ray
74 lines
2.4 KiB
Markdown
74 lines
2.4 KiB
Markdown
# Cockpit: "Cannot refresh cache whilst offline" / PackageKit + NetworkManager Fix
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## Symptom
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Cockpit's **Updates** page shows:
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> Loading available updates failed — Cannot refresh cache whilst offline
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Yet the system has full internet connectivity — `ping`, `curl`, and `apt update` all work.
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## Root Cause
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On Ubuntu Server, **`systemd-networkd`** handles networking, but **PackageKit** (Cockpit's backend for the updates page) checks **NetworkManager's** D-Bus state to determine if the system is online.
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When NM is installed but has **no connection profile** configured (because systemd-networkd is doing the actual networking), NM reports:
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```
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STATE: disconnected CONNECTIVITY: none
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```
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PackageKit sees this and refuses to refresh the cache — even though the interface is up and routable via systemd-networkd.
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## Diagnosis
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```bash
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# NM says disconnected even though networking works
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nmcli general status
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# → STATE: disconnected CONNECTIVITY: none
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# But systemd-networkd is fine
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networkctl status
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# → State: routable
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# → Online state: partial
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# PackageKit confirms it thinks we're offline
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busctl get-property org.freedesktop.PackageKit /org/freedesktop/PackageKit org.freedesktop.PackageKit NetworkState
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# 0 = Offline, 1 = Limited, 2 = Online
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```
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## Fix
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Since systemd-networkd is doing all the networking, NetworkManager is redundant. Stop and mask it:
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```bash
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sudo systemctl mask NetworkManager --now
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```
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Then restart PackageKit so it re-checks the network state without NM:
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```bash
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sudo systemctl restart packagekit
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sleep 2
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busctl get-property org.freedesktop.PackageKit /org/freedesktop/PackageKit org.freedesktop.PackageKit NetworkState
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# → u 2 (Online)
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```
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After this, reload Cockpit's updates page — it should work.
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## Verification
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```bash
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# PackageKit should now report Online
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busctl get-property org.freedesktop.PackageKit /org/freedesktop/PackageKit org.freedesktop.PackageKit NetworkState
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# Expected: u 2
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# Confirm networking still works
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ping -c 1 8.8.8.8
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curl -s --max-time 5 https://google.com -o /dev/null -w "%{http_code}"
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```
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## Why This Happens
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Ubuntu Server 24+ ships with **both** `systemd-networkd` and `NetworkManager` installed. The server installer configures networkd, not NM. But NM's service is still present and starts, sees no connections, and reports "offline." PackageKit only knows how to check NM — it has no fallback for systems that don't use NM.
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Masking NM is safe and standard on systems where networkd handles all interfaces.
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