ESXi Automation (KMS Post Followup)

I finally got around to creating a small script which automates the process of starting up all of the machines outlined in the post, KMS Activation With Less than 25 Machines and VMWare ESXi after I found that the counter in the Windows KMS server resets itself after 30 days. This is of course OK with current machines, but when adding more machines it is not of course desirable.

KMS Activation With Less than 25 Machines and VMWare ESXi

If you want to use KMS licencing with less than 25 machines on your network, you will find that you have difficulty doing so as the machines will not activate until you have required count of 25. Sure you could setup some virtual machines to do this, but this takes a fair few resources and can also take a bit of time to copy all of the required images.

I have found a more simpler solution for the previous technique which can even be scripted to the point where it is all done for you (this guide doesn't automate every step, but you can easily do this for yourself once you get the general idea). All you will need is an installed copy of VMWare's free ESXi and away you go (assuming that you have the required compatible hardware for ESXi, a KMS licence server and a copy of Windows that you are using). Yes you can still do this with multiple VMs, but this is much more elegant and takes up a lot less space.

 Image courtesy Microsoft