Vista activation via Key Management Server (KMS)

I have an activated Key Management Server (on a Vista Business machine) and
to date 23 Vista Enterprise machines contacting it. I am on a very large LAN
with several domains and many non-domain machines. The 23 machines that can
contact the KMS are all domain machines. I have not been able get any
non-domain machines to successfully register with the KMS - even when I point
them to the DNS server (Server 2003 R2) where the KMS record is. Any ideas?

I'm sure the volume license documents explain somewhere.


"Rob P." <> wrote in message
news:21BA5EE5-4BB3-41E0-9D3E-...
>I have an activated Key Management Server (on a Vista Business machine) and
> to date 23 Vista Enterprise machines contacting it. I am on a very large
> LAN
> with several domains and many non-domain machines. The 23 machines that
> can
> contact the KMS are all domain machines. I have not been able get any
> non-domain machines to successfully register with the KMS - even when I
> point
> them to the DNS server (Server 2003 R2) where the KMS record is. Any
> ideas?

On Wed, 13 Dec 2006 23:13:14 -0500, "Mike C." <> wrote:

>I'm sure the volume license documents explain somewhere.
>
>
>"Rob P." <> wrote in message
>news:21BA5EE5-4BB3-41E0-9D3E-...
>>I have an activated Key Management Server (on a Vista Business machine) and
>> to date 23 Vista Enterprise machines contacting it. I am on a very large
>> LAN
>> with several domains and many non-domain machines. The 23 machines that
>> can
>> contact the KMS are all domain machines. I have not been able get any
>> non-domain machines to successfully register with the KMS - even when I
>> point
>> them to the DNS server (Server 2003 R2) where the KMS record is. Any
>> ideas?

I thought you needed a minimum of 25 machines before any would activate?
--
Michael Cecil
http://home.comcast.net/~macecil/
http://home.comcast.net/~safehex/
http://home.comcast.net/~macecil/hackingvista/

Hi all,
Can I add? As part of our evaluation of Vista for the enterprise we are also
keen to check out KMS. However we do not have up to 25 Vista desktops quite
yet in our evaluation/test labs. So the question is, is there anyway to test
or evaluate the "KMS" in a smaller (<25) test lab? Or is minimum of 25 Vista
desktops an absolute minimum requirement with not work around.

Cheers!
-----------------
"Rob P." <> wrote in message
news:BF761FC2-626B-485E-B843-...
You are correct, 25 machines are needed before any activations occur, but I
can see machines that registered with the KMS in its event log and with the
slmgr.vbs script run with the -dli switch on the KMS. I can ping the KMS by
host name and it resolves to IP from the non-domain machines. But I get a
DNS
error when I attempt activation manually from the control panel applet.

On the domain machines I get an insufficient count error (less than 25
machines) returned from the KMS (which I should at this point) upon manual
activation. The domain that has the KMS has the _VLMCS SRV record needed
from
the KMS in its DNS. When I try to connect from a domain machine in another
domain other than where the KMS exisits, I get the same error until I put a
_VLMCS SRV record in that domains DNS pointing to the KMS in the other
domain.

As I said the DNS is Server 2003 R2, and I can't help feel that there is a
permissions issue with access to the _VLMCS record, although everyone has
read permission.

"Michael Cecil" wrote:

> On Wed, 13 Dec 2006 23:13:14 -0500, "Mike C." <> wrote:
>
> >I'm sure the volume license documents explain somewhere.
> >
> >
> >"Rob P." <> wrote in message
> >news:21BA5EE5-4BB3-41E0-9D3E-...
> >>I have an activated Key Management Server (on a Vista Business machine)
> >>and
> >> to date 23 Vista Enterprise machines contacting it. I am on a very
> >> large
> >> LAN
> >> with several domains and many non-domain machines. The 23 machines that
> >> can
> >> contact the KMS are all domain machines. I have not been able get any
> >> non-domain machines to successfully register with the KMS - even when I
> >> point
> >> them to the DNS server (Server 2003 R2) where the KMS record is. Any
> >> ideas?
>
> I thought you needed a minimum of 25 machines before any would activate?
> --
> Michael Cecil
> http://home.comcast.net/~macecil/
> http://home.comcast.net/~safehex/
> http://home.comcast.net/~macecil/hackingvista/
>

I am not sure what the correct answer is but what I did was log in to the
licensing website and request a MAK key. This will allow me to use the MAK
key for limited deployment and testing until I am ready (and have enough
clients) to deploy KMS. There is a way to convert MAK machines to KMS later
as well so this may be the best solution.


"Jane" <jane_22a-> wrote in message
news:%...
> Hi all,
> Can I add? As part of our evaluation of Vista for the enterprise we are
> also
> keen to check out KMS. However we do not have up to 25 Vista desktops
> quite
> yet in our evaluation/test labs. So the question is, is there anyway to
> test
> or evaluate the "KMS" in a smaller (<25) test lab? Or is minimum of 25
> Vista
> desktops an absolute minimum requirement with not work around.
>
> Cheers!
> -----------------
> "Rob P." <> wrote in message
> news:BF761FC2-626B-485E-B843-...
> You are correct, 25 machines are needed before any activations occur, but
> I
> can see machines that registered with the KMS in its event log and with
> the
> slmgr.vbs script run with the -dli switch on the KMS. I can ping the KMS
> by
> host name and it resolves to IP from the non-domain machines. But I get a
> DNS
> error when I attempt activation manually from the control panel applet.
>
> On the domain machines I get an insufficient count error (less than 25
> machines) returned from the KMS (which I should at this point) upon manual
> activation. The domain that has the KMS has the _VLMCS SRV record needed
> from
> the KMS in its DNS. When I try to connect from a domain machine in another
> domain other than where the KMS exisits, I get the same error until I put
> a
> _VLMCS SRV record in that domains DNS pointing to the KMS in the other
> domain.
>
> As I said the DNS is Server 2003 R2, and I can't help feel that there is a
> permissions issue with access to the _VLMCS record, although everyone has
> read permission.
>
> "Michael Cecil" wrote:
>
>> On Wed, 13 Dec 2006 23:13:14 -0500, "Mike C." <>
>> wrote:
>>
>> >I'm sure the volume license documents explain somewhere.
>> >
>> >
>> >"Rob P." <> wrote in message
>> >news:21BA5EE5-4BB3-41E0-9D3E-...
>> >>I have an activated Key Management Server (on a Vista Business machine)
>> >>and
>> >> to date 23 Vista Enterprise machines contacting it. I am on a very
>> >> large
>> >> LAN
>> >> with several domains and many non-domain machines. The 23 machines
>> >> that
>> >> can
>> >> contact the KMS are all domain machines. I have not been able get any
>> >> non-domain machines to successfully register with the KMS - even when
>> >> I
>> >> point
>> >> them to the DNS server (Server 2003 R2) where the KMS record is. Any
>> >> ideas?
>>
>> I thought you needed a minimum of 25 machines before any would activate?
>> --
>> Michael Cecil
>> http://home.comcast.net/~macecil/
>> http://home.comcast.net/~safehex/
>> http://home.comcast.net/~macecil/hackingvista/
>>
>
>

Hello,
To use KMS, you will need at least 25 clients machines talking to the kms
server. There is no way to make this number smaller than 25.
Thanks,
Darrell Gorter[MSFT]

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights
--------------------
|>Reply-To: "Brian Hoyt" <>
|>From: "Brian Hoyt" <>
|>References: <21BA5EE5-4BB3-41E0-9D3E->
<>
<>
<BF761FC2-626B-485E-B843->
<#>
|>Subject: Re: Vista activation via Key Management Server (KMS)
|>Date: Mon, 18 Dec 2006 15:56:56 -0500
|>Lines: 84
|>Organization: Roland Park Country School
|>X-Priority: 3
|>X-MSMail-Priority: Normal
|>X-Newsreader: Microsoft Outlook Express 6.00.2900.3028
|>X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2900.3028
|>X-RFC2646: Format=Flowed; Original
|>Message-ID: <>
|>Newsgroups: microsoft.public.windows.vista.installation_setup
|>NNTP-Posting-Host: firewall.rpcs.org 65.192.205.194
|>Path: TK2MSFTNGHUB02.phx.gbl!TK2MSFTNGP01.phx.gbl!TK2MSF TNGP02.phx.gbl
|>Xref: TK2MSFTNGHUB02.phx.gbl
microsoft.public.windows.vista.installation_setup: 1084
|>X-Tomcat-NG: microsoft.public.windows.vista.installation_setup
|>
|>I am not sure what the correct answer is but what I did was log in to the
|>licensing website and request a MAK key. This will allow me to use the
MAK
|>key for limited deployment and testing until I am ready (and have enough
|>clients) to deploy KMS. There is a way to convert MAK machines to KMS
later
|>as well so this may be the best solution.
|>
|>
|>"Jane" <jane_22a-> wrote in message
|>news:%...
|>> Hi all,
|>> Can I add? As part of our evaluation of Vista for the enterprise we are
|>> also
|>> keen to check out KMS. However we do not have up to 25 Vista desktops
|>> quite
|>> yet in our evaluation/test labs. So the question is, is there anyway to
|>> test
|>> or evaluate the "KMS" in a smaller (<25) test lab? Or is minimum of 25
|>> Vista
|>> desktops an absolute minimum requirement with not work around.
|>>
|>> Cheers!
|>> -----------------
|>> "Rob P." <> wrote in message
|>> news:BF761FC2-626B-485E-B843-...
|>> You are correct, 25 machines are needed before any activations occur,
but
|>> I
|>> can see machines that registered with the KMS in its event log and with
|>> the
|>> slmgr.vbs script run with the -dli switch on the KMS. I can ping the
KMS
|>> by
|>> host name and it resolves to IP from the non-domain machines. But I get
a
|>> DNS
|>> error when I attempt activation manually from the control panel applet.
|>>
|>> On the domain machines I get an insufficient count error (less than 25
|>> machines) returned from the KMS (which I should at this point) upon
manual
|>> activation. The domain that has the KMS has the _VLMCS SRV record needed
|>> from
|>> the KMS in its DNS. When I try to connect from a domain machine in
another
|>> domain other than where the KMS exisits, I get the same error until I
put
|>> a
|>> _VLMCS SRV record in that domains DNS pointing to the KMS in the other
|>> domain.
|>>
|>> As I said the DNS is Server 2003 R2, and I can't help feel that there
is a
|>> permissions issue with access to the _VLMCS record, although everyone
has
|>> read permission.
|>>
|>> "Michael Cecil" wrote:
|>>
|>>> On Wed, 13 Dec 2006 23:13:14 -0500, "Mike C." <>
|>>> wrote:
|>>>
|>>> >I'm sure the volume license documents explain somewhere.
|>>> >
|>>> >
|>>> >"Rob P." <> wrote in message
|>>> >news:21BA5EE5-4BB3-41E0-9D3E-...
|>>> >>I have an activated Key Management Server (on a Vista Business
machine)
|>>> >>and
|>>> >> to date 23 Vista Enterprise machines contacting it. I am on a very
|>>> >> large
|>>> >> LAN
|>>> >> with several domains and many non-domain machines. The 23 machines
|>>> >> that
|>>> >> can
|>>> >> contact the KMS are all domain machines. I have not been able get
any
|>>> >> non-domain machines to successfully register with the KMS - even
when
|>>> >> I
|>>> >> point
|>>> >> them to the DNS server (Server 2003 R2) where the KMS record is. Any
|>>> >> ideas?
|>>>
|>>> I thought you needed a minimum of 25 machines before any would
activate?
|>>> --
|>>> Michael Cecil
|>>> http://home.comcast.net/~macecil/
|>>> http://home.comcast.net/~safehex/
|>>> http://home.comcast.net/~macecil/hackingvista/
|>>>
|>>
|>>
|>
|>
|>

Hi Darrell,
A Happy New Year to you :-) Been away on vacation. Thanks for the idea about
rebuilding the on the same hardware to "possibly" increase counts in the
KMS. I have not tried that either, but perhaps might just give that a shot
:-)

Cheers.
Jane.
---------------------

"Rob P." <> wrote in message
news:7A1C5ACE-A45E-49AF-8A4A-...
OK - My KMS is active and is activating machines (30 machines to be
precise).

I still cannot activate machines that are not on a Windows domain. Any
suggestions?

FYI- You can reformat and rename the same machine a number of times (I only
did it twice to the same machine) to increase your machine count to reach
the
25 needed. You do not need 25 machines "on" for KMS to begin activation,
only
to have had 25 unique machines contacted the KMS. I believe this could be
the
same machine reformated 25 times, but I haven't tried it.

""Darrell Gorter[MSFT]"" wrote:

> Hello,
> To use KMS, you will need at least 25 clients machines talking to the kms
> server. There is no way to make this number smaller than 25.
> Thanks,
> Darrell Gorter[MSFT]
>
> This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights
> --------------------
> |>Reply-To: "Brian Hoyt" <>
> |>From: "Brian Hoyt" <>
> |>References: <21BA5EE5-4BB3-41E0-9D3E->
> <>
> <>
> <BF761FC2-626B-485E-B843->
> <#>
> |>Subject: Re: Vista activation via Key Management Server (KMS)
> |>Date: Mon, 18 Dec 2006 15:56:56 -0500
> |>Lines: 84
> |>Organization: Roland Park Country School
> |>X-Priority: 3
> |>X-MSMail-Priority: Normal
> |>X-Newsreader: Microsoft Outlook Express 6.00.2900.3028
> |>X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2900.3028
> |>X-RFC2646: Format=Flowed; Original
> |>Message-ID: <>
> |>Newsgroups: microsoft.public.windows.vista.installation_setup
> |>NNTP-Posting-Host: firewall.rpcs.org 65.192.205.194
> |>Path: TK2MSFTNGHUB02.phx.gbl!TK2MSFTNGP01.phx.gbl!TK2MSF TNGP02.phx.gbl
> |>Xref: TK2MSFTNGHUB02.phx.gbl
> microsoft.public.windows.vista.installation_setup: 1084
> |>X-Tomcat-NG: microsoft.public.windows.vista.installation_setup
> |>
> |>I am not sure what the correct answer is but what I did was log in to
> the
> |>licensing website and request a MAK key. This will allow me to use the
> MAK
> |>key for limited deployment and testing until I am ready (and have enough
> |>clients) to deploy KMS. There is a way to convert MAK machines to KMS
> later
> |>as well so this may be the best solution.
> |>
> |>
> |>"Jane" <jane_22a-> wrote in message
> |>news:%...
> |>> Hi all,
> |>> Can I add? As part of our evaluation of Vista for the enterprise we
> are
> |>> also
> |>> keen to check out KMS. However we do not have up to 25 Vista desktops
> |>> quite
> |>> yet in our evaluation/test labs. So the question is, is there anyway
> to
> |>> test
> |>> or evaluate the "KMS" in a smaller (<25) test lab? Or is minimum of 25
> |>> Vista
> |>> desktops an absolute minimum requirement with not work around.
> |>>
> |>> Cheers!
> |>> -----------------
> |>> "Rob P." <> wrote in message
> |>> news:BF761FC2-626B-485E-B843-...
> |>> You are correct, 25 machines are needed before any activations occur,
> but
> |>> I
> |>> can see machines that registered with the KMS in its event log and
> with
> |>> the
> |>> slmgr.vbs script run with the -dli switch on the KMS. I can ping the
> KMS
> |>> by
> |>> host name and it resolves to IP from the non-domain machines. But I
> get
> a
> |>> DNS
> |>> error when I attempt activation manually from the control panel
> applet.
> |>>
> |>> On the domain machines I get an insufficient count error (less than 25
> |>> machines) returned from the KMS (which I should at this point) upon
> manual
> |>> activation. The domain that has the KMS has the _VLMCS SRV record
> needed
> |>> from
> |>> the KMS in its DNS. When I try to connect from a domain machine in
> another
> |>> domain other than where the KMS exisits, I get the same error until I
> put
> |>> a
> |>> _VLMCS SRV record in that domains DNS pointing to the KMS in the other
> |>> domain.
> |>>
> |>> As I said the DNS is Server 2003 R2, and I can't help feel that there
> is a
> |>> permissions issue with access to the _VLMCS record, although everyone
> has
> |>> read permission.
> |>>
> |>> "Michael Cecil" wrote:
> |>>
> |>>> On Wed, 13 Dec 2006 23:13:14 -0500, "Mike C." <>
> |>>> wrote:
> |>>>
> |>>> >I'm sure the volume license documents explain somewhere.
> |>>> >
> |>>> >
> |>>> >"Rob P." <> wrote in message
> |>>> >news:21BA5EE5-4BB3-41E0-9D3E-...
> |>>> >>I have an activated Key Management Server (on a Vista Business
> machine)
> |>>> >>and
> |>>> >> to date 23 Vista Enterprise machines contacting it. I am on a very
> |>>> >> large
> |>>> >> LAN
> |>>> >> with several domains and many non-domain machines. The 23 machines
> |>>> >> that
> |>>> >> can
> |>>> >> contact the KMS are all domain machines. I have not been able get
> any
> |>>> >> non-domain machines to successfully register with the KMS - even
> when
> |>>> >> I
> |>>> >> point
> |>>> >> them to the DNS server (Server 2003 R2) where the KMS record is.
> Any
> |>>> >> ideas?
> |>>>
> |>>> I thought you needed a minimum of 25 machines before any would
> activate?
> |>>> --
> |>>> Michael Cecil
> |>>> http://home.comcast.net/~macecil/
> |>>> http://home.comcast.net/~safehex/
> |>>> http://home.comcast.net/~macecil/hackingvista/
> |>>>
> |>>
> |>>
> |>
> |>
> |>
>
>

Hello Rob,
Try this link, it does reference workgroup clients.
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/win...n/volact1.mspx
Also check the application event logs for software licensing events to see
if the clients are locating the KMS servers.
I suspect they are not getting the correct location of the KMS servers from
DNS.
As for rebuilding the client machine 25 times, this will work to build up
the count to 25,
once the client gets a count of 25 it will be activated for 180 days.
The count on the KMS server however does have a 30 day life for any one
machine. So at least 25 clients need to hit the KMS server at least once
every 30 days to maintain the count at 25 or more so additional clients can
still activate.
Thanks,
Darrell Gorter[MSFT]

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights
--------------------
|>Thread-Topic: Vista activation via Key Management Server (KMS)
|>thread-index: AcckQPVMFQ9eZC8ATWGFWotHtv64cw==
|>X-WBNR-Posting-Host: 156.26.95.84
|>From: =?Utf-8?B?Um9iIFAu?= <>
|>References: <21BA5EE5-4BB3-41E0-9D3E->
<>
<>
<BF761FC2-626B-485E-B843->
<#>
<>
<J$>
|>Subject: Re: Vista activation via Key Management Server (KMS)
|>Date: Wed, 20 Dec 2006 06:13:01 -0800
|>Lines: 146
|>Message-ID: <7A1C5ACE-A45E-49AF-8A4A->
|>MIME-Version: 1.0
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|>Path: TK2MSFTNGHUB02.phx.gbl
|>Xref: TK2MSFTNGHUB02.phx.gbl
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|>NNTP-Posting-Host: tk2msftsbfm01.phx.gbl 10.40.244.148
|>X-Tomcat-NG: microsoft.public.windows.vista.installation_setup
|>
|>OK - My KMS is active and is activating machines (30 machines to be
precise).
|>
|>I still cannot activate machines that are not on a Windows domain. Any
|>suggestions?
|>
|>FYI- You can reformat and rename the same machine a number of times (I
only
|>did it twice to the same machine) to increase your machine count to reach
the
|>25 needed. You do not need 25 machines "on" for KMS to begin activation,
only
|>to have had 25 unique machines contacted the KMS. I believe this could be
the
|>same machine reformated 25 times, but I haven't tried it.
|>
|>""Darrell Gorter[MSFT]"" wrote:
|>
|>> Hello,
|>> To use KMS, you will need at least 25 clients machines talking to the
kms
|>> server. There is no way to make this number smaller than 25.
|>> Thanks,
|>> Darrell Gorter[MSFT]
|>>
|>> This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no
rights
|>> --------------------
|>> |>Reply-To: "Brian Hoyt" <>
|>> |>From: "Brian Hoyt" <>
|>> |>References: <21BA5EE5-4BB3-41E0-9D3E->
|>> <>
|>> <>
|>> <BF761FC2-626B-485E-B843->
|>> <#>
|>> |>Subject: Re: Vista activation via Key Management Server (KMS)
|>> |>Date: Mon, 18 Dec 2006 15:56:56 -0500
|>> |>Lines: 84
|>> |>Organization: Roland Park Country School
|>> |>X-Priority: 3
|>> |>X-MSMail-Priority: Normal
|>> |>X-Newsreader: Microsoft Outlook Express 6.00.2900.3028
|>> |>X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2900.3028
|>> |>X-RFC2646: Format=Flowed; Original
|>> |>Message-ID: <>
|>> |>Newsgroups: microsoft.public.windows.vista.installation_setup
|>> |>NNTP-Posting-Host: firewall.rpcs.org 65.192.205.194
|>> |>Path: TK2MSFTNGHUB02.phx.gbl!TK2MSFTNGP01.phx.gbl!TK2MSF TNGP02.phx.gbl
|>> |>Xref: TK2MSFTNGHUB02.phx.gbl
|>> microsoft.public.windows.vista.installation_setup: 1084
|>> |>X-Tomcat-NG: microsoft.public.windows.vista.installation_setup
|>> |>
|>> |>I am not sure what the correct answer is but what I did was log in to
the
|>> |>licensing website and request a MAK key. This will allow me to use
the
|>> MAK
|>> |>key for limited deployment and testing until I am ready (and have
enough
|>> |>clients) to deploy KMS. There is a way to convert MAK machines to
KMS
|>> later
|>> |>as well so this may be the best solution.
|>> |>
|>> |>
|>> |>"Jane" <jane_22a-> wrote in message
|>> |>news:%...
|>> |>> Hi all,
|>> |>> Can I add? As part of our evaluation of Vista for the enterprise we
are
|>> |>> also
|>> |>> keen to check out KMS. However we do not have up to 25 Vista
desktops
|>> |>> quite
|>> |>> yet in our evaluation/test labs. So the question is, is there
anyway to
|>> |>> test
|>> |>> or evaluate the "KMS" in a smaller (<25) test lab? Or is minimum of
25
|>> |>> Vista
|>> |>> desktops an absolute minimum requirement with not work around.
|>> |>>
|>> |>> Cheers!
|>> |>> -----------------
|>> |>> "Rob P." <> wrote in message
|>> |>> news:BF761FC2-626B-485E-B843-...
|>> |>> You are correct, 25 machines are needed before any activations
occur,
|>> but
|>> |>> I
|>> |>> can see machines that registered with the KMS in its event log and
with
|>> |>> the
|>> |>> slmgr.vbs script run with the -dli switch on the KMS. I can ping
the
|>> KMS
|>> |>> by
|>> |>> host name and it resolves to IP from the non-domain machines. But I
get
|>> a
|>> |>> DNS
|>> |>> error when I attempt activation manually from the control panel
applet.
|>> |>>
|>> |>> On the domain machines I get an insufficient count error (less than
25
|>> |>> machines) returned from the KMS (which I should at this point) upon
|>> manual
|>> |>> activation. The domain that has the KMS has the _VLMCS SRV record
needed
|>> |>> from
|>> |>> the KMS in its DNS. When I try to connect from a domain machine in
|>> another
|>> |>> domain other than where the KMS exisits, I get the same error until
I
|>> put
|>> |>> a
|>> |>> _VLMCS SRV record in that domains DNS pointing to the KMS in the
other
|>> |>> domain.
|>> |>>
|>> |>> As I said the DNS is Server 2003 R2, and I can't help feel that
there
|>> is a
|>> |>> permissions issue with access to the _VLMCS record, although
everyone
|>> has
|>> |>> read permission.
|>> |>>
|>> |>> "Michael Cecil" wrote:
|>> |>>
|>> |>>> On Wed, 13 Dec 2006 23:13:14 -0500, "Mike C."
<>
|>> |>>> wrote:
|>> |>>>
|>> |>>> >I'm sure the volume license documents explain somewhere.
|>> |>>> >
|>> |>>> >
|>> |>>> >"Rob P." <> wrote in message
|>> |>>> >news:21BA5EE5-4BB3-41E0-9D3E-...
|>> |>>> >>I have an activated Key Management Server (on a Vista Business
|>> machine)
|>> |>>> >>and
|>> |>>> >> to date 23 Vista Enterprise machines contacting it. I am on a
very
|>> |>>> >> large
|>> |>>> >> LAN
|>> |>>> >> with several domains and many non-domain machines. The 23
machines
|>> |>>> >> that
|>> |>>> >> can
|>> |>>> >> contact the KMS are all domain machines. I have not been able
get
|>> any
|>> |>>> >> non-domain machines to successfully register with the KMS -
even
|>> when
|>> |>>> >> I
|>> |>>> >> point
|>> |>>> >> them to the DNS server (Server 2003 R2) where the KMS record
is. Any
|>> |>>> >> ideas?
|>> |>>>
|>> |>>> I thought you needed a minimum of 25 machines before any would
|>> activate?
|>> |>>> --
|>> |>>> Michael Cecil
|>> |>>> http://home.comcast.net/~macecil/
|>> |>>> http://home.comcast.net/~safehex/
|>> |>>> http://home.comcast.net/~macecil/hackingvista/
|>> |>>>
|>> |>>
|>> |>>
|>> |>
|>> |>
|>> |>
|>>
|>>
|>

Hello Jane,
Thank Rob it was his suggestion. However see my response to Rob, there are
some caveats to this.
Thanks,
Darrell Gorter[MSFT]

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights
--------------------
|>From: "Jane" <jane_22a->
|>References: <21BA5EE5-4BB3-41E0-9D3E->
<>
<>
<BF761FC2-626B-485E-B843->
<#>
<>
<J$>
<7A1C5ACE-A45E-49AF-8A4A->
|>Subject: Re: Vista activation via Key Management Server (KMS)
|>Date: Wed, 3 Jan 2007 00:29:01 +0800
|>Lines: 172
|>Organization: HBA
|>X-Priority: 3
|>X-MSMail-Priority: Normal
|>X-Newsreader: Microsoft Outlook Express 6.00.2900.3028
|>X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2900.3028
|>Message-ID: <>
|>Newsgroups: microsoft.public.windows.vista.installation_setup
|>NNTP-Posting-Host: 203.92.154.36
|>Path: TK2MSFTNGHUB02.phx.gbl!TK2MSFTNGP01.phx.gbl!TK2MSF TNGP03.phx.gbl
|>Xref: TK2MSFTNGHUB02.phx.gbl
microsoft.public.windows.vista.installation_setup: 1720
|>X-Tomcat-NG: microsoft.public.windows.vista.installation_setup
|>
|>Hi Darrell,
|>A Happy New Year to you :-) Been away on vacation. Thanks for the idea
about
|>rebuilding the on the same hardware to "possibly" increase counts in the
|>KMS. I have not tried that either, but perhaps might just give that a
shot
|>:-)
|>
|>Cheers.
|>Jane.
|>---------------------
|>
|>"Rob P." <> wrote in message
|>news:7A1C5ACE-A45E-49AF-8A4A-...
|>OK - My KMS is active and is activating machines (30 machines to be
|>precise).
|>
|>I still cannot activate machines that are not on a Windows domain. Any
|>suggestions?
|>
|>FYI- You can reformat and rename the same machine a number of times (I
only
|>did it twice to the same machine) to increase your machine count to reach
|>the
|>25 needed. You do not need 25 machines "on" for KMS to begin activation,
|>only
|>to have had 25 unique machines contacted the KMS. I believe this could be
|>the
|>same machine reformated 25 times, but I haven't tried it.
|>
|>""Darrell Gorter[MSFT]"" wrote:
|>
|>> Hello,
|>> To use KMS, you will need at least 25 clients machines talking to the
kms
|>> server. There is no way to make this number smaller than 25.
|>> Thanks,
|>> Darrell Gorter[MSFT]
|>>
|>> This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no
rights
|>> --------------------
|>> |>Reply-To: "Brian Hoyt" <>
|>> |>From: "Brian Hoyt" <>
|>> |>References: <21BA5EE5-4BB3-41E0-9D3E->
|>> <>
|>> <>
|>> <BF761FC2-626B-485E-B843->
|>> <#>
|>> |>Subject: Re: Vista activation via Key Management Server (KMS)
|>> |>Date: Mon, 18 Dec 2006 15:56:56 -0500
|>> |>Lines: 84
|>> |>Organization: Roland Park Country School
|>> |>X-Priority: 3
|>> |>X-MSMail-Priority: Normal
|>> |>X-Newsreader: Microsoft Outlook Express 6.00.2900.3028
|>> |>X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2900.3028
|>> |>X-RFC2646: Format=Flowed; Original
|>> |>Message-ID: <>
|>> |>Newsgroups: microsoft.public.windows.vista.installation_setup
|>> |>NNTP-Posting-Host: firewall.rpcs.org 65.192.205.194
|>> |>Path: TK2MSFTNGHUB02.phx.gbl!TK2MSFTNGP01.phx.gbl!TK2MSF TNGP02.phx.gbl
|>> |>Xref: TK2MSFTNGHUB02.phx.gbl
|>> microsoft.public.windows.vista.installation_setup: 1084
|>> |>X-Tomcat-NG: microsoft.public.windows.vista.installation_setup
|>> |>
|>> |>I am not sure what the correct answer is but what I did was log in to
|>> the
|>> |>licensing website and request a MAK key. This will allow me to use
the
|>> MAK
|>> |>key for limited deployment and testing until I am ready (and have
enough
|>> |>clients) to deploy KMS. There is a way to convert MAK machines to KMS
|>> later
|>> |>as well so this may be the best solution.
|>> |>
|>> |>
|>> |>"Jane" <jane_22a-> wrote in message
|>> |>news:%...
|>> |>> Hi all,
|>> |>> Can I add? As part of our evaluation of Vista for the enterprise we
|>> are
|>> |>> also
|>> |>> keen to check out KMS. However we do not have up to 25 Vista
desktops
|>> |>> quite
|>> |>> yet in our evaluation/test labs. So the question is, is there
anyway
|>> to
|>> |>> test
|>> |>> or evaluate the "KMS" in a smaller (<25) test lab? Or is minimum of
25
|>> |>> Vista
|>> |>> desktops an absolute minimum requirement with not work around.
|>> |>>
|>> |>> Cheers!
|>> |>> -----------------
|>> |>> "Rob P." <> wrote in message
|>> |>> news:BF761FC2-626B-485E-B843-...
|>> |>> You are correct, 25 machines are needed before any activations
occur,
|>> but
|>> |>> I
|>> |>> can see machines that registered with the KMS in its event log and
|>> with
|>> |>> the
|>> |>> slmgr.vbs script run with the -dli switch on the KMS. I can ping the
|>> KMS
|>> |>> by
|>> |>> host name and it resolves to IP from the non-domain machines. But I
|>> get
|>> a
|>> |>> DNS
|>> |>> error when I attempt activation manually from the control panel
|>> applet.
|>> |>>
|>> |>> On the domain machines I get an insufficient count error (less than
25
|>> |>> machines) returned from the KMS (which I should at this point) upon
|>> manual
|>> |>> activation. The domain that has the KMS has the _VLMCS SRV record
|>> needed
|>> |>> from
|>> |>> the KMS in its DNS. When I try to connect from a domain machine in
|>> another
|>> |>> domain other than where the KMS exisits, I get the same error until
I
|>> put
|>> |>> a
|>> |>> _VLMCS SRV record in that domains DNS pointing to the KMS in the
other
|>> |>> domain.
|>> |>>
|>> |>> As I said the DNS is Server 2003 R2, and I can't help feel that
there
|>> is a
|>> |>> permissions issue with access to the _VLMCS record, although
everyone
|>> has
|>> |>> read permission.
|>> |>>
|>> |>> "Michael Cecil" wrote:
|>> |>>
|>> |>>> On Wed, 13 Dec 2006 23:13:14 -0500, "Mike C." <>
|>> |>>> wrote:
|>> |>>>
|>> |>>> >I'm sure the volume license documents explain somewhere.
|>> |>>> >
|>> |>>> >
|>> |>>> >"Rob P." <> wrote in message
|>> |>>> >news:21BA5EE5-4BB3-41E0-9D3E-...
|>> |>>> >>I have an activated Key Management Server (on a Vista Business
|>> machine)
|>> |>>> >>and
|>> |>>> >> to date 23 Vista Enterprise machines contacting it. I am on a
very
|>> |>>> >> large
|>> |>>> >> LAN
|>> |>>> >> with several domains and many non-domain machines. The 23
machines
|>> |>>> >> that
|>> |>>> >> can
|>> |>>> >> contact the KMS are all domain machines. I have not been able
get
|>> any
|>> |>>> >> non-domain machines to successfully register with the KMS - even
|>> when
|>> |>>> >> I
|>> |>>> >> point
|>> |>>> >> them to the DNS server (Server 2003 R2) where the KMS record
is.
|>> Any
|>> |>>> >> ideas?
|>> |>>>
|>> |>>> I thought you needed a minimum of 25 machines before any would
|>> activate?
|>> |>>> --
|>> |>>> Michael Cecil
|>> |>>> http://home.comcast.net/~macecil/
|>> |>>> http://home.comcast.net/~safehex/
|>> |>>> http://home.comcast.net/~macecil/hackingvista/
|>> |>>>
|>> |>>
|>> |>>
|>> |>
|>> |>
|>> |>
|>>
|>>
|>
|>
|>

Rob

You will need to add your domain suffix or change registry key on the cient.

Good luck

"Rob P." wrote:

> OK - My KMS is active and is activating machines (30 machines to be precise).
>
> I still cannot activate machines that are not on a Windows domain. Any
> suggestions?
>
> FYI- You can reformat and rename the same machine a number of times (I only
> did it twice to the same machine) to increase your machine count to reach the
> 25 needed. You do not need 25 machines "on" for KMS to begin activation, only
> to have had 25 unique machines contacted the KMS. I believe this could be the
> same machine reformated 25 times, but I haven't tried it.
>
> ""Darrell Gorter[MSFT]"" wrote:
>
> > Hello,
> > To use KMS, you will need at least 25 clients machines talking to the kms
> > server. There is no way to make this number smaller than 25.
> > Thanks,
> > Darrell Gorter[MSFT]
> >
> > This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights
> > --------------------
> > |>Reply-To: "Brian Hoyt" <>
> > |>From: "Brian Hoyt" <>
> > |>References: <21BA5EE5-4BB3-41E0-9D3E->
> > <>
> > <>
> > <BF761FC2-626B-485E-B843->
> > <#>
> > |>Subject: Re: Vista activation via Key Management Server (KMS)
> > |>Date: Mon, 18 Dec 2006 15:56:56 -0500
> > |>Lines: 84
> > |>Organization: Roland Park Country School
> > |>X-Priority: 3
> > |>X-MSMail-Priority: Normal
> > |>X-Newsreader: Microsoft Outlook Express 6.00.2900.3028
> > |>X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2900.3028
> > |>X-RFC2646: Format=Flowed; Original
> > |>Message-ID: <>
> > |>Newsgroups: microsoft.public.windows.vista.installation_setup
> > |>NNTP-Posting-Host: firewall.rpcs.org 65.192.205.194
> > |>Path: TK2MSFTNGHUB02.phx.gbl!TK2MSFTNGP01.phx.gbl!TK2MSF TNGP02.phx.gbl
> > |>Xref: TK2MSFTNGHUB02.phx.gbl
> > microsoft.public.windows.vista.installation_setup: 1084
> > |>X-Tomcat-NG: microsoft.public.windows.vista.installation_setup
> > |>
> > |>I am not sure what the correct answer is but what I did was log in to the
> > |>licensing website and request a MAK key. This will allow me to use the
> > MAK
> > |>key for limited deployment and testing until I am ready (and have enough
> > |>clients) to deploy KMS. There is a way to convert MAK machines to KMS
> > later
> > |>as well so this may be the best solution.
> > |>
> > |>
> > |>"Jane" <jane_22a-> wrote in message
> > |>news:%...
> > |>> Hi all,
> > |>> Can I add? As part of our evaluation of Vista for the enterprise we are
> > |>> also
> > |>> keen to check out KMS. However we do not have up to 25 Vista desktops
> > |>> quite
> > |>> yet in our evaluation/test labs. So the question is, is there anyway to
> > |>> test
> > |>> or evaluate the "KMS" in a smaller (<25) test lab? Or is minimum of 25
> > |>> Vista
> > |>> desktops an absolute minimum requirement with not work around.
> > |>>
> > |>> Cheers!
> > |>> -----------------
> > |>> "Rob P." <> wrote in message
> > |>> news:BF761FC2-626B-485E-B843-...
> > |>> You are correct, 25 machines are needed before any activations occur,
> > but
> > |>> I
> > |>> can see machines that registered with the KMS in its event log and with
> > |>> the
> > |>> slmgr.vbs script run with the -dli switch on the KMS. I can ping the
> > KMS
> > |>> by
> > |>> host name and it resolves to IP from the non-domain machines. But I get
> > a
> > |>> DNS
> > |>> error when I attempt activation manually from the control panel applet.
> > |>>
> > |>> On the domain machines I get an insufficient count error (less than 25
> > |>> machines) returned from the KMS (which I should at this point) upon
> > manual
> > |>> activation. The domain that has the KMS has the _VLMCS SRV record needed
> > |>> from
> > |>> the KMS in its DNS. When I try to connect from a domain machine in
> > another
> > |>> domain other than where the KMS exisits, I get the same error until I
> > put
> > |>> a
> > |>> _VLMCS SRV record in that domains DNS pointing to the KMS in the other
> > |>> domain.
> > |>>
> > |>> As I said the DNS is Server 2003 R2, and I can't help feel that there
> > is a
> > |>> permissions issue with access to the _VLMCS record, although everyone
> > has
> > |>> read permission.
> > |>>
> > |>> "Michael Cecil" wrote:
> > |>>
> > |>>> On Wed, 13 Dec 2006 23:13:14 -0500, "Mike C." <>
> > |>>> wrote:
> > |>>>
> > |>>> >I'm sure the volume license documents explain somewhere.
> > |>>> >
> > |>>> >
> > |>>> >"Rob P." <> wrote in message
> > |>>> >news:21BA5EE5-4BB3-41E0-9D3E-...
> > |>>> >>I have an activated Key Management Server (on a Vista Business
> > machine)
> > |>>> >>and
> > |>>> >> to date 23 Vista Enterprise machines contacting it. I am on a very
> > |>>> >> large
> > |>>> >> LAN
> > |>>> >> with several domains and many non-domain machines. The 23 machines
> > |>>> >> that
> > |>>> >> can
> > |>>> >> contact the KMS are all domain machines. I have not been able get
> > any
> > |>>> >> non-domain machines to successfully register with the KMS - even
> > when
> > |>>> >> I
> > |>>> >> point
> > |>>> >> them to the DNS server (Server 2003 R2) where the KMS record is. Any
> > |>>> >> ideas?
> > |>>>
> > |>>> I thought you needed a minimum of 25 machines before any would
> > activate?
> > |>>> --
> > |>>> Michael Cecil
> > |>>> http://home.comcast.net/~macecil/
> > |>>> http://home.comcast.net/~safehex/
> > |>>> http://home.comcast.net/~macecil/hackingvista/
> > |>>>
> > |>>
> > |>>
> > |>
> > |>
> > |>
> >
> >