By Val Bakh2.2 Activation
2.2.1 Volume activation Every Windows 7 installation must be activated. It is a legal requirement to ensure that the operating system is properly installed. You have a 30-day grace period during which you can decide whether or not to continue. You can extend the grace period by running the following command if you use Windows 7 for testing, evaluation, or software development.
slmgr-rearm
Once you have lost your grace, you will be legally required to activate the installation or scrap it.
How does activation work? If your computer comes with Windows 7 preinstalled, then the manufacturer of your computer will likely take care of it for free. If you install Windows 7, activation is your responsibility. If you are installing Windows 7 on your own computer, you will need to enter a retail product code and then activate it via the Internet or by phone. If you are an IT professional and your company has a volume license (VL) agreement, you can use one of the two volume activation methods.
You can purchase multiple activation keys (MAKs) under your VL agreement with the required number of activations. MAK activation works the same way as retail activation except that you can use the same activation key for as many activations you have purchased.
Key Management Service (KMS) is the second VA method. All VL editions have a publicly available KMS client key. You will need a KMS key to activate a computer that will be a KMS host. KMS client computers are first started by trying to find the KMS host using DNS. Once it has located the KMS host, it will submit an activation request. Here comes the tricky part. The activation period is only 180 days and you must have at least 25 Windows 7 KMS client before the KMS host can activate any of them. In just seven days, an activated KMS client will become restless and attempt to reactivate itself. If the client succeeds, the client’s 180-day count is reset and they remain happy for seven more days. If the client fails to reactivate, they will keep trying until it succeeds. KMS clients must connect to the KMS host every time they attempt to activate. Otherwise, the activation attempt could fail. KMS hosts keep track of all activation requests submitted within the last 30 calendar days. If your network is small and clients are always on the move, it is okay to occasionally have less than 25 KMS clients available, for short periods of time. You should encourage everyone to log on at least once a month and to not stay offline for more than 180 days consecutively.
Do not assume that you are in control if you work for a large company with thousands of KMS clients. You might face a different challenge. You might find that one KMS host is not enough and you may need to add another. This is not unusual, especially when you consider that a single KMS key can be used for up to six KMS hosts. Each KMS host attempts registration of an SRV record with the DNS so that KMS clients automatically discover the KMS hosts. An AD DS-integrated DNS domain zone supports only secure dynamic upgrades in an Active Directory Domain Services environment. The default permissions allow domain computers to register themselves and update their registration, but they do not allow computers or other computers to update each other’s records.
Let’s say you need to install two KMS hosts. Let’s say their names are KMS1 or KMS2. KMS1 will register an SR automatically when you configure it.