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Setting up an Office 2010 KMS Host Server

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This morning was quiet in the office so I decided to tackle adding Office 2010 to my Microsoft Deployment Toolkit installation.

I’ll cover off how you do the add and the options in another post but in order to activate Office 2010, you have two options now; KMS or MAK. Microsoft has moved the licensing of Office to be like that of Windows 7. Makes plenty of sense, but how do you set up your infrastructure so you can activate Office 2010?

I already have a Windows 2008 R2 Server acting as my KMS Host for Windows activations so I used that server. Don’t have a KMS Host for activating Windows 7 or Vista yet, check my post on setting up a . If you just want to use KMS for Office 2010, then that is fine too. You need to head to and download Microsoft Office 2010 KMS Host software. I chose to run it on my existing KMS Server, but if you don’t yet have a KMS Server, the machine you run this on will become your KMS Host for Office 2010.

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Accept the EULA and click continue and it will install.

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Once the file runs, it will ask you for you KMS Key for Office 2010.

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Click Yes and enter the key.

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It will then return whether it was successful or not.

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That is all there is to it.

Once you start installing Office 2010, the KMS activation key is already defaulted in the installation. The installation will search out your KMS host server. If everything is working properly on the DNS side, then it should activate and you will be off to the races.

If you get stuck, here are some other resources:

Deployment Deep Dive on Windows 7

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Are you running Windows XP?  Are you feeling the pressure of creating a deployment plan? Have no fear!  Leveraging learning’s from two Windows 7 early adopters this session will give you the skills you need to proceed with your own deployment.  The session will focus on free Windows 7 deployment planning and deployment tools that customize operating system packages and automate deployment planning and network deployments seamlessly. We will dive right into:

  • How to use the Microsoft Assessment and Planning (MAP) tool to identify your current hardware and application inventory.
  • How to use the Windows Automated Install Kit (WAIK) to build a customized image for your organization.
  • How to use the Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT) to build, deploy and maintain Windows installation images.
  • How to migrate the end users profile from their current installation to the Windows 7 installation using the User State Migration Toolkit (USMT).
  • How to integrate MDT and Windows Deployment Services (WDS) to perform Lite Touch installations of Windows 7.

Finally we will look at how we can leverage the various tools to solve any application compatibility issues you might encounter.  We will look at how you can overcome common obstacles using the Application Compatibility Toolkit (ACT), or larger obstacles using Windows XP Mode and Microsoft Enterprise Desktop Virtualization (MED-V) and even how you can leverage Application Virtualization (App-V) to streamline application deployment and ensure all your applications work!

Please note: there is no cost to attend this event.

Speakers:

Todd-Headshot
Todd Lamothe

Todd is a Systems Administrator for the County of Lennox & Addington, Information Services Department. Supporting the Information Technology needs of the Libraries and Museum throughout their 12 points of service, he is responsible for managing and maintaining the entire IT infrastructure from server to desktops.

With over 10 years’ experience, Todd has a vast depth of knowledge with Microsoft technologies. Todd is a Windows Desktop Experience MVP, a Microsoft Certified Trainer and is involved in the IT community in both Kingston and Ottawa.

David-Headshot

David E. Myers

David is an IT professional and developer at the Upper Canada District School Board (Brockville, ON).  He primarily works with SQL Server, SharePoint and Windows Client / Server infrastructure, but like many Canadian IT professionals he wears many hats.  As a SQL Server MVP and a member of Microsoft’s Springboard Technical Experts Panel (STEP) he is constantly looking to connect with people that share his passion for technology.  In his spare time David works as a contract Microsoft Certified Trainer in the Kingston and Ottawa areas.

Location:
Kingston Frontenac Public Library
Calvin Park Branch – Community Room
88 Wright Cres
Kingston, Ontario K7L 4T9

Agenda:
6:00 p.m.  Event registration
8:20 p.m.  Q & A

8:30 p.m.  Door Prizes

Registration:
http://kitpro.eventbrite.com

Notes:
Pizza and Pop will be served, Please RSVP to help us order enough of both.

Setting up a KMS Server

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Windows 7 Volume licensing basically has three ways to activate, MAK, MAK proxy and KMS. The first two require a key and the proxy needs to use the Volume Activation Management Tool. I won’t get into MAK today, its is somewhat straight forward. If you need information, check out the information on MAK at TechNet, http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd979805.aspx.

What I want to talk about is KMS, Key Management Service. Setting one of these servers up is as easy as making Kraft Dinner. Yes, simple. In reading in the forums I see people having troubles getting one up and going. I’ll walk you through the easiest setup. This walkthrough isn’t meant for someone already using a KMS server for Windows Vista or Windows Server 2008.

If you want to activate Windows 7 clients, the simplest choice is install Windows Server 2008 R2. You can use Windows Server 2003 or Windows Server 2008 but you need to install an update. If you have Server 2008 R2, I recommend using it, its just the easiest thing to do. There is a hierarchy of how the setup works, http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd979804.aspx will give you the low down.

For me, Windows Server 2008 R2 based KMS server made the most sense. The next step is to locate your KMS key for your volume activation. The key you are looking for, is the Windows Server 2008 Std/Ent KMS B (note the KMS B). System Information

Instead of using the MAK key when you enter the key for activation, you will enter in your KMS.

Windows Activation

You will get an warning message that you are using a KMS key, like this.

Windows Activation

Click OK and you will have then made a KMS host machine. That is all there is to it. Some people get worried and think they have to add a Windows 7 key for the KMS host to accept Windows 7 clients. You don’t need to do that, at least I didn’t have to.

The other thing to remember is that in order for your server to activate computers, you must have at least 5 Servers checked in for server activation to occur or 25 Windows 7 or Vista machines checked in for client activation to occur. To check the status of the computers, I find the VAMT tool which comes with the WAIK works well.