---
title: "Upgrade to Database EE for US Federal"
description: "How to upgrade Aerospike Database Enterprise Edition (EE) to the FIPS 140-2 compliant US Federal (FE) edition."
---

# Upgrade to Database EE for US Federal

> For the complete documentation index see: [llms.txt](https://aerospike.com/docs/llms.txt)
> 
> All documentation pages available in markdown.

::: note
The FIPS 140-2 compliant Aerospike Database Enterprise Edition for US Federal (aka US Federal or FE) was first released with Database 6.0.0.
:::

-   When upgrading from Aerospike Database EE 4.9.0 or 5.x.y.z, follow the instructions in [Storage Format Upgrade in 6.0.0 Release](https://aerospike.com/docs/database/advanced/special-upgrades/600-upgrade).
-   Back up `/opt/aerospike/smd/security.smd` in your system metadata (SMD) [Directory Structure](https://aerospike.com/docs/database/manage/database/directory-structure/#run-time-directories) and `aerospike.conf`, the Aerospike configuration file.
-   Fully remove the Aerospike EE package with your package manager. Example:

Terminal window

```bash
dpkg --purge aerospike-server-enterprise

(Reading database ... 11993 files and directories currently installed.)

Removing aerospike-server-enterprise (6.0.0.1-1) ...

Purging configuration files for aerospike-server-enterprise (6.0.0.1-1) ...

dpkg: warning: while removing aerospike-server-enterprise, directory '/usr/lib/systemd/system' not empty so not removed

dpkg: warning: while removing aerospike-server-enterprise, directory '/opt/aerospike/smd' not empty so not removed

dpkg -l | fgrep aerospike

ii  aerospike-tools               7.0.3                             amd64        Aerospike server tools.
```

-   Download and install the Aerospike Database FE package. Example: `aerospike-server-federal-6.0.0.1-ubuntu22.04.tgz`.
-   Remove the skeleton `aerospike.conf` installed and replace it with your backed-up configuration file.
-   Validate that your SMD and TLS certificates are still in place. If they aren’t, use a backup of the previous SMD version.
-   In US Federal, password authentication is disabled. Use mTLS-based PKI authentication or LDAP for authentication. Refer to [TLS configuration](https://aerospike.com/docs/database/manage/network/tls) and [Configuring access control](https://aerospike.com/docs/database/manage/security/rbac).