After February 1, 2023, a new KMS DNS, azkms.core.usgovcloudapi.net, will be rolled out to improve Azure Windows activation experience in Azure US Government Cloud. Specifically, after February 1, 2023, all Azure Windows VMs provisioned in Azure US Government Cloud will be activated via azkms.core.usgovcloudapi.net; and most Azure Windows VMs provisioned in Azure US Government Cloud before February 1, 2023, remain activated via existing KMS DNS, kms.core.usgovcloudapi.net.
To most Azure US Government Cloud customers, the transition to new KMS DNS is transparent. However, Azure US Government Cloud customers who have followed trouble-shooting guides, like the ones listed below, need to include new KMS DNS, azkms.core.usgovcloudapi.net, and one new KMS IP address, 52.126.105.2:
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/troubleshoot/azure/virtual-machines/custom-routes-enable-kms-activation
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/troubleshoot/azure/virtual-machines/troubleshoot-activation-problems
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/firewall/protect-azure-virtual-desktop
After April 15, 2023, kms.core.usgovcloudapi.net will point to 52.126.105.2 instead of 23.97.0.13. This change will have no impact to Azure US Government Cloud customers who have followed trouble-shooting guides to include one new KMS IP address.