Microsoft Office 2019 Volume licensed (GVLK) July 2020

Due to the recent release of the new Windows Server , it is time to update the KMS activation infrastructure in your domain and add the support of new versions of Windows Server and Windows 10 / LTSC (Long Term Service Channel) on your KMS server. If you want to learn more about Microsoft KMS activation, we recommend to start with studying Microsoft KMS Activation FAQ.

Installing New KMS Server on Windows Server

If you don’t have any KMS servers in your domain, you can install the Volume Activation Services role on your new Windows Server host. The procedure is similar to the installation and activation of a KMS server on Windows Server R2 or Windows Server Here’s what to do in brief:

1. Install the Volume Activation Services role on your server from the Server Manager console or using the PowerShell command:
2. Enable the firewall rules that allow access to the KMS server:
3. Sign in to your account on Microsoft Volume Licensing Service Center (VLSC) website and go to License -> Relationship Summary -> Select License ID for your Active License contract -> Product Keys. Copy the key for Windows Srv DataCtr/Std KMS;
4. Install the KMS key using the following command: ;
5. Activate your KMS server on Microsoft activation servers:
6. If you are going to use this KMS server to activate MS Office products, you need to install the license packages for the Office versions you have (Office , Office , or Office / ). Then specify the KMS Host Key to activate your Office edition and activate your KMS server (you can find the detailed instructions following the links above);
7. Now you can use your KMS server to activate all supported Windows (from Windows 7 to Windows 10) and Windows Server versions (R2 to ).

Updating Windows Server R2/ KMS to Support Windows Server Activation

If your company has an activated KMS server running Windows Server or R2 and you don’t want to deploy a new server running Windows Server , you can use the old hosts to activate new versions of Windows Server and Windows 10 / LTSC To do it, you need to specify a new KMS Host Key on the old activation server.

In my case, I tried to specify the new Windows Srv DataCtr/Std KMS key on the KMS server running Windows Server using the command:

But the following error appeared:

At the same time the error with the following description can be found in the event log:

When trying to activate the KMS key via the GUI, the following error appears:

Of course, Windows 10 LTSC and WS also cannot be activated on this KMS server with an ‘activation server unavailable’ error: .

To use your old KMS server to activate new Windows versions, you must install some special KMS servers updates in order to support Windows 10 LTSC , Windows 10 and Windows Server

Install these updates on Windows Server R2:

1. KB  — Servicing Stack Update, July, ;
2. Any Windows Server R2 cumulative update released after December, 11, (KB) or newer.

The following updates are necessary on Windows Server :

1. KB — Servicing Stack Update, May, ;
2. Any Windows Server cumulative update released after November, 27, (KB) or newer.

After you have installed the updates and restarted the KMS server, you can add a new KMS host key (VLSC) and activate it.

GVLK Keys for Windows Server & Windows 10 LTSC

The list of public KMS activation keys (GVLK &#; Generic Volume License Key) for different Windows Server and Windows 10 LTSC editions is given in the following table:

To install a public KMS key on your computer or server, run this command:

You can specify the KMS server for activation manually:

To activate your OS on the KMS server:

To check Windows activation status:

Hi! I’m Graeme Bray and you may remember me from previous articles such as KMS Activation for Windows Server   Today’s installment will coincide with a new Windows Server release.  I’m going to focus on getting you to enable AD Based Activation for those of you who have not yet done so.

The location for the KMS Host Key is the same as Windows Server   You need to find the key on the Microsoft Volume License Service Center.

Prerequisites

KMS Activation for Windows Server can be run from the following Operating Systems with the appropriate prerequisites:

Windows Server R2

July Servicing Stack Update: KB 

September 11, Cumulative Update: KB

Windows Server

May Servicing Stack Update: KB

August 30, Cumulative Update: KB

Retrieve KMS License Key from the VLSC for Windows Server

To resolve this problem, follow these steps:

1. Log on to the Volume Licensing Service Center (VLSC).
2. Click License.
3. Click Relationship Summary.
4. Click License ID of your current Active License.
5. After the page loads, click Product Keys.
6. In the list of keys, locate Windows Srv DataCtr/Std KMS

Install the Volume Activation RSAT Tools

Log into a Windows Server R2 or Windows Server Machine

1. Install (or verify) that the RSAT Volume Activation Tools are available.
2. Run Install-WindowsFeature RSAT-VA-Tools
3. 
4. Since you still have PowerShell open, launch Volume Activation Tools by typing cromwellpsi.com
5. Click <Next> to skip that Welcome screen that everyone dislikes.
6. Ensure that Active Directory-Based Activation is selected and click <Next>.
7. Enter your Product Key and put the VLSC Product Name in the Display Name object.  This will help with future validation.
8. 
9. Click <Next> and then <Commit>.  This will put the key into AD, assuming that you have the proper permissions (Enterprise Admin).

I know, you need *what* to enable AD Based Activation?  Stay tuned for a future article (from yours truly) on how to delegate THAT access.

This is the *only* time that you need to use the CSVLK (KMS Key) to activate a system, at least in this forest.

Client Licensing

Now, if you’re like me, you always do a search for “Appendix A KMS” on your favorite search engine (Bing, of course!).  That takes you to the below link which gives you the appropriate Generic Volume License Key (GVLK) that is hardcoded to each OS to activate.  If you download the ISO from the Volume License Service Center, this key is already in the OS and ready to activate.

cromwellpsi.com

A couple of caveats as far as AD Based Activation:

1. Your systems need to be able to reach the Forest root DC’s if this is in a child domain.
2. You need to have extended the AD Schema to at least Windows Server

For more details: Activate Using Active Directory-based Activation

Windows Server Activation: cromwellpsi.com

Now, get going!  Activate Windows Server in your environment.  Use it in a lab, see what use case scenarios you can find to implement some new features.  You should expect to see more from us on Windows Server features in the future.

Thanks!

Graeme

In software licensing, a volume licensing is the practice of selling a license authorizing one computer program to be used on a large number of computers or by a large number of users. Customers of such licensing schemes are typically business, governmental or educational institutions, with prices for volume licensing varying depending on the type, quantity and applicable subscription-term. For example, Microsoft software available through volume-licensing programs includes Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Office.^[1][2]

Traditionally, a volume licensing key (VLK), which could be supplied to all instances of the licensed computer program, was involved in volume licensing. With the popularity of the software as a service practices, volume licensing customers only supply their software with credentials belonging to an online user account instead, which is used for other aspects of services and provisioning.

Overview[edit]

Traditionally, a product key has been supplied with computer programs. It acts analogously to a password: The computer programs of the old ask the user to prove their entitlement; in response, the user provides this key. This key, however, must only be used once, i.e. on one computer. A volume licensing key (VLK), however, can be used on several computers. Vendors can take additional steps to ensure that their products' key are only used in the intended number. These efforts are called product activation.

Volume licenses are not always transferable. For example, only some types of Microsoft volume license can be transferred, provided a formal transfer process is completed, which enables Microsoft to register the new owner. A very small number of software vendors specialize in brokering such transfers in order to allow the selling of volume licenses and keys. The most notable of these, Discount-Licensing, pioneered the sale of Microsoft volume licenses in this way.^[3]

Notable examples[edit]

Microsoft[edit]

Product key on a certificate of authenticity for Windows Vista Home Premium

Microsoft has been engaged in volume licensing since its inception, as the enterprise sector is its primary market. With the release of Windows XP in , Microsoft introduced Microsoft Product Activation, a digital rights management (DRM) scheme to curb software piracy among consumers by verifying the user's entitlement to the product license. At the time, however, the volume-licensed versions of Windows XP were exempt from this measure. (See §&#;Unauthorized use.) Starting with Windows Vista, Microsoft introduced two volume licensing methods for IT professionals in charge of installing Windows in organizations, both of which are covered by Microsoft Product Activation: The first is Multiple Activation Keys (MAK), which are the same as Windows XP's volume licensing keys but require product activation. The second is Key Management Server (KMS) and its corresponding keys. Hosts activated via a KMS have to report back to a software license server once every days.^[4][5] Licenses using these schemes can be procured via the Microsoft Software Assurance program.

A large group of Microsoft customers are OEMs that assemble and sell computers, such as desktops, laptops, tablet computers and mobile device. In the devices sold by these OEMs, Windows license data is stored in the computer's BIOS in an area referred to as the "ACPI_SLIC", so that KMS can detect the use of previous Microsoft products even with the storage device removed or erased.^[6] For Windows Vista and Windows 7, the SLIC data are complementary; a volume licensing product key is still supplied with the device, which the user needs in the event of reinstalling Windows. Starting with Windows 8, however, everything needed to authorize the device is stored with SLIC data.

In , Microsoft introduced the Office licensing program. in which Microsoft Office, Microsoft Exchange Server and Skype for Business Server products are licensed based on the software as a service (SaaS) model: In exchange for a monthly subscription fee, software, its updates, support for them, provisioning, administration, licensing and additional services are all provided through an online web-based dashboard. In this scheme, licensed apps communicate recurrently with Microsoft over the Internet; as such, a product key needs not be issued to the user. Instead the administrator needs to sign up for Microsoft account, which holds details such as licensed apps, their number, and payment methods. This account is protected by credentials such as a username and a password.

Adobe[edit]

Introduced in , Adobe Creative Cloud is a SaaS offering in which software produced by Adobe, their updates, support for them, provisioning, administration, licensing and additional services are all provided over the Internet, in exchange for a monthly subscription fee. As with the Office , a user account registered with Adobe is all that is required to authorize software and store payment information.

Unauthorized use[edit]

Microsoft has blocked several volume license keys that have been abused in service packs, starting with Windows XP Service Pack 1. Microsoft even developed a new key verification engine for Windows XP Service Pack 2 that could detect illicit keys, even those that had never been used before. Several security consultants have condemned the move by Microsoft, saying that leaving a large install base unpatched from various security holes is irresponsible because this unpatched install base can be leveraged in large scale Internet attacks, such as Trojan horses used to send spam e-mail. Others have come to Microsoft's defense, arguing that Microsoft should not have to provide support for illegal users. After much public outcry, Microsoft elected to disable the new key verification engine. Service Pack 2 only checks for the same small list of commonly used keys as Service Pack 1. Users of existing installations of Windows XP can also change their product key by following instructions from Microsoft.^[7]

Leaked keys[edit]

A volume license key that was commonly used to bypass product activation in early versions of Microsoft's Windows XP operating system was .^[8] This key was part of the first warez release of the final version of Windows XP by a group called devils0wn, 35 days before the official retail release on 28 August ^[9] The key is now obsolete, as it has been blacklisted by Microsoft since August , and affected computers will display a WGA notification.^[10] It was made famous partly because it featured in a popular image circulated on the Internet before the retail launch of Windows XP. In the image, the key is written on a CD-R containing the leaked operating system and held in front of a digital Microsoft sign counting down the days until the release of Windows XP.^[11]

Users using these keys will receive an error message when they install the latest service pack, and such users are told to obtain a legitimate license and change their product key.^[12]

Public KMS servers[edit]

Any client machine with the correct KMS client setup keys can authenticate against any KMS server. KMS client keys are well known and documented publicly by Microsoft.^[13] KMS servers require a minimum of 25 clients to properly activate, but also stop counting additional licenses beyond 50, and automatically accept any client key once reaching the 25 client threshold.

Businesses operating KMS servers are required to properly shield the KMS server behind firewalls so that it cannot be reached from the Internet, and be used to authorize illegal use of KMS client keys by the general public. Public exposure of a KMS server can result in Microsoft revoking the server key, thereby disabling all attaching clients.

External KMS server access is desirable for devices on long-term leave away from the corporate network, as KMS client activation will expire after six months of not being able to contact a KMS server. For this situation, a business can make it accessible through a virtual private network (VPN) known only to the devices outside the corporate network.

KMS server and client emulators[edit]

An unofficial KMS server emulator exists that will activate Windows or Office even if the software was not licensed or paid for, regardless of whether or not there are 25 or more computers on the network, and regardless of whether or not a previous version of Windows was installed.^[14] There is also a program that will send KMS requests to a legitimate KMS server, in order to fool the server into thinking that there are 25 or more computers on the network. Microsoft considers both of these exploits to be a violation of the Terms and Conditions.^[15]

References[edit]

External links[edit]