This document discusses using Oracle Application Express (APEX) to create a user-friendly Configuration Management Database (CMDB) system for managing information about computer components and their relationships on a High Performance Computing (HPC) center. APEX allows for intuitive graphical user interfaces to be built for databases and supports features like mobile development. The Center for Device and Radiological Health uses an HPC system for regulatory projects and research, and a CMDB could help organize information about its computer components.

1. Configuration Management Database System on High-Performance Computing
Rusif Eyvazli1, Fu-Jyh Luo2
FDA/CDRH/OSEL/DIDSR
US Food and Drug Administration, Silver Spring, MD, USA
{1Rusif.Eyvazli, 2Fu-Jyh.Luo}@fda.hhs.gov
[1] Oracle Application Express (APEX): https://apex.oracle.com/en
[2] About the CDRH: https://www.fda.gov/aboutfda/centersoffices/officeofmedicalproductsandtobacco/cdrh
[3] Wiki page: https://scl-wiki-01.fda.gov/wiki/index.php/Main_Page
[4] Figure 1: https://oracle-base.com/articles/misc/images/json-intro/apex-architecture-annotations.png
[5] Figure 2: https://docs.oracle.com/cd/E28389_01/core.1111/b55898/img/ovdpm036.gif
ABSTRACT What is Oracle Application Express
Creating CMDB system using Oracle Apex
Remembering the date a computer was bought, its system
information, and all other details would be easy for a user.
Having not one, but several hundred, even thousands of
computers together – having clusters would make it
impossible to access the information. Configuration
Management Database (CMDB) is designed to address this
challenge. It is a database that contains all relevant
information about the components of the information
systems which are used in organizations, and the
relationship between those components. Having all the
information as a database on the High Performance
Computing (HPC) center would make it easier to access as
a database. Another challenge is creating an intuitive
Graphical User Interface (GUI) to the database which
could display all the data in tables, charts, maps, etc. One
of the easiest ways to design and implement the GUI is
using Oracle Application Express (Oracle APEX). [1]
Login page:
The Login Page is created automatically by Oracle APEX when the
application is created. In addition to the default Login Page, we can
modify it by changing the theme and font of the page, icons, and buttons
and adding different helpful regions (ex: “Help” region in the picture). We can
also change the default login attributes to Personal Identify Verification (PIV) card
parameters.
Need for a User Friendly CMDB System
Even though there may be enough space to store the data,
it should still be properly organized. By organizing, the
users of the CMDB can easily access it and modify, copy,
and delete the needed information.
By using Oracle Application Express, the developer
can design, develop, and deploy a database driven,
intuitive and responsive application using only a web
browser. Application Express has been fully
supported and is a no-cost feature of the Oracle
Database. It runs wherever the Oracle Database (or
CMDB) runs, scales with the Oracle Database is fully
supported by Oracle (paid support or free community
help), and can exploit all features of Oracle Database.
Also, the FDA maintains a site license for Oracle 12c,
which includes Oracle Application Express (APEX).
By having data, the developer can import it to APEX
easily, modify it quickly and secure and create a
CMDB system. It is easy to use APEX for building
Web applications, as well as interactive and static
data reports. It also has different functionalities such
as supporting mobile application development by
incorporating jQuery Mobile to deploy compact yet
functional applications in a browser. It is a great
solution to improve data quality and security, to
consolidate spreadsheets, to reduce duplications and
administration, and to enhance the functionality.
What does CDRH/HPC do ?
The Center for Device and Radiological Health
(CDRH) is responsible for protecting and promoting
the public health [2] CDRH HPC environment
supports research and a wide array of regulatory
projects conducted by researchers and scientists
across FDA. The HPC provides supercomputer-scale
computational capacity for the FDA scientific
community. Each FDA employee, fellow, or
contractors with a Personal Identity Verification card
(PIV card) and an FDA e-mail address can apply for
an HPC account. A wiki page [3] includes complete
information about the HPC. The HPC team supports
scientific computing in a variety of different ways
such as training and expert consultations on HPC
usage and best practices, consultations on how to
parallelize existing applications which save hours,
months, even years; assistance with workflow design
to improve efficiency when processing big data sets,
hosting scientific applications; forensic testing and
debugging of software.
The HPC system in CDRH provides high
performance computing clusters. These clusters are
specifically engineered to support a large amount of
modeling and simulating projects which are needed
by the FDA scientists. Besides providing
computational support for projects, the HPC also
provides secure storage for the intermediate work
products of research and development in FDA
regulatory science.
Oracle Application Express (Oracle Apex) is a swift web application
development tool for the Oracle database. Using Apex on a web browser and
with little programming experience (such as JavaScript, SQL query), one can
build and deploy opportunistic and departmental applications securely and
quickly. These applications are deployed on the web with superior
performance. The browser based design time interface, the declarative
programming framework, and simple wizards, make APEX a natural
replacement for multi user desktop database applications such as Microsoft
Access.
Acknowledgement: Authors appreciate great support of CDRH/OSEL/DIDSR
management Dr. Nicholas Petrick, all HPC team members, including Stephen Whitney
and Stuart Barkley, our summer interns Sophie Khan and Stephen Ling.
Figure 1: Oracle Apex Architecture [4]
Application’s Pages and Tools:
The picture on the left side displays links for a default login page,
home page and others which were created. Besides the pages, there
are some important functions one can do:
1. Run the application successfully if there are not any bugs
2. Make changes to the scripts using “Supporting Objects”.
3. Make changes in the application’s attributes, security, user
interface, and etc. using “Shared Components”.
4. Import/export databases, plug-ins; files, and etc.
5. Has the links to any pages for editing them.
Page Designer:
There are three main panes within Page Designer:
1. Left pane: includes tabs for Rendering, Dynamic Actions,
Processing, and Shared Components. Each tab displays a list of
the corresponding component types and components created on
the current page.
2. Central Pane: includes tabs for Grid Layout, Messages, Page
Search, and Help.
3. Right Pane: displays the Property Editor.
Additional Features:
After having the pages work with the data inside of them, we can
add additional tools such as buttons and icons which would give us
an ability to create new rows and add them to the database or edit
them. As shown in the picture, I created the modal page which has
different types of items such as date picker, list values, multiple
choice questions. These are helpful for the users of the application
and meet the need for a User-Friendly CMDB System.
Application View:
Importing the database and editing the application pages, such as the
feature of coloring the rows (mouse over background color), makes
it ready to use by its users. We can also change the theme of the
application easily by using Theme Roller, which is on the lower right
side of the page. (Note: After changing and saving the theme, it needs to
get changed from Shared Components)
PAGE INFORMATION
Figure 2: Oracle Apex Architecture [5]