|
On 4 October 2006, Microsoft announced that volume license customers, who were previously exempted from having to activate their Windows installations, will have to do so with Windows Vista. 
For Windows releases prior to Vista, companies with Select or Open licenses get something called a Volume License Key (VLK). A VLK allows software installed using volume media to run without activating its license. Users without a VLK must enter a unique product key and contact Microsoft over the Internet (or by phone) to initiate a process that checks to make sure the key is valid and has not been previously used. For obvious reasons, enterprises would not want to go through this when deploying 50,000 PCs. But sometimes a VLK "leaks" and unauthorized parties can use it to run software. When this happens, Microsoft can prevent service pack updates to PCs with that key and can insist the owner of the leaked key re-key all their PCs. To reduce the effect of key leakage, Microsoft has come up with its Volume Activation plan, which will affect Vista initially but which will likely be expanded to other products later. Customers can choose to have PCs activate to a Microsoft server using a Multiple Activation Key (MAK), or to an internally hosted service, known as the Key Management Service (KMS), or they can choose a combination of the two. If the company uses MAK, the PC only needs to be activated once. If the company uses a KMS, the machine must renew its activation with a KMS at least once every 180 days. Regardless of the method, activation does not require end-user awareness or interaction. There are some customer benefits. When a MAK key is initially activated, and each time a PC using KMS is validated, a core set of Windows components is checked for tampering, a process that helps prevent malicious software. However, we don't see this as sufficient to offset the labor and hardware that will be needed. Furthermore, while Microsoft works to recoup pirated revenue, customers may wonder what's in it for them. For most, the rare threat of having to re-key and the component checking benefit will be insufficient. Still, while customers can make choices about their activation methods, they do not have a choice about whether to activate Windows Vista. For most, MAK keys will be simpler to administer. For companies that do not want to connect to Microsoft to activate, KMS will be preferable, but planners need to consider mobile users, who may be offline for more than six months.
- Organizations should lobby Microsoft for additional benefits to help them defray the cost of administering this program.
|
|
