Volume Activation Management Tool (VAMT) Overview

Applies To: Windows 8, Windows 8.1

The Volume Activation Management Tool (VAMT) enables network administrators and other IT professionals to automate and centrally manage the Windows®, Microsoft® Office, and select other Microsoft products volume and retail-activation process. VAMT can manage volume activation using Multiple Activation Keys (MAKs) or the Windows Key Management Service (KMS). VAMT is a standard Microsoft Management Console (MMC) snap-in that requires the Microsoft Management Console (MMC) 3.0. VAMT can be installed on any computer that has one of the following Windows operating systems:

• Windows® 7

• Windows® 8

• Windows 8.1

• Windows Server 2008 R2

• Windows Server® 2012

• Windows Server 2012 R2

Important

VAMT is designed to manage volume activation for: Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2012, Windows Server 2012 R2, Microsoft Office 2010, and Microsoft Office 2013. Computers installed with volume editions of Windows XP or Windows Server 2003 cannot be managed using VAMT. However, Office 2010 and Office 2013 products installed on these two operating systems can still be managed.

For more information about using VAMT, see the online help at Volume Activation Management Tool Technical Reference.

VAMT is only available in an EN-US (x86) package.

What’s New

VAMT 3.1 does not include any new features but includes several important fixes and updates.

The following features are new, or have been updated, in VAMT 3.0:

• User interface. The updated user interface makes volume activation and license management an easy, one-console process.

• Data storage. Data storage in a SQL Server database provides greater scalability and speed.

• Licensing reports. Five new Volume Licensing reports provide instant views of the licensing status of every computer in the database:

  • At Risk Products Report

  • Duplicate CMID Report

  • MAK Usage Report

  • Unlicensed Products Report

  • Volume Activation by Authority Report

• PowerShell commandlets (cmdlet). A PowerShell module for VAMT replaces the vamt.exe command line interface.

• Support for Proxy Authentication. If you are on a network that requires a user name and password to reach the Internet, VAMT enables you to log in and perform proxy activation.

• Active Directory-Based Activation. VAMT can online or proxy-activate an Active Directory-based activation object. when Active Directory-Based Activation is deployed, any new qualifying machines joined to the domain are automatically activated.

Deprecated/Removed Features

The following features that existed in previously released versions of VAMT have been deprecated or have been removed in version 3.0:

• Data storage in Computer Information Files (CIL). Data is no longer stored in Computer Information Files (CIL), but is instead stored in a SQL Server database. You can import data currently stored in CIL files into VAMT. Data exported from VAMT is saved in a CILX file.

• Vamt.exe command-line interface. The vamt.exe command-line interface is no longer available, and has been replaced by a Windows PowerShell module.

In this Section

Introduction to VAMT	Provides a description of VAMT and common usages.
Active Directory-Based Activation Overview	Describes Active Directory-Based Activation scenarios.
Install and Configure VAMT	Describes how to install VAMT and use it to configure client computers on your network.
Volume Activation Management Tool Technical Reference	Provides technical details and descriptive information about VAMT components.
Using VAMT	Provides how-to information on using VAMT, including managing computers, licensing status, activation, and VAMT data.
VAMT Step-by-Step Scenarios	Provides step-by-step instructions for using VAMT in typical environments.