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Activation of virtual machines on Windows 2022 Server not working

Anonymous
2024-01-26T04:00:53+00:00

I have a customer with a Dell server that came with Windows Server 2022. On the machine there is a tag with the product key. I have installed two virtual machines on this server and need to activate them. I am under the impression that a Windows Server 2022 standard machine comes with licenses for these 2 virtual servers. I am trying to activate the VMs with the product key on the label and the process says that key is not valid. Would love some help on how to get these VMs activated before the eval period elapses. Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.

Windows for business | Windows Server | Devices and deployment | Licensing and activation

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  1. Anonymous
    2024-01-26T05:49:44+00:00

    Hi Tom Lindley1,

    firstly, it's important to note that the product key on the label is likely for the physical server itself, not the virtual machines.

    To activate the virtual machines, you will need to use a Volume License Key (VLK) or a Multiple Activation Key (MAK) that is associated with your organization's licensing agreement with Microsoft.

    If you don't have a VLK or MAK, you can purchase one through the Microsoft Volume Licensing program. Once you have the key, you can use it to activate the virtual machines.

    Hope it helps.

    Kind regards,

    Lei

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  2. Anonymous
    2024-01-26T06:21:22+00:00

    I think you missed the point of this question. From the licensing docs for Server 2022:

    Standard Edition provides rights for up to 2 Operating System Environments or Windows Servers containers with Hyper-V isolation when all physical cores in the server are licensed.

    My question is how do I activate these 2 VMs when I don't have a MAK or KMS server running. Think very small business.

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  3. Anonymous
    2024-01-26T07:12:45+00:00

    You can try using AVMA (Automatic Virtual Machine Activation) to activate your virtual machine. AVMA is a key-based activation method that allows you to automatically activate virtual machines in a virtualized environment.

    You need to activate it with AVMA keys. Regarding the AVMA key for the corresponding virtual machine version, please see Automatic Virtual Machine Activation in Windows Server | Microsoft Learn.

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  4. Anonymous
    2024-01-26T17:25:37+00:00

    Sadly, AVMA requires DataCenter server. I appreciate your help, but just guessing is not really helping. This is Windows Server 2022 Standard.

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  5. Anonymous
    2024-01-27T10:12:40+00:00

    yes.....

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