diff --git a/operators/constellation-node-operator/go.sum b/operators/constellation-node-operator/go.sum
index 4389a280c..2921e510b 100644
--- a/operators/constellation-node-operator/go.sum
+++ b/operators/constellation-node-operator/go.sum
@@ -170,6 +170,7 @@ github.com/go-logfmt/logfmt v0.5.0/go.mod h1:wCYkCAKZfumFQihp8CzCvQ3paCTfi41vtzG
 github.com/go-logr/logr v0.1.0/go.mod h1:ixOQHD9gLJUVQQ2ZOR7zLEifBX6tGkNJF4QyIY7sIas=
 github.com/go-logr/logr v0.2.0/go.mod h1:z6/tIYblkpsD+a4lm/fGIIU9mZ+XfAiaFtq7xTgseGU=
 github.com/go-logr/logr v1.2.0/go.mod h1:jdQByPbusPIv2/zmleS9BjJVeZ6kBagPoEUsqbVz/1A=
+github.com/go-logr/logr v1.2.0/go.mod h1:jdQByPbusPIv2/zmleS9BjJVeZ6kBagPoEUsqbVz/1A=
 github.com/go-logr/logr v1.2.3 h1:2DntVwHkVopvECVRSlL5PSo9eG+cAkDCuckLubN+rq0=
 github.com/go-logr/logr v1.2.3/go.mod h1:jdQByPbusPIv2/zmleS9BjJVeZ6kBagPoEUsqbVz/1A=
 github.com/go-logr/zapr v1.2.0 h1:n4JnPI1T3Qq1SFEi/F8rwLrZERp2bso19PJZDB9dayk=
@@ -346,7 +347,10 @@ github.com/mailru/easyjson v0.0.0-20190626092158-b2ccc519800e/go.mod h1:C1wdFJiN
 github.com/mailru/easyjson v0.7.0/go.mod h1:KAzv3t3aY1NaHWoQz1+4F1ccyAH66Jk7yos7ldAVICs=
 github.com/mailru/easyjson v0.7.6 h1:8yTIVnZgCoiM1TgqoeTl+LfU5Jg6/xL3QhGQnimLYnA=
 github.com/mailru/easyjson v0.7.6/go.mod h1:xzfreul335JAWq5oZzymOObrkdz5UnU4kGfJJLY9Nlc=
+github.com/mailru/easyjson v0.7.6/go.mod h1:xzfreul335JAWq5oZzymOObrkdz5UnU4kGfJJLY9Nlc=
 github.com/mattn/go-colorable v0.0.9/go.mod h1:9vuHe8Xs5qXnSaW/c/ABM9alt+Vo+STaOChaDxuIBZU=
+github.com/mattn/go-colorable v0.0.9/go.mod h1:9vuHe8Xs5qXnSaW/c/ABM9alt+Vo+STaOChaDxuIBZU=
+github.com/mattn/go-isatty v0.0.3/go.mod h1:M+lRXTBqGeGNdLjl/ufCoiOlB5xdOkqRJdNxMWT7Zi4=
 github.com/mattn/go-isatty v0.0.3/go.mod h1:M+lRXTBqGeGNdLjl/ufCoiOlB5xdOkqRJdNxMWT7Zi4=
 github.com/mattn/go-runewidth v0.0.7/go.mod h1:H031xJmbD/WCDINGzjvQ9THkh0rPKHF+m2gUSrubnMI=
 github.com/matttproud/golang_protobuf_extensions v1.0.1/go.mod h1:D8He9yQNgCq6Z5Ld7szi9bcBfOoFv/3dc6xSMkL2PC0=
@@ -401,6 +405,7 @@ github.com/onsi/gomega v0.0.0-20170829124025-dcabb60a477c/go.mod h1:C1qb7wdrVGGV
 github.com/onsi/gomega v1.7.1/go.mod h1:XdKZgCCFLUoM/7CFJVPcG8C1xQ1AJ0vpAezJrB7JYyY=
 github.com/onsi/gomega v1.10.1/go.mod h1:iN09h71vgCQne3DLsj+A5owkum+a2tYe+TOCB1ybHNo=
 github.com/onsi/gomega v1.17.0/go.mod h1:HnhC7FXeEQY45zxNK3PPoIUhzk/80Xly9PcubAlGdZY=
+github.com/onsi/gomega v1.17.0/go.mod h1:HnhC7FXeEQY45zxNK3PPoIUhzk/80Xly9PcubAlGdZY=
 github.com/onsi/gomega v1.18.1 h1:M1GfJqGRrBrrGGsbxzV5dqM2U2ApXefZCQpkukxYRLE=
 github.com/onsi/gomega v1.18.1/go.mod h1:0q+aL8jAiMXy9hbwj2mr5GziHiwhAIQpFmmtT5hitRs=
 github.com/opencontainers/go-digest v1.0.0/go.mod h1:0JzlMkj0TRzQZfJkVvzbP0HBR3IKzErnv2BNG4W4MAM=
@@ -746,6 +751,7 @@ golang.org/x/sys v0.0.0-20220114195835-da31bd327af9/go.mod h1:oPkhp1MJrh7nUepCBc
 golang.org/x/sys v0.0.0-20220209214540-3681064d5158 h1:rm+CHSpPEEW2IsXUib1ThaHIjuBVZjxNgSKmBLFfD4c=
 golang.org/x/sys v0.0.0-20220209214540-3681064d5158/go.mod h1:oPkhp1MJrh7nUepCBck5+mAzfO9JrbApNNgaTdGDITg=
 golang.org/x/term v0.0.0-20201126162022-7de9c90e9dd1/go.mod h1:bj7SfCRtBDWHUb9snDiAeCFNEtKQo2Wmx5Cou7ajbmo=
+golang.org/x/term v0.0.0-20201126162022-7de9c90e9dd1/go.mod h1:bj7SfCRtBDWHUb9snDiAeCFNEtKQo2Wmx5Cou7ajbmo=
 golang.org/x/term v0.0.0-20210927222741-03fcf44c2211 h1:JGgROgKl9N8DuW20oFS5gxc+lE67/N3FcwmBPMe7ArY=
 golang.org/x/term v0.0.0-20210927222741-03fcf44c2211/go.mod h1:jbD1KX2456YbFQfuXm/mYQcufACuNUgVhRMnK/tPxf8=
 golang.org/x/text v0.0.0-20170915032832-14c0d48ead0c/go.mod h1:NqM8EUOU14njkJ3fqMW+pc6Ldnwhi/IjpwHt7yyuwOQ=
@@ -998,6 +1004,8 @@ k8s.io/component-base v0.24.0 h1:h5jieHZQoHrY/lHG+HyrSbJeyfuitheBvqvKwKHVC0g=
 k8s.io/component-base v0.24.0/go.mod h1:Dgazgon0i7KYUsS8krG8muGiMVtUZxG037l1MKyXgrA=
 k8s.io/component-helpers v0.24.0/go.mod h1:Q2SlLm4h6g6lPTC9GMMfzdywfLSvJT2f1hOnnjaWD8c=
 k8s.io/gengo v0.0.0-20200413195148-3a45101e95ac/go.mod h1:ezvh/TsK7cY6rbqRK0oQQ8IAqLxYwwyPxAX1Pzy0ii0=
+k8s.io/gengo v0.0.0-20200413195148-3a45101e95ac/go.mod h1:ezvh/TsK7cY6rbqRK0oQQ8IAqLxYwwyPxAX1Pzy0ii0=
+k8s.io/gengo v0.0.0-20210813121822-485abfe95c7c/go.mod h1:FiNAH4ZV3gBg2Kwh89tzAEV2be7d5xI0vBa/VySYy3E=
 k8s.io/gengo v0.0.0-20210813121822-485abfe95c7c/go.mod h1:FiNAH4ZV3gBg2Kwh89tzAEV2be7d5xI0vBa/VySYy3E=
 k8s.io/gengo v0.0.0-20211129171323-c02415ce4185/go.mod h1:FiNAH4ZV3gBg2Kwh89tzAEV2be7d5xI0vBa/VySYy3E=
 k8s.io/klog v1.0.0 h1:Pt+yjF5aB1xDSVbau4VsWe+dQNzA0qv1LlXdC2dF6Q8=
@@ -1007,11 +1015,13 @@ k8s.io/klog/v2 v2.2.0/go.mod h1:Od+F08eJP+W3HUb4pSrPpgp9DGU4GzlpG/TmITuYh/Y=
 k8s.io/klog/v2 v2.60.1 h1:VW25q3bZx9uE3vvdL6M8ezOX79vA2Aq1nEWLqNQclHc=
 k8s.io/klog/v2 v2.60.1/go.mod h1:y1WjHnz7Dj687irZUWR/WLkLc5N1YHtjLdmgWjndZn0=
 k8s.io/kube-openapi v0.0.0-20210421082810-95288971da7e/go.mod h1:vHXdDvt9+2spS2Rx9ql3I8tycm3H9FDfdUoIuKCefvw=
+k8s.io/kube-openapi v0.0.0-20210421082810-95288971da7e/go.mod h1:vHXdDvt9+2spS2Rx9ql3I8tycm3H9FDfdUoIuKCefvw=
 k8s.io/kube-openapi v0.0.0-20220328201542-3ee0da9b0b42 h1:Gii5eqf+GmIEwGNKQYQClCayuJCe2/4fZUvF7VG99sU=
 k8s.io/kube-openapi v0.0.0-20220328201542-3ee0da9b0b42/go.mod h1:Z/45zLw8lUo4wdiUkI+v/ImEGAvu3WatcZl3lPMR4Rk=
 k8s.io/kubectl v0.24.0/go.mod h1:pdXkmCyHiRTqjYfyUJiXtbVNURhv0/Q1TyRhy2d5ic0=
 k8s.io/metrics v0.24.0/go.mod h1:jrLlFGdKl3X+szubOXPG0Lf2aVxuV3QJcbsgVRAM6fI=
 k8s.io/utils v0.0.0-20210802155522-efc7438f0176/go.mod h1:jPW/WVKK9YHAvNhRxK0md/EJ228hCsBRufyofKtW8HA=
+k8s.io/utils v0.0.0-20210802155522-efc7438f0176/go.mod h1:jPW/WVKK9YHAvNhRxK0md/EJ228hCsBRufyofKtW8HA=
 k8s.io/utils v0.0.0-20220210201930-3a6ce19ff2f9 h1:HNSDgDCrr/6Ly3WEGKZftiE7IY19Vz2GdbOCyI4qqhc=
 k8s.io/utils v0.0.0-20220210201930-3a6ce19ff2f9/go.mod h1:jPW/WVKK9YHAvNhRxK0md/EJ228hCsBRufyofKtW8HA=
 rsc.io/binaryregexp v0.2.0/go.mod h1:qTv7/COck+e2FymRvadv62gMdZztPaShugOCi3I+8D8=
diff --git a/operators/constellation-node-operator/internal/node/node.go b/operators/constellation-node-operator/internal/node/node.go
index ac3925ddd..138dd74f6 100644
--- a/operators/constellation-node-operator/internal/node/node.go
+++ b/operators/constellation-node-operator/internal/node/node.go
@@ -1,15 +1,48 @@
 package node
 
-import corev1 "k8s.io/api/core/v1"
+import (
+	"regexp"
 
+	updatev1alpha1 "github.com/edgelesssys/constellation/operators/constellation-node-operator/api/v1alpha1"
+	corev1 "k8s.io/api/core/v1"
+)
+
+var reservedHostRegex = regexp.MustCompile(`^(.+\.|)(kubernetes|k8s)\.io(/.*)?$`)
+
+// Ready checks if a kubernetes node has the `NodeReady` condition set to true.
 func Ready(node *corev1.Node) bool {
 	for _, cond := range node.Status.Conditions {
 		if cond.Type == corev1.NodeReady {
-			if cond.Status == corev1.ConditionTrue {
-				return true
-			}
-			return false
+			return cond.Status == corev1.ConditionTrue
 		}
 	}
 	return false
 }
+
+// FindPending searches for a pending node that matches a node.
+// The pending node has to have the goal to join the cluster and be reported as ready be the CSP.
+// if the node is not found, nil is returned.
+func FindPending(pendingNodes []updatev1alpha1.PendingNode, node *corev1.Node) *updatev1alpha1.PendingNode {
+	if node == nil {
+		return nil
+	}
+	for _, pendingNode := range pendingNodes {
+		if pendingNode.Spec.Goal == updatev1alpha1.NodeGoalJoin && pendingNode.Spec.NodeName == node.Name && pendingNode.Status.CSPNodeState == updatev1alpha1.NodeStateReady {
+			return &pendingNode
+		}
+	}
+	return nil
+}
+
+// FilterLabels removes reserved node labels from a map of labels.
+// reference: https://kubernetes.io/docs/reference/labels-annotations-taints/ .
+func FilterLabels(labels map[string]string) map[string]string {
+	result := make(map[string]string)
+	for key, val := range labels {
+		if reservedHostRegex.MatchString(key) {
+			continue
+		}
+		result[key] = val
+	}
+	return result
+}
diff --git a/operators/constellation-node-operator/internal/node/node_test.go b/operators/constellation-node-operator/internal/node/node_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..b3619f887
--- /dev/null
+++ b/operators/constellation-node-operator/internal/node/node_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,171 @@
+package node
+
+import (
+	"testing"
+
+	updatev1alpha1 "github.com/edgelesssys/constellation/operators/constellation-node-operator/api/v1alpha1"
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
+	corev1 "k8s.io/api/core/v1"
+	v1 "k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/apis/meta/v1"
+)
+
+func TestReady(t *testing.T) {
+	testCases := map[string]struct {
+		node      corev1.Node
+		wantReady bool
+	}{
+		"node without status conditions": {},
+		"node with NodeReady set to false": {
+			node: corev1.Node{
+				Status: corev1.NodeStatus{
+					Conditions: []corev1.NodeCondition{
+						{Type: corev1.NodeReady, Status: corev1.ConditionFalse},
+					},
+				},
+			},
+		},
+		"node with NodeReady set to unknown": {
+			node: corev1.Node{
+				Status: corev1.NodeStatus{
+					Conditions: []corev1.NodeCondition{
+						{Type: corev1.NodeReady, Status: corev1.ConditionUnknown},
+					},
+				},
+			},
+		},
+		"node with NodeReady set to true": {
+			node: corev1.Node{
+				Status: corev1.NodeStatus{
+					Conditions: []corev1.NodeCondition{
+						{Type: corev1.NodeReady, Status: corev1.ConditionTrue},
+					},
+				},
+			},
+			wantReady: true,
+		},
+	}
+
+	for name, tc := range testCases {
+		t.Run(name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			assert := assert.New(t)
+			assert.Equal(tc.wantReady, Ready(&tc.node))
+		})
+	}
+}
+
+func TestFindPending(t *testing.T) {
+	testCases := map[string]struct {
+		pendingNodes []updatev1alpha1.PendingNode
+		node         *corev1.Node
+		wantPending  *updatev1alpha1.PendingNode
+	}{
+		"everything nil": {},
+		"node nil": {
+			pendingNodes: pendingNodes,
+		},
+		"node is not in pending nodes list": {
+			pendingNodes: pendingNodes,
+			node: &corev1.Node{
+				ObjectMeta: v1.ObjectMeta{
+					Name: "doesnotexist",
+				},
+			},
+		},
+		"pending node is leaving": {
+			pendingNodes: pendingNodes,
+			node: &corev1.Node{
+				ObjectMeta: v1.ObjectMeta{
+					Name: "leavingnode",
+				},
+			},
+		},
+		"pending node is not ready": {
+			pendingNodes: pendingNodes,
+			node: &corev1.Node{
+				ObjectMeta: v1.ObjectMeta{
+					Name: "unreadynode",
+				},
+			},
+		},
+		"pending node is found": {
+			pendingNodes: pendingNodes,
+			node: &corev1.Node{
+				ObjectMeta: v1.ObjectMeta{
+					Name: "joiningnode",
+				},
+			},
+			wantPending: &pendingNodes[0],
+		},
+	}
+
+	for name, tc := range testCases {
+		t.Run(name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			assert := assert.New(t)
+			pending := FindPending(tc.pendingNodes, tc.node)
+			if tc.wantPending == nil {
+				assert.Nil(pending)
+				return
+			}
+			assert.Equal(*tc.wantPending, *pending)
+		})
+	}
+}
+
+func TestFilterLabels(t *testing.T) {
+	labels := map[string]string{
+		"key":                                      "value",
+		"app.kubernetes.io/component":              "component",
+		"app.kubernetes.io/created-by":             "created-by",
+		"app.kubernetes.io/instance":               "instance",
+		"app.kubernetes.io/managed-by":             "managed-by",
+		"app.kubernetes.io/name":                   "name",
+		"app.kubernetes.io/part-of":                "part-of",
+		"app.kubernetes.io/version":                "version",
+		"kubernetes.io/arch":                       "arch",
+		"kubernetes.io/os":                         "os",
+		"beta.kubernetes.io/arch":                  "arch",
+		"beta.kubernetes.io/os":                    "os",
+		"kubernetes.io/hostname":                   "hostname",
+		"kubernetes.io/change-cause":               "change-cause",
+		"kubernetes.io/description":                "description",
+		"node.kubernetes.io/instance-type":         "instance-type",
+		"failure-domain.beta.kubernetes.io/region": "region",
+		"failure-domain.beta.kubernetes.io/zone":   "zone",
+		"topology.kubernetes.io/region":            "region",
+		"topology.kubernetes.io/zone":              "zone",
+		"node.kubernetes.io/windows-build":         "windows-build",
+		"node-role.kubernetes.io/control-plane":    "control-plane",
+	}
+	wantFiltered := map[string]string{
+		"key": "value",
+	}
+	assert := assert.New(t)
+	assert.Equal(wantFiltered, FilterLabels(labels))
+}
+
+var pendingNodes = []updatev1alpha1.PendingNode{
+	{
+		Spec: updatev1alpha1.PendingNodeSpec{
+			NodeName: "joiningnode",
+			Goal:     updatev1alpha1.NodeGoalJoin,
+		},
+		Status: updatev1alpha1.PendingNodeStatus{
+			CSPNodeState: updatev1alpha1.NodeStateReady,
+		},
+	},
+	{
+		Spec: updatev1alpha1.PendingNodeSpec{
+			NodeName: "unreadynode",
+			Goal:     updatev1alpha1.NodeGoalJoin,
+		},
+		Status: updatev1alpha1.PendingNodeStatus{
+			CSPNodeState: updatev1alpha1.NodeStateCreating,
+		},
+	},
+	{
+		Spec: updatev1alpha1.PendingNodeSpec{
+			NodeName: "leavingnode",
+			Goal:     updatev1alpha1.NodeGoalLeave,
+		},
+	},
+}