Kurt Shintaku's Blog

By now, you should know that Windows Vista has a very specific "activation" architecture designed for it to ensure that people understand how it is to be licensed.

CONSUMERS
If you fall into the class of a consumer… you probably shouldn’t be reading this blog.  But let’s say that you do.  Consumers will be able to purchase Windows Vista in January 2007 in retail packages that will contain hologrammed DVD’s and also include a unique Activation Key.  This key is a 35-digit key that must be entered into a specific dialog box during Windows Vista’s Setup (or sometime soon after Setup completes). 

Windows Vista will attempt to validate this key by contacting the Microsoft Clearinghouse over the Internet.  (Or this process can be done manually over the phone)  If it is successful and the key is recognized as valid, it will decrement the number of installations your Activation Key is usable for by 1 in the Clearinghouse database.  (Activation Keys are initially good for 2 Activations.  1 initial, and 1 backup in the event the system needs to be reinstalled in the future.)   Activation Keys are not to be used to install 2 different machines for simultaneous usage.  Obviously if someone does this, they also lose their "backup" install in the event their primary machine fails and needs to be reinstalled for some reason.

ENTERPRISE
I am going to assume that as an Enterprise customer you are a Select customer.  If you are not a Select customer or you don’t know what that is, you fall into the category of a Consumer. 

There two type of keys being issued for Select customers:

• Windows Vista Key Management Service Keys:
  Key Management Service keys are used to install and enable a new service called the Key Management Service in your environment that will run on a Windows Server 2003 machine.  It will automatically activate Windows Vista computers on the network that come online. You must have a minimum of 25 Windows Vista computers connected together to use the KMS, and all computers will be required to check back to the central service twice per year to stay activated.

  Machines that are removed from the corporate network and are otherwise unable to "check back" with the Key Management Service over the Intranet, will go into Reduced Functionality mode.  This means, among other things, shutting down all premium Windows Vista features such as the Aero interface, and physically shutting down the machine after 1 hour of use.

• Windows Vista Multiple Activation Keys:
  Multiple Activation Keys are designed for usage in excess of 2 times and will activate Windows Vista installations over the Internet or telephone.  It will have a preassigned limit to the number of activations associated with them as per the Microsoft Clearinghouse and are useful for installing machines that need to be installed by Corporate IT, need to be legally tracked, but may never see the corporate Intranet again.  This is particularly useful when installing the company CEO’s corporate workstation at his home knowing that it may never VPN into the company network for a long time.  Computers can be activated on an individual basis or by a central computer which can activate multiple computers at a time.