IT Solutions Blog | Trigon Technology

IT Support | The Scary World Of Windows License Keys.

- by Andrew, "Shoot First", Levin

Microsoft does a great job at making licensing its products very confusing.  From the surface it seems pretty straightforward, OEM is from the hardware manufacturer, retail keys are purchased individually and MAK and KMS keys are for volume licensing.  However, any IT administrator can tell you that it is not that straightforward.  The reason for this is because dozens of scenarios exist which complicate the management of the keys and activations within your environment.  Factors such as the size of your company, new PC purchases, upgrades, downgrades and hardware replacement cycles all contribute to making license key management a meticulous process.  Below is a quick description of the type of keys which you will encounter.

OEM – OEM keys are tied to a computer’s BIOS and motherboard.  Support for OEM operating systems generally does not come from Microsoft, but from the hardware manufacturer.  OEM keys are also not legally transferable to any other computer.

Retail – Retail keys come with versions of the OS that you purchase outright.  Retail keys are transferrable to another machine, but can legally only be installed on one PC at a time.

KMS – Key Management Service keys are a volume license solution which uses a host and client model for activation.  The KMS host holds a single key which all of your client PCs will contact for activation, every 180 days.  The KMS client OS will go into a reduced functionality mode if activation is not processed after a 210 day interval.  This makes the availability of the KMS host critical to the environment.  A KMS scenario is useful if you have machines that are not connected to the Internet, as well as for maintaining a single location for the management of all your activations. 

MAK – Multiple Activation Keys are another type of volume licensing that is recommended for environments with fewer than 25 computers.  MAKs are purchased as a single key, with a specific number of activations.  If additional activations are required, you must purchase either another MAK, or additional activations for your current MAK.

So, for instance, let’s say your organization has 100 existing PCs and a Windows 7 rollout project is on the horizon.  You decide to replace 50 of the PCs and just upgrade the remaining 50 from XP to Windows 7.  Now, the 50 PCs you just purchased for replacement come with a Windows 7 license from the manufacturer.  You already have a KMS infrastructure in place, so, do you want to purchase additional KMS activations to easily maintain all the license keys, or keep the OEM keys on the 50 machines and manage them individually?  The ease of management alone may not justify the cost for additional KMS activations, so what happens when the new PCs get replaced?  Now you have a new key to manage since the OEM key goes with the machine.  What if you have to throw 25 Windows XP downgrades into the mix?  What will they be licensed under and how do you want to track those keys?  What if you have a department of MAK licensed machines that are being decommissioned and what to reclaim then reuse that license?

This is just a quick example of some of the questions that arise, and even though a bit convoluted, answers for each do exist.  However, this scenario can get very ugly if you extrapolate it to say, 3000 PCs, with 10 separate hardware replacement cycles and 3 different OS versions.  Many organizations out there mix and match different configurations (with what they acquire and with what they have on hand) to simply try and maintain compliance.  But when audit time rolls around it becomes a very cumbersome process to try and elicit the proper documentation to prove compliance.  Therefore, the moral of the story is to plan early and keep as little variability as possible. Trigon can be a huge asset within this planning, so be sure to contact us to help you along with the process.

IT Support | Solving the Microsoft Licensing Puzzle

- by Michael McLaughlin

When discussing Microsoft licensing renewals with our clients, some of them liken the software juggernaut to a mafia-like organization. “Why do I have to pay Microsoft again this year for a license that I already purchased?” “They know we need to buy Microsoft Office to conduct business, why does it cost $500? Seems like extortion” “Why did Steve Ballmer put a severed horse’s head in my bed while I was sleeping?” OK – the last one is false… please don’t release the hounds on me, M$FT!

At its most basic level, Microsoft licensing is COMPLEX! It is structured in a manner that many business owners don’t understand or don’t have time to fully grasp. The good news is that it is complex because they have developed so many ways for you to leverage a plan that will fit your business model and save money. While it’s important to lean on your available resources, here is a cheat sheet on ways to save money on your Microsoft purchases:

Five Ways to Save Money on Your Microsoft Purchases

1. Review your licensing agreement annually and use only what is needed! Even if you do not have an ongoing agreement, you should evaluate if one makes sense for your organization. You do not have to be large to garner some of the benefits of an Open Licensing agreement… five licenses will get you started with a plan. Also, evaluate if software assurance make sense to your company at a given time. Do you really need to pay for the ability to upgrade all of your Microsoft licenses to the latest version if you are already upgraded throughout your environment and have no plans to upgrade again in the next few years? Should you just buy OEM licenses for certain products? Lots of questions but an objective third party reseller like Softmart will work with you and assess your situation.
2. Know what you currently have. Knowledge is power! Many organizations manage their Microsoft licensing by keeping their old Office CDs on a shelf bundled together with a rubber band. While this is necessary, it is only a small, first step. Managed service companies like Trigon will install a client on your PC that will manage your software licensing and allow you to make more knowledgeable decision regarding your Microsoft licensing.
3. http://www.microsoftincentives.com/ - This is a nice site that runs promotions on Microsoft software. It’s definitely worth consulting this site when you are contemplating a purchase. For example, there is currently a $400 rebate if you but Small Business Server 2008. That’s a discount of over 50% just because you conducted a little due diligence. Good for you, I say.
4. Are you a non-profit organization? If so, then you should definitely visit the Tech Soup website (http://www.techsoup.org) and get as many licenses that are permitted. Non-profits can pay as low as 10% to 15% of the retail price on licensing in some cases. You need to read the terms and conditions carefully and prove your non-profit status, but this is a small price to pay for the potential savings.
5. Leverage MSFT technologies so you are not paying for redundant or overlapping technologies. For example the latest versions of Microsoft Office have the ability to save as PDF files. This may negate the need to purchase a full version of Adobe Acrobat. Also, do you require MapPoint when you may be able to leverage Google Maps?

Let it be known, that Microsoft is not an evil organization as many (mostly competitors) would paint them. There are alternative business solutions like Google Apps, Linux and others on the horizon to keep Microsoft in check to some degree. It also appears that Microsoft founding father, Bill Gates, took some advice from Google to “don’t be evil”. He is obviously very socially conscious generous with his charitable contributions. Microsoft wants your money… or you could end up swimming with the fishes.

Need help with your Microsoft purchasing woes? Let us know and we can get things rolling!