License Pools for Microsoft Windows Images Using Microsoft Key Management Service KMS

This article provides the information on "License Pools for Windows Images Using Microsoft Key Management Service (KMS)".

Windows imaging requires digital product keys

The customer expresses a need for imaging a large volume of client systems without inputting a Windows product key for each system.

Microsoft Key Management Service

The Microsoft Key Management Service (KMS) was developed for this purpose. Conceptually, it operates similarly to a DHCP server that leases IP addresses. A KMS host server on the local domain can provide licenses from a pool to the client systems.

The following MS Technet article provides an overview of KMS: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee939272.aspx

A guide for KMS planning and processes can be found here: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/dd197314.aspx