How to open port 1688 for Windows activation

The activation of Windows on the home computer and in organizations is very different. Companies with a developed network of branches and a significant number of computerized workstations can use Microsoft's key management service. For its correct operation it is required to open port 1688 on all computers of the corporate network. How to do this and what are the advantages of this type of activation - we will tell in this material.

TCP / IP protocol

To understand the role of the port in the operating system, let's look at 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 for the operating system and installed programs. At the same time, information is transmitted not spontaneously, 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 acts as the apartment number. To accept the parcel, you need to open the door or in our case - open port 1688, responsible for the operation of the corporate activation service OS.

Role of the firewall

A restrictor designed to control which program can use a network connection, and which one is not, the operating system is a firewall. The most widespread in the OS received so-called packet filters. The principle of their work is based on the analysis of information contained in the header of the data set transmitted over the network.

The analysis uses the following characteristics:

• The IP address of the sender and the recipient.
• Type of the used data transfer protocol.
• Service protocol headers.
• The port used by the packet from the sender and the recipient.

Completing our analogy with the postal service, we can say that the firewall performs the role of a certain customs authority that determines whether the contents of the shipment are allowed 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 intended to activate computers running Windows OC operating in corporate networks. Convenience of its use lies in the fact that IT professionals can deploy any number of jobs and automatically perform remote activation of operating systems. To do this, you only need to open port 1688 on 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 considered that the activation threshold is reached and any new computer will pass it automatically. In this case, the KMS server itself does not require the allocation of an individual machine due to a small exchange of data between it and the workplace. After passing the minimum threshold, the network can be expanded further, the maximum limitation of the number of computers included in it is not established.

Open the port

Let's check the status and figure out how to open port 1688 for the KMS service to enable the automatic activation of a new computer included in the network. We will perform all operations using the standard tools included in the Windows operating system.

So, first we need to check the current state of the ports. We use the "Command line" program, which is included in 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 used ports. If you see that the required port is not in this list, you need to open it manually, creating a special rule in the network filter for this.

Assuming that the 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. You can call it in two ways. Using the "Run" utility, type firewall.cpl; Or go to the Control Panel and select "Windows Firewall". In the "Advanced Settings" section, create rules for incoming and outgoing TCP / IP connections for port 1688. After that, you will need to perform the following actions on the Windows command line:

• Slmgr / ipk

A public KMS key is being installed.

• Slmgr / skms kms-server.winkey.com:1688

The server name and port are specified. Instead of winkey.com it will be necessary to enter the name specified in the corporate network.

• Slmgr / ato

Run the OS activation procedure on the client computer.

• Slmgr / dlv or slmgr / dlv all

Check 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 the beginning system administrator to open port 1688 and organize automatic licensing of computers running Windows.