Data Repository Installation Fails with 'sshpass not installed' Error

Products

• Network Observability
• CA Performance Management

Issue/Introduction

When running the installDR.bin script to install or upgrade the DX NetOps Data Repository, the installer fails during the host evaluation check with the following error:

text

 

Package: sshpass not installed.......................................[ERROR]

In restricted OT environments or systems without a RHEL subscription, you may also see related yum errors:

text

 

Errors during downloading metadata for repository 'repo':- Curl error (37): Couldn't read a file:// file for file:///repo/repodata/repomd.xml

Environment

• Product: DX NetOps Performance Management
• Component: Data Repository (Vertica)
• OS: Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)

Cause

The Data Repository installer requires the sshpass utility to automate SSH password entry during setup. In secure environments where external repository access is blocked, yum cannot retrieve the package, causing the extraction phase to terminate.

Resolution

If passwordless SSH is already configured for the dradmin user, or if security policies prohibit the installation of sshpass, use the engineering-provided override to bypass this check.

1. Log in to the Data Repository host as the root user.
2. Create the host evaluation override file:
   bash

    

   mkdir -p /var/lock/pmtouch /var/lock/pm/hosteval.override

3. Rerun the Data Repository installer:
   bash

    

   ./installDR.bin

   Note: The sshpass check will still display [ERROR], but the installer will proceed with the extraction.
4. After the installation or upgrade completes, remove the override directory:
   bash

    

   rm -rf /var/lock/pm

If the issue persists or you require further assistance, see Contact Broadcom Support.