Part II – Deploy Windows 8.1
Part II – Using KMS to activate Windows 8.1 clients
Welcome to Part II in our Deploy Windows 8.1 blog post series. So far we have run into a few problems creating and joining our Windows Surface
- Use a MAK key from Microsoft
- Use a KMS key stored on a local KMS server. This is the preferred method if you are a mid to large company.
A Key Management Server (KMS) is used for volume licensing activation of Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Server 2008, Server 2008 R2, Server 2012 Project 2010, Visio 2010 and Office 2010 and 2013, etc. products. It is probably OK for smaller companies with maybe a few hundred computers to manage to still use MAK (Multiple Activation Key) keys. These are normally entered in manually after joining the domain or as part of the imaging process. Also, there may be times where MAK keys will make more sense for instance on machines that will be off the network for long periods of times.
Activation Thresholds
KMS requires a minimum number of either physical or virtual computers in a network environment. These minimums, called activation thresholds, are set so that they are easily met by enterprise customers. For computers running:
• Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2 you must have at least five (5) computers to activate.
• Windows Vista or Windows 7 you must have at least twenty-five (25) computers to activate. These thresholds can be a mix of server and client machines to make up the threshold number.
• For Office 2010, Project 2010 and Visio 2010 you must have at least five (5) computers to activate. If you have deployed Microsoft Office 2010 products, including Project 2010 and Visio 2010, you must have at least five (5) computers running Office 2010, Project 2010 or Visio 2010.
** Please note – Computers that are running volume licensing editions of Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows 8, Windows Server 2012, Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Vista, and Windows Server 2008 are, by default, KMS clients with no additional configuration needed. As long as you’ve had your KMS server in place for a while and have already activated over 25 W7 computers, you are all set. All you need to do is enter the Windows 8.1 KMS key to the KMS server database.
Steps for building a KMS Server
If you do not have a KMS server and you want one, following the step below to build yourself one. It is a very simple process as you will see.
1. Install Windows server 2008 R2 or higher. The KMS server can and probably should be a virtual server.
2. Open a command prompt as Administrator and type command SLMGR – IPK [W8.1 license key]
You should receive the following confirmation.
3. Type command SLMGR -ATO to activate KMS service (connects to Microsoft for validation)
4. Once KMS is started it registers records in DNS (_SRV). Clients search for this DNS record and use it to locate the KMS host and activate licensing.
** DNS _SRV record resides in _TCP folder. _VLMCS is the DNS records that identifies the host.
5. Type command SLMGR -dlv to verify activation status
Steps for forcing Windows Activation on a new Windows 8.1 client
1. On the W8.1 client, open a command prompt and type the command SLMGR /ato. This will force the server to communicate to the KMS Server and activate. The KMS activation process uses port 1688. You will need to allow your firewall policy to communicate over this port.
If there are any issues and your Windows 8.1 computer is not activating for some reason, please open the Event Viewer on KMS host to troubleshoot key management service.
That’s it! You now have a W8.1 client connected to your domain and receiving its activation key from a KMS server. We are well on our way to successfully deploying Windows 8.1 to our corporate network.
Additional References
Microsoft Volume Activation
KMS Client Setup Keys
—-> Build Group Policies for W8.1 clients
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