Creating a snapshot is a two-step process. The first step, prepare the volume for snapshot, creates snapshot mirrors attached to all the original volumes in the specified storage group. Depending on the size and number of volumes, the process of synchronizing the new snapshot mirrors with the original production volumes can take a long time. The second step uses the VSS Snapshot wizard to create the snapshot set by detaching the snapshot mirrors from the original volumes and creating separate on-host snapshot volumes as well as an XML file to store the Exchange and snapshot volume metadata. The VSS Snapshot wizard integrates with VSS to quiesce the databases and then simultaneously snapshot the volumes in the storage group. This snapshot is done while the databases are online and without disrupting the email flow. Once a snapshot set has been created, it can be reattached and resynchronized with the VSS Snapback wizard.