What is volume activation?
Volume activation is an authentication process that assures that your software copy is genuine. Activation is part of deployment and a core piece of the planning stage for Windows client and server operating systems and Office applications.
Licensed products:
- Windows Server OS
- Windows Client OS
- Microsoft Office family of products
- Online (requires an active Internet connection)
- By phone (can be used when there is no Internet connection)
License types:
- Retail - the software is purchased "off the shelf" from a retailer and you install it yourself. The license key is included on the back of the product's CD/DVD packaging.
- Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) - the software comes pre-installed on the device. A copy of the software is included along with the product key.
- Volume licensing - you download the software and install it on company owned equipment based on an agreement with Microsoft for a set number of units. There are a number of different activation options available, as stated below:
Terminology:
- Client Machine IDs (CMIDs)
- Generic Volume License Key (GVLK)
- Key Management Service (KMS)
- Multiple Activation Key (MAK)
- Volume License Service Center (VLSC)
Volume licensing activation options:
Volume licensing tools:
Configuration defaults:
- Key Management Service (KMS)
- Multiple Activation Key (MAK)
- Active-Directory-Based Activation
- Automatic Virtual Machine Activation (AVMA)
Volume licensing tools:
DNS Publishing of KMS server:
- Creates a SRV (service) RR (resource record) called "_VLMCS" located in DNS Forward Lookup Zones\DomainFQND\_tcp
- Disable DNS publishing: slmgr.vbs /cdns
- Enable DNS publishing: slmgr.vbs /sdns
- Registry: Create a new DWORD value called "DisableDnsPublishing" and set it's value to 1 - "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\SoftwareProtectionPlatform"
- Publish to multiple DNS Domains: Create a new multi-string value "DnsDomainPublishList" in "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\SoftwareProtectionPlatform" which contains the DNS domain suffixes of each domain.
- Restart Software Licensing service (SLsvc) or Software Protection service (sppsvc) on host
- Locate your KMS server: nslookup -type=srv _vlmcs._tcp
Configuration defaults:
- Volume license activation interval: 2 hours
- Volume license renewal interval: 7 days
- Volume activation expiration: 180 days
- KMS Host protocol & port: TCP 1688
Volume licensing guides:
- Volume Activation Overview
- Volume Activation Operations Guide
- Volume Activation Technical Reference Guide
- Volume Activation Planning Guide
- Volume Activation Deployment Guide
- Volume Activation Management Tool (VAMT) Technical Reference
- Windows 8.1 licensing and volume activation
- Windows 7 licensing and volume activation
- Microsoft Product Activation
- Remote Desktop Licensing Manager
Errors and troubleshooting:
- How to troubleshoot the Key Management Service (KMS)
- Frequently asked questions about the Office Activation Wizard
- Solutions to Common Volume Activation Errors
- Event ID 12293: 0x80072338 error registering KMS host in DNS
- Update adds support for Windows 8.1 and Windows Server 2012 R2 clients
- Activation against KMS Host stops working after it is virtualised (P2V'ed): This is because the activation is tied to the hardware configuration. As such it needs to be reactivated using the command "slmgr.vbs /ato [Activation ID]" where the [Activation ID] can be obtained from running the command "slmgr.vbs /dlv" on the KMS Host. Restart "sppsvc" or "slsvc" service.
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