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Activate an Active Directory Forest Online

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You can use the Volume Activation Management Tool (VAMT) Active Directory-Based Activation (ADBA) function to activate an Active Directory (AD) forest over the Internet. ADBA enables certain products to inherit activation from the domain.

Important

ADBA is only applicable to Generic Volume License Keys (GVLKs) and KMS Host keys (CSVLKs). To use ADBA, one or more KMS Host keys (CSVLKs) must be installed on the AD forest, and client keys (GVLKs) must be installed on the client products.

Requirements

Before performing online activation, ensure that the network and the VAMT installation meet the following requirements:

  • VAMT is installed on a host computer that has Internet access.

  • VAMT has administrative permissions to the Active Directory domain.

  • The KMS Host key (CSVLK) you intend to use is added to VAMT in the Product Keys node.

To perform an online Active Directory forest activation

  1. Open VAMT.

  2. In the left-side pane, select the Active Directory-Based Activation node.

  3. In the right-side Actions pane, select Online activate forest to open the Install Product Key dialog box.

  4. In the Install Product Key dialog box, select the KMS Host key (CSVLK) that you want to apply to the AD forest.

  5. If necessary, enter a new Active Directory-Based Activation Object name.

    Important

    If you want to rename the ADBA object, you must do it now. After you click Install Key, the name cannot be changed.

  6. Select Install Key.

  7. VAMT displays the Activating Active Directory dialog box until it completes the requested action.

The activated object and the date that it was created appear in the Active Directory-Based Activation node in the center pane.