graybeard

HP has been doing it for at least 20 years, I remember doing HW scans to send for contract renewals and I'm almost positive that included iLO licensing. Back then it was a "luxury" because we still had most of our servers on prem and could walk up to the KVM if needed. But, maybe you're talking about back before that time.

However, I agree, it doesn't make it right, but it also doesn't mean it hasn't been done for a long time.