If you have many KMS servers in your infrastructure (as in my case), it can be useful to know how to force new servers to a specific KMS server. This is particularly true if you have activated your KMS servers with different Volume Licensing keys (A for Web edition, B for Standard edition or C for Enterprise and Datacenter editions) or if you don't want to see your activation requests crossing all of your network.
Basically, a KMS client will send out a request to its DNS server for a record of type srv _vlmcs._tcp and the DNS will answer with the hostname of a KMS server to contact and to register with. What you can do is to use the integrated slmgr to tell your new server to connect directly to a specific server substantially bypassing the broadcast part.
Here's how.
Open a Command Prompt with elevate privilege and run:
slmgr.vbs /sksm kmsserver.yourdomain.com:1688
This will set the Key management service name for this server.
KMS machine name is now set |
slmgr.vbs /ato
Windows activated |
and wait for a popoup telling you that your Windows copy has been activated succesfully. If you start a netstat monitoring on open connections now, you will see connections from your new server to the KMS server on port 1688.
Nestat will show you TCP connections on port 1688 |
Check under OOBE and verify activation |
Hope this helps.
Many many thanks - Had been banging my head against the proverbial brick wall for a month trying to get a server to activate \ authenticate to our KMS Box - Excellent - Did the trick in a trite - Cheers - Basil
ReplyDeleteMany thanks for this it was driving me crazy. You have a typo in the Key Management Service Name command
ReplyDeleteslmgr.vbs /sksm kmsserver.yourdomain.com:1688
it should be
slmgr.vbs /skms kmsserver.yourdomain.com:1688