diff --git a/perl-xCAT/xCAT/Client.pm b/perl-xCAT/xCAT/Client.pm
index 202b11c0a..9826a8d32 100644
--- a/perl-xCAT/xCAT/Client.pm
+++ b/perl-xCAT/xCAT/Client.pm
@@ -952,12 +952,12 @@ sub handle_response {
 
   # Handle {node} structure
   my $errflg=0;
-  if (scalar @{$rsp->{node}}) {
-#print "printing node\n";
     my $nodes=($rsp->{node});
     unless (ref $nodes eq 'ARRAY') {
 	$nodes = [$nodes];
     }
+  if (scalar @{$nodes}) {
+#print "printing node\n";
     my $node;
     foreach $node (@$nodes) {
       my $desc=$node->{name}->[0];