zypper fails to refresh update source, marking repository as invalid

This document (7012821) is provided subject to the disclaimer at the end of this document.

Environment

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 Service Pack 2
Subscription Management Tool

Situation

When running zypper ref -s on a ext3 formatted filesystem the refresh of the repository data fails with:
linux:~ # zypper ref -s
Refreshing service 'SMT-http_smtserver.local.site'.
All services have been refreshed.
Retrieving repository 'NTS_Tools_SLE_11_SP2' metadata [error]
Repository 'NTS_Tools_SLE_11_SP2' is invalid.
[|] Valid metadata not found at specified URL(s)
Please check if the URIs defined for this repository are pointing to a valid repository.
Skipping repository 'NTS_Tools_SLE_11_SP2' because of the above error.
Retrieving repository 'SLES11-SP1-Pool' metadata [error]
Repository 'SLES11-SP1-Pool' is invalid.
[|] Valid metadata not found at specified URL(s)
Please check if the URIs defined for this repository are pointing to a valid repository.
Skipping repository 'SLES11-SP1-Pool' because of the above error.
[...]
In /var/log/zypper.log the following error is found:
2013-06-27 11:17:21 <3> linux(27847) [zypp] TmpPath.cc(TmpDir):280 Cant create '/var/tmp/TmpDir.XXXXXX' Too many links

Resolution

Please clean up temporary directories in /tmp or /var/tmp. Do have the system clean up these directories on boot please edit /etc/sysconfig/cron and change the values for:

TMP_DIRS_TO_CLEAR=
MAX_DAYS_IN_TMP=
CLEAR_TMP_DIRS_AT_BOOTUP=


Please keep in mind, /var/tmp and /tmp are not supposed to store static data for long time.

Cause

This issue is encountered if there are more than 31998 sub directories on the affected file system.

Disclaimer

This Support Knowledgebase provides a valuable tool for SUSE customers and parties interested in our products and solutions to acquire information, ideas and learn from one another. Materials are provided for informational, personal or non-commercial use within your organization and are presented "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND.

  • Document ID:7012821
  • Creation Date: 10-Jul-2013
  • Modified Date:03-Mar-2020
    • Subscription Management Tool
    • SUSE Linux Enterprise Server

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