What is necessary to ensure permissions are maintained when migrating files to a new Windows server?

The use of the Storage Migration Service is crucial for maintaining file permissions when migrating data to a new Windows server. This service is specifically designed to simplify the migration of servers and their associated data while ensuring that the security and permissions settings are preserved accurately during the process.

When assets such as file shares and file permissions are migrated, the Storage Migration Service creates a reliable mapping between the old and new server environments. This allows it to carry over not only the files but also the accompanying NTFS permissions, share permissions, and ACLs (Access Control Lists). This capability is essential to maintain security compliance and to ensure that users retain their required access to files after migration.

In contrast, tools like migration assistants may facilitate the transfer of files but often do not guarantee the retention of permissions and security settings in the same robust manner as the Storage Migration Service. Solutions like Azure Backup are geared more toward backup and recovery than direct migration, and Windows File Recovery focuses on recovering deleted files rather than managing a structured migration of files along with their settings.