Is there a Vise-Versa alternative? Issue with copying speed

You can use the Robocopy tool which is built into Windows (both 2008 and 2012 R2 will have it), as this tool has the ability to preserve your file permissions. Here's a quick sample command which you can use to move all of your files in D:\Folder to your 2012 R2 server and retain the timestamp, attributes and NTFS permissions:

Robocopy D:\Folder \\2012R2\Share /E /COPY:DATS /DCOPY:T /MOVE /R:1 /W:1 /V /NP /LOG:D:\file_move.log

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You will obviously need to create the share first on the 2012R2 server with the correct sharing permissions before running the above command.

EDIT: Feel free to omit the /MOVE switch as this will copy the files to your 2012 server instead of moving them.

any raid volumes involved here? 80 MBytes/sec is the maximum you will probably get out of the 125MB theoretical maximum

Does robocopy preserver "previous versions"? If so, I should be able to run robocopy then Vice-Versa to check differences during off hours?

No it doesn't as Previous Versions stores the history of the files in a hidden location on the same drive that the files are on.  Once you move the files to another drive/server you will lose the Previous Versions of those files. That's why I would probably recommend copying the files to your 2012 server as opposed to moving them.

Can you also please reply to David Johnson's question? Would be good to know if you have any RAID volumes so we can tell you what to expect in terms of copy speeds.

If I was to copy, I wouldn't lose previous versions?

We are using RAID5 but we're also using a SAN that does that.  I have been copy through file explorer with 80MB/s

I am getting an error on /DCOPY:T

I used /COPY:T instead and it went over but I don't see the previous versions on the new server.

    Files :
  Options : /S /E /COPY:DATS /R:1000000 /W:30

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

ERROR : Invalid Parameter #5 : "/DCOPY:T"

       Simple Usage :: ROBOCOPY source destination /MIR

             source :: Source Directory (drive:\path or \\server\share\path).
        destination :: Destination Dir  (drive:\path or \\server\share\path).
               /MIR :: Mirror a complete directory tree.

    For more usage information run ROBOCOPY /? or read Robocopy.Doc.

NOTE: Read "True Replication" in Robocopy.Doc prior to first use of /MIR !
****  /MIR can DELETE files as well as copy them !

I am getting an error on /DCOPY:T

The /DCOPY switch is meant to copy over the timestamps on the directories however it seems that maybe the version of Robocopy on your server doesn't support this switch. Just take this out of the robocopy command, don't replace it with /COPY:T (I'll explain why below).

I used /COPY:T instead and it went over but I don't see the previous versions on the new server.

This will not preserve the NTFS permissions which I believe is something you originally wanted. The /COPY switch with the T flag means that you are only copying over the timestamp information on the files and nothing else. In my original bit of code you'll notice I specified the DATS flags to be used with the /COPY switch. Here's a breakdown of what each flag means: D=Data, A=Attributes, T=Timestamps, S=Security (i.e. NTFS ACLs)

As for the Previous Versions (otherwise known as Shadow Copies), you cannot simply copy this over from one server to another as it is enabled for the entire drive itself and not individual folders. You can verify this by right clicking on any local drive on the server in Explorer > Configure Shadow Copies. There's no way that I know of to copy over the Shadow Copies of one drive to another.

What you'll need to do is firstly enable and configure Shadow Copies on the new 2012 R2 server, copy over the files from your 2008 server, then allow the Shadow Copies to be created on the new server. Leave the files on the old 2008 server until you are happy with the amount of Shadow Copies taken on the 2012 R2 server, where you can then look at removing the files from the old 2008 server.

I will need to preserve basically everything. I can survive without the Previous versions. I am using a 2008 r2 standard server with all updates.
I found these instructions below and not sure now.
http://community.spiceworks.com/scripts/show/1855-robocopy-source-destination-while-retaining-acl-s

In that case just use this command below:

Robocopy D:\Folder \\2012R2\Share /E /COPY:DATSO /R:1 /W:1 /V /NP /LOG:D:\file_move.log

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This will copy the contents to the 2012 server and will also preserve the ACLs. Make sure you run the above command in an elevated Command Prompt (i.e. right click Command Prompt > Run as administrator).

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