Apex Newbie question !!!!! HTTP server ????

Question

I am newbie at APEX. I have a DBA background, but no experience with Oracle applications.
I DO respect your time, and have tried to find this info on teh docs, but, honestly, can not find it. And I looked over everywhere, metalink, otn, gogling. I thought that I would find it on these forums under some form of FAQs, but have not found the answer :-(
I have installed oracle database 11g for windows on my laptop, and when installing APEX 3.2, it asks me to stop the http server and ..... :-)
Now, I have a question regarding the Oracle HTTP server, which is supposed to be isntalled with the 11g, instead of the Companion CD, which no longers exist.
First question. We have a http server that is used by oracle EM database control, correct ? I do not see a service for it on the Services list. Teh apex application install asks for stopping/starting the http server. How do we do that ? AND, where the the http server binaries located ? I did a search for apache, and found it under C:\app\oracle\product\11.1.0\db_1\perl\site\5.8.3\lib\Apache, but no binaries there, or under ORACLE_BASE\bin either.
What do I setup for ORACLE_HTTPSERVER windows environment on a brand new 11g database install ?
Now, I see that we can get HTTP server from BEA install. I was trying to keep APEX from using a web server tier here. To me, the beauty of APEX is to not have to manage BEA, or any other tier. Keep it simple, at least for development, and keep everything on the DB, and simply use the native HTTP server.
So, this is a VERY basic question, but how do I do that ? I will worry about what I can and can not do with the native HTTP server or BEA later. I just want to get this up and running so that I can start playing with it.
Thanks,
Henrique

Answer 1

Here is my latest update before I go to bed :-(
I was able to install the HTTP server, but had some issues later down on the apex install.
C:\app\oracle\product\10g-iAS-http-server\opmn\bin>opmnctl status
Processes in Instance: IAS-1
--------------------------------------------------------------+---------
ias-component | process-type | pid | status
--------------------------------------------------------------+---------
HTTP_Server | HTTP_Server | 5204 | Alive
I am able to see the welcome page for the web server here
http://localhost:7777/
I am able to reset the admin password, ( by the way, I did setup the gateway as well :-) ). I am not sure what happens when you have both the gateway and the web server setup. Now, when try to login to the apex admin account using either
http://localhost:7777/apex/apex_admin or
http://localhost:7777/pls/apex/apex_admin, nothing happens besides a HTTP-404 error.
Now, when I had the port set to 8080, via the commands
SQL> EXEC DBMS_XDB.SETHTTPPORT(8080);
PL/SQL procedure successfully completed.
SQL> SELECT DBMS_XDB.GETHTTPPORT FROM DUAL;
GETHTTPPORT
8080
and try to login again here
http://localhost:7777/pls/apex/apex_admin
I do get a prompt, but when i enter admin, and the password I have setup, it does not allow me to get in :-(
Now, I need some explanation of this DAD file, as I am not sure if I need it to simply login during install. Here is the man page from the install doc :
3.4.11.1 Creating a Workspace Manually
To create an Oracle Application Express workspace manually:
Log in to Oracle Application Express Administration Services. Oracle Application Express Administration Services is a separate application for managing an entire Oracle Application Express instance. You log in using the ADMIN account and password created or reset during the installation process.
In a Web browser, navigate to the Oracle Application Express Administration Services application.
If your setup uses Apache and mod_plsql, go to:
http://hostname:port/pls/apex/apex_admin
Where:
hostname is the name of the system where Oracle HTTP Server is installed.
port is the port number assigned to Oracle HTTP Server. In a default installation, this number is 7777.
pls is the indicator to use the mod_plsql cartridge.
***apex is the database access descriptor (DAD) defined in the mod_plsql configuration file.***
Here it mentions this DAD file, and I am not sure if I need it now, and even, how to reference it. My database name is called apex, but I do not have anything on my dads.conf file. Should I have something there ? I see a sample such as this from the README.DADs file :
<Location /plsqlapp>
SetHandler pls_handler
Order deny,allow
Allow from all
AllowOverride None
PlsqlDatabaseUsername scott
PlsqlDatabasePassword tiger
PlsqlDatabaseConnectString orcl
PlsqlAuthenticationMode Basic
PlsqlDefaultPage scott.home
PlsqlDocumentTablename scott.wwdoc_document
PlsqlDocumentPath docs
PlsqlDocumentProcedure scott.wwdoc_process.process_download
</Location>
It is a bit late tonite. Tomorrow I will get back at it.
Thanks for any help, but I must be doing something really obvious to you guys here, and I can't see it :-(
Cheers,
Henrique