# Plan Storage Migration Service cutover around the server identity handoff

> What must be accepted when Storage Migration Service transfers a server identity?

- Canonical URL: https://update.dsesecurity.com/updates/dse-20260908-026-plan-storage-migration-service-cutover-around-the-server-identity-handoff/
- Publisher: Detection Systems & Engineering (DSE Security)
- Author: DSE Security Editorial Team
- Published: 2026-09-08T18:16:45+00:00
- Modified: 2026-09-08T18:17:14+00:00
- Last reviewed by DSE: 2026-09-08
- Resource type: Guide
- DSE priority: Information
- Topics: Business Continuity, IT
- Reading time: 1 minutes

## What you need to know

What must be accepted when Storage Migration Service transfers a server identity?

## Potentially affected

Use this review when the inventory and transfer work has reached an approved identity-handoff decision.

## DSE recommendation

Prepare an endpoint worksheet and have a second administrator check it against the migration plan.

## Article

## Source facts

Cutover transfers the source computer’s network identity to the destination. Microsoft states that the source retains its files afterward but is no longer available to users and applications. Before cutover, the administrator supplies the destination network configuration and can select a unique replacement name for the source. The service exposes progress descriptions for the individual cutover stages. [Microsoft documentation](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/storage/storage-migration-service/cutover).

## Applicability

Use this review when the inventory and transfer work has reached an approved identity-handoff decision. Identify both computers, their intended final names, and the users and applications that must reach the destination.

## DSE recommendation

Prepare an endpoint worksheet and have a second administrator check it against the migration plan. Name the person who will authorize the handoff and the workload owners who will accept it. Communicate the interruption window and preserve the pre-cutover state needed by the approved recovery procedure. Keep the retained source files under controlled ownership while acceptance remains open.

## Verification

Record the reported cutover stages and verify the resulting names and network configuration. Test the actual client paths and application operations selected in advance. Confirm that users reach the intended destination and that the source is handled according to the approved plan. Investigate partial completion before declaring the migration accepted.

## Official references

[Microsoft Learn: How cutover works in Storage Migration Service](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/storage/storage-migration-service/cutover). Source reviewed September 8, 2026.

## Primary reference

- Name: How cutover works in Storage Migration Service
- Authority: Microsoft Learn
- URL: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/storage/storage-migration-service/cutover
- Source publication date: Not stated by the source

## Citation and use

Preferred citation: “Plan Storage Migration Service cutover around the server identity handoff,” DSE Security, https://update.dsesecurity.com/updates/dse-20260908-026-plan-storage-migration-service-cutover-around-the-server-identity-handoff/
Publishing principles: https://update.dsesecurity.com/updates/dse-updates-editorial-methodology/
Usage and citation policy: https://update.dsesecurity.com/usage/
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