Server Certificate Signing Request Question

[Ben Wiechman]

I am generating a CSR for Verisign (WiMAX) to support EAP-TTLS. Some of the
examples I see use the -nodes switch when generating the CSR, and others do
not. 

Is the use of nodes CA specific, or why would I want to or not want to use
-nodes. I see that when it is used the private key will not be encrypted,
but I'm afraid I don't understand the ramifications of that. 

Any help or a link to a helpful RTFM would be greatly appreciated. 

Ben