zypper fails with "Valid metadata not found at specified URL" errors

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Environment

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 Service Pack 1 (SLES 12 SP1)

Situation

Attempting to run "zypper ref" or "zypper lu" etc. suddenly fails with the following errors for all repositories:

:~ # zypper ref
Retrieving repository 'SLES12-SP1-Pool' metadata ..............................................................................................................................................................................................[error]
Repository 'SLES12-SP1-Pool' is invalid.
[SUSE_Linux_Enterprise_Server_12_SP1_x86_64:SLES12-SP1-Pool|https://updates.suse.com/SUSE/Products/SLE-SERVER/12-SP1/x86_64/product?...xxxx...] Valid metadata not found at specified URL

Resolution

When btrfs quotas are enabled make sure any specified quotas, specifically also any set for /var/tmp are not being exceeded.

Cause

If the quota is exceeded, zypper will fail to create temporary files in /var/tmp, the following errors will be logged in /var/log/zypper.log:

2016-03-17 15:14:38 <3> test_server(11674) [zypp] TmpPath.cc(TmpFile):208 Cant create '/var/tmp/TmpFile.79sWpI' Disk quota exceeded

Additional Information

For more information on managing btrfs quotas see the SUSE Linux Enterprise Server documentation, below are some basic examples to check, increase or disable quotas:

Check existing quotas for root: sudo btrfs qgroup show -r /
Set or increase the limit for /var/tmp: sudo btrfs qgroup limit 8G /var/tmp
Set quota to null for /var/tmp: sudo btrfs qgroup limit 0 /var/tmp
Disable quotas completely for root: sudo btrfs quota disable /

Disclaimer

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