--- title: "Activate a Windows License for an Instance in Private Mode" description: "Learn how to configure the public interface for your Public Cloud instances within your vRack." url: https://docs.us.ovhcloud.com/en/public-cloud/compute/activate-windows-license-private-mode lang: en --- > For AI agents: the complete documentation index is available at https://docs.us.ovhcloud.com/en/llms.txt, the full documentation bundle is available at https://docs.us.ovhcloud.com/en/llms-full.txt. # Activate a Windows License for an Instance in Private Mode **Learn how to configure the public interface for your Public Cloud instances within your vRack.** Unlike Windows instances created in the public network, Windows instances created with private network mode (vRack) do not have their Windows licenses automatically enabled. In this case, you must activate the license manually to access all Windows services.   ## Requirements - a [Public Cloud project](https://docs.us.ovhcloud.com/en/public-cloud/cross-functional/create-a-public-cloud-project.md) in your OVHcloud account - access to the [OVHcloud Control Panel](https://manager.us.ovhcloud.com/#/hub) - an [OpenStack user account](https://docs.us.ovhcloud.com/en/public-cloud/cross-functional/create-and-delete-a-user.md) We recommend that you read our guide on [Accessing the Horizon](https://docs.us.ovhcloud.com/en/public-cloud/cross-functional/introducing-horizon.md) interface to familiarize yourself with Horizon.   ## Instructions ### Attach an "Ext-Net" public port to an instance #### Via Horizon Log in to the [Horizon](https://horizon.cloud.ovh.us/auth/login/) interface using the method listed in the [first part of this guide](https://docs.us.ovhcloud.com/en/public-cloud/network-services/configure-vrack.md). Choose the proper work zone.   Select `Compute` and then `Instances` from the menu. To add an interface, click on the arrow in the “Actions” column to access the possible actions on the instance. Select `Attach Interface`:   Select your interface and confirm.   #### Via the OpenStack API Before continuing, we recommend reading these guides: - [How to Prepare an Environment for Using the OpenStack API](https://docs.us.ovhcloud.com/en/public-cloud/cross-functional/compute-prepare-openstack-api-environment.md) - [How to Set OpenStack Environment Variables](https://docs.us.ovhcloud.com/en/public-cloud/cross-functional/compute-set-openstack-environment-variables.md) First, retrieve all the necessary information: - **ID of your instances** ``` openstack server list +--------------------------------------+-------------------+--------+---------------------------------------------------------------------+----------------------------------------+----------+ | ID | Name | Status | Networks | Image | Flavor | +--------------------------------------+-------------------+--------+---------------------------------------------------------------------+----------------------------------------+----------+ | f095ad19-5c0a-4ef5-8e01-b3590bc9c6f1 | MyInstance | ACTIVE | | Windows Server 2016 Standard (Desktop) | win-b2-7 | +--------------------------------------+-------------------+--------+---------------------------------------------------------------------+----------------------------------------+----------+ ``` - **ID of public and private networks** ``` openstack network list -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | ID | Name | Subnets | +--------------------------------------+-------------------+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | 1ca87837-7860-47a3-8916-c9c516841bf2 | Ext-Net-Baremetal | 1db089a7-1bd9-449f-8e3b-4ea61e666320, 4a614403-b8aa-4291-bd59-0cb2c81c4deb | | 7394fc68-0f77-40d7-a274-388e7e75d82c | vlan 0 | f3fb67dc-7419-49da-b26c-7f64c480eb63 | | 7a0e67da-70f3-48ed-a6e7-5ec265916211 | private-net | 57d9faac-f01c-43a2-8866-d9b1dd02cb9e, 5cb270a9-3795-4286-96fe-f3bfa3a328e5 | | b2c02fdc-ffdf-40f6-9722-533bd7058c06 | Ext-Net | 0f11270c-1113-4d4f-98de-eba83445d962, 1a6c6b72-88e9-4e94-ac8b-61e6dbc4792c, 22e2d853-1b86-48f3-8596-9d12c7693dc7, 4aa6cac1-d5cd-4e25-b14b-7573aeabcab1, 7d6352a6-dbed-4628-a029-fcc3986ae7d6, 9f989c4b-c441-4678-b395-e082c300356e, b072b17b-ef1d-4881-98c7-e0d6a1c3dcea| +--------------------------------------+-------------------+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ ``` With the previously retrieved items, you can create a public port named "Ext-Net" on the subnet "Ext-Net" and attach it to the instance: ``` openstack port create --network b2c02fdc-ffdf-40f6-9722-533bd7058c06 Ext-Net +-------------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | Field | Value | +-------------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | admin_state_up | UP | | allowed_address_pairs | | | binding_host_id | None | | binding_profile | None | | binding_vif_details | None | | binding_vif_type | None | | binding_vnic_type | normal | | created_at | 2023-01-20T10:12:17Z | | data_plane_status | None | | description | | | device_id | | | device_owner | | | device_profile | None | | dns_assignment | None | | dns_domain | None | | dns_name | None | | extra_dhcp_opts | | | fixed_ips | ip_address='2001:41d0:304:400::128f', subnet_id='4aa6cac1-d5cd-4e25-b14b-7573aeabcab1' | | | ip_address='57.128.42.227', subnet_id='22e2d853-1b86-48f3-8596-9d12c7693dc7' | | id | ed34add5-aa76-4aab-97af-815724d76e2c | | ip_allocation | immediate | | mac_address | fa:16:3e:68:35:9c | | name | Ext-Net | | network_id | b2c02fdc-ffdf-40f6-9722-533bd7058c06 | | numa_affinity_policy | None | | port_security_enabled | True | | project_id | 2098640de5e547289e3740b09e725ecc | | propagate_uplink_status | None | | qos_network_policy_id | None | | qos_policy_id | None | | resource_request | None | | revision_number | 2 | | security_group_ids | 9f60804a-0ecf-4738-a4d8-30a6bb0d20c2 | | status | DOWN | | tags | | | tenant_id | 2098640de5e547289e3740b09e725ecc | | trunk_details | None | | updated_at | 2023-01-20T10:12:18Z | +-------------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ ``` Retrieve the UUID of the "Ext-Net" port: ``` openstack port list --name Ext-Net +--------------------------------------+---------+-------------------+---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+--------+ | ID | Name | MAC Address | Fixed IP Addresses | Status | +--------------------------------------+---------+-------------------+---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+--------+ | ed34add5-aa76-4aab-97af-815724d76e2c | Ext-Net | fa:16:3e:68:35:9c | ip_address='2001:41d0:304:400::128f', subnet_id='4aa6cac1-d5cd-4e25-b14b-7573aeabcab1'| DOWN | | | | | ip_address='57.128.42.227', subnet_id='22e2d853-1b86-48f3-8596-9d12c7693dc7' | | +--------------------------------------+---------+-------------------+---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+--------+ ``` Attach the port to the instance: ``` openstack server add port ```   #### Activate your Windows license To activate Windows, you must go through Powershell. Once you have logged in to your Windows instance, right-click on the `Start` menu and select `Windows PowerShell`. Enter the following command: ``` slmgr.vbs -ato ``` The Windows license will be activated for 180 days. You will need to repeat this operation every 180 days. **Note:** In the meantime, if you want to isolate your instance from the public network, you can disable the public port you have created via Horizon or the OpenStack API. You can also disable the network port directly via Windows. To check the license status and expiration date, use the following command: ``` slmgr.vbs -dli ```   ## Go further Browse all the [Compute guides](https://docs.us.ovhcloud.com/en/public-cloud/compute/landing-page-compute.md). Browse the rest of the [OVHcloud US documentation](https://docs.us.ovhcloud.com/en/index.md) for guides on our other products and services. Learn more about [Public Cloud Compute](https://us.ovhcloud.com/public-cloud/compute/) on the OVHcloud US website.