Unfortunately, I had to run HP Service Test in a mode where HP license servers were required and I had to set these systems up with IT which was a total pain. The version of HP Service Test (and if I remember correctly QTP as well) had to connect to a license server in order to run properly. We had these test heads with HPST/QTP in order to run Json/UI tests plus any java python tests stored in svn. For example: If the lic server went down, all the HPST nodes would fail their automation tests. Which would bring down the entire automated test infrastructure and people would think the current build was bad. If the lic server became over loaded, the ATI above would come down. If the network blocked the lic server port, then people could not share lic servers across large enterprise networks. We are talking HP here. We had 100’s of these “test heads” that would run automated tests against a particular version of a product running on a test node, for each new build candidate, 24 hours a day. We were trying to sell the rest of the group(s) on setting up their own test rings by using our test framework, and one of the big arguments was having to use HP Service Test and the hassle with lic server registration and set-up. Most of the groups would just try and point to my groups lic server(s). This was a few years ago mind you. Maybe things changed since then. I was on lone to the particular test group because I was a programmer and was very passionate about enterprise class automated test environments and technology. I worked with another guy which was a big advocate for QTP/HPST evangelical.