I had an issue recently, where vmware tools on a production server, went out of date and caused the server in question to become unlicensed, I noticed this completely by accident.
The following error appeared when I tried to run the slmgr -dlv command 0xC004F00F which when I searched comes up with the following:
0xC004F00F The Software Licensing Server reported that the hardware ID binding is beyond level of tolerance. MAK/KMS client/KMS host
The hardware has changed or the drivers were updated on the system.
MAK: Reactivate the system during the OOT grace period using either online or phone activation. KMS: Restart, or run slmgr.vbs /ato.
I've inherited this environment and don't currently have a schedule for updating the vmtools (200+ servers), it was previously done on an ad-hoc basis either when someone notices it or whatever…. 🙁
So I fear an impending avalanche of servers popping off license, and worse still, is there a possibility, that some of these servers, if they go unlicensed for a period, could reach the hourly reboot threshold.
Best Answer
How do you license?
If it is MAK it will just reacticate on slmggr /ATO.
If it is KMS - which it should be - it will reactivate with slmgr /ATO from the KMS.
So, what is the question here? That you need to have licenses reactivating? That is a technicality and not complicated to script.
And servers do not hourly reboot. I had a machine at a custoemr that went unlicensed for a long time mostly because customer uses KMS and that machine had no access to it until a recent patch fixed the RRAS routing. Never got a reboot.
Thank heaven with 2012 R2 those times are over as VM's "pull" the license from the host.