No Updates Available for Server

This document (7016501) is provided subject to the disclaimer at the end of this document.

Environment

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11

Situation

After registering the server and some time has gone by, the server still does not receive any updates. The following output is observed.

# /usr/bin/zypper --non-interactive --no-gpg-checks refresh
Repository 'SLES12-12-0' is up to date.
Repository 'SLES12-Pool' is up to date.
All repositories have been refreshed.

# /usr/bin/zypper --non-interactive --no-gpg-checks list-updates
Loading repository data...
Reading installed packages...
No updates found.

# /usr/bin/zypper --non-interactive --no-gpg-checks products
Loading repository data...
Reading installed packages...
S | Repository | Internal Name | Name                            | Version | Arch   | Is Base
--+------------+---------------+---------------------------------+---------+--------+--------
i | @System    | SLES          | SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 | 12-0    | x86_64 | Yes    

# /usr/bin/zypper --non-interactive --no-gpg-checks repos
# | Alias                                                           | Name                     | Enabled | Refresh
--+-----------------------------------------------------------------+--------------------------+---------+--------
1 | SLES12-12-0                                                     | SLES12-12-0              | Yes     | No     
2 | SUSE_Linux_Enterprise_Server_12_x86_64:SLES12-Debuginfo-Pool    | SLES12-Debuginfo-Pool    | No      | No     
3 | SUSE_Linux_Enterprise_Server_12_x86_64:SLES12-Debuginfo-Updates | SLES12-Debuginfo-Updates | No      | Yes    
4 | SUSE_Linux_Enterprise_Server_12_x86_64:SLES12-Pool              | SLES12-Pool              | Yes     | No     
5 | SUSE_Linux_Enterprise_Server_12_x86_64:SLES12-Updates           | SLES12-Updates           | No      | Yes

Resolution

Register the server properly using SUSEConnect (SLE15, SLE12) or suse_register (SLE11)
If you do not have a "-Updates" channel for each product, the server is not registered correctly.
See https://www.suse.com/products/server/how-to-buy/ to get a valid registration code.

Enable the Updates repositories

If you don't see an SLES*-Updates repository at all, you will need to register your server correctly. If the Updates repository is available, it must be enabled. In this case, the repository name is "SLES12-Updates" Do the following to enable the repository.

# zypper modifyrepo --enable SLES12-Updates
Repository 'SUSE_Linux_Enterprise_Server_12_x86_64:SLES12-Updates' has been successfully enabled.

# /usr/bin/zypper --non-interactive --no-gpg-checks repos
# | Alias                                                           | Name                     | Enabled | Refresh
--+-----------------------------------------------------------------+--------------------------+---------+--------
1 | SLES12-12-0                                                     | SLES12-12-0              | Yes     | No     
2 | SUSE_Linux_Enterprise_Server_12_x86_64:SLES12-Debuginfo-Pool    | SLES12-Debuginfo-Pool    | No      | No     
3 | SUSE_Linux_Enterprise_Server_12_x86_64:SLES12-Debuginfo-Updates | SLES12-Debuginfo-Updates | No      | Yes    
4 | SUSE_Linux_Enterprise_Server_12_x86_64:SLES12-Pool              | SLES12-Pool              | Yes     | No     
5 | SUSE_Linux_Enterprise_Server_12_x86_64:SLES12-Updates           | SLES12-Updates           | Yes     | Yes    

# /usr/bin/zypper --non-interactive --no-gpg-checks refresh
Repository 'SLES12-12-0' is up to date.
Repository 'SLES12-Pool' is up to date.
Repository 'SLES12-Updates' is up to date.
All repositories have been refreshed.

Notice that the zypper refresh command now lists the SLES12-Updates repository. You can now attempt to apply all updates to the server with zypper update.

Cause

The server was not registered or had a disabled update repository.

Additional Information

The SUSEConnect command will give you more details regarding the status of the server's registration.

# SUSEConnect --status-text
Installed Products:
------------------------------------------

  Basesystem Module
  (sle-module-basesystem/15.3/x86_64)

  Registered
  
------------------------------------------

  Server Applications Module
  (sle-module-server-applications/15.3/x86_64)

  Registered
  
------------------------------------------

  SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP3
  (SLES/15.3/x86_64)

  Registered
      
    Subscription:
    
    Regcode: INTERNAL-USE-ONLY-xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
    Starts at: 2018-01-22 18:06:34 UTC
    Expires at: 2023-01-22 18:06:34 UTC
    Status: ACTIVE
    Type: internal

------------------------------------------

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