backing up a big DB

We have a 23TB Oracle database and the full backup times are a problem. We are currently backing it up to an NFS on weekends. I am trying to see options on cutting down the time. I am looking into incrementally updated backups, which I think may cut down the backup time drastically. I am concerned about the long run though. Since it copies over only the changed data, I am wondering what will happen if some not-frequently accessed block in the backup goes corrupt in the backup. I am thinking that it may be a problem when it is time to do a restore. Am I warranted in this kind of thinking? I am wondering about the VALIDATE command used on a backup of a big DB of this size. Anyone uses VALIDATE on such big backups? How long does it take. All ideas welcome. 19c.

PS. No money for BCV or a parallel dataguard server to offload backups.

Orlando.

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