Release dates for W7 and W2K8R2
Because I've been asked 1 million times (no exageration)
August 7, 2009
Volume License customers with an existing Software Assurance license will be able to download Windows 7 RTM in English via the Volume License Service Center. The rest of the languages for Windows 7 RTM should be available within a couple of weeks after that. For more information you should checkout the Windows Team blog posting.
August 11, 2009
Customers will need to install the appropriate update on their existing KMS host and then install the new KMS host key for Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2 and activate. Once activated, the KMS host will be able to activate all products (depending on the KMS key that is used). KMS for Windows Sever 2003 v1.2 (the updates for KMS to support W7/R2) is expected to be posted to the download center. The follow links currently connect to v1.1, but will be updated when v1.2 is complete.
Key Management Service 1.1 (x86) for Windows Server 2003 SP1 and Later
Key Management Service 1.1 (x64) for Windows Server 2003 SP1 and Later
Note: Although the KMS update for Windows Server 2003 will not be available until after the release of Windows 7, the systems will silently attempt activations for 30 days. Provided that the KMS update is applied to Win2K3 within that time frame, this should be transparent to the end users. Also note that Windows 7 Enterprise / Professional can act as a KMS host right out of the box with no update needed.
August 14, 2009
IT Professionals with TechNet Subscriptions and Developers with MSDN Subscriptions will be able to download Windows Server 2008 R2 RTM in English, French, German, Japanese, Italian, and Spanish. For more information you should checkout the Windows Server blog posting.
August 19, 2009
Volume License customers, with an existing Software Assurance license, can download Windows Server 2008 R2 RTM via the Volume License Service Center.
August 25, 2009
The KMS update for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 is expected to be available via Windows Update and Windows Server Update Services. Service Pack 2 will need to be installed on the KMS host systems as a prerequisite. KB968912 will eventually cover this release, and it will be published on or before the release of this update.
September 1, 2009
Volume License customers without a SA license will be able to purchase Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 through Volume Licensing as we announced last week at the Worldwide Partner Conference.
Finally, the prescriptive guidance has been updated on TechNet and IT Springboard.
Most of the above information came from the following blog, so please check it for updated information:
Comments
Anonymous
January 01, 2003
Does this mean we won't be able to install KMS 1.2 (required for Windows 7 volume activation) until August 25?Anonymous
January 01, 2003
An update is available that installs Key Management Service (KMS) 1.2 for Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 (SP1) and for later versions of Windows Server 2003 - Article ID: 968915 - Last Review: August 13, 2009.