it’s been a long while since i’ve had to do anything with microsoft KMS…so here’s a quick refresher:
slmgr.vbs -dli – displays license information

slmgr.vbs -ipk <kms key> – installs product key

slmgr.vbs -ato – activates key

this time around i set up the KMS host on a 2008 R2 core as the role seemed to be a perfect candidate for core. the core setup went fairly well using sconfig except for one error thrown while trying to apply a static IP address. the error was “the ip address could not be changed” and i tried to apply it like 3 different times with no luck. i didn’t research the problem much at all and just decided to fall back on using:
netsh interface ipv4 set address “Local Area Connection” static IP SM GW 1

so anyway, since it had been awhile since i dealt with KMS i was initially confused on why i couldn’t install a windows 8 KMS key on the 2008 R2 server. note: this was after i installed the required update KB2757817 for allowing 2008 R2 to activate windows 8 and windows 2012 machines. after some research and my memory returning, i remembered that a windows 8 KMS is assumed to be installed on windows 8 and that you have to install a server KMS key on 2008 R2 (a KMS A, B, or C type key). the server KMS key is capable of activating client machines.
more info (outdated but still useful): http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff793422.aspx

installing office KMS keys is brand new to me. i went about it by trying to use slmgr.vbs -ipk <office kms key>, that totally does not work. what you have to do is install a “Microsoft Office 2010 KMS Host License Pack” or a “Microsoft office 2013 Volume License Pack” on the box that you’re using for a KMS host. the installation will then ask you for your office KMS key (the key you want is named “office 20## suites and apps KMS” and is located under the relationship summary volume licensing page).

then running slmgr.vbs -dli all will show that the office KMS key is indeed installed.

also the volume activation management tool (3.0) is now part of a package called windows assessment and deployment kit (ADK).

update 10/18/2013:
KMS update for windows 8.1/windows 2012 r2: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2885698

update 9/21/2015:
KMS update for windows 2008 r2 to activate windows 10 (previously this was only supported on windows 2012+): https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/3079821
locating the correct KMS key for this was tricky, it’s not listed under windows 10, windows 2008 r2, or windows 2012 r2 and if you try to gather details about the key with VAMT 3.1 the verification fails. the key was listed as “Windows Srv 2012R2 DataCtr/Std KMS for Windows 10” under Licenses->Relationship Summary in the MS volume licensing portal. i know of know other way to locate this key.
source: https://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/ab2783f0-11a4-45ef-844e-cf8e4c3627ce/how-to-activate-windows-10-enterprise-and-2012-r2-servers-via-the-same-kms-server?forum=winservergen

update 2/15/2016:
i ran into some issues installing the office 2016 kms key as well. the installation and assignment of the key looked successful but activations were still failing. i eventually found out there was a specific issue with coexisting office 2013  and 2016 kms installations on a windows 2008 r2 server. the solution was to install the latest version of the office 2016 kms package. in my case this was “office2016volumelicensepack_4324-1002_en-us_x86”. it worked fine after installing the most recent package.

also c:\program files\microsoft office\office16\cscript ospp.vbs /act can be used to force an activation from a client.
sources:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/3104410
http://edhammond.blogspot.com/2015/10/add-your-office-2016-kms-keys-to-your.html

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