When the server operating system is installed using the retail or volume licensing media, the operating system license must be activated. On the Server Core operating system, activate the license by using either the Server Configuration tool ( sconfig command) or the slmgr command.
Note: Windows activation is not required if the operating system is factory that is installed.
To activate the operating system license by using the slmgr command, see Slmgr.vbs Options for Volume Activation.
To activate the operating system license by using the sconfig command, see Configure a Server Core installation of Windows Server and Azure Stack HCI with the Server Configuration tool (SConfig).
For volume activation of the Windows operating system in the data center, see the Microsoft documentation for using the Key Management Service (KMS).