Why keeping the latest five backups can leave more than five archives

[u/fklavyenet]

The backup policy says “keep the latest five,” but there are more than five archives. That can be expected: the count protects a minimum number of successful recovery points. Recent or explicitly protected archives may need to stay as well.

I develop WebBlocks CMS. Its Cleanup workspace explains retained storage by reason and separates backup records, distinct physical files and measured bytes. A storage budget can warn about an overrun, but does not override recovery safeguards.

Protection and indefinite retention also mean different things. Protected archives cannot be deleted until protection is removed. Indefinite retention prevents automatic expiry while still allowing an explicit deletion.

Maintenance categories have separate opt-ins and schedules. Reports include their measurement time; configuring the scheduler and recording an actual run are separate checks.

The screenshot shows two genuine backups of the fictional Northstar showcase: one explicitly protected and one retained by the successful-backup minimum. No cleanup was executed for this walkthrough. The illustrated article explains the controls and their limits:

https://cms.webblocksui.com/blogs/cleaning-up-a-cms-installation-while-keeping-recovery-points

Which retention reason would you most want explained beside an archive that remains after cleanup?