Discover Office and Windows KMS hosts via DNS and remove unauthorized instances


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When troubleshooting KMS configuration and activation issues, our customers are often surprised to find unexpected Windows or Office KMS hosts in their environment.

By default, Windows and Office clients discover KMS hosts via DNS and a related _vlmcs SRV record. To determine whether a KMS client can locate a KMS host and/or whether undesired KMS hosts exist on the network, run a command line similar to the following:

nslookup -type=srv _vlmcs._tcp >%temp%\kms.txt

Review the kms.txt file. It should contain one or more entries similar to the following:

Discover Office and Windows KMS hosts via DNS and remove unauthorized instances

Running this nslookup command frequently reveals _vlmcs SRV entries which are tied to unauthorized Windows or Office KMS hosts.

In many cases, Windows KMS hosts may have been unintentionally set up by users who mistakenly entered a KMS host product key, rather than a Windows client product key. To remedy this issue, perform the following steps on the machine(s) in question, to replace the KMS product group key and "convert" it to a KMS or MAK client:

Open an elevated command prompt (cmd.exe) and then run a command similar to the following:

cscript slmgr.vbs /ipk xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx   
(Where xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx is a 25 digit, Windows product key)

To prevent instability in the license service, the system should be restarted or the Software Protection Service should be restarted. The following command lines can be used to restart the Software Protection Service:

net stop sppsvc

net start sppsvc

Run a command line similar to the following to display the license information for the installed, active Windows edition:

cscript slmgr.vbs /dli

Using DNS Manager, in the appropriate forward lookup zone, delete the _vlmcs SRV records that exist for each machine which is not to serve as a Windows KMS host.

To determine whether a machine has the Office 2010 KMS Host License Pack installed and is an active Office KMS host, run a command line similar to the following:

cscript slmgr.vbs /dlv bfe7a195-4f8f-4f0b-a622-cf13c7d16864

The output of a machine which has the Office 2010 KMS Host License Pack installed will resemble the following. Key items are "Partial Product Key: GB7AH" and "License Status: Licensed", which indicate that the Office 2010 KMS host key is successfully installed and activated.

Discover Office and Windows KMS hosts via DNS and remove unauthorized instances

Perform the following steps to remove an Office KMS host in your environment:

Open an elevated command prompt and run a command similar to the following:

cscript slmgr.vbs /upk bfe7a195-4f8f-4f0b-a622-cf13c7d16864

CAUTION: If the above command line is run without the Office activation ID ("bfe7a195-4f8f-4f0b-a622-cf13c7d16864"), all installed product keys are uninstalled, including those for Windows.

Run following command line again, to check the status of the Office KMS host:

cscript slmgr.vbs /dlv bfe7a195-4f8f-4f0b-a622-cf13c7d16864

If the Office KMS host product key has been removed, the output will be similar to that below. Key items are "This license is not in use" and "License Status: Unlicensed".

Discover Office and Windows KMS hosts via DNS and remove unauthorized instances

Using DNS Manager, in the appropriate forward lookup zone, delete the _vlmcs SRV records that exist for each machine which is not to serve as an Office KMS host.