Usual scene in enterprise computer infrastructure consists of lot of computers, and each of them has be be powered by a certain operating system. There are numerous clients and servers. To purchase individual OS license for each of them is a task impossible, considering keying in that many license keys for that many computers. What if to buy only one or a few license keys and each unlocking numerous computers? That’s where Volume Licensing came in.

With the introduction of Windows XP, Microsoft OS requires activation to thwart software piracy. Since then, you have to key in the product key to install an OS, and you have to turn to Internet or telephone to activate it against Microsoft servers, making enterprise users in more need for easier volume licensing.

That’s when Microsoft provided Volume Activation 1.0. Certain type of license keys are privileged to have the ability to bypass the required activation in Windows XP and Windows Server 2003. Mighty as they are, they are somehow too mighty as they can bypass unlimited copies of Windows, thus making it the sweet target for software piracy. People fond of free pirated software rushed to use “corporate” versions of Windows, which had mighty license keys integrated.

Aware of the series problem, Microsoft reinforced their anti-piracy mechanism by unleashing version 2.0 for volume activation. This time, there are no mighty license keys. All products have to be activated by one way or another. Two main categories are set, KMS and MAK.

KMS license keys are more capable as they themselves can build activation servers, just like the Microsoft official ones but with one limitation that it can only active its clients for 180 days, so clients have to connect with this activation server now and then to refresh their 180 days’ limit.

MAK license keys have set numbers of activations, say 50, 100, 500 or even more. You can use them to activate those many copies of Windows. When it reaches to its set limit, no more activation could be done. This eliminates the potential danger for leakage of VA license keys. Even though that happens, it won’t cause mass piracy.

Big differences exist between VA 1.0 and 2.0 as mentioned above, but a minor one gets usually ignored. Not like VA 1.0 in which if license keys are banned, all computers activated by that key will become unlicensed, in VA 2.0, computers activated by license keys before it’s banned are still good to use. Only re-activation becomes impossible.

 

As you may know, I posted two articles [here and here] before about Windows licensing on Windows XP. For now, XP-era is about to truly end, with the new 7-era to take the lead. I’ve been preparing for a new introduction about the new Volume Activation, 2.0, and now here they are.

Three major products from Microsoft that touch the world the most are Windows Client, Windows Server, and Office System. With the 2010 refreshment went to all three, we now have Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2, and Microsoft Office 2010.

All of these products employ Volume Activation 2.0, introduced with Windows Vista, aiming at thwarting software piracy.

I’d like to offer you a closer look at how the Volume Activation 2.0 works on the hottest products for use in 2010.

Actually VA 2.0 involves quite a few ways for activation, KMS, MAK, credential based token, retail licensing, proxy, but two major parts are the most essential, and that’s exactly where I’m going to focus on, KMS and MAK.

So go check Part 1, KMS activation and Part 2, MAK activation.