Backup Notification

[uprising]

I'm currently using a cron job ( /usr/local/psa/admin/sbin/backupmng >/dev/null 2>&1 ) to run daily domain backups since the option to backup domains via the CP doesn't appear to be working. This workaround was set up by my hosting company and does seem to work reliably. However I'd like to know more about what >/dev/null 2>&1 does and also if there's an option I can add to get an email notification of when a backup starts and ends. I'm sure this was a function available on my older version of Plesk.

Any help or tips gladly welcome