March 28, 2024
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How to copy files and NTFS permissions between servers. This is a really helpful tip and critical with NTFS permissions using robocopy.

I needed to copy 5 gigs of data from one server to another and the permissions were very difficult to replicate. Here is a good way to do it using robocopy.

How to Use Robocopy

1. Grab a copy of the Windows 2003 resource kit and install
2. Copy robocopy.exe from the C:\Program Files\Windows Resource Kits\Tools and paste it into the c: root of the server that you want to copy files to
3. Open up a command prompt, cd\ to get yourself to the root of C: drive and then type in robocopy /E /SEC /COPYALL
4. Wait for files and permissions to transfer…and you are done!

I was able to do this with many files and 5 gigs of data across servers on the same lan in about 12 minutes.

This seems to be fast but the copying of permissions with the files makes this a perfect solution to that age old problem of moving data and permissions when moving application data or even desktop data for users.

Here is one example of how useful some of those free apps in the Windows 2003 resource kit are when admining Windows apps and servers. Robocopy has a lot of options and there is more information than this in the robocopy document that comes in the Windows 2003 resource kit.