Microsoft licensing what is mak

We are in the process of a self audit joy While we were taking a look at our licenses, we noticed we had 2 KMS product keys and below each one there was an MAK license under the same product ID. The MAK license however did have one. I tried researching the meanings of each but they are all so confusing.

Does this mean that we can activate that number of machines on that MAK key or is that the number of times we can use it on one machine so like when the machine is reformatted or the hardware is replaced? The Key Management Service KMS is an activation service that allows organizations to activate systems within their own network, eliminating the need for individual computers to connect to Microsoft for product activation.

It does not require a dedicated system and can be easily co-hosted on a system that provides other services. KMS requires a minimum number of either physical or virtual computers in a network environment.

These minimums, called activation thresholds, are set so that they are easily met by Enterprise customers. Once computers are activated, no further communication with Microsoft is required. There are two activation methods for MAK:. MAK Independent Activation: Each computer individually connects to Microsoft via the web or telephone to complete activation. One centralized activation request is made on behalf of multiple computers with one connection to Microsoft online or by telephone.

It is a method mainly used by the organization that wants to keep their computers within the same corporate network. And the system allowed its users to activate the services within their network. Considering the installation process of the KMS system, it is more convenient and easier as it recognizes it via the help of DNS and installs it. The KMS system was built to supports their enterprise customers and made it compatible with Windows Vista and Windows One of the advantages of the KMS system that has been observed is that after the first installation of the Windows on the system, the same key can be used to reinstall the Windows on the same system or another one.

This is also the reason behind the reactivation of the Windows after every days activated by the KMS key; otherwise, the activation key gets expired. MAK or Multiple Activation Keys is also one of the parts of Volume Activation Key, which are provided by the Microsoft company itself to activate the various services of the company which is offered by the company itself. The activation process using standard VLKs is fairly simple: enter the VLK obtained through the Volume Licensing website when prompted by the software to activate it.

You can use the same VLK on multiple installations of the same software if you requested multiple licenses. For example, if your donation includes 10 copies of Office Standard, you can use the Office VLK to install that product on 10 separate computers. In the KMS model, the KMS key is installed on only one system in a network, known as the KMS host, and all other network users can activate their software through this system. This allows users with network experience to complete activations on their local network and eliminates the need for all computers except the host to connect to Microsoft for product activation.

KMS does not require a dedicated system and can be co-hosted on a system that provides other services.

KMS requires a minimum number of computers physical or virtual machines in a network environment. The organisation must have at least 5 computers to activate Windows Server R2 and at least 25 computers to activate Windows 7. These minimums are referred to as activation thresholds.

These keys are similar to standard VLKs in that users must enter the MAK keys on their individual computers to activate the products. MAK keys are not the default model for Volume Activation clients, so users will have to request MAK keys from the Volume Licensing website if they want to use this model.