To make sure that Composer properly activates Windows Server operating systems on linked-clone RDS hosts, you must use Microsoft volume activation on the golden image virtual machine. The volume-activation technology requires a volume license key.

To activate Windows with volume activation, you use Key Management Service (KMS), which requires a KMS license key. See your Microsoft dealer to acquire a volume license key and configure volume activation.

Note: Composer does not support Multiple Activation Key (MAK) licensing.

Before you create linked-clone machines with Composer, you must use volume activation to activate the operating system on the golden image virtual machine.

When a linked-clone machine is created, and each time the linked clone is recomposed, the Composer agent uses the golden image virtual machine's KMS server to activate the operating system on the linked clone.

For KMS licensing, Composer uses the KMS server that is configured to activate the golden image virtual machine. The KMS server treats an activated linked clone as a computer with a newly issued license.