Well it's not a hypothetical solution, the script is probably about the same length as the timer config. I used logger because it's better practice to log and

Well it's not a hypothetical solution, the script is probably about the same length as the timer config. I used logger because it's better practice to log and for the logger to send email, you can send email using the mail command or msmtp. The timing was omitted because it is trivial and didnt serve to illustrate the point, just do backup && touch /var/lib/lastbackup && exit 0, with a if at the start of the script like if [ -x "$(find -mtime -1 /var/lib/lastbackup)" ] The mid-backup shutdown is a property of the backup script, you'll have to consider that even using systemd. Sadly there are not many distros without systemd. Everyone is strained in resources and Redhat is pumping money into the ecosystem, so it's really easy to take over most of it. Like I said I don't dislike systemd, I think it adds value, but it's just not the best solution since it does not integrate with others well. EDIT: >You don't like systemd, then do not use it and move on. But this is the issue with systemd: you can't. Want gnome? needs dbus, which needs logind which is systemd. Need libvirt? also needs dbus. Need Y? Needs systemd-tmpfs, which packages the whole systemd as a dependency. Same thing for systemd-udev. The interlock is so brutal most distros are forced to switch because they can't handle the dev burden.