Software Center doesn't load applications

[SimPos (Serqueis)]

Hello, I’m going to use a translator

It wasn’t long ago that I was testing Nethserver 7.4.1708 in my VB, I still have an old VM ready, everything works correctly

Well, I’m now redoing another clean VM in the same version 7.4.1708, exactly the same way, and when I enter the Software Center, the applications are not loading, the following message appears:
“The install/update may have failed due to metadata caching issues. Please clear the cache by clicking the button below and retry the install/update operation.”

Below is the “Clear Yum Cache” button

I’ve tried using the button, clear commands in the prompt, redoing the VM, the problem persists, I opened my old VM and the Software Center is opening correctly, does anyone know what I’m doing wrong in this current VM?

[Andy_Wismer (André Wismer)]

Hi @SimPos

NethServer 7.4?
That was a very long time ago!
The last version of NethServer 7 is NethServer 7.9.2003…

And NethServer 7, based on Centos7 (RHEL7) is EOL since 20. June 2024 !!!
NS7 has now been around for 10 years, time to upgrade, not update! Time for NS8…
Repos will not be available (NS7.4 still used Centos7 repos…), updating almost impossible…

It is still possible to install NS7, but you would need to use the last available ISO image, not some several years old ISO…

Maybe read daily news first, realize the date (It’s August 2024 now!), then ask!

My 2 cents
Andy

[SimPos (Serqueis)]

@SimPos

Nethserver 7.4.1708

I understand that there are newer versions, but I would still need to use this release for a while before moving on to 8.

I mentioned that it is still possible to use NS7 with the latest ISO available, my ISO 7.4.1708 I downloaded in 2023, but is it no longer possible to get around 7.4.1708 to make it work? By changing the repository or fixing something?

[Andy_Wismer (André Wismer)]

@SimPos

I mentioned that it is still possible to use NS7 with the latest ISO available, my ISO 7.4.1708 I downloaded in 2023, but is it no longer possible to get around 7.4.1708 to make it work? By changing the repository or fixing something?

Not worth it on a freshly installed NS7.4. (No configuration done, no data).
Even when you downloaded it in 2023, NS7.4 was outdated, 7.9 was available.
Grab the latest NS7.9 ISO and save yourself a lot of headaches.

I would even strongly suggest starting right out with NS8, and save yourself a migration!

My 2 cents
Andy

[SimPos (Serqueis)]

@Andy_Wismer

Not worth it on a freshly installed NS7.4. (No configuration done, no data).
Even when you downloaded it in 2023, NS7.4 was outdated, 7.9 was available.
Grab the latest NS7.9 ISO and save yourself a lot of headaches.

I would even strongly suggest starting right out with NS8, and save yourself a migration!

My 2 cents
Andy

I understand, but I need to make release 7.4.1708 work for some specific criteria

[Andy_Wismer (André Wismer)]

@SimPos

I think you missed the boat for NS7.4…

To be honest, I don’t know if installing NS7.4 is even possible anymore. So much has changed.
EPEL, the Remi repos - all changed / removed / replaced…

A normal running NS7 would have several versions of PHP and MariaDB running at the same time…

Maybe @davidep has more infos, but you’ld need to reveal more about your “specific criteria”…

My 2 cents
Andy

[SimPos (Serqueis)]

I have a 7.4.1708 running with applications already installed and working, I find it strange that by accessing the Software Center I can access the application store with the option to download

[Andy_Wismer (André Wismer)]

@SimPos

NS7 repos are still available, but Centos7 Repos are no more available.
I have no idea how much Centos7 Repos were used then, but it was more than now.
Some stuff will work, some won’t.

Don’t forget: We didn’t ask for the forced EOL of Centos, this is all because IBM took over RedHat and went back on previous valid statements, deals, contracts. IBM / RedHat can’t be trusted really as a basis for anything, not even for a company making toilet paper!

As this is all EOL, there are no garanties anything is available, nor any that anything will work.

Using manual work, it’s still probably possible to get there, then doing a step by step update/upgrade.
Nextcloud for one does not allow a multi-version upgrade (Also due to PHP/MariaDB requirements!).

But, as the saying goes: “There be dragons here…”, this is certainly not a task for the faint of heart nor for anyone not familiar with a UN*X console…

Maybe @dnutan can help here, I could even imagine he has the repos and commands needed handy!

But as with any such task: Good Luck!

My 2 cents
Andy

[SimPos (Serqueis)]

Okay, I’ll stay tuned.

[dnutan (Marc)]

@dnutan

Some time ago this solution was given.

Another option… Years ago we tried something similar on Gradual upgrade 7.3 to version 7.4 - #2 by dnutan. Theoretically it should work (using centos vault repos and if needed elrepo archived repos or any other third-party repos having a repo archive/vault).

@pike

Version lock was overruled serveral versions ago…

As always, if it were a working production system (despite its oldness) use a test environment first.

From that post you can grab some parts. Untested as of today (I just copy/pasted some excerpts of it but didn’t spend time reading it carefully or testing it again).
Note that there might be problems with EPEL repo (version numbering) or similar, for dependencies… Do a bit of research if needed.

@dnutan

Create a custom repository file (remember to inspect contents of downloaded file):

 curl https://gist.githubusercontent.com/dnutan/1d21e6f7e3bd8bc516a73b718a96de11/raw/52c7ebc0a937f37909c4a2a414c7490cf217cc66/Custom.repo -o /etc/yum.repos.d/Custom.repo

Set a custom yum var (used in the custom repo file to specify the desired minor version release of the distribution):

echo '7.3.1611' > /etc/yum/vars/customrelease

Clean yum repository data:

yum --enablerepo=\* clean all

optional step - Visually verify whether the repositories are correct (–nogpgcheck is used because some old nethserver repos were not gpg signed):

yum --nogpgcheck \
--disablerepo=\* \
--enablerepo=custom-C7-{base,updates,extras},\
custom-nethserver-{base,updates},\
epel,custom-centos-sclo-{sclo,rh} \
repolist -v

@dnutan

Changing yum repositories to another CentOS/NethServer distribution release:

echo '7.5.1804' > /etc/yum/vars/customrelease
yum --enablerepo=\* clean all
# optionally, repeat other previous steps to verify repos urls and available packages 

Before updating all packages, keep in mind that nextcloud doesn’t like major versions upgrades. The old nethserver wiki still has some tricks for nextcloud upgrades.

@dnutan

Update all system packages as usual (…):

yum update

@dnutan

Of course, if for some reason there were missing dependencies we should investigate and find our way through.

@dnutan

Removing custom yum var, custom repos and cleaning yum repo data. Next updates shall come from the latest available original repositories:

rm /etc/yum/vars/customrelease
rm /etc/yum.repos.d/Custom.repo
yum --enablerepo=\* clean all

[SimPos (Serqueis)]

@dnutan

Before updating all packages, keep in mind that nextcloud doesn’t like major versions upgrades. The old nethserver wiki still has some tricks for nextcloud upgrades.

Hello friend, sure I will test it, one question, do I do all this from my release 7.4.1708?

[dnutan (Marc)]

Yes, that would be a path for upgrading old centos/nethserver version from the command line.
If you are interested only in software center, then at least point the currently used yum repos to centos vault and available nethserver repos…
I might be overlooking something else…
Tweak any version number as available/needed