Which command would properly clean a certificate associated with a specific node?

The command to clean a certificate associated with a specific node is designed to remove the certificate signing request (CSR) from the Puppet server's certificate authority, effectively indicating that the certificate for that node should no longer be recognized.

Using "puppet cert clean node1.mylabserver.com" achieves this by deleting the specified node's certificate request from the CA's inventory. This command is particularly useful when you want to remove a certificate that was previously signed or if you're troubleshooting issues with certificates that are no longer in use or are causing conflicts.

Understanding this function is critical, as managing certificates properly ensures secure communication between the Puppet master and the agents. A clean operation can help in refreshing certificate states when nodes are decommissioned or when a node needs to request a new certificate due to identity changes or other reasons.

In contrast, other commands like revoking a certificate would render it invalid without cleaning it from the CA, while signing a certificate pertains to accepting a request rather than discarding it. Deleting a certificate might suggest an irreversible action, which doesn’t align with merely cleaning an existing request.