---
title: Supported upgrade paths
description: This table contains information about the supported upgrade paths to AM 7.4:
component: pingam
version: 7.4
page_id: pingam:upgrade:supported-upgrades
canonical_url: https://docs.pingidentity.com/pingam/8.1/upgrade/supported-upgrades.html
llms_txt: https://docs.pingidentity.com/pingam/llms.txt
docs_for_agents: https://developer.pingidentity.com/build-with-ai/docs-for-agents.md
keywords: ["Upgrade"]
page_aliases: ["upgrade-guide:supported-upgrades.adoc"]
superseded_by: https://docs.pingidentity.com/pingam/8.1/upgrade/supported-upgrades.html
---

# Supported upgrade paths

This table contains information about the supported upgrade paths to AM 7.4:

**Upgrade paths**

| Version      | Upgrade Supported? |
| ------------ | ------------------ |
| AM 6.5.x (1) | ✔                  |
| AM 7.x       | ✔                  |

(1) AM 6.5.x is an *unsupported* version of AM but the upgrade path is currently supported.

If you are upgrading from any other *unsupported* versions of AM to a later version, you must first upgrade to a supported version. In some cases, you may need to upgrade again depending on the upgrade path.

Learn more in the [Ping Identity End of Life (EOL) Software Tracker](https://support.pingidentity.com/s/article/Ping-Identity-EOL-Tracker#pam).

|   |                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              |
| - | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
|   | The embedded DS server is *not supported for production* in AM 7.4. If you have an existing site configured with embedded DS, you must migrate it to an external DS store before upgrading to AM 7.4.The embedded DS was deprecated in AM 7, and will be removed in a future release.> **Collapse: How do I know if my deployment uses the embedded DS?**
>
> * (AM 6 or earlier) Go to Deployment > Servers > *server name* > Advanced, and check the value of the `com.sun.identity.sm.sms_object_class_name` advanced property.
>
>   If the value is `com.sun.identity.sm.ldap.SMSEmbeddedLdapObject`, the server is an evaluation instance of AM, and is using an embedded DS instance as the configuration store.
>
> * In the server where AM is installed, check if the `opends` directory exists under the `/path/to/openam` directory.
>
>   You may have migrated it to an external directory and not deleted the directory, though. Check the files in the `opends/logs` directory to determine if the embedded DS is running.
>
> * Go to Deployment > Servers > *server name* > Directory Configuration > Server, and check the value of the *host name* column.
>
>   When using an external configuration store, the AM instances point to the FQDN of the load balancer in front of the DS cluster, or to the FQDN of the DS affinity deployment.
>
>   When using an embedded configuration store, each AM instance points to its own hostname, since the embedded DS is stored alongside the AM instance.Use either of the following methods to migrate an embedded data store to an external store before attempting to upgrade to AM 7.4:* Migrate data to an external instance of DS by using LDIF files.

  Follow the steps in [How do I migrate from an embedded to external DS in AM 6.5?](https://support.pingidentity.com/s/article/How-do-I-migrate-from-an-embedded-to-external-DS-in-AM-6-5) in the *Knowledge Base*.

* Add a new external DS instance and replicate data from the embedded instance.

  See [When Adding New Servers](https://docs.pingidentity.com/pingds/7.4/upgrade-guide/add-new-servers.html) in the DS documentation. |