What action should be taken to reduce the console database size caused by increased reports from new nodes?

Using the reports:prune task from the console's Rake API is the most effective approach to managing and reducing the size of the console database caused by an influx of reports from new nodes. This task allows for automated cleaning of the reports stored in the database according to specified parameters, ensuring that only relevant reports are retained while older ones that may no longer be necessary are purged.

This method is not only efficient but also reduces the need for manual intervention, allowing IT teams to focus on other tasks. The Rake API is built into Puppet and specifically designed for administrative tasks, making it a robust solution for maintenance activities such as pruning reports.

While deleting all reports manually may seem like a straightforward solution, it can lead to data loss and might not effectively manage the size, as it would require ongoing manual intervention. Setting a maximum report size in the configurations may help to some extent, but it does not actively remove existing data, and its effectiveness depends on how the report generation scales over time. Archiving reports older than 30 days offers a way to retain data for historical purposes but may not actively reduce the database size, which is crucial when dealing with rapid increases in report generation.

Overall, the reports:prune task provides a systematic