy 

https://blog.arborydigital.com/en/blog/aem-66-and-jdk-17

Interesting conversation: https://www.reddit.com/r/aem/comments/1fqo89s/aem_66_speculations

[aanchal-sikka]

Thanks @arunpatidar  & @SantoshSai  for sharing the links.

They are helpful and confirm my initial understanding that 6.6 upgrade is more about security & performance.

There is an another documentation 

https://experienceleague.adobe.com/en/docs/experience-manager-65-lts/content/release-notes/release-n..., it mentions about "high priority customer enhancements, and general bug fixes". However, no details are available. 

I am trying to get more details from Adobe. Will share once I receive more info

[aanchal-sikka · Accepted solution]

AEM 6.6 comes with following improvements:

• Java 21 Support: Enjoy the Java 21 modernized code base with significantly improved JRE performance for faster, smoother operations, ZGC low-latency garbage collection, enhanced security profiles and updated open-source layers. AEM 6.5 LTS running on Java 21 offers significantly improved performance, with faster authoring, higher publish transaction rates, quicker response times, and increased overall throughput—delivering a faster, more secure, and scalable experience across the platform. 
• Smarter and More Secure Libraries: 
  • Upgraded JVM core libraries for security and reliability 
  • commons-collections3.x APIs deprecated with more modern alternatives 
  • Deprecation of the Guava Library—you can now bring your own Guava version! 

• Updated OSGi Framework: Built on updated versions of Apache Sling and Apache Felix, with Apache Jackrabbit Oak 1.68.x as the Java Content Repository (JCR) 
• Modern Servlet Engine: Eclipse Jetty 11.0.x is used as the servlet engine for the AEM Quickstart.
• Dispatcher Enhancements: Dispatcher 4.3.7 with SSL module for improved security and compatibility 
• Cloud Storage Connectors: Updated connectors for AWS S3 and Azure Blob storage 

Plus, Service Pack 23 might be the last service pack for AEM 6.5.