This guide will allow you to use APEX 22.1 or 21.2 on Docker (Oracle-Base updates itsscripts with the latest version of APEX). Keep in mind that I originally wrote these notes for personal use, so treat this blog post as a theoretical example – don’t attempt to use what you find here anywhere near production. I’m not a DBA (Database Administrator).
In this approach, we will:
Here are the steps you need to follow to set things up.
1. Install Docker Desktop from here
2. Download Oracle Base Docker Images Repository and unzip to C:\1\dockerfiles-master
3. Choose an Oracle Linux + DB version i.e, Oracle Linux 8 and Enterprise Edition 21
4. Obtain all software described in the readme.md and place it in the C:\1\dockerfiles-master\database\ol8_21\software folder
5. Open the CMD window and type the following
cd C:\1\dockerfiles-master\database\ol8_21
6. Create a network
docker network create my_network
7. Build image (this will take a couple of minutes)
docker build -t ol8_21:latest .
8. In Docker Desktop, Click Volumes, Create. Im using DB 21 so I will name my Volume OracleDB21Data
9. Create the Container from the image
docker run -dit --name ol8_21_con -p 1521:1521 -p 5500:5500 --shm-size="1G" --network=my_network -v OracleDB21Data:/u02 ol8_21:latest
10. In Docker Desktop, Double click the ol_21_con Container Name and see the Logs. Allow a minimum of 30mins until complete
It should look like this when it is finished.
11. When this is complete we can do a connection from the terminal (command below is for SQLcl) that our PDB is running
sql sys/SysPassword1@localhost:1521/cdb1 as sysdba
Now we’ll create PDBs – one for the SAME version of APEX and one for ANOTHER version of APEX (I’m going for the prior version)
While still logged in, run the following:
CREATE PLUGGABLE DATABASE APEX221PDB FROM PDB1; ALTER PLUGGABLE DATABASE APEX221PDB OPEN READ WRITE; ALTER PLUGGABLE DATABASE APEX221PDB SAVE STATE; CREATE PLUGGABLE DATABASE APEX212PDB FROM PDB1; ALTER PLUGGABLE DATABASE APEX212PDB OPEN READ WRITE; ALTER PLUGGABLE DATABASE APEX212PDB SAVE STATE;
Now let’s focus on the APEX221PDB version of APEX
1. Look at the software in the README.md of github.com/oraclebase/dockerfiles/tree/mast.. and add it to C:\1\dockerfiles-master\ords\ol8_ords\software
2. In CMD, navigate to C:\1\dockerfiles-master\ords\ol8_ords
3. Make the build (adjust the numbers to match the version of APEX e.g 221)
docker build -t ol8_ords_221:latest .
4. In Docker Desktop, Click Volumes, Create. I’m using APEX 221, so I will name my Volume OracleORDS221Data
5. Create the container (adjust all the numbers to match the version of APEX e.g 221)
docker run -dit --name ol8_ords_con_221 -p 8221:8080 -p 9221:8443 -e DB_HOSTNAME=ol8_21_con -e DB_SERVICE=APEX221PDB -e PDB_NAME=APEX221PDB --network=my_network -v OracleORDS221Data:/u01/config/instance1 ol8_ords_221:latest
6. Click the container name in Docker Desktop to check on progress. When complete, it will look like this:
7. Check out the link at localhost:8221/ords. The INTERNAL password is ApexPassword1
Now, let’s install ANOTHER version of APEX into the APEX212PDB. Here’s what you need to do:
1. In Windows Explorer, unzip C:\1\dockerfiles-master\ords\ol8_ords\software to folder apex_22.1_en
2. Open CMD or terminal and change folder:
cd C:\1\dockerfiles-master\ords\ol8_ords\software\apex_22.1_en\apex
3. Log on to the PDB and install APEX 21.2 (remember we renamed the zip), this time using SQLPLUS. It doesn’t work with SQLcl
sqlplus sys/SysPassword1@localhost:1521/APEX212PDB as sysdba
4. Run the following
@apxremov.sql
5. Exit out of SQLPLUS
6. Delete or rename the apex_22.1_en folder
7. Download APEX 21.2 from here
8. When downloaded, rename the zip file to apex_22.1_en.zip
9. Move it to C:\1\dockerfiles-master\ords\ol8_ords\software, overwriting the current zip
10. Extract the zip to apex_22.1_en
11. Open CMD or terminal, and change the folder
cd C:\1\dockerfiles-master\ords\ol8_ords\software\apex_22.1_en\apex
12. Log on to the PDB and install APEX 21.2 (remember we renamed the zip), this time using SQLPLUS. It doesn’t work with SQLcl
sqlplus sys/SysPassword1@localhost:1521/APEX212PDB as sysdba
13. Run the following
@apexins.sql SYSAUX SYSAUX TEMP /i/
14. Run the following
@apxchpwd.sql; ALTER USER APEX_PUBLIC_USER IDENTIFIED BY ApexPassword1 ACCOUNT UNLOCK; @apex_rest_config.sql; (use password ApexPassword1)
15. In CMD, navigate to the correct folder
cd C:\1\dockerfiles-master\ords\ol8_ords
16. Make the build (adjust the numbers to match the version of APEX e.g, 212)
docker build -t ol8_ords_212:latest .
17. In Docker Desktop, Click Volumes, Create. I’m using APEX 212 so I will name my Volume OracleORDS212Data
18. Create the container (adjust all the 212 numbers to match the version of APEX e.g.,, 212)
docker run -dit --name ol8_ords_con_212 -p 8212:8080 -p 9212:8443 -e DB_HOSTNAME=ol8_21_con -e DB_SERVICE=APEX212PDB -e PDB_NAME=APEX212PDB --network=my_network -v OracleORDS212Data:/u01/config/instance1 ol8_ords_212:latest
19. Click the container name in Docker Desktop to check on progress. When complete, it will look like this
20. Check out the link at localhost:8212/ords. The INTERNAL password is ApexPassword1
And that’s about it. To save memory, it’s probably best to have only one running ORDS Container. I’ll leave you with one final handy command:
select username from all_users where username like 'APEX%' or username like 'ORDS%'
If you have any questions, you can always reach me at mmulvaney@pretius.com. Also, check out my other blog posts regarding Oracle APEX:
