Tip of the Day: KMS Host Configuration Can's and Cannot's

Today’s Tip…

By default, your KMS Host has the following values set for Windows 8.1 and Windows Server 2012 R2.

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The rearm limit has been increased to 1,000 since Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2, where the rearm limit is set to three and cannot be changed. Note, if you KMS activate a Windows 7/Vista or Windows Server 2008/2008 R2 system, the count drops to one by design as a KMS client is not intended to become a sysprepped image to be used for deployment. This value is not configurable.

The KMS Client Count Threshold is the minimum count needed for a KMS Host to begin activating KMS clients. To KMS activate server SKUs, a minimum of five systems need to request activation from the KMS Host. To KMS activate client SKUs, a minimum of twenty-five systems need to request activation from the KMS Host. This count can be comprised of servers and/or clients as long as the minimums are met. This value is not configurable.

The KMS Activation Duration period is 180 days. After the KMS client successfully requests activation from the KMS Host and is activated, the client has 180 days to reach out to the KMS Host again to request an activation duration reset or reactivation. This value is not configurable.

The KMS Host Listening Port is as the name states, the port the KMS Host is listening to KMS client requests on. By default, this value is 1688. This value is configurable. Verify that the port is open for use.

The Out-of-Box (OOB) Grace is the initial grace period allotted by Windows and Office before activation is required. The Out-of-Tolerance (OOT) Grace is reported when hardware or BIOS changes cause the system to require reactivation or for systems that have not reactivated within the 180 day KMS Activation. This value is not configurable.

The KMS Client Reactivation is the period of time between activation and reactivation from the KMS Host. By default, this value is 10,080 minutes (7 days). This value is configurable. It is limited to a minimum of 15 minutes to a maximum of 43,200 minutes (30 days).

The Silent KMS Retry Interval is the period of time that can pass after a KMS activation failure occurs before a retry is attempted. By default, this value is 120 minutes. This value is configurable. It is limited to a minimum of 15 minutes to a maximum of 43,200 minutes (30 days).

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