Install tcpdump package on Aria/VCF Operations and Cloud Proxies

Products

• VCF Operations/Automation (formerly VMware Aria Suite)
• VCF Operations

Issue/Introduction

• How to install tcpdump onto a node.

• Installing tcpdump package via tdnf install tcpdump fails with error:

  tcpdump package not found or not installed
  Error(1011) : No matching packages

Environment

VMware Aria Operations 8.x
VMware Aria Operations 8.x Cloud Proxy
VCF Operations 9.x
VCF Operations 9.x Cloud Proxy

Cause

• The tcpdump package is not installed by default due to product security requirements. Manual installation is required.

• To assist with troubleshooting, tcpdump package from Photon OS repository can be temporarily installed.

Resolution

Prerequisites:

• Required to have root access on Aria/VCF Operations and/or Cloud Proxy appliances.
• Recommended to have internet access on the node(s).

Note: Uninstall tcpdump after troubleshooting to ensure compliance with security standards and to avoid potential package conflicts during system updates. Failure to remove after use results in upgrade failures.

 

Table of contents:

• Confirm the version and release of Photon OS
• Install the tcpdump package
• Uninstall the tcpdump package

Confirm the version and release of Photon OS

• Check Photon OS Version:

  cat /etc/photon-release

 

Install the tcpdump package

 

Internet access:

1. Log in to the appliance as root using SSH or console where tcpdump is needed.
2. Install tcpdump with the command:

   tdnf install tcpdump

Note: The Cloud Proxies do not have the PhotonOS repository enabled by default, and the repository will need to be manually enabled to install directly. Either download manually as per 'No Internet Access' or enable the repository manually by editing the /etc/yum.repos.d/photon-release.repo file and changing the enabled value from '0' to '1'.

After installing, disable the repository by changing the value back to '0'. Do not leave the repository enabled or update PhotonOS directly from the repository, as this will result in upgrade failures. The repository may contain packages with versions that are higher than the upgrades, which results in failure to install packages during the upgrade.

 

No internet access:

Manually download and install the tcpdump package (RPM). Use the table below for direct link to the PhotonOS repository:

Aria Operations and Cloud Proxies 8.18.x	PhotonOS 5.0
VCF Operations and Cloud Proxies 9.x	PhotonOS 5.0

1. Download the tcpdump package for the appropriate PhotonOS version using the link in the table above.
2. Copy the file to the /tmp directory on the appliance using SCP, WinSCP, or similar.
3. Log in to the appliance as root using SSH or console.
4. Install the package using the command below:

   rpm -ivh /tmp/<package-name>

 

Uninstall the tcpdump package

1. Access node as root via SSH or Console.
2. Uninstall tcpdump:

   rpm -e tcpdump