6.6 Enabling Network Services in Oracle Database
You must enable network services in Oracle Database to send outbound mail, use Web services, or use template-based PDF report printing with BI Publisher in Oracle APEX.
- When and Why Network Services Must be Enabled
Enabling network services enables support for sending outbound mail in Oracle APEX, use of Web services in APEX, and PDF report printing with BI Publisher. - Granting Connect Privileges in Oracle Database 12c or Later
ProceduresCREATE_ACL
,ASSIGN_ACL
,ADD_PRIVILEGE
andCHECK_PRIVILEGE
inDBMS_NETWORK_ACL_ADMIN
are deprecated in Oracle Database 12c. Oracle recommends to useAPPEND_HOST_ACE
. - Troubleshooting an Invalid ACL Error
Learn how to identify any invalid ACL error by running the query.
6.6.1 When and Why Network Services Must be Enabled
Enabling network services enables support for sending outbound mail in Oracle APEX, use of Web services in APEX, and PDF report printing with BI Publisher.
By default, the ability to interact with network services is disabled in Oracle
Database 11g Release 2 or later. Therefore, if you are running Oracle APEX with Oracle Database 11g Release 2 or later, you must use the new
DBMS_NETWORK_ACL_ADMIN
package to grant connect privileges to any host for
the APEX_220100
database user. Failing to grant these privileges results in
issues with:
-
Sending outbound mail in Oracle APEX.
Users can call methods from the
APEX_MAIL
package, but issues arise when sending outbound email. - Consuming web services from APEX.
- Making outbound LDAP calls from APEX.
- PDF report printing with BI Publisher.
Note:
When upgrading APEX on a database 12c or newer, based on the configuration of the old APEX version the upgrade automatically configures Network Services.Tip:
To run the examples described in this section, the compatible initialization parameter of the database must be set to at least 11.1.0.0.0. By default an 11g or 12c database will already have the parameter set properly, but a database upgraded to 11g or 12c from a prior version may not. For information about changing database initialization parameters, see Specifying the Database Compatibility Level in Oracle Multitenant Administrator's Guide.
Parent topic: Enabling Network Services in Oracle Database
6.6.2 Granting Connect Privileges in Oracle Database 12c or Later
Procedures CREATE_ACL
, ASSIGN_ACL
, ADD_PRIVILEGE
and CHECK_PRIVILEGE
in DBMS_NETWORK_ACL_ADMIN
are deprecated in Oracle Database 12c. Oracle recommends to use APPEND_HOST_ACE
.
The following example demonstrates how to grant connect privileges to any host for
the APEX_220100
database user. This example assumes you connected
to the database where Oracle APEX is installed as SYS
specifying the SYSDBA
role.
BEGIN
DBMS_NETWORK_ACL_ADMIN.APPEND_HOST_ACE(
host => '*',
ace => xs$ace_type(privilege_list => xs$name_list('connect'),
principal_name => 'APEX_220100',
principal_type => xs_acl.ptype_db));
END;
/
The following example demonstrates how to provide less privileged access to local network resources. This example enables access to servers on the local host only, such as email and report servers.
BEGIN
DBMS_NETWORK_ACL_ADMIN.APPEND_HOST_ACE(
host => 'localhost',
ace => xs$ace_type(privilege_list => xs$name_list('connect'),
principal_name => 'APEX_220100',
principal_type => xs_acl.ptype_db));
END;
/
Parent topic: Enabling Network Services in Oracle Database
6.6.3 Troubleshooting an Invalid ACL Error
Learn how to identify any invalid ACL error by running the query.
If you receive an ORA-44416: Invalid ACL
error after running the previous script, use the following query to identify the invalid ACL:
REM Show the dangling references to dropped users in the ACL that is assigned
REM to '*'.
SELECT ACL, PRINCIPAL
FROM DBA_NETWORK_ACLS NACL, XDS_ACE ACE
WHERE HOST = '*' AND LOWER_PORT IS NULL AND UPPER_PORT IS NULL AND
NACL.ACLID = ACE.ACLID AND
NOT EXISTS (SELECT NULL FROM ALL_USERS WHERE USERNAME = PRINCIPAL);
Next, run the following code to fix the ACL:
DECLARE
ACL_ID RAW(16);
CNT NUMBER;
BEGIN
-- Look for the object ID of the ACL currently assigned to '*'
SELECT ACLID INTO ACL_ID FROM DBA_NETWORK_ACLS
WHERE HOST = '*' AND LOWER_PORT IS NULL AND UPPER_PORT IS NULL;
-- If just some users referenced in the ACL are invalid, remove just those
-- users in the ACL. Otherwise, drop the ACL completely.
SELECT COUNT(PRINCIPAL) INTO CNT FROM XDS_ACE
WHERE ACLID = ACL_ID AND
EXISTS (SELECT NULL FROM ALL_USERS WHERE USERNAME = PRINCIPAL);
IF (CNT > 0) THEN
FOR R IN (SELECT PRINCIPAL FROM XDS_ACE
WHERE ACLID = ACL_ID AND
NOT EXISTS (SELECT NULL FROM ALL_USERS
WHERE USERNAME = PRINCIPAL)) LOOP
UPDATE XDB.XDB$ACL
SET OBJECT_VALUE =
DELETEXML(OBJECT_VALUE,
'/ACL/ACE[PRINCIPAL="'||R.PRINCIPAL||'"]')
WHERE OBJECT_ID = ACL_ID;
END LOOP;
ELSE
DELETE FROM XDB.XDB$ACL WHERE OBJECT_ID = ACL_ID;
END IF;
END;
/
REM commit the changes.
COMMIT;
Once the ACL has been fixed, you must run the first script in this section to apply
the ACL to the APEX_220100
user.
Parent topic: Enabling Network Services in Oracle Database