Using Azure AD for Authentication for Oracle APEX Applications

March 9, 2020March 30, 2023

What you should know: I am currently working for Orbit Cloud Solutions as Cloud Advisor, but any posts on this blog reflect my own views and opinions only.

When investigating more Azure-OCI topics, i came across the case of using Oracle APEX applications running on an Autonomous Database. Wouldn’t it be nice to have some low-code app built with APEX that integrates nicely with your Azure AD for authentication? Actually it is pretty easy to do so, i will show you the simple steps in a short video.

The only drawback i see here is that the setup includes mostly manual tasks. I’d really love to see a smart way to automate and parametrize the deployment of APEX apps… Well, the steps i show you will work, that is the most important point for now.

Step 1: Create a simple APEX application

Step 2: Register the application in Azure AD

Open Azure Portal

Go to App registration in Azure AD

Copy APEX base URL

Enter Redirect URL

Add Application ID URI

Set Application ID URI

Generate URI

Done. On to the next step.

Step 3: Grant users access to the application in Azure AD

Go to Enterprise Applications

Go to Users and Groups

Select Add User

Pick Users to add

Done. On to the next step.

Step 4: Add Web Credentials in APEX

Go to Shared Components

Go to Web Credentials

Create New

Get Client ID from Azure AD

Create Client Secret in Azure AD

Get Client Secret

Enter Client ID and Client Secret

Done. On to the next step.

Step 5: Enable Authentication in APEX

Go to Shared Components

Select Authentication Schemes

Create new Authentication Scheme

Just go next.

Select Social Sign-In

Open Endpoints from App registration

Copy OpenID Metadata document URL to clipboard

Enter URL and attributes

Authentication scheme created

Open application URL in new browser

Enter username

Enter password

Application

Done.

OK, that should be it. Now you got you integration running.

Comments (7)

Albert says:

January 8, 2021 at 21:45

I found this blog as I’ve seen that this is more simpler than the other I’ve seen. I’m trying to make the first webservices call on our workspace but I’m getting an error : ORA-29273: HTTP request failed. I made sure that rest and token URL is correct as I tested it out using the postman. Is there any configuration that I have to do prior to your this? Thank you!

Reply
1. Max Jahn says:
  
  January 11, 2021 at 13:02
  
  Hi,
  
  the post is a few months old, so some things might have changed. I’ll take a look at this and see if I can replicate this. One important thing to keep in mind is that my demo was using an Autonomous Database on OCI, not on-prem.
  
  Reply
2. Dipak says:
  
  January 12, 2024 at 08:18
  
  Hello Albert, We are also getting the same error for our application. Any possible fixes later on you got? Quick response will be really appreciated! Thank you
  
  Reply
Mark says:

March 4, 2021 at 21:03

Hallo Max, vielen Dank für Dein Video. Du hast wirklich sehr gut erklärt, wie man Apex mit Azure verbindet. Ich habe Deine Vorgehensweise ausprobiert und es funktioniert wirklich sehr gut in der Cloud. Allerdings funktioniert es nicht auf der Oracle Datenbank, die ich als Testversion installiert habe (-> /ords). Ich habe dafür die App, die bereits in der Cloud funktionierte, aus Apex identisch kopiert (inkl. deren ursprüngliche ID und die korrespondierenden Azure Verknüpfungen). Leider funktioniert es nicht mehr ausserhalb der Cloud. Weisst Du vielleicht woran es liegen kann? Muss ich irgendwelche Einstellungen ändern? Vielen herzlichen Dank für Deine Rückantwort.

Hello Max, thank you very much for your video. You did a really good job explaining how to connect Apex to Azure. I’ve tried your approach and it works really well in the cloud. However, it does not work on the Oracle database that I installed as a test version (-> /ords). For this I copied the app, which already worked in the cloud, identically from Apex (including its original ID and the corresponding Azure links). Unfortunately, it no longer works outside of the cloud. Do you know what it could be? Do I have to change any settings? Thank you very much for your reply.

Reply
1. Max Jahn says:
  
  March 16, 2021 at 11:58
  
  Hi,
  
  The identity services that come with OCI seem to make the setup of the integration much easier. For on-prem setup this seems to be a lot harder and messier, including the need for some PL/SQL procedures, as this article suggests: https://oracle-base.com/articles/misc/azure-ad-authentication-for-oracle-apex-applications. I hope that helps a little.
  
  Reply
HarpV says:

March 18, 2021 at 17:58

Just wanted to know what happens when apex social sign Azure AD authentication goes down then what is expected behavior fin apex 20.2?

Reply
Dude says:

July 9, 2022 at 00:47

Instructions worked great! Thank you!

Reply