KMS Activation thresholds

Question

We are building a new KMS server to service Windows Server 2022 and below.
I have installed the volume activation service on a 2022 server and installed a server 2022 KMS product key.
Running slmgr /dli I can see that the License Status is Licensed. That KMS server is also reporting that it has successfully activated.
I have installed a test 2022 server and used the slmgr.vbs -skms <name> to point to the new KMS server.
However, this test 2022 server does not activate. I can see by event 12288 on the test server that it is sending the activation request to the correct server.
It gets back event 12289 which reports activation failure.
Why is it not activating? I read something about the KMS server having to receive 5 requests before it actually activates anything. What does this actually mean? Do I have to install 5 test servers before anything works?

Thanks
David Z

Answer 1

Answered my own question. Yes, I did have to use the skms and ato switches for five additional servers and then they started activating.

Answer 2

Hello,

You will need to make 5 more before it start activating your products. It won't just start activating after the first one.
And yes, You can force the activation count. There are numerous tools in internet that can be run on a schedule that simulate activations to meet the threshold.

---

--If the reply is helpful, please Upvote and Accept as answer--