S 4.343 Reactivation of Windows systems from a volume licence contract in Vista or Server 2008 and higher versions

Initiation responsibility: Head of IT

Implementation responsibility: User, Administrator, Head of IT

In order to obtain a properly operating Windows Vista or Windows 7 client or a server under Windows 2008 and higher, the operating system must be installed and a licence must be activated (see S 4.336 Activation of Windows systems from a volume licence contract in Vista or Server 2008 and higher versions).

Certain rules apply to the licence activation process. If one of these rules is violated, then the Windows Vista client automatically goes into the Reduced Functionality Mode (RFM). In the RFM mode, the Vista client will no longer operate until a Windows Vista license is reactivated successfully for the client. Microsoft has eliminated the RFM with the release of Windows Vista Service Pack 1 and Windows 7. Instead of going into the RFM mode, Windows Vista, Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 now display corresponding warnings. These warnings can also hinder the normal operation of the system. In both cases, it is necessary to reactivate the affected system before it can be returned to normal operation.

In particular, Microsoft Support should be contacted before making any changes to the hardware to obtain information on whether or not reactivation will be necessary. Consideration should also be given to advance testing in a test environment to see if reactivation will be necessary.

Specifically for KMS activation

Systems activated with the Key Management Service (KMS) within the scope of a volume licence contract must be reactivated within180 days plus a grace period of 30 days at the latest. This requires communication with the KMS. To ensure availability, though, the connections from the affected systems to the KMS should be established regularly but in significantly shorter intervals. This reduces the risk of exceeding the maximum allowable deadline of 210 days.

For initial activation of the systems in the LAN, they communicate with the KMS via the LAN of the organisation. Clients are only activated after at least 25 systems requested activation at the KMS within 30 days ("Activation Threshold"). Servers will already be activated after five requesting systems.

A KMS must be available during the time of reactivation. Consideration can also be given to operating a second KMS for this purpose.

Review questions:

• For KMS reactivation in particular, has it been ensured that the Windows systems will be able to communicate with the KMS in the 210 days following the last activation?
• For KMS reactivation in particular, has it been ensured that the KMS is actively used by at least 25 Windows systems in case of clients and by at least 5 Windows systems in case of servers?
• For KMS reactivation in particular, has it been ensured that the KMS will be available during the time of reactivation?