New to backing up DC Games

I have just gotten a DC and am wondering what software I need to back up games. People are talking about a boot disk, then about different software programs for different games. What is the deal? CDR-WIN, disk juggler, and clone cd all support my drive, but what about this boot disk thing? Do i need to add files to the image before I burn it so that it will boot? Help!

-Azazelen