The Windows Server 2003 KMS host will be out soon. In the meantime, Vista is perfectly acceptable to use and it's incredibly simple to decommission it as a KMS host when you implement a Win2K3 host. No TAM support needed.
Again, I'd really encourage people to thorougly read the documents I referenced before, because I'm seeing a lot of confusion on this list that indicates that people aren't really understanding how this works (not you in particular, Susan, just a general comment as I've been watching the VLA comments for a little while). Or if you're Neil, you can schedule a LiveMeeting and I'll explain it, because Neil's company is one of my district's customers. ;-) Laura > -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of > Susan Bradley, CPA aka Ebitz - SBS Rocks [MVP] > Sent: Tuesday, December 05, 2006 3:21 PM > To: ActiveDir@mail.activedir.org > Subject: Re: [ActiveDir] OT: Vista Activation and KMS > > I personally am not ready to stick a Vista box as a > "Licensing server". > > ISA still doesn't have a firewall client that works for > one... and I've yet to find a a/v that doesn't BSOD my tablet > pc or act strangely on another box I built. > > In fact I'm still using my Technet 'for testing purposes' > ones as I'm not ready to play with my VL ones. Activation on > the VL ones means "I'm serious to roll"...and quite frankly.. I'm not. > > I still want to see a more formal support story on > Activations in general for folks that aren't TAM supported... > > YMMV and all that. > > Laura A. Robinson wrote: > > I am not at all talking about solutions that don't exist > today. Go to > > a Vista machine and take a look at slmgr.vbs. > > > > Laura > > > > > -------------------------------------------------------------- > ---------- > > *From:* [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] *On Behalf Of *Tim > > Vander Kooi > > *Sent:* Tuesday, December 05, 2006 12:39 PM > > *To:* ActiveDir@mail.activedir.org > > *Subject:* RE: [ActiveDir] OT: Vista Activation and KMS > > > > While Laura and yourself make valid points, you are both talking > > about solutions that do not exist today. I’m just trying to help > > the OP with the problem he is having right now. Getting into the > > full licensing overhead of Vista, not to mention LH, could, and > > undoubtedly will, take weeks and/or months. > > > > For right now, at this very moment, using your VL key > (and I will > > continue to refer to it as a VL key as long as the page > on which I > > am reading it says “ Volume License Product Keys” at the top of > > it) for Vista – KMS will allow you to activate your installation > > via the web just fine. This is not something I would do for an > > entire enterprise, but for your first few test machines on your > > production network I would do it. > > > > Again YMMV, > > > > Tim > > > > > > > > *From:* [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] *On Behalf > Of *Harvey > > Kamangwitz > > *Sent:* Tuesday, December 05, 2006 10:28 AM > > *To:* ActiveDir@mail.activedir.org > > *Subject:* Re: [ActiveDir] OT: Vista Activation and KMS > > > > > > > > If you have any kind of a complex environment, you'll > find volume > > activation to be very frustrating indeed: > > > > > > > > 1. The KMS service can't support more than one key, so > if you have > > Longhorn VL clients in your environment you have to put up a > > second KMS infrastructure for them. > > > > > > > > 2. You can't (rather, shouldn't) use autodiscovery If > you do have > > both LH and Vista. The KMS client can't distinguish > between a KMS > > with LH and a KMS with Vista, and there's nothing in the client > > that says "oh, I hit a KMS but it has the wrong key so try again > > immediately" so ~50% of a client's activation attempts > will fail. > > > > > > > > 3. Autodiscovery isn't practical if you have more than a few > > forests that don't trust the forest your KMS is in. All > admins of > > the untrusted forests must manually register the _vlmcs > record in > > their forest to find the KMS. > > > > > > > > ...the list goes on. (I haven't even mentioned the practical > > aspects of volume activation in a lab or firewalled > environment.) > > It's not a fully-baked solution. > > > > > > > > Depending on your environment, it might be easier to scrap the > > whole autodiscovery, create a DNS CNAME with a couple of KMS > > behind it, stuff the FQDN in the KMS client's registry > if you have > > a standard build, and fugeddaboutit :-). > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > On 12/4/06, *Laura A. Robinson* <[EMAIL PROTECTED] > > <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>> wrote: > > > > KMS runs on Vista (now), will run on Longhorn when Longhorn is > > released, and > > will also run on Win2K3 as soon as we finish making the Win2K3 > > install. :-) > > > > Laura > > > > > -----Original Message----- > > > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > > [mailto: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>] On Behalf Of > > > Susan Bradley, CPA aka Ebitz - SBS Rocks [MVP] > > > Sent: Monday, December 04, 2006 1:12 PM > > > To: ActiveDir@mail.activedir.org > > <mailto:ActiveDir@mail.activedir.org> > > > Subject: Re: [ActiveDir] OT: Vista Activation and KMS > > > > > > Nope, I've done it web based. At the present time there are > > > two kinds of keycodes up on MVLS.. one that wants a KMS, the > > > other that will phone home to Redmond automatically. > > > > > > Have your MVLS folks request the other type of key is my > > > understanding how this will work for now. The KMS type won't > > > be out until Longhorn. > > > > > > KMS activations will have to phone home to your > servers twice a > > year. > > > > > > Brian Cline wrote: > > > > > > > > I was testing out the RTM of Vista Enterprise last night > > > and noticed I > > > > didn't have to enter a key at any point during the > install. When > > > > Windows tried to activate, it told me there was a > DNS error, so I > > > > suspected it looks for a local activation server by > default. Sure > > > > enough, in the DNS cache was a lookup for a nonexistent > > > > _vlmcs._tcp.domain.com. Upon further research, it appears > > Microsoft > > > > has not released KMS yet, and I couldn't find any option to > > > activate > > > > directly with Microsoft. For the moment, is telephone > > > activation the > > > > only option? > > > > > > > > Brian Cline, Applications Developer > > > > Department of Information Technology > > > > G&P Trucking Company, Inc. > > > > 803.936.8595 Direct Line > > > > 800.922.1147 Toll-Free (x8595) > > > > 803.739.1176 Fax > > > > > > > > > > -- > > > Letting your vendors set your risk analysis these days? > > > http://www.threatcode.com <http://www.threatcode.com/> > > > > > > If you are a SBSer and you don't subscribe to the SBS Blog... > > > man ... I will hunt you down... > > > http://blogs.technet.com/sbs <http://blogs.technet.com/sbs> > > > > > > List info : http://www.activedir.org/List.aspx > > > List FAQ : http://www.activedir.org/ListFAQ.aspx > > <http://www.activedir.org/ListFAQ.aspx> > > > List archive: > > > http://www.mail-archive.com/activedir@mail.activedir.org/ > > > > > > -- > > > No virus found in this incoming message. > > > Checked by AVG Free Edition. > > > Version: 7.5.430 / Virus Database: 268.15.6/567 - Release > > > Date: 12/4/2006 7:18 AM > > > > > > > > > > -- > > No virus found in this outgoing message. > > Checked by AVG Free Edition. > > Version: 7.5.430 / Virus Database: 268.15.6/567 - Release Date: > > 12/4/2006 > > 7:18 AM > > > > > > List info : http://www.activedir.org/List.aspx > > List FAQ : http://www.activedir.org/ListFAQ.aspx > > List archive: > > http://www.mail-archive.com/activedir@mail.activedir.org/ > > <http://www.mail-archive.com/activedir@mail.activedir.org/> > > > > > > > > > > -- > > S. > > > > > > -- > > No virus found in this incoming message. > > Checked by AVG Free Edition. > > Version: 7.5.430 / Virus Database: 268.15.9/571 - Release Date: > > 12/5/2006 11:50 AM > > > > > > -- > > No virus found in this outgoing message. > > Checked by AVG Free Edition. > > Version: 7.5.430 / Virus Database: 268.15.9/571 - Release Date: > > 12/5/2006 11:50 AM > > > > -- > Letting your vendors set your risk analysis these days? > http://www.threatcode.com > > If you are a SBSer and you don't subscribe to the SBS Blog... > man ... I will hunt you down... > http://blogs.technet.com/sbs > > List info : http://www.activedir.org/List.aspx > List FAQ : http://www.activedir.org/ListFAQ.aspx > List archive: > http://www.mail-archive.com/activedir@mail.activedir.org/ > > -- > No virus found in this incoming message. > Checked by AVG Free Edition. > Version: 7.5.430 / Virus Database: 268.15.9/571 - Release > Date: 12/5/2006 11:50 AM > > -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.430 / Virus Database: 268.15.9/571 - Release Date: 12/5/2006 11:50 AM List info : http://www.activedir.org/List.aspx List FAQ : http://www.activedir.org/ListFAQ.aspx List archive: http://www.mail-archive.com/activedir@mail.activedir.org/
