NVE: OS Rollup Fails "One or More Nodes Not Running SLES" when /root ownership is changed

Summary: A NetWorker Virtual Edition (NVE) operating system rollup fails, reporting "One or More Nodes Not Running SLES". The ownership of /root was changed to another user.

This article applies to This article does not apply to This article is not tied to any specific product. Not all product versions are identified in this article.
Check out other resources

Symptoms

NetWorker Virtual Edition rollup fails, with the following error reported in /usr/local/avamar/var/avi/server_data/package_data/NvePlatformOsRollup_YYYY-R#-v#.avp_EPOCH_TIMESTAMP/workflow.log

YYYY-MM-DD HH:mm:SS (-TZ) 4107124 INFO: no output seen from "ssh -q -i /root/.ssh/rootid -x -q -o ConnectTimeout=5 -o PasswordAuthentication=no -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no -o GSSAPIAuthentication=no  root@127.0.0.1  uname -a"
YYYY-MM-DD HH:mm:SS (-TZ) 4107124 INFO: post: "ssh -q -i /root/.ssh/rootid -x -q -o ConnectTimeout=5 -o PasswordAuthentication=no -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no -o GSSAPIAuthentication=no  root@127.0.0.1  uname -a", exit status=255 (error)
YYYY-MM-DD HH:mm:SS (-TZ) 4107124 INFO: address=127.0.0.1 remote=ssh -q -i /root/.ssh/rootid -x -q -o ConnectTimeout=5 -o PasswordAuthentication=no -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no -o GSSAPIAuthentication=no  root@127.0.0.1  os=unknown version=unknown update=unknown arch=unknown
YYYY-MM-DD HH:mm:SS (-TZ) 47378741877400 INFO:  - One or more nodes are not running SLES succeeded

The OsRollup workflow logs can be found under the rollups package_data directory:

/usr/local/avamar/var/avi/server_data/package_data/NvePlatformOsRollup_YYYY-R#-v#.avp_EPOCH_TIMESTAMP/workflow.log

Cause

The ownership of the /root directory was changed by the backup admin at some point. For example it shows:

nve:~ # ls -ld /root
drwx------   8 admin  root    4096 May 16 09:27 root

The permissions of /root are as such that no other user or group has access to the directory, only the owner (in this case admin) does.

During the rollup, the following command is run:

ssh -q -i /root/.ssh/rootid -x -q -o ConnectTimeout=5 -o PasswordAuthentication=no -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no -o GSSAPIAuthentication=no root@127.0.0.1 uname -a

It tries to run as_root, but since only the admin user has access, the command returns nothing and skips the kernel update. For example:

nve:~ # ssh -q -i /root/.ssh/rootid -x -q -o ConnectTimeout=5 -o PasswordAuthentication=no -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no -o GSSAPIAuthentication=no root@127.0.0.1 uname -a
nve:~ #

When /root is owned by root:root that it should return something like:

nve:~ # ssh -q -i /root/.ssh/rootid -x -q -o ConnectTimeout=5 -o PasswordAuthentication=no -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no -o GSSAPIAuthentication=no root@127.0.0.1 uname -a
Linux nve 4.12.14-122.153-default #1 SMP Tue Mar 7 14:13:19 UTC 2023 (9f7af45) x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux
nve:~ #

If /root is owned by another user, the ssh command to get uname -a returns nothing, causing the workflow to report the OS as "unknown" and skip the NVE’s OS package updates.

NOTE: This is not the only cause of the failure outlined in this KB, see Additional Info. The focus of this article is the solution for the specific cause outlined here.

Resolution

Correct the /root ownership:

sudo chown root:root /root

Return to the NVE installation manager and retry the current task.

NOTE: The "root" user and group must own the /root directory. Modifying default system files and settings on the NVE can cause issues during rollups/upgrades, potentially corrupting the NVE, and requiring redeployment and NetWorker Server Disaster Recovery (nsrdr). Therefore, it is not recommended to change default system files or settings.

To permit SSH access to root, see: NVE: How to Allow root SSH Access On a NetWorker Virtual Edition

Additional Information

The symptoms and error messaging reported in this KB may occur due to other causes. If /root ownership and permissions were not modified on the NVE, see the following articles: 


========================

NVE: Upgrade or Install Failure Triage Guide
Dell Avamar and NetWorker Operating System (OS) Rollup Security Update Cadence
NetWorker Virtual Edition (NVE): How to Install the Platform Security Rollup
 

Affected Products

NetWorker

Products

NetWorker Family, NetWorker Series
Article Properties
Article Number: 000225150
Article Type: Solution
Last Modified: 04 Dec 2025
Version:  8
Find answers to your questions from other Dell users
Support Services
Check if your device is covered by Support Services.