A. KMS requires a certain number of KMS clients before it will activate them. To get the stats for a KMS server, use the command slmgr.vbs /dli
For example, C:\Windows\System32>cscript slmgr.vbs /dli Microsoft (R) Windows Script Host Version 5.8 Copyright (C) Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Name: Windows Server(R), ServerEnterprise edition Description: Windows Operating System - Windows Server(R), VOLUME_KMS_R2_B channel Partial Product Key: H8TDD License Status: Licensed Key Management Service is enabled on this machine Current count: 6 Listening on Port: 1688 DNS publishing enabled KMS priority: Normal
Key Management Service cumulative requests received from clients Total requests received: 11 Failed requests received: 0 Requests with License Status Unlicensed: 0 Requests with License Status Licensed: 0 Requests with License Status Initial grace period: 0 Requests with License Status License expired or Hardware out of tolerance: 0 Requests with License Status Non-genuine grace period: 0 Requests with License Status Notification: 11 Time Synchronization is CriticalKMS Activation will not occur if the system time on the client computer varies too much from the time on kms.ncsu.edu. Official NC State University time can be found at: time.ncsu.edu Check DNS for KMS SRV recordsThe check if a particular DNS domain has been configured for KMS, enter the following command: nslookup -type=srv _vlmcs._tcp.{your DNS domain} For example, here is the
output when checking the wolftech.ad.ncsu.edu domain: C:\nslookup -type=srv _vlmcs._tcp.wolftech.ad.ncsu.edu Server: vrd1.ddi.ncsu.edu Address: 152.1.14.14 _vlmcs._tcp.wolftech.ad.ncsu.edu SRV service location: priority = 0 weight = 100 port = 1688 svr hostname = kms1.eos.ncsu.edu This result indicates that the _vlmcs record exists, and is set to kms.ncsu.edu, AKA kms1.eos.ncsu.edu. Checking A Computer’s License And Activation ConfigurationYou can display the computer’s license and activation configuration with the following command: cscript.exe C:\Windows\System32\slmgr.vbs -dli The output for a computer that has been
successfully activated looks like this: C:\Windows\system32\cscript slmgr.vbs -dli Microsoft (R) Windows Script Host Version 5.812 Copyright (C) Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Name: Windows(R), Enterprise edition Description: Windows(R) Operating System, VOLUME_KMSCLIENT channel Partial Product Key: 2YT43 License Status: Licensed Volume activation expiration: 259193 minute(s) (179 day(s)) Key Management Service client information Client Machine ID (CMID): 6c50254c-9636-4ed3-bbe7-365905a39a57 KMS machine name from DNS: kms1.oit.ncsu.edu:1688 KMS machine extended PID: 55041-00142-026-826687-03-1033-6000.0000-3472006 Activation interval: 120 minutes Renewal interval: 10080 minutes Pay particular attention to the lines in bold. The output above shows that the computer was successfully activated and that it found the KMS service via DNS. Convert from Microsoft Windows 10, Retail Channel to
Microsoft Windows 10, VOLUME_KMSCLIENT ChannelIf upon issuing the command: cscript slmgr.vbs -dli you see the following: Name: Windows(R), Business edition Description: Windows(R) Operating System, RETAIL channel
Partial Product Key: MRW4W License Status: Initial grace period you need to convert the client setup key from Retail to VOLUME_KMSCLIENT if you wish to use KMS to activate the system.
To do so, enter the following commands after opening a command prompt with the “Run as administrator” option.
C:\Windows\System32\cscript.exe slmgr.vbs -ipk NW6C2-QMPVW-D7KKK-3GKT6-VCFB2 C:\Windows\System32\cscript.exe slmgr.vbs -skms kms.ncsu.edu C:\Windows\System32\cscript.exe slmgr.vbs -ato
For MS Windows 10 Education edition, use the key: NW6C2-QMPVW-D7KKK-3GKT6-VCFB2 Other client setup keys can be found in the Microsoft document section: KMS Client Setup Keys KMS Server Not Appearing In SLMGR.VBS OutputYou may not see the KMS server in the slmgr.vbs -dli output as shown above. Instead, the output will look something like this: C:\Windows\system32\cscript slmgr.vbs -dli Microsoft (R) Windows Script Host Version 5.812 Copyright (C) Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
Name: Windows(R), Enterprise edition Description: Windows(R) Operating System, VOLUME_KMSCLIENT channel Partial Product Key: 4BWMV License Status: Licensed Volume activation expiration: 259199 minute(s) (179 day(s))
Key Management Service client information Client Machine ID (CMID): 6c50254c-9636-4ed3-bbe7-365905a39a57 DNS auto-discovery: KMS name not available KMS machine extended PID: 55041-00142-026-826687-03-1033-6000.0000-3472006 Activation interval: 120 minutes Renewal interval: 10080 minutes
Using an account with Vista’s User Account Control Admin Approval Mode disabled causes the KMS name to appear. By default, all Vista accounts except the built in Administrator account have Admin Approval Mode enabled. This includes accounts that are members of the Administrators group. To see the KMS server name, you can either use the built in Administrator account or disable Admin Approval
Mode for members of the Administrators group. By default, the built in Administrator account does not have a password set and is disabled. You will need to set a password, enable the account, and then log on using the account. The other method is to disable Admin Approval Mode for members of the Administrators group by performing the following steps (you could also apply a group policy): - Open the Control Panel
- Switch to Classic View
- Open
Administrative Tools
- Open Local Security Policy
- Navigate to Local Policies; Security Options
- Double-click on User Account Control: Run all administrators in Admin Approval Mode
- Set it to Disabled
- Reboot
- Log on with an account that is a member of the Administrators group
Update Frequency Upon initial activation from the KMS server, the activation is valid for 180 days. Activation renewal
operates as a sliding window. Seven days after the activation, the KMS clients will, again, check in with the KMS host. If the client successfully contacts the KMS host, the activation is renewed for another 180 days. If 180 days pass without successful reactivation the KMS client falls into “Notification mode”.
How to set KMS server on client?
Manually assign a KMS host to a KMS client. On a KMS client, open an elevated Command Prompt window.. Depending on your implementation, follow one of these steps: To assign a KMS host by using the FQDN of the host, run the following command: cmd Copy. cscript \windows\system32\slmgr.vbs -skms <KMS_FQDN>:<port>.
How often does KMS client check?
To remain activated, KMS client computers must renew their activation by connecting to the KMS host at least once every 180 days. By default, KMS client computers attempt to renew their activation every seven days. If KMS activation fails, the client computer retries every two hours.
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