| CPC G06F 9/5016 (2013.01) [G06F 9/4406 (2013.01)] | 20 Claims |

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1. A node, comprising:
a processor executing a first operating system;
an open peripheral port connected to a peripheral device;
a system control processor executing a second operating system, wherein the system control processor is configured to perform a method for metering usage of the peripheral device by the first operating system, the method comprising:
obtaining, in response to sending a request to the peripheral device, utilization data from the peripheral device via the open peripheral port,
wherein the utilization data specifies a period of time the peripheral device is used, a number of operations performed on the peripheral device, and a monetary rental cost of the peripheral device; and
sending the utilization data to a remote authentication server, wherein the first operating system cannot access the system control processor.
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