Changing KMS Host, point clients to new KMS host, (old one is still there)

So, some of the PC are getting their activation from KMS server that is out of my department / OU.

they getting it from EU.company.com DNS.

our new own DNS is  dpt.eu.company.com , new KMS is on there with FQDN kms.dpt.eu.company.com

all of the PC had their Primary DNS suffix changed etc.

so now a PC with FQDN   PC1.dpt.eu.company.com  thats talks to DNS dns.dpt.eu.compnay.com

but it still getting it Activation from  OLDkms.EU.company.com.

How can I make these PC address new KMS ?
 Cmd:
nslookup -type=srv _vlmcs._tcp

Shows the correct KMS, but SLMGR /DLV shows the old one

August 20th, 2015 11:33am

When a client needs to reactivate, it will automatically go to the same server it last used to activate.  If it can't reach that one, it then sends the query for a new KMS.

If you want to change the KMS server used by a client, try using:

slmgr /skms<Name[:Port]? [Activation ID]

This sets the name and/or the port for the KMS computer this machine will use.

Or

slmgr /skms-domain <FQDN>

This sets the specific DNS domain in which all KMS SRV records can be found.

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August 20th, 2015 3:28pm

Hi Vladimir,

Agree with Tim. We could use the command to specify the KMS host for client.

About configuring other aspects of KMS clients, we could follow the guide:
Deploying KMS Activation:
https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff793409.aspx

Best Regards,

Leo

August 21st, 2015 5:55am

slmgr /skms-domain <FQDN>

This sets the specific DNS domain in which all KMS SRV records can be found.

@Tim, Hmm, that's a new one on me. Maybe this is only in newer OS versions?

In Win7, that's not a documented argument for slmgr.vbs?

Volume Licensing: Key Management Service (KMS) Client Options:
/skms <Name[:Port] | : port> [Activation ID] [Activation ID]
    Set the name and/or the port for the KMS computer this machine will use. IPv6 address must be specified in the format [hostname]:port
/ckms [Activation ID]
    Clear name of KMS computer used (sets the port to the default)

/skhc
    Enable KMS host caching

/ckhc
    Disable KMS host caching

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August 21st, 2015 6:37am

When a client needs to reactivate, it will automatically go to the same server it last used to activate.  If it can't reach that one, it then sends the query for a new KMS.

If you want to change the KMS server used by a client, try using:

slmgr /skms<Name[:Port]? [Activation ID]

If you use the /skms argument, that will set the KMShost name statically, so if you want to revert back to using auto-discovery, might want to afterwards use the /ckms argument.

Alternatively, don't use that method at all, instead, consider /chkc and afterwards, use /skhc

August 21st, 2015 6:40am

I've ended up installing VAMT and pushing GVLK keys to all the PC that suppose to activate by this server, then right click, volume activation, after that they all start picking that KMS as default.
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August 21st, 2015 2:04pm

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