Windows activation on a home computer and in organizations varies significantly. Companies with a developed branch network and a significant number of computerized workstations can use the Microsoft Key Management service. For its correct operation, it is required to open port 1688 on all computers on the corporate network. How to do this and what are the advantages of this type of activation - we will describe in this article.
TCP / IP
To understand the role of the port in the operating system, we turn to the basic principles of the TCP / IP network protocol . Any computer on the network receives an explicitly or implicitly assigned digital address. The computer itself does not communicate with other "neighbors" on the network. Data exchange is required only by the operating system and installed programs. Moreover, the transfer of information is not spontaneous, but using certain ports.
The general principle of such electronic communication can be described by analogy with the work of the postal service. To deliver a shipment from one city to another, that is, from one network to another, you need to know how to find the recipient. In this case, the IP address acts as the house number, and the port as the apartment number. To accept the package, you need to open the door or in our case, open port 1688, which is responsible for the operation of the corporate activation service of the OS.
Firewall role
A firewall is a limiter designed to control which program can use a network connection and which is not, in the operating system. The most common in the OS are the so-called packet filters. The principle of their work is based on the analysis of the information contained in the header of the data set transmitted over the network.
During the analysis, the following characteristics are used:
- The IP address of the sender and receiver.
- The type of data transfer protocol used.
- Utility protocol headers.
- The port used by the packet at the sender and receiver.
Concluding our analogy with the postal service, we can say that the firewall acts as a kind of customs authority that determines whether the contents of the forwarded package are permitted and whether it should be accepted. Since KMS is not used on all computers by default, we are forced to consider how to open port 1688.
Key management service
Key Management Service or KMS is an electronic service created by Microsoft and designed to activate computers running Windows OS operating on corporate networks. The convenience of its use lies in the fact that IT specialists can deploy any number of jobs and automatically conduct remote activation of operating systems. All you need to do is open port 1688 on the remote machines.
To start the key management service, the computer network must be sufficiently developed and include at least 5 servers and 25 client terminals. In this case, it is believed that the activation threshold has been reached and any new computer will go through it automatically. At the same time, the KMS server itself does not require the allocation of a separate machine due to the insignificant data exchange between it and the workstations. After passing the minimum threshold, the network can be expanded further; the maximum limit on the number of computers included in it has not been established.
Open port
Let's check the status and figure out how to open port 1688 for the KMS service to enable automatic activation of a new computer connected to the network. We will perform all operations using the standard tools that make up the Windows operating system.
So, for starters, we need to check the current status of the ports. We will use the “Command Line” program, which is part of the “Standard” set of this OS. In it we need to enter the following line:
netstat -a
As a result of this command, you will get a list of the ports used by OS. If you see that the port we need is not in this list, you must open it manually by creating a special rule for this in the network filter.
Assuming that a KMS server is already available, consider how to open port 1688. On Windows 8 and other current versions of this OS running on client machines, it is most convenient to use the graphical interface of the firewall. There are two ways to call it. Using the Run utility by typing firewall.cpl; or go to the Control Panel and select “Windows Firewall” there. In the "Advanced Settings" section, create rules for incoming and outgoing TCP / IP connections for port 1688. After that, on the Windows command line, you will need to perform the following steps:
The installation of the public KMS key is in progress.
- slmgr / skms kms-server.winkey.com:1688
Specifies the server name and port. Instead of winkey.com, you will be required to enter the name specified on the corporate network.
Launching the OS activation procedure on the client computer.
- slmgr / dlv or slmgr / dlv all
Checking the status of the system. The second team will also check the activation of the office suite.
Finally
The steps described in this article can help a novice system administrator open port 1688 and arrange for automatic licensing by computers running Windows.