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Description of problem: The explanation of --force flag is a little ambiguous & could be improved. Something like 'attempt to register the system even if it already has a local identity certificate' would be better. [1] Version-Release number of selected component (if applicable): ~]# rpm -q subscription-manager subscription-manager-1.21.10-3.el7_6.x86_64 How reproducible: [root@dell-r330-12 [root@dell-r330-12 ~]# subscription-manager register --help | grep version --release=RELEASE set a release version [root@dell-r330-12 Steps to Reproduce: 1. ~]# subscription-manager register --help | grep force --force register the system even if it is already registered 2. ~]# man subscription-manager Actual results: from help: --force register the system even if it is already registered from man page: --force Registers the system even if it is already registered. Normally, any register operations will fail if the system is already registered. With --force, the existing system entry is unregistered first, all of its subscriptions are returned to the pool, and then the system is regis‐ tered as a new entry. Expected results: from help: --force Attempts to register the system even if it already has a local identity certificate from man page: --force Attempts to register the system even if it already has a local identity certificate. Normally, any register operations will fail if the system is already registered. With --force, the existing system entry is unregistered first, all of its subscriptions are returned to the pool, and then the system is registered as a new entry. Additional info: [1] https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1717006#c14
Here are my suggestions for an improved help and man page description for the --force option... from help: --force include an implicit attempt to unregister before registering a new system identity from man page: --force Normally, register operations will fail if the system is already registered. With --force, the existing system identity is unregistered first, all of its attached subscriptions are returned to their pools, and then the system is registered with a new identity. Beware that the --force option does not guarantee a successful registration. For example, if the registration with --force includes a different --serverurl than was used for the original registration, the implicit call to unregister from the original entitlement server will fail with invalid credentials and the registration with force will be aborted. In this case, the user should explicity unregister from the original entitlement server. If unregistering is not possible, then running subscription-manager clean will effectively abandon the original registration identity and entitlements. Once cleaned, registering a new system identity should succeed with or without force.