A database clone is a complete and separate copy of a database system that includes the business data, the DBMS software and any other application tiers that make up the environment. Cloning is a different kind of operation to replication and backup

Backup

In information technology, a backup or the process of backing up is making copies of data which may be used to restore the original after a data loss event. The verb form is back up in two words, whereas the noun is backup....

s in that the cloned environment is both fully functional and separate in its own right. Additionally the cloned environment may be modified at its inception due to configuration changes or data subsetting.

The cloning refers to the replication of the server in order to have a backup, to upgrade the environment.