An image is a point-in-time 'snapshot' of your source SQL Server database, which can be created from one of two different sources:

• Database backup files - This is either a single full database backup file, or a set of files, for differential or striped backups. Two formats are supported:
  
  • SQL Server .bak - SQL Server's native .bak format.
  • Redgate SQL Backup .sqb - Redgate SQL Backup .sqb file format.
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• Live SQL Server database - It will contain a full copy of all the data and metadata that make up the source database.
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When creating an image you can edit the schema or data contained in the source database by specifying modifications.

You can read more about images in SQL Clone in our How SQL Clone Works page.