Volume Activation

  • Article

Hi, I’m Ted Way, a Program Manager on the Licensing team. Ever enter a 25-character key when you installed Office? That’s us. I’m looking forward to sharing how we’re helping administrators worry less about key management and seamlessly integrate Windows and Office activation in the enterprise.

Starting in Office 2010, all volume editions of Office client software will require activation. What’s great for administrators is that Office has adopted the Windows Software Protection Platform (SPP), which means that most of what you have learned (or will learn) about Volume Activation for Windows applies to Office as well. For example, the same Key Management Service (KMS) host can be configured to activate Office 2010 clients as well as Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2. Also, there is no reduction in functionality in volume editions of Office 2010. Even if Office is not activated, your users will still be able to open, save, edit, and print Office files, though users will see notifications reminding them to activate.

This post will kick off a short series of articles on volume activation that will cover topics such as an introduction to volume activation, setting up a KMS host, and using Multiple Activation Key (MAK).

How do I activate volume editions of Office 2010 client?

There are two models available for activating volume editions of Office 2010 client. The default method is KMS, which is a local activation service. A KMS host needs to be set up, and that’s the only computer that activates with Microsoft. The other is Multiple Activation Key (MAK), which is similar to the retail activation method: a key needs to be entered, and the computer will need to connect to Microsoft to activate.

What’s KMS?

KMS is set up on a designated host system that will activate all client installations of Office 2010, eliminating the need for individual computers to connect to Microsoft for product activation. It is a lightweight service that does not require dedicated resources and can easily be co-hosted on a system that provides other services. Here at Microsoft we have one KMS host up and running internally that has activated over 8000 installations of Office 2010 Technical Preview builds. It’s also activating Windows 7 and Windows Vista machines.

Computers running volume editions of Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2 operating systems can be configured as Office KMS hosts. Those running Windows Server 2003 can also be used as long as the KMS service is installed. Once you enter the KMS host key and activate, the host will register its Service record on DNS so KMS clients can find it. The KMS host can be further configured with the slmgr.vbs script that ships with Windows.

By default, a KMS client key is already pre-installed on volume editions of client software. That’s why end users don't need to enter a product key when installing Office Professional Plus, for example. A great aspect of KMS is that once you have a KMS host set up, KMS clients will automatically look for the host on DNS and activate themselves against it. Only one KMS host is needed to activate Windows and all Office client products. Just enter one KMS host key and activate, and the KMS host can activate not just Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, but also Visio, Project, and InfoPath.

KMS activation is not perpetual, so computers are activated (i.e. in the licensed state) for 180 days. Within that time, the KMS client will need to contact the KMS host and re-activate. When it does, it gets another 180 days starting from the day of re-activation. KMS clients by default attempt re-activation every seven days without a notification shown to the user, so this reactivation will happen automatically behind the scenes without any distractions. No “activation count” is “used up” when KMS clients activate and re-activate.

What’s MAK?

It might be easier to understand Multiple Activation Key, or MAK, by thinking of how Office 2007 retail editions are activated. You went to a store and got a CD for Office 2007. When you installed Office 2007, you were prompted to enter a product key found on the CD’s sleeve. Activation was then done with Microsoft’s activation servers, but you couldn’t activate more than a few times using the same key.

For MAK, the same principle applies, except each key has a different activation count depending on your organization’s needs. For example, a consulting firm with 50 employees constantly on the go may get a MAK key with an activation count of more than 50 (the extra activations are a buffer). That means the same 25-character key is entered for all 50 employee computers, and each of their computers activate online with Microsoft. A smaller firm may only have five computers, and they will get a key with an activation count that’s different than the other company’s key, but it will have enough for their needs.

MAK results in perpetual activation. Once activated, computers do not need to re-activate unless significant hardware changes occur, such as changing a hard drive.

What activation method should I use?

In practice, organizations with 25 or fewer computers will likely find it easiest to use MAK. Larger organizations will see the value in setting up a KMS host to facilitate activation for hundreds if not thousands of computers.

In addition, larger organizations will probably use a mixture of KMS and MAK. KMS would be the default for computers that are connected to the corporate network at least a few times every 180 days. MAK activation would be suitable for laptops or other computers that are not connected to the company network.

I’m already familiar with SPP and Volume Activation because I’ve deployed Windows. What should I know about the differences between activating Windows and Office?

Although the technology is the same, there are some important items to note between Windows and Office:

1. KMS hosts configured to activate Office should be installed on Windows Server 2003, volume editions of Windows 7, and Windows Server 2008 R2

2. If you want your KMS host to activate multiple products (e.g. Office 2010 and Windows 7), you will have to install the Windows KMS host key in addition to the Office KMS host key and activate both of them.

3. Office KMS clients are activated when five or more computers with Office attempt activation with the KMS host. For Windows client operating systems (Windows Vista and Windows 7), activation occurs after 25 or more computers with Windows client request activation.

What’s next?

I’ll be posting more articles that get into the nitty-gritty of these activation methods. The goal is to show you how easy and fast it is to set up a KMS host or MAK activate and get your users up and running Office in no time!

Comments

  • Anonymous
    January 01, 2003
    Ken - You write: "You may use this KMS host to activate Office KMS clients by running an executable file that will be provided to you.  This exe installs the Office license files that will recognize Office KMS host keys.  After you activate the Office KMS host key, then Office KMS clients will be able to activate against this Office KMS host."
  1. When / how is he executable provided?
  2. Once exe is run, then what?

  • Anonymous
    January 01, 2003
    Yes, Windows 7 may be used as a KMS host to activate Office KMS clients.  However, only volume editions may be used (the Windows 7 for the corporate environment, not the Windows 7 retail editions you buy at the software store

  • Anonymous
    September 18, 2009
    Can i use for KMS host Windows 2008 (not R2) for activation office 2010?  How to add office 2010 KMS key to already installed KMS host?

  • Anonymous
    September 23, 2009
    I have the same issue. I run KMS on server 2008 (nont R2 and have updated the KMS software to support server 2008 R2 and Windows 7. Will this just be an additional license string to read in?

  • Anonymous
    September 24, 2009
    Windows Server 2008 cannot be used as an Office KMS host. Given that Office 2010 will ship after Win 7 and Win Server 2008 R2 ships, Win Server 2008 R2 will be the most recent versions customers will be getting. We are, however, very interested in your feedback on this decision not to support Windows Server 2008 as an Office KMS host.  WS 2008 R2 and WS 2008 are two different code bases, so adding the support for WS 2008 is not trivial.

  • Anonymous
    September 24, 2009
    If you have an existing KMS host for Windows running one of these operating systems:

  • Windows Server 2003
  • Windows 7 (volume)
  • Windows Server 2008 R2 You may use this KMS host to activate Office KMS clients by running an executable file that will be provided to you.  This exe installs the Office license files that will recognize Office KMS host keys.  After you activate the Office KMS host key, then Office KMS clients will be able to activate against this Office KMS host.

  • Anonymous
    October 21, 2009
    You have to be kidding that KMS for Office 2010 will not be supported by Windows 2008 Servers, but will be supported by Windows 7, 2008 R2 and Windows 2003.  Because KMS is a lightweight service, we run it on 2008 servers with other important functions that I can’t just upgrade to Windows 2008 R2. I understand the need for KMS, but KMS has become a very inconvenient moving target.

  • Anonymous
    October 21, 2009
    Seconded - please put this support into Server 2008 so that we don't have to upgrade our Server 2008 KMS servers to R2 just because KMS isn't supported on Server 2008.

  • Anonymous
    October 25, 2009
    Can i use for KMS host Windows 7 (not R2) for activation office 2010?

  • Anonymous
    October 26, 2009
    >> Can i use for KMS host Windows 7 (not R2) for activation office 2010? Yes, Windows 7 may be used as a KMS host to activate Office KMS clients.  However, only volume editions may be used (the Windows 7 for the corporate environment, not the Windows 7 retail editions you buy at the software store).

  • Anonymous
    October 27, 2009
    The comment has been removed

  • Anonymous
    October 30, 2009
    oi quero saber como ativar o office 2010 pois estou tendo problemas para obter a chave de ativação

  • Anonymous
    November 07, 2009
    swswwdwdwd

  • Anonymous
    November 11, 2009
    The comment has been removed

  • Anonymous
    November 11, 2009
    Like the above posters said, you have got to be kidding.  Office KMS will run on WS2003 but not WS2008?  In which universe did this make sense to anyone?  And what about WS2003R2? And people wonder why we still run WinXP and Office 2003 on my network...

  • Anonymous
    November 17, 2009
    The comment has been removed

  • Anonymous
    November 19, 2009
    Microsoft must really hate Windows 2008. When Windows 7 was released, we could not get KMS updated to support Windows 7 on a Windows 2008 KMS host. Windows 2003 worked and Windows 2008 R2 worked, but not regular Windows 2008. We had to wait two weeks for a patch to be released so that Win 2008 KMS hosts could activate our Windows 7 systems. Why wouldn't Microsoft release this patch BEFORE Windows 7 came out? Now with Office 2010 volume licensing, it looks like Microsoft has completely abandoned Windows 2008. It's not the end of the world. We can build another KMS host. But I like what Tony Weil said: "KMS has become a very inconvenient moving target".

  • Anonymous
    November 20, 2009
    We too think you must support server 2008 for full KMS activation. I have not found anything yet to make us upgrade to 2008 r2 majorly and considering you have ported it for 2003 2008 should definatly be included.

  • Anonymous
    November 20, 2009
    não consegui abaixar versão de 32 bits como eu faço? e como fazer pra instalar de 32 quando eu baixei de 64 bits?

  • Anonymous
    November 20, 2009
    The Key Management Service (KMS) for Office 2010 will be supported on Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows 7, and Windows Server 2003.   Support for Windows Server 2008 and Windows Vista will not be available for Office 2010.  Those users running these solutions will have the following options: • Migrate the KMS to Windows Serve 2008 R2 • KMS can be hosted on a Virtual Machine (VM) (Windows Server 2003 or Windows Server 2008 R2) • Configure an additional KMS host (physical or VM) running Windows Server 2008 R2 to support Office KMS clients Where can I get more information on this topic?

  • Anonymous
    November 29, 2009
    The comment has been removed

  • Anonymous
    November 30, 2009
    es muy interesante

  • Anonymous
    November 30, 2009
    gracias

  • Anonymous
    November 30, 2009
    necesito la activación, de lo contrario se me presentan problemas en mi equipo

  • Anonymous
    December 03, 2009
    i want to see first later i will think about MsO-2010              ATHARAV YADAV               SARDARPUR DISST. DAHR M.P. INDIA

  • Anonymous
    December 03, 2009
    Usually I can work my way through weird occurances on my PC, owrkign with all this beta software can sometimes create pure quicksand. Anyway, I installed office 2010 beta via technet, this removed office 2007 as instructed. Once complete, I changed the product key as directed, it completed and I was instructed to restart the app. I was then asked to activate once again. It ALWAYS fails, same error. " A communication errr has occurred. Please verify that you have connectivity and try agasin.  Well needless to say this is false. cntrl/shift/Iprovides the code 701098 I have been trying this since day one of the release. I have also una nd re installed a number of times. I am a bit ...upset.  please help! toma@tomacito.net technet subscriber.

  • Anonymous
    December 07, 2009
    @thomas acito What OS are you running?  It might be easier to start a thread on the forum so it's easier to troubleshoot. Thanks!

  • Anonymous
    December 08, 2009
    I am using Office 2010 beta on Windows 7, and when I try activating the product, I am getting an error the code is 0xC004F074 can you help figuring out what this error is about and how I can activate the product?

  • Anonymous
    December 08, 2009
    Wy CHuje

  • Anonymous
    December 10, 2009
    @CJ 1.) Most likely you will need to enter your MAK key.  Please follow the instructions on this page: http://www.microsoft.com/office/2010/en/activation.aspx 2.) If you set up a KMS host, then you will need to have >5 computers attempt activation before activation is successful.

  • Anonymous
    December 13, 2009
    我想要的是更简单更方便的办公。

  • Anonymous
    December 13, 2009
    Hi guys, The MS webpage at http://www.microsoft.com/office/2010/en/activation.aspx provides the following activation keys, which worked for me. However I don't know if after I evaluate the Beta product (which I already sent some 8 or 9 improvement suggestions) I have to uninstall it or not. I hope I don't have to pay for it since I am evaluating it at my house for a couple of weeks only to see if I can suggest it for use in my company, and this is not a commercial version!!! Somebody could answer me that? Microsoft Project Professional 2010: CQYRY-3KBR3-JW34C-VGH7M-MQM49 Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2010: 22HGX-728MX-BBWX9-7BB8X-J96B4 Visio Premium 2010: PQCFB-YGXGC-TXB66-DH3VW-GCGYQ

  • Anonymous
    December 14, 2009
    The comment has been removed

  • Anonymous
    December 14, 2009
    @Maximillio Sorry to hear about your troubles with activation.  If you'd like, I'd be happy to try to work through them with you at the TechNet forum to identify what specific issue you were hitting.  Please start a thread here: http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en/office2010volact/threads

  • Anonymous
    December 14, 2009
    @Luiz You may use the Beta product for free until October 31, 2010.  After that, Office 2010 Beta applications will shut down automatically.

  • Anonymous
    December 17, 2009
    Very Good

  • Anonymous
    December 24, 2009
    You can activate your Office 2010 beta on Windows Server 2008 (not the R2!!!) with the Key mentioned on: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/office/ee691939.aspx This should solve your problems. Outlaw

  • Anonymous
    December 29, 2009
    how can i get the key

  • Anonymous
    January 02, 2010
    I can't get my volume to come on.

  • Anonymous
    January 04, 2010
    @prasad You may go to the page specified in Outlaw's comment, or you may go to this page: http://www.microsoft.com/office/2010/en/activation.aspx

  • Anonymous
    January 07, 2010
    good

  • Anonymous
    January 20, 2010
    Is there a website that list all the products that are currently activated via the KMS? Along with information and timelines to when new products will be avlible for(require)KMS avtivation? Also know server Requierments moving forward (such as the need to replace my 2003 servers)to accomidate new products.

  • Anonymous
    January 21, 2010
    The comment has been removed

  • Anonymous
    January 22, 2010
    The comment has been removed

  • Anonymous
    January 27, 2010
    The comment has been removed

  • Anonymous
    February 01, 2010
    muito bom

  • Anonymous
    February 02, 2010
    The comment has been removed

  • Anonymous
    February 03, 2010
    @G.R.Kanthraj Sorry to hear that you are having activation issues.  What product did you install?  Was it Professional or Professional Plus? Could you please go to TechNet and start a new post there?  That way it'll be easier to help you.  Thanks! http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en/office2010volact/threads

  • Anonymous
    February 05, 2010
    Thank you

  • Anonymous
    February 09, 2010
    Activate Office 2010 Enter a MAK key and quickly use Office 2010 If you have already registered for the Beta download, you can retrieve your MAK key by clicking "Get Started Now" on one of the following pages and then logging in with your LiveID. Once you log in, you will not be prompted to re-register. Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2010 Beta Microsoft Project Professional 2010 Beta Microsoft Visio Premium 2010 Beta If you have already downloaded Office 2010 Beta, you can activate the installation immediately by using the relevant MAK license key listed below. Office Professional Plus 2010 Beta 22HGX-728MX-BBWX9-7BB8X-J96B4 Project Professional 2010 Beta CQYRY-3KBR3-JW34C-VGH7M-MQM49 Visio Premium 2010 Beta PQCFB-YGXGC-TXB66-DH3VW-GCGYQ Set up a KMS host for Office 2010 activation Go to the Office 2010 KMS host setup page for instructions

  • Anonymous
    February 10, 2010
    Why does the Office activation work differently to Windows activation.   I have defined a server as a Hyper-V guest using a dedicated disk.  I can boot this server either on real iron or as a Hyper-V guest, and the same Windows activation works OK for both - after all it IS the same Windows instance. But if I activate Office 2007 when I have booted as a real machine, it needs to be re-activated if I boot as a guest machine.  And then if I boot as a real machine it needs activating again.  This makes no sense, as there is only one copy of Office installed and Windows is happy no matter what mode it is booted in.

  • Anonymous
    February 21, 2010
    tancks for you

  • Anonymous
    February 26, 2010
    intalacion del programa

  • Anonymous
    March 24, 2010
    @PHGarey For the Office 2010 Beta, the exe file can be found here: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/office/ee470514.aspx For the final release of Office, this exe file will be on the microsoft.com download page, in addition to the VLSC site for volume customers. Once you run the exe file and provide a valid KMS host key, and the key is activated, then your computer is configured as a KMS host, which can then activate Office client products.

  • Anonymous
    March 28, 2010
    This is so nice for Volume Activation

  • Anonymous
    April 28, 2010
    I must chime in and second, third, all of the request to make Office 2010 KMS run on 2008. Is 2003 more similar to 2008R2 than 2008? Why should I have to install a new OS just to activate Office?

  • Anonymous
    April 29, 2010
    Well, I'm going to join the chorus to say that not having support for 2008 for the KMS seems ridiculous. Sure, 2008R2 and vanilla 2008 are different, but then so are 2003 and 2008R2! I'm assuming that there are more people using 2003 than 2008, and as 2008r2 is newer, most people will now bypass 2008. That's no use to any of us that have 2008 however! I'm not deploying an R2 server simply to be a KMS! Please sort this, its strikes me as laziness on MSFTs part.

  • Anonymous
    May 03, 2010
    I want an explanation for why Windows 2008 is not supported for Office 2010 KMS activation.  KMS is a simple, lightweight service.  The architecture of the OS is no excuse for why this will work in Windows 2003 but Windows 2008.   If there is a valid technical explanation, I can move on.   I agree with the previous poster who said that Volume Activation is a moving target.  That is certainly my experience.   I am very disappointed, and when organizations learn of this requirement with no tenable explanation, I imagine there will be uproar.

  • Anonymous
    May 03, 2010
    The comment has been removed

  • Anonymous
    May 04, 2010
    I excitedly went to add the Office 2010 to my server 2008 KMS server(which we love by the way) only to find out it's not supported?! There is no excuse to support server 2003 and 2003 R2, but not support server 2008! I am echoing the frustration on this, it seems Microsoft is mimicing Apple by forcing people to upgrade in a very low key way. Please issue a patch for this. I don't own any copies of server 2008 R2 and were not going to buy a copy just to stand up a KMS server. On the other side I have migrated most of 2003 servers to 2008 so I don't want to hold up my server migration just to do the KMS for 1 product.

  • Anonymous
    May 05, 2010
    Here is a thread regarding this issue: http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/officevolact/thread/8b05513a-92f0-48b9-936c-de6b89b09ff1 All WS 2008 owners have downgrade rights to WS 2003.  One option is to run a WS 2003 VM on your WS 2008 machine as your Office 2010 KMS host.  No need to set up another physical machine, no need to purchase another license.

  • Anonymous
    May 06, 2010
    I am testing a new KMS server we are setting up to support Office 2010 as our existing KMS is on Server 2008.  The new server is 2003 R2.  We are not yet ready for production deployments of 2008 R2 in our environment for a number of reasons. I run slmgr.vbs /skms [server fqdn] then slmgr.vbs /ato [Activation ID] I get back "Error: product not found." slmgr.vbs /dlv [Activation ID] indicates that Office is licensed and listening on port 1688.  I am able to telnet from the client to port 1688. Any ideas on the problem?  When the documents on the Microsoft site say "Windows Server 2003 or with any service packs", do they not include R2?

  • Anonymous
    May 06, 2010
    @Brad Please start up a thread on the VA forum: http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-us/officevolact/threads I'm assuming the /skms and /ato commands are being done on the client.  For Office, the ospp.vbs script is what configures the Office client.  You will need to run ospp.vbs /sethst:<hostname>, and then /act to trigger activation.  More info on ospp.vbs: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee624350(office.14).aspx#section1

  • Anonymous
    June 02, 2010
    MUY BUENO

  • Anonymous
    June 17, 2010
    can you give us a reason, why you are not supporting WS2008 (not R2)? I can't honestly think of one.

  • Anonymous
    June 22, 2010
    Not to pile on but seriously, why no support for W2K8 as the KMS server for Office 2010!!!

  • Anonymous
    June 23, 2010
    Agree with everyone else. I can't believe that you have a product that runs on Server 2003, Win 7 and Server 2008R2 but not Server 2008. This is a huge deal for us. I have to upgrade server hardware to support the 64bit only requirement of R2 and I don't want to run this enterprise tool on a workstation.

  • Anonymous
    July 19, 2010
    The comment has been removed

  • Anonymous
    July 28, 2010
    Why would you not add support for Server 2008? Why?!

  • Anonymous
    July 30, 2010
    Why? Can't support Windows server 2008

  • Anonymous
    August 19, 2010
    I don't know who invented KMS or decided it was a good idea, but from where I sit it's poorly thought out, badly implemented and mostly just plain doesn't work. For example, who's idiotic idea was it that KMS would just decide to fail to activate clients until there were X number of them? What could possibly be the justification for something so counter intuitive? KMS is completely evil.

  • Anonymous
    August 24, 2010
    Just adding my voice to the chorus. My OS KMS host is 2008.  I've got 2008 R2 servers out there, but it sure doesn't make sense to just randomly target an R2 server to throw KMS services on, nor does it make sense to build out a whole VM just for Office 2010 KMS(a wast of 1-2gb of vmWare cluster RAM)  The different codebase comment is pretty funny considering that 2k3 is supported.  Microsoft never ceases to amaze me in their seemingly backwards decision making process.