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How do I migrate files and their domain ACL privilege settings from a Windows server to my Synology NAS?

Last updated:Apr 24, 2025

How do I migrate files and their domain ACL privilege settings from a Windows server to my Synology NAS?

Purpose

This article provides steps for migrating files and folders, along with their ACL privilege settings, from a Windows server to your Synology NAS.

Environment

Make sure your Synology NAS and Windows server are joined to the same Active Directory (AD) domain. Refer to this article for more information about joining your Synology NAS to an AD domain.

Resolution

  1. Configure the destination shared folder for data migration on your Synology NAS

    1. Sign in to DSM using an account belonging to the administrators group.
    2. Go to Control Panel > Shared Folder, and then select the folder that you want to use as the destination shared folder.
    3. Click Edit, and go to the Permissions tab. Select Local groups in the drop-down list. Make sure that the administrators group has Read/Write privileges enabled for the shared folder. Click OK.

  2. Connect to the destination shared folder from your Windows server

    1. Sign in to your Windows server with an account that has full access to the source folder that you want to migrate.
    2. In Windows File Explorer, map the destination shared folder on your Synology NAS as a network drive on the Windows server using a DSM account belonging to the administrators group.
      • For example, if the DSM administrator account is "MyAdmin", use "localhost\MyAdmin" as the user name when prompted for authorization. Refer to this article for more details.

  3. Perform data migration on the Windows server

    1. Download and install FastCopy.1
    2. Launch FastCopy and do the following:
      1. Click Source and select a source folder on the Windows server.2
      2. Click DestDir and select the destination shared folder on your Synology NAS (which is now mapped as a network drive).
      3. Select ACL.
      4. Click Execute.
    3. FastCopy will start copying files along with their ACL privilege settings from the Windows server to the shared folder on your Synology NAS.3 4
    4. Make sure that the copying process is not interrupted. The ACL privilege settings will not be migrated until the process is complete.

Notes:

  1. According to its EULA, the latest version is free to use only for personal, non-commercial purposes. For commercial use, a paid Pro license is required, or you can use FastCopy 4.2.2 instead, the last free version for commercial use.
  2. If you select a folder that contains inherited permissions as the Source folder, the inherited permissions will not be migrated to the destination folder. To migrate these inherited permissions, you must select the folder that the permissions were originally assigned to as the Source folder.
    • For example, the folder structure is C:\W\X\Y\Z. Permissions are set on folder X, so folders Y and Z will inherit those permissions. In this case, if you select Y or Z as the Source folder, the inherited permissions will not be migrated to the destination folder. The permissions can only be migrated if you select X as the Source folder in FastCopy.
  3. Only domain users' or groups' ACL privilege settings will be migrated.
  4. ACL privilege settings inherited from the Windows server's root folder will not be migrated.
Purpose
Environment
Resolution
Configure the destination shared folder for data migration on your Synology NAS
Connect to the destination shared folder from your Windows server
Perform data migration on the Windows server