Storage Foundation (SFW) FlashSnap feature integrates with the Microsoft Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) to provide support for taking snapshots of Microsoft Exchange storage groups and SQL Server databases. This feature creates snapshots of all volumes that are associated with an Exchange storage group without taking the storage group's databases offline or disrupting the email flow. Similarly, it takes snapshots of all SQL database volumes, without taking the database offline. Volume Replicator leverages the SFW capability to take component snapshots and integrate it with the IBC messaging to create synchronized snapshots of the Exchange storage group and SQL database component on the Primary and Secondary. The synchronized snapshot on the Secondary can then be used to recover the data up to a certain consistent point-in-time quickly, in the case of a disaster at the Primary.