Oracle APEX Upgrade Journey: Upgrading from APEX 21.1 to 25.2 and ORDS 25.4

Introduction

Technology evolves rapidly, and keeping development platforms up to date is essential for maintaining security, performance, and access to the latest features. Oracle APEX has continued to mature into one of the most powerful low-code development platforms available today, enabling organizations to build scalable enterprise applications with minimal development effort.

Recently, I worked on upgrading an Oracle APEX environment from APEX 21.1 to APEX 25.2, along with upgrading Oracle REST Data Services (ORDS) to version 25.4. While every upgrade project requires careful planning and validation, the process was straightforward when approached with a structured methodology.

In this blog, I will share the upgrade steps, important considerations, and lessons learned during the migration process. My goal is to provide a practical reference for database administrators and Oracle APEX developers who are planning a similar upgrade.

Why Upgrade?

Many organizations continue to run older APEX versions because their applications are stable and business-critical. However, staying on older releases means missing out on significant improvements introduced by Oracle over the years.

The move to APEX 25.2 offers several advantages:

• Enhanced security capabilities
• Improved developer productivity
• Modernized user interface components
• Better REST integration support
• Performance optimizations
• Access to newly introduced APEX features

Upgrading also ensures that the platform remains aligned with Oracle’s current support and best-practice recommendations.

Before starting the upgrade, I ensured that database backups were available and that the applications were tested in a non-production environment. Proper preparation is always the key to a successful upgrade.

Preparing the New Software

The first step was to download and stage the required software packages.

For this upgrade, I used:

• Oracle APEX 25.2
• Oracle REST Data Services (ORDS) 25.4

Both packages were copied to a dedicated software location and extracted.

mkdir -p /u01/apex_new

After extraction, the directory structure looked like

Using a separate software location helps maintain a clean rollback path and avoids impacting the existing environment during preparation.

Installing Oracle APEX 25.2

After extracting the software, I navigated to the APEX installation directory and connected to the database as SYSDBA.

The APEX installation was initiated using

@apexins.sql apex apex temp /i/

This script upgrades the existing APEX repository and installs the required database objects.

The installation process completed successfully without any issues. Depending on the size and performance of the database server, installation time may vary.

Configuring REST Services

After the APEX installation completed, the next step was configuring REST services.

The following script was executed

@apex_rest_config.sql

During execution, Oracle prompted for passwords for:

• APEX_PUBLIC_USER
• APEX_REST_PUBLIC_USER

These accounts are critical components of the APEX architecture, so it is important to use secure passwords and document them appropriately.

Once completed, the APEX environment was ready for ORDS integration.

Installing ORDS 25.4

The next phase involved upgrading Oracle REST Data Services.

After navigating to the ORDS software directory, the installation was started using

./ords — config /u01/apex_new/ords/conf install

The installer requested database connection details and prompted for the ORDS_PUBLIC_USER password.

One of the improvements in recent ORDS versions is the streamlined installation experience. The installer validates configuration settings and database connectivity before completing the deployment process.

Once the installation completed successfully, I proceeded with preparing the deployment artifacts.

Deploying the New ORDS Application

With ORDS configured, the next step was replacing the existing deployment.

Before copying the new files, I backed up the existing WAR file and image directory. Maintaining backups provides a quick rollback option if any issues are discovered after deployment.

The deployment activities included:

• Renaming the existing ORDS WAR file
• Removing the old APEX images directory
• Copying the newly generated ORDS WAR file
• Copying the latest APEX image files

After deployment, the application server was restarted.

The restart completed successfully, and the new ORDS instance became available without any unexpected errors.

Validation and Testing

No upgrade should be considered complete without validation.

After restarting the application server, I performed a series of checks:

ORDS Validation

Confirmed that ORDS was responding correctly.

APEX Login Validation

Verified workspace access and user authentication.

Application Testing

Validated:

• Interactive Reports
• Interactive Grids
• Forms
• REST APIs
• Authentication mechanisms
• Application navigation

Fortunately, all applications functioned as expected after the upgrade.

Lessons Learned

Every upgrade project provides valuable learning opportunities.

Some of the key takeaways from this upgrade were:

Always Maintain Backups

A complete backup strategy provides confidence and reduces risk.

Test Before Production

A lower environment allows issues to be identified before impacting end users.

Keep ORDS and APEX Aligned

Upgrading both components together ensures compatibility and simplifies troubleshooting.

Validate Everything

Successful installation does not guarantee successful application execution. Thorough testing remains essential.

Benefits Observed After the Upgrade

Following the upgrade, several improvements were immediately noticeable:

• Faster administration experience
• Access to the latest APEX features
• Improved REST configuration management
• Better platform maintainability
• Enhanced security posture

The environment is now positioned to take advantage of future Oracle APEX innovations while providing a stable platform for application development.

Conclusion

Upgrading Oracle APEX from version 21.1 to 25.2 and ORDS to 25.4 was a smooth and rewarding process. With proper planning, backups, testing, and validation, the upgrade was completed successfully with minimal disruption.

Oracle continues to invest heavily in APEX, making it one of the most capable low-code platforms available today. Staying current with supported releases not only improves security and performance but also enables development teams to leverage the latest capabilities delivered by Oracle.

For organizations still running older APEX versions, I highly recommend planning an upgrade strategy and taking advantage of the powerful features available in Oracle APEX 25.2.