Ubuntu 24.04 / DRM 3.4.9.1169 Update catalog fail

Question

Hello,

We have an issue when we want to update and we have this error in the logs :

12-12-25 13:46:47 SEVE com.dell.drm.utilities.RefreshHelper refreshManifest                        nulljava.lang.NullPointerException: Cannot invoke "java.util.List.iterator()" because the return value of "com.dell.drm.model.ComparisonReport.getAllComponents()" is nullat com.dell.drm.utilities.RefreshHelper.refreshManifest(RefreshHelper.java:47)at com.dell.drm.jobmanager.RefreshRepositoryJob.refreshRepository(RefreshRepositoryJob.java:261)at com.dell.drm.jobmanager.RefreshRepositoryJob.run(RefreshRepositoryJob.java:128)at java.base/java.util.concurrent.Executors$RunnableAdapter.call(Executors.java:572)at java.base/java.util.concurrent.FutureTask.run(FutureTask.java:317)at java.base/java.util.concurrent.ScheduledThreadPoolExecutor$ScheduledFutureTask.run(ScheduledThreadPoolExecutor.java:304)at java.base/java.util.concurrent.ThreadPoolExecutor.runWorker(ThreadPoolExecutor.java:1144)at java.base/java.util.concurrent.ThreadPoolExecutor$Worker.run(ThreadPoolExecutor.java:642)at java.base/java.lang.Thread.run(Thread.java:1583)

The last refresh was a success

Refresh_11/29/2025 08:00:03 SUCCESS REPOSITORY REFRESH NA 11/29/25 8:00 A.M
Export_11/29/2025_08:00:40 SUCCESS SHARE NA 11/29/25 8:11 A.M
Refresh_12/06/2025 08:00:08 FAILURE REPOSITORY REFRESH NA 12/6/25 8:00 A.M
Export_12/06/2025_08:00:42 SUCCESS SHARE NA 12/6/25 8:11 A.M

I did not find much help online for this error concerning DRM. Any idea ?

Thanks

Regards

DELL-Erman O · Accepted Answer

Hi, it may related with repo metadata and catalog schema structure changes. I think to reduce stale metadata remove unused repos periodically.

DELL-Charles R · Answer

Hello,

The fact that Refresh_11/29/2025 SUCCESS and Refresh_12/06/2025 FAILURE indicates:

DRM was functioning correctly before.

The failure is not due to installation corruption but likely due to catalog data or repository state changes between those dates not a systemic failure.

The NullPointerException (getAllComponents() is null) means the comparison report object is empty during refresh.

This usually happens when:

The catalog downloaded on 12/06 was incomplete or corrupted.

The repository being refreshed has no valid components to compare (e.g., empty or misconfigured repository).

Permissions or storage path issues prevented DRM from writing catalog data.

Recommended troubleshooting steps

From User Guide below: Page 19–20 (Configure Catalog Settings) and Page 25–26 (Refresh Repository):

Validate Catalog Source

Ensure DRM can reach https://downloads.dell.com/catalog/catalog.xml.gz.
If using a custom catalog, confirm the .xml.gz and .sign files are present and correctly named.

Check Repository Content

If the repository is empty or contains unsupported systems, refresh will fail.
Use CLI to list repositories:
drm --list=rep
drm --details -
(Page 52–53)

Delete and Re-add Catalog
drm --delete --catalog=<catalog_id>
drm --update --catalog=all
(Page 52–53)
Permissions

Confirm drmuser has full access to /opt/dell/dellrepositorymanager/ and /var/dell/drm/log. (Page 63–64)

Logs

Check /var/dell/drm/log/drmservice-0.log for catalog download errors. (Page 26, Page 64)

Repair DRM if needed ./Change Dell Repository Manager Installation (Page 43)

Dell Repository Manager version 3.4.9 User’s Guide

https://dl.dell.com/content/manual44163007-dell-repository-manager-version-3-4-9-user-s-guide.pdf?language=en-us

Guillaume.Navar · Answer

Hello,

Thanks for your quick reply. Wev'e tried every step from the troubleshooting guide but nothing worked. Out of spite i've made a new repo, again, and this time the refresh/export worked.

It happend a lot, is there any guidelines about why we have to create a new repo everytime to fix the failed refresh ?

Regards

Guillaume.Navar · Answer

Alright, i've removed every other unused repo. Thanks for your help

Dell Repository Manager

Ubuntu 24.04 / DRM 3.4.9.1169 Update catalog fail

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