Ok, I used four lines, but my needs for retention might be a bit more complex than most. I also spaced each pipeline command, so it looks longer than it should, but readability is important. Additionally, there’s a good half-page of comments in the script than can safely be ignored, unless you want to know what was going through my mind. Most of these related directly to my desired retention periods.

For testing purposes, the last two “lines” only print out the listing of files that would be deleted.

[shell]

Param ($backupDir)

# Handle 30-day backup recyclables first (no directory recursion since each backup is in its own directory)

# The current backup schedule performs weekly configuration backups with 1-month retention.

Get-ChildItem “$backupDir\backup_data” | `

`

Where-Object {(($_.FullName -match “configuration_isxpr01_") -and ( $_.CreationTime -lt ((Get-Date).AddMonths(-1)) ) )} | `

`

ForEach-Object {`

Out-File -filepath “$backupDir\log” -inputobject $((Get-Date -format g) + “Removing " + $_.FullName + " from " + $_.CreationTime) -append`

Remove-Item $_.FullName -recurse}

# Handle 7-day backup recyclables next (no directory recursion since each backup is in its own directory)

# The current backup schedule performs weekly configuration backups with 1-week retention.

# No “overwrite option available, so this script manages removal

Get-ChildItem “$backupDir\backup_data” | `

`

Where-Object {(($_.FullName -match “backup_isxpr01_") -and ( $_.CreationTime -lt ((Get-Date).AddDays(-7)) ) )} | `

`

ForEach-Object {(Remove-Item $_.FullName -recurse)}

# Handle daily trend data recyclables next (use recursion parameter).

# The current daily trend export schedule requires 1-month retention for 24-hr trend data.

Get-ChildItem -include *.zip -recurse -path “$backupDir\trend_data_export” | `

`

Where-Object {(($_.FullName -match “24-hr”) -and ( $_.CreationTime -lt ((Get-Date).AddMonths(-1)) ) )} | `

`

ForEach-Object {($_.FullName)}

# Handle monthly trend data recyclables next (use recursion parameter).

# The current monthly trend export schedule requires 5-year retention for 30-day trend data.

Get-ChildItem -include *.zip -recurse -path “$backupDir\trend_data_export” | `

`

Where-Object {(($_.FullName -match “30-day”) -and ( $_.CreationTime -lt ((Get-Date).AddYears(-5)) ) )} | `

`

ForEach-Object {($_.FullName)}

[/shell]