13.0 Package and Content Management Troubleshooting Strategies

This section provides solutions to problems you might encounter when using Novell ZENworks Linux Management Package and Content Management features:

Installing updates that were mirrored from the Update sites, such as http://updates.novell.com (http://updates.novell.com/), using the rug up command fails with dependency errors

Source: ZENworks 7.3 Linux Management; Package and Content Management
Possible Cause: The dependent packages are not available on the ZENworks Linux Management server.
Action: To distribute and install RPMs to managed devices, you need to ensure that all packages the RPMs depend on, and all packages dependent on the RPM are also imported to the ZLM server. For example, to distribute updates to the SLES 10 devices mirrored from updates.novell.com, you need to ensure that all the packages from the SLES 10 media are imported to the ZENworks Linux Management server. You need not assign the bundles or catalogs containing the dependent RPMs to the managed devices.

Rug refresh hangs

Source: ZENworks 7.3 Linux Management; Package and Content Management
Explanation: The rug refresh command sometimes hangs.
Action: Execute the rug restart command.

Bundle or package installation might fail with the error message, “Resolvable ID (number) does not exist”

Source: ZENworks 7.3 Linux Management; Package and Content Management
Possible Cause: The zmd.db file is corrupt.
Action: Regenerate zmd.db.

Enter the following at the command line:

rug restart --clean

The zlman push-now option does not install the bundle on the device

Source: ZENworks 7.3 Linux Management; Package and Content Management
Explanation: When you try to install a bundle by using the zlman push-now command, the bundle is not installed.
Possible Cause: You might have locked the device through the rug set device-locked true command or through the blackout-interval preference.
Action: Check to see if the device is locked by using the command rug get device-locked. Unlock the device by using the rug set device-locked false command.

The command to set the password on the managed device is truncated in the error message

Source: ZENworks 7.3 Linux Management; Package and Content Management
Explanation: When you try to initiate a remote session, the following message is displayed if the password is not set on the managed device: 
Unable to initiate a remote session because a password has not been set on the managed device. To set the password, run "zrmservice --pas"

The command displayed by the message is truncated.

Action: The complete message is as follows. 
Unable to initiate a remote session because a password has not been set on the managed device. To set the password, run "zrmservice --passwd".

Adding a custom repository fails with an error

Source: ZENworks Linux Management; Package and Content Management
Explanation: The following error message might be displayed when you add a custom repository: 
ERROR: Could not add 'http://foobar.com/sled-10-i586': Failed to parse XML metadata: Unsigned file '/repodata/repomd.xml (file:/var/cache/zmd/web/files/foobar.com/sled-10-i586/)'
Action: Log in as root, and execute the following command: rug set security-level checksum.

Installing the YOU patches without any particular order using the rug command fails

Source: ZENworks 7.3 Linux Management; Package and Content Management
Explanation: If you try to install the YOU patches from a catalog by using wildcard characters in the patch name (For example, rug bin catlog_name patch*), then you might encounter issues because of the order in which the patches get installed.
Possible Cause: The usage of wildcard characters change the installation order of the YOU patches. The patched numbered higher could depend on the lower numbered patches.
Action: Do not use wildcard characters for installing a set of patches that are dependent on each other.

Mirroring more than 400 bundles simultaneously between ZENworks Linux Management servers located in different management zones fails

Source: ZENworks 7.3 Linux Management; Package and Content Management.
Explanation: The following error message is displayed when you mirror more than 400 bundles between ZENworks Linux Management servers located in different management zones: 
Exception in thread "main" java.lang.OutOfMemoryError
Possible Cause: The JVM heap memory is only 128 MB.
Action: Increase the JVM heap memory capacity on the local Primary Server:

  1. In the /opt/novell/zenworks/bin/zlmmirror file, change the value of -Xmx to 256 or 512 in the following line, depending on the memory capacity of your device and the load on the server:

    /opt/novell/zenworks/lib/java/bin/java $ZLMMIRROR_OPTS -Xmx128m com.novell.zenworks.zlmmirror.ZLMMirror --temp-args-file $ZLMMIRROR_ARGS_FILE

  2. Save the file.

  3. Restart the ZENworks Linux Management service by using the following command:

    zlm-config --restart

Content Replication overwrites the symbolic links of all the files located in the package repository on the Secondary Server

Source: ZENworks 7.3 Linux Management; Package and Content Management.
Action: None.

Unable to list more than 500 packages from a ZENworks repository by using the zlman lp command

Source: ZENworks 7.3 Linux Management; Package and Content Management.
Action: Apply ZENworks 7.3 Linux Management Hot Patch 1.