FARONICS DEEP FREEZE - MICROSOFT VOLUME ACTIVATION 2.0 6-25-2009, DEEP FREEZE User Manual

TECHNICAL WHITEPAPER

Last modified: June 25, 2009

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Deep Freeze and Microsoft Volume Activation 2.0

ENTERPRISE

Overview

With the release of Windows Vista, Microso has released an updated version of their Volume
Activation. is updated volume license program includes a new type of license called a KMS license.

is document details how Deep Freeze interacts with this new method of license management and
the best practices for ensuring that workstations will not enter a state of reduced functionality.

Note that this only applies to workstations running a Volume License version of Windows Vista.
Workstations that ship with OEM Retail or copies of Vista licensed with a MAK license are permanently
activated during their initial activation process and will never require reactivation unless major changes
are made to the system’s internal hardware.

KMSLicense

KMS stands for Key Management Service, a new method of licensing the desktop OS that requires the
installation of a Key Management Server in the end users environment. e Key Management Server
works to activate the user’s desktop operating systems without directly contacting Microso each time
that a workstation requires activation. is method of key management is designed mainly for larger
deployments to ensure license compliance and to reduce piracy of volume license versions.

Any workstation activated with a KMS license must contact its activating server every 180 days to renew
activation. Workstations that fail to re-contact the activation server within 180 days will eventually
enter a mode of reduced functionality until re-activated.

DeepFreeze&KMSLicenses

Since Deep Freeze restores a workstation to a given state each time the workstation is booted into
a awed state, there is concern as to how this will aect workstations that need to re-activate their
licenses. Because workstations will enter into a reduced functionality mode only aer they have failed
to renew their activation for 180 days, the risk only exists if 360 days have passed without a successful
activation against the KMS server.

To safeguard against this eventuality, Faronics recommends awing workstations at some point
during the initial 180 days and running a command to force the workstation to re-activate against the
KMS server. is can either be done manually or via a script running through the Maintenance mode
on a Frozen workstation. e command to update the workstation’s activation is shown below:

cscript \windows\system32\slmgr.vbs –ato

is command must be run as an administrator on the Frozen workstation.

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