Plan MAK independent activation of Office 2010
Applies to: Office 2010
Topic Last Modified: 2011-08-05
You are required to activate your deployment of Volume License editions of Microsoft Office 2010. This includes Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2010, Microsoft Project 2010, and Microsoft Visio 2010. Activation reduces the possibility of deploying counterfeit software, which can include malware, viruses, and other security risks.
Important
This information applies to volume-licensed editions of Office 2010. It does not apply to Office Professional Plus for Office 365, which is licensed through subscription.
In this article:
Overview of MAK independent activation
Plan and assess the Office 2010 environment and configuration
Obtain the product keys
MAK activation steps
VAMT management steps
Overview of MAK independent activation
Multiple Activation Key (MAK) activation occurs directly with Microsoft (different from Key Management Service [KMS], in which activation occurs through a local host server). If your organization has five or fewer computers that need to activate Office 2010, we recommend that you use MAK to activate each computer independently. You can also use the Volume Activation Management Tool (VAMT) (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/p/?LinkId=183042) to manage all activated computers.
The following are examples of networks that can use MAK independent activation.
Example: Remote sales office that has isolated portable computers
Fabrikam, Inc. has several remote sales offices around the world. Each office has five or fewer portable computers that are isolated from all possible networks or Internet access. The solution is to use MAK activation for the portable computers individually by telephone to Microsoft.
Architecture – Fabrikam sales office example
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Example: Small organization that has Internet-connected desktop computers and isolated portable computers
Contoso, Ltd. has three desktop computers that are connected to the Internet and two portable computers that are isolated from the Internet. There are no other networks available. The solution is to manage the MAK activations of the desktop computers through VAMT (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/p/?LinkId=183042), and MAK activate the portable computers by telephone to Microsoft.
Architecture – Contoso small organization example
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Plan and assess the Office 2010 environment and configuration
The following articles will help you make sure that your deployment of Office 2010 is properly designed for MAK activation.
To assess the Office 2010 environment, see Assessing the compatibility of Office 2010.
To plan the desktop configuration for Office 2010 (if required), see Plan desktop configurations for Office 2010.
To assess the system requirements for Office 2010, see System requirements for Office 2010.
Obtain the product keys
To obtain the product keys for Office 2010, register on the Volume Licensing Service Center (VLSC) (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/p/?LinkId=184280) Web site. Your license agreement determines the number of MAK activations that you are issued.
MAK independent activation steps
Part of the overall configuration process for Office 2010 is to configure each computer for MAK activation. For more information, see Prepare and configure the Office 2010 client in Deploy volume activation of Office 2010. Follow the relevant procedure to configure Office 2010 by using the Office Customization Tool (OCT), the Config.xml file, or the Microsoft Office Backstage view.
VAMT management steps
Download and install the VAMT 2.0 tool (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/p/?LinkId=183042). Follow the instructions on the download page. For more information about how to use VAMT, click Help on the VAMT 2.0 menu bar.
If you increase the number of computers to fewer than 50, we recommend that you use MAK proxy activation for all computers that can connect to a MAK proxy server. For more information, see Plan MAK proxy activation of Office 2010.
If you increase the number of computers to 50 or more, we recommend that you use KMS activation as the activation method for all computers that can connect to a KMS host server. For more information, see Plan KMS activation of Office 2010. Any other computers can activate with MAK by the methods already mentioned.
Note
For examples of scenarios that require KMS activation combined with MAK activation, see Scenario: Secure network - KMS or MAK activation of Office 2010, Scenario: Disconnected computers activating Office 2010, and Scenario: Test or development lab activating Office 2010.