why yum could not find the python-pip packages on some PCs

Question

I got a very strange problem and cannot figure out why.

When I run yum info python-pip command on some CentOS 7 machines, it returns Error: No matching Packages to list. But, I used to install python-pip on without problem until now.

epel repository is enabled:

epel/x86_64                  Extra Packages for Enterprise Linux 7 - x86_64      11,016

Strangely, the same command can run successfully on other CentOS 7 servers and returns the information of the package.

CentOS release: CentOS Linux release 7.2.1511 (Core)
epel-release: 7.6 or 7.8 (I tried both.)

Please someone could explain what is wrong the EPEL repository.

EDIT: The yum command output;

[root@local ~]# yum info python-pip  
Loaded plugins: fastestmirror, langpacks  
Loading mirror speeds from cached hostfile  
 * epel: fedora.mirror.serversaustralia.com.au  
 * rpmforge: mirror.ventraip.net.au  
Error: No matching Packages to list

EDIT2: It may be just because of the package has been pulled out from the repository. But I still don't understand why some servers are able to see and download the package but others not.
I have run through the commands below on both servers and the check-update shows that the epel repository is from fedora.uberglobalmirror.com, which is same on both servers.

yum clean all
yum check-update
yum info python-pip`

Answer 1

Hmm. A careful examination of my EPEL mirror shows that the package is now named python2-pip beginning with EPEL 7.

/srv/www/mirrors/epel/7/x86_64/p/python2-pip-8.1.2-5.el7.noarch.rpm

I would suggest that you try installing that.

Answer 2

You can always review a Yum mirror via your web browser to determine if it is a Yum problem, or if the package is missing from the mirror. In this case, it looks like the package is missing. Nothing is wrong with Yum. Your other systems may have cached repository data, or might be connecting to a different mirror with an outdated package list.

The next step would be to check the mailing lists and BugZilla to see if there has been any discussion.

I am actually not sure which mailing list would be correct here;

• epel-devel
• epel-announce
• epel-package-announce

I was able to find a conversation on BugZilla that might be related: pip install is broken (path/permissions) Maybe the package was pulled due to this. It doesn't seem like a serious issue..

If you cannot wait for this to be resolved, you might be able to find an older, unaffected version in Koji, the build system. (Check what version is installed and working on other systems.)

Lastly, it seems the SRPM is still available. You could grab it and rebuild it yourself to see if it will meet your needs. Though, if it was pulled, maybe there is good reason.