The kms server, called kms host, is installed on a server in your local network. The mak key can also be obtained from vlsc or by calling the microsoft activation center. Configure a vdisk for microsoft key management service kms or multiple activation key mak volume licensing when running the imaging. Xendesktop support for microsoft kms and mak activation. Activation center phone numbers microsoft volume licensing. The mak model is used for onetime activation with microsoft s hosted activation services. Vmat can be used to convert mak installs to kms activation. Azure active directorybased kms activation customer. Because mak activation is the more flexible option, it might make sense in some environments not to use kms activation. For kms, one has to connect to microsoft s licensing servers. The kms clients connect to the kms host for activation of both windows and office. Mak proxy activation is configured by using the volume activation management tool vamt. Mak proxy activation activation requests from multiple computers are sent through the volume activation management tool vamt that establishes a single internet or telephone connection to microsoft. This method uses the volume activation management tool vamt.
Activation du produit et informations cles microsoft. New servers will attempt to discover the kms via dns an srv record and activate automatically. Frequently asked questions about volume license keys. Microsoft kms volume activation faq windows os hub.
Product keys for updating to kms from mak activation this article applies to. Find the telephone number for your microsoft activation center. Author recent posts michael pietrofortemichael pietroforte is the founder and editor in chief of 4sysops. By now you have probably realized that there is no clear answer to the question of whether kms or mak is the better to activate office 2010. Organizations that cannot meet these thresholds or do not have the technical ability to set up a kms host should activate their products through the mak model. For example, microsoft software available through volumelicensing. Microsoft office 2020, all editions activation may 2020. Guide to microsoft volume licensing activation methods techsoup. The multiple activation key mak is used for onetime perpetual activation with. The difference lies in how we configure and process kms activation. Simply put, mak is a key that registers direct back to microsoft with a certain amount of allowed activations.
Mak independent activation is best for computers that have direct access to the internet. Office retail must be converted to volume first, before it can be activated with kms. But when i want to change the produkt key with cmd as admin. Product keys for updating to kms from mak activation it. Instead, you use a local activation service within your network. Kms is an activation service that allows organizations to activate systems within their own network, eliminating the need for individual computers to connect to microsoft for product activation. Building a kms host on windows server 2008 r2 ask the. Kms on the other hand, lets all your clients use a generic key to talk back to a kms server on premise, and that centralised server talks back to microsoft. Microsoft licensing activation centers worldwide telephone numbers find toll and tollfree telephone numbers for worldwide volume licensing activation centers. Mak activation is confirmed with servers hosted by microsoft. Since adbased activation uses ad, we use ldap instead of the rpc 1688 tcp port used with kms. Activate volume licensed versions of office by using mak. These minimums are referred to as activation thresholds.
All kms clients must have network access to the kms server at least once every 180 days in order to reactivate. To complete activation, mak does not need an internet connection. If you determine that mak keys are more appropriate for your organization, read the instructions below in obtaining mak keys when kms is the default. With a volume licence, clients dont need to activate with microsoft through the internet.
Read more about volume activation volume activation is a product activation technology used to activate windows vista, windows server 2008, windows server 2008 r2, windows 7, office 2010, windows 8. Mak this is the key to activate the office through contacting microsoft. The operating system dictates which kms host key csvlk can be installed on that particular host, and that csvlk determines what kms capable clients can be activated. Some days ago, i blogged about the pros and cons of kms key management service. Activation can be done automatically via the internet or by phone. Enable azure active directorybased kms activation when windows 10 is joining azuread like when you domain join a windows 10 with active directorybased kms activation. Kms or mak activation with a volume licence, clients dont need to activate with microsoft through the internet.
You can either deploy a kms key management service or use the volume actication management. In the ideal scenario, this happens quickly via internet connection. To enable kms functionality, a kms key is installed on a kms host. This page provides instructions for technical support providers tsps to switch a computer from the earlier multiple activation key mak system to the preferred kms system. Every time a device is activated using the mak key, this is what happens. Multiple activation key mak mak activates systems on a onetime basis, using microsofts. Contact the microsoft activation center if you require additional kms activations for activating more than six 6 kms hosts. In this post, i summarized the pros and cons of using mak multiple activation key, the second option for activating vista in a corporate environment.
This product can also be activated if you have a kms host setup that. A kms key is used to activate the kms host computer with a microsoft activation server and can activate up to six kms hosts with 10 activations per host. In software licensing, a volume licensing is the practice of selling a license authorizing one. Kms clients must contact the kms host every 180 days. Kms, like mak, is an activation method for microsoft products, including windows and office. Hosts activated via a kms have to report back to a software license server. For most systems, especially those that will remain on campus or that will have regular access to the p172 network, kms activation should. This is the default key for every microsoft software product that has been purchased via a microsoft volume licensing contract e. Guide to microsoft volume licensing activation methods.
The frequently asked questions faqs for the volume. Can i use both mak and kms for activating systems in my organization. To convert a kms client to mak activation, install a mak. Kms requires activation but lets users do this within the network. Each kms host can activate an unlimited number of computers. Mak activation for microsoft office products is currently not supported. Xendesktop 5 introduced a new technology for creating virtual desktops easily for the vdi use case. When microsoft released windows vista they also released a new volume licensing model using two different types of software license keys. Volume licensed versions of office 2019 and office 2016, including project and visio multiple activation key mak activation is used for onetime activation through microsoft hosted activation services, either via the internet or by telephone.
To activate these products with va, you can use either a multiple activation key mak or key management service kms. Software licensing use this table to find the correct generic volume license key gvlk to use our key management service kms with the edition of windows installed on your computer. If the existing activation limit on your mak is inadequate for your deployment, contact the microsoft activation center. A mak can be installed during or anytime after operating system installation. When a re activation event, the client will query ad for the activation object. Understanding volume activation services part 1 kms and.
Remote workers who use vpn will be able to use the kms server. Use the kms client setup keys for any new installs. This method uses the volume activation management tool vamt, which is part of the windows 7 automated installation kit waik. Mak proxy activation by using vamt enables one computer with internet access to process activation requests on behalf of multiple computers. If you have already entered a mak key and want to change to kms activation, you. The connection is established to microsoft s own activation service. Once computers are activated, no further communication with microsoft is required. This process installs a mak product key on the computer, which activates with microsoft servers. Understanding volume activation services part 1 kms and mak.
Microsoft windows kms vs mak in our company we do have licenses for win7 enterprise and we do use it for activation and usually we do get our laptop thorgh a vendor without oem on it as we do have this agrement with the vendor. If you have already entered a mak key and want to change to kms activation, you have to replace the mak key by a kms key. As a volume licensing customer, you can use a kms hosted activation service andor maks to. Kms allows organizations to activate systems within their own network. Like mak keys kms keys are good for a specific number of activations. A mak key can be installed on a reference image of windows 7 and windows server 2008 r2 to make all installations from that image use mak activation instead of the default kms activation. The mak will normally have an activation count, while the kms does not.
The system includes two licensing options, the key management service or kms, and the multiple activation key or mak. Kms and mak activation scenarios for volume activation. Kms infrastructure consists of a kms server that is activated by microsoft this operation is performed once online or by phone and kms clients, which send their activation requests to the kms server. Each mak client connects once to microsoft through the internet or use the telephone for activation. After activating the kms key, restart the software protection service.
The count is preconfigured as a deal between microsoft and the enterprise. When you try to activate your makconfigured software it will connect to microsofts activation service, verify the key, and subtract 1 from the. Basically i have and mcs image 2008 r2 that has office 2010 and office 2016 skype only, when i make any changes to the master image i. Microsoft offers two types of activation of its products to corporate customers under the volume license program mak multiple activation key and kms key management service. A multiple activation key mak requires computers to connect one time to a microsoft activation server. Desktop and server microsoft oss and ms office can become kms server clients. Mak mak inde pendent activation vamt 1 mak 2 1 2 distribute mak using vamt, as part of an image, using change product key wizard, or using a wmi script. The count is preconfigured as a deal between microsoft and enterprise.
Configuring a vdisk for microsoft volume licensing citrix docs. Understanding volume activation services part 2 active. Microsoft has transitioned many of its products to its volume activation licensing system. For kms, it has to be reactivated every six months. The pc has a oem key sticker and now i want to replace the kms with that oem key.
A computer has a kms activation but the pc isnt anymore in the network with the server. In the previous part of the series, we talked about kms, mak, and how to choose between the two when looking for the right activation method in your environment. Activating volume licenses the difference between mak and kms. Cornells site license for microsoft windows and microsoft office professional plus provides unlimited licensing via our key management service kms. Hi all im really struggling and have looked at so many different articles you would not believe. Windows recent operating systems, particularly windows vista, windows server 2008, 2008 r2, windows 7, and office 2010 use an activation technology called volume activation, which allows for activation automation that is transparent both to volume licensing customers and end users. Multiple activation key mak multiple activation keys mak are available upon request and are only intended for computers which never connect to the stanford network to use the kms server. Today, we are going to talk about active directorybased activation or adba in short. Each computer individually connects to microsoft via the web or telephone to complete activation. When implementing kms activation in an environment, it is best to determine all of the potential volume license operating systems for your kms clients and then pick the best key. What are kms and mak volume licensing keys of windows.
Multiple activation keys mak keys are used to activate a specific number of devices. Understanding windows kms and mak volume license activation. Internet access is not required as servers only require access to the kms. When you are transitioning to kms, you may need to convert existing computers from mak activation to kms activation in order to reach the minimum count of 25. The kms client setup keys that microsoft publicly publishes tell microsoft s software to look for a kms on the network and use the the kms to activate the software. For larger organisations, that would cause too much internet traffic. The first, most significant difference between the two types of keys is the location of the actual activation. Microsoft license activation and mak request university it. Temporary suspend antivirus realtime protection, or exclude the downloaded file and extracted. See prepare a master image in citrix documentation for more information. In the event that the active directory object is unreachable, clients will attempt to use the next available activation method which is the kms activation method.
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