[BScout]

We put the dongles on the inside usb port (the internal usb port is nothing new to PCs in the workstation and server class) for a few reasons: harder to steal, less likely to be moved (accidentally or on purpose), and less likely to get physically broken.

Used to be if Pro Tools lost communication with the iLok with it's main license, it would just shut down (no "do you want to save.") If a usb hub lost power, an assistant moving rack gear in the machine room brushed up against a front or rear plugged in iLok (on the 5,1) and bent/broke the iLok, or someone grabbed the wrong key thinking it was a floater (like when the Waves Mercury HD used to be on floater iloks), you could lose everything.

We currently have a lot 1U rackmount high density VE Pros that have their elicenser key plugged internally for those reasons. It makes it very clean to move systems around or replace them.

So even if you have a lot of USB hub devices, having the main, critical ilok tucked away safely inside can be handy.