Not able to download packages with yum due to the error ‘[Errno 256] No more mirrors to try’? We can help you with it.

Usually, corrupted yum cache or repo directory ends up in this error. A few file cleanups can easily fix this.

This can also occur due to an outdated whitelist of the Public CIDR list.

At Bobcares, we often fix yum errors, as a part of our Server Management Services.

Today, let’s have a look into this yum error. And see how our Support Engineers fix this.

Why does yum downloading packages end up in error?

We often use yum to install packages and dependencies in a single command. However, sometimes we have seen this yum updates ending up with an error.

Mostly, this happens due to errors with yum cache, local files in the repository folder, outdated firewall rules, etc.

Let’s check out how our Support Engineers fix this error in each case.

How we fix the yum error in downloading packages?

The error message while installing the FTP package appears as,

Now let’s have a look at each reason and its fix.

1. Clear yum cache to download packages

Old cache in the system can cause errors while downloading packages. Hence our Support Engineers delete the cache using the command,

rm -rf /var/cache/yum/*

In addition, we also delete the metadata for the enables repositories. For this, we use the command,

yum clean metadata

Later, we clean up the yum folder using the command,

yum clean all

Finally, we check the yum update again. Thereby, we ensure to fix the error.

2. Check repository to fix yum error

In some servers, the yum repository contains corrupted files. And accessing these repositories while updating can cause errors. So our Support Engineers check the folder yum.repos.d

Initially, we list the files using the command,

ll /etc/yum.repos.d

Later we check the system registry. Our Experts check the files under both RHN classic and RHSM. And removes the error causing local repositories. Later, we check if the update is running successfully.

3. Network access to download packages

Similarly, network access is important for yum updates. So, we check the access to the repository URL by ping.

In addition, we also ensure to whitelist the Public CIDR list for Red Hat. Because outdated whitelist restricts access to the CDN can result in errors.

Usually, yum download the packages using the base URL in the config file. This URL is cdn.redhat.com. Basically, there are multiple servers resolving to this address.

So we whitelist these IPs listed in the Public CIDR list.

[Need assistance in fixing yum errors? – We are available 24/7]

Conclusion

In short, yum error downloading packages occur due to corrupted cache or repository. Another possible reason is network access denial due to the firewall in the system. Today, we saw how our Support Engineers fix this error.