diff --git a/Cargo.lock b/Cargo.lock
index ecdf8a57..486ad4a1 100644
--- a/Cargo.lock
+++ b/Cargo.lock
@@ -1065,11 +1065,11 @@ dependencies = [
  "err-derive 0.3.1",
  "heed",
  "hexdump",
- "log",
  "mktemp",
  "pretty_env_logger",
  "rusqlite",
  "sled",
+ "tracing",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
@@ -1258,6 +1258,7 @@ dependencies = [
 name = "garage_util"
 version = "0.7.0"
 dependencies = [
+ "async-trait",
  "blake2",
  "chrono",
  "err-derive 0.3.1",
diff --git a/src/db/Cargo.toml b/src/db/Cargo.toml
index 6d8f64be..f697054b 100644
--- a/src/db/Cargo.toml
+++ b/src/db/Cargo.toml
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ required-features = ["cli"]
 [dependencies]
 err-derive = "0.3"
 hexdump = "0.1"
-log = "0.4"
+tracing = "0.1.30"
 
 heed = "0.11"
 rusqlite = { version = "0.27", features = ["bundled"] }
diff --git a/src/db/sqlite_adapter.rs b/src/db/sqlite_adapter.rs
index 68d96ca0..97a78b07 100644
--- a/src/db/sqlite_adapter.rs
+++ b/src/db/sqlite_adapter.rs
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ use std::pin::Pin;
 use std::ptr::NonNull;
 use std::sync::{Arc, Mutex, MutexGuard};
 
-use log::trace;
+use tracing::trace;
 
 use rusqlite::{params, Connection, Rows, Statement, Transaction};
 
diff --git a/src/util/Cargo.toml b/src/util/Cargo.toml
index 5d073436..57c70ffb 100644
--- a/src/util/Cargo.toml
+++ b/src/util/Cargo.toml
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ path = "lib.rs"
 [dependencies]
 garage_db = { version = "0.8.0", path = "../db" }
 
+async-trait = "0.1"
 blake2 = "0.9"
 err-derive = "0.3"
 xxhash-rust = { version = "0.8", default-features = false, features = ["xxh3"] }
diff --git a/src/util/background.rs b/src/util/background.rs
deleted file mode 100644
index d35425f5..00000000
--- a/src/util/background.rs
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,160 +0,0 @@
-//! Job runner for futures and async functions
-use core::future::Future;
-use std::pin::Pin;
-use std::sync::Arc;
-use std::time::Duration;
-
-use futures::future::*;
-use futures::select;
-use futures::stream::FuturesUnordered;
-use futures::StreamExt;
-use tokio::sync::{mpsc, mpsc::error::TryRecvError, watch, Mutex};
-
-use crate::error::Error;
-
-type JobOutput = Result<(), Error>;
-type Job = Pin<Box<dyn Future<Output = JobOutput> + Send>>;
-
-/// Job runner for futures and async functions
-pub struct BackgroundRunner {
-	stop_signal: watch::Receiver<bool>,
-	queue_in: mpsc::UnboundedSender<(Job, bool)>,
-	worker_in: mpsc::UnboundedSender<tokio::task::JoinHandle<()>>,
-}
-
-impl BackgroundRunner {
-	/// Create a new BackgroundRunner
-	pub fn new(
-		n_runners: usize,
-		stop_signal: watch::Receiver<bool>,
-	) -> (Arc<Self>, tokio::task::JoinHandle<()>) {
-		let (worker_in, mut worker_out) = mpsc::unbounded_channel();
-
-		let stop_signal_2 = stop_signal.clone();
-		let await_all_done = tokio::spawn(async move {
-			let mut workers = FuturesUnordered::new();
-			let mut shutdown_timer = 0;
-			loop {
-				let closed = match worker_out.try_recv() {
-					Ok(wkr) => {
-						workers.push(wkr);
-						false
-					}
-					Err(TryRecvError::Empty) => false,
-					Err(TryRecvError::Disconnected) => true,
-				};
-				select! {
-					res = workers.next() => {
-						if let Some(Err(e)) = res {
-							error!("Worker exited with error: {}", e);
-						}
-					}
-					_ = tokio::time::sleep(Duration::from_secs(1)).fuse() => {
-						if closed || *stop_signal_2.borrow() {
-							shutdown_timer += 1;
-							if shutdown_timer >= 10 {
-								break;
-							}
-						}
-					}
-				}
-			}
-		});
-
-		let (queue_in, queue_out) = mpsc::unbounded_channel();
-		let queue_out = Arc::new(Mutex::new(queue_out));
-
-		for i in 0..n_runners {
-			let queue_out = queue_out.clone();
-			let stop_signal = stop_signal.clone();
-
-			worker_in
-				.send(tokio::spawn(async move {
-					loop {
-						let (job, cancellable) = {
-							select! {
-								item = wait_job(&queue_out).fuse() => match item {
-									// We received a task, process it
-									Some(x) => x,
-									// We received a signal that no more tasks will ever be sent
-									// because the sending side was dropped. Exit now.
-									None => break,
-								},
-								_ = tokio::time::sleep(Duration::from_secs(5)).fuse() => {
-									if *stop_signal.borrow() {
-										// Nothing has been going on for 5 secs, and we are shutting
-										// down. Exit now.
-										break;
-									} else {
-										// Nothing is going on but we don't want to exit.
-										continue;
-									}
-								}
-							}
-						};
-						if cancellable && *stop_signal.borrow() {
-							continue;
-						}
-						if let Err(e) = job.await {
-							error!("Job failed: {}", e)
-						}
-					}
-					info!("Background worker {} exiting", i);
-				}))
-				.unwrap();
-		}
-
-		let bgrunner = Arc::new(Self {
-			stop_signal,
-			queue_in,
-			worker_in,
-		});
-		(bgrunner, await_all_done)
-	}
-
-	/// Spawn a task to be run in background
-	pub fn spawn<T>(&self, job: T)
-	where
-		T: Future<Output = JobOutput> + Send + 'static,
-	{
-		let boxed: Job = Box::pin(job);
-		self.queue_in
-			.send((boxed, false))
-			.map_err(|_| "could not put job in queue")
-			.unwrap();
-	}
-
-	/// Spawn a task to be run in background. It may get discarded before running if spawned while
-	/// the runner is stopping
-	pub fn spawn_cancellable<T>(&self, job: T)
-	where
-		T: Future<Output = JobOutput> + Send + 'static,
-	{
-		let boxed: Job = Box::pin(job);
-		self.queue_in
-			.send((boxed, true))
-			.map_err(|_| "could not put job in queue")
-			.unwrap();
-	}
-
-	pub fn spawn_worker<F, T>(&self, name: String, worker: F)
-	where
-		F: FnOnce(watch::Receiver<bool>) -> T + Send + 'static,
-		T: Future<Output = ()> + Send + 'static,
-	{
-		let stop_signal = self.stop_signal.clone();
-		let task = tokio::spawn(async move {
-			info!("Worker started: {}", name);
-			worker(stop_signal).await;
-			info!("Worker exited: {}", name);
-		});
-		self.worker_in
-			.send(task)
-			.map_err(|_| "could not put job in queue")
-			.unwrap();
-	}
-}
-
-async fn wait_job(q: &Mutex<mpsc::UnboundedReceiver<(Job, bool)>>) -> Option<(Job, bool)> {
-	q.lock().await.recv().await
-}
diff --git a/src/util/background/job_worker.rs b/src/util/background/job_worker.rs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..8cc660f8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/util/background/job_worker.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,52 @@
+//! Job worker: a generic worker that just processes incoming
+//! jobs one by one
+
+use std::sync::Arc;
+
+use async_trait::async_trait;
+use tokio::sync::{mpsc, Mutex};
+
+use crate::background::worker::*;
+use crate::background::*;
+
+pub(crate) struct JobWorker {
+	pub(crate) index: usize,
+	pub(crate) job_chan: Arc<Mutex<mpsc::UnboundedReceiver<(Job, bool)>>>,
+	pub(crate) next_job: Option<Job>,
+}
+
+#[async_trait]
+impl Worker for JobWorker {
+	fn name(&self) -> String {
+		format!("Job worker #{}", self.index)
+	}
+
+	async fn work(
+		&mut self,
+		_must_exit: &mut watch::Receiver<bool>,
+	) -> Result<WorkerStatus, Error> {
+		match self.next_job.take() {
+			None => return Ok(WorkerStatus::Idle),
+			Some(job) => {
+				job.await?;
+				Ok(WorkerStatus::Busy)
+			}
+		}
+	}
+
+	async fn wait_for_work(&mut self, must_exit: &mut watch::Receiver<bool>) -> WorkerStatus {
+		loop {
+			match self.job_chan.lock().await.recv().await {
+				Some((job, cancellable)) => {
+					if cancellable && *must_exit.borrow() {
+						// skip job
+						continue;
+					}
+					self.next_job = Some(job);
+					return WorkerStatus::Busy
+				}
+				None => return WorkerStatus::Done,
+			}
+		}
+	}
+}
diff --git a/src/util/background/mod.rs b/src/util/background/mod.rs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..97d25784
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/util/background/mod.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,91 @@
+//! Job runner for futures and async functions
+
+pub mod job_worker;
+pub mod worker;
+
+use core::future::Future;
+use std::pin::Pin;
+use std::sync::Arc;
+
+use tokio::sync::{mpsc, watch, Mutex};
+
+use crate::error::Error;
+use worker::{Worker, WorkerProcessor};
+
+pub(crate) type JobOutput = Result<(), Error>;
+pub(crate) type Job = Pin<Box<dyn Future<Output = JobOutput> + Send>>;
+
+/// Job runner for futures and async functions
+pub struct BackgroundRunner {
+	send_job: mpsc::UnboundedSender<(Job, bool)>,
+	send_worker: mpsc::UnboundedSender<Box<dyn Worker>>,
+}
+
+impl BackgroundRunner {
+	/// Create a new BackgroundRunner
+	pub fn new(
+		n_runners: usize,
+		stop_signal: watch::Receiver<bool>,
+	) -> (Arc<Self>, tokio::task::JoinHandle<()>) {
+		let (send_worker, worker_out) = mpsc::unbounded_channel::<Box<dyn Worker>>();
+
+		let await_all_done =
+			tokio::spawn(
+				async move { WorkerProcessor::new(worker_out, stop_signal).run().await },
+			);
+
+		let (send_job, queue_out) = mpsc::unbounded_channel();
+		let queue_out = Arc::new(Mutex::new(queue_out));
+
+		for i in 0..n_runners {
+			let queue_out = queue_out.clone();
+
+			send_worker.send(Box::new(job_worker::JobWorker {
+				index: i,
+				job_chan: queue_out.clone(),
+				next_job: None,
+			})).ok().unwrap();
+		}
+
+		let bgrunner = Arc::new(Self {
+			send_job,
+			send_worker,
+		});
+		(bgrunner, await_all_done)
+	}
+
+	/// Spawn a task to be run in background
+	pub fn spawn<T>(&self, job: T)
+	where
+		T: Future<Output = JobOutput> + Send + 'static,
+	{
+		let boxed: Job = Box::pin(job);
+		self.send_job
+			.send((boxed, false))
+			.ok()
+			.expect("Could not put job in queue");
+	}
+
+	/// Spawn a task to be run in background. It may get discarded before running if spawned while
+	/// the runner is stopping
+	pub fn spawn_cancellable<T>(&self, job: T)
+	where
+		T: Future<Output = JobOutput> + Send + 'static,
+	{
+		let boxed: Job = Box::pin(job);
+		self.send_job
+			.send((boxed, true))
+			.ok()
+			.expect("Could not put job in queue");
+	}
+
+	pub fn spawn_worker<W>(&self, worker: W)
+	where
+		W: Worker + 'static,
+	{
+		self.send_worker
+			.send(Box::new(worker))
+			.ok()
+			.expect("Could not put worker in queue");
+	}
+}
diff --git a/src/util/background/worker.rs b/src/util/background/worker.rs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..a173902c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/util/background/worker.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,145 @@
+use std::time::{Duration, Instant};
+
+use tracing::*;
+use async_trait::async_trait;
+use futures::future::*;
+use tokio::select;
+use futures::stream::FuturesUnordered;
+use futures::StreamExt;
+use tokio::sync::{mpsc, watch};
+
+use crate::error::Error;
+
+#[derive(PartialEq, Copy, Clone)]
+pub enum WorkerStatus {
+	Busy,
+	Idle,
+	Done,
+}
+
+#[async_trait]
+pub trait Worker: Send {
+	fn name(&self) -> String;
+	async fn work(&mut self, must_exit: &mut watch::Receiver<bool>) -> Result<WorkerStatus, Error>;
+	async fn wait_for_work(&mut self, must_exit: &mut watch::Receiver<bool>) -> WorkerStatus;
+}
+
+pub(crate) struct WorkerProcessor {
+	stop_signal: watch::Receiver<bool>,
+	worker_chan: mpsc::UnboundedReceiver<Box<dyn Worker>>,
+}
+
+impl WorkerProcessor {
+	pub(crate) fn new(
+		worker_chan: mpsc::UnboundedReceiver<Box<dyn Worker>>,
+		stop_signal: watch::Receiver<bool>,
+	) -> Self {
+		Self {
+			stop_signal,
+			worker_chan,
+		}
+	}
+
+	pub(crate) async fn run(&mut self) {
+		let mut workers = FuturesUnordered::new();
+		let mut next_task_id = 1;
+
+		while !*self.stop_signal.borrow() {
+			let await_next_worker = async {
+				if workers.is_empty() {
+					futures::future::pending().await
+				} else {
+					workers.next().await
+				}
+			};
+			select! {
+				new_worker_opt = self.worker_chan.recv() => {
+					if let Some(new_worker) = new_worker_opt {
+						let task_id = next_task_id;
+						next_task_id += 1;
+						let stop_signal = self.stop_signal.clone();
+						workers.push(async move {
+							let mut worker = WorkerHandler {
+								task_id,
+								stop_signal,
+								worker: new_worker,
+								status: WorkerStatus::Busy,
+							};
+							worker.step().await;
+							worker
+						}.boxed());
+					}
+				}
+				worker = await_next_worker => {
+					if let Some(mut worker) = worker {
+						// TODO save new worker status somewhere
+						if worker.status == WorkerStatus::Done {
+							info!("Worker {} (TID {}) exited", worker.worker.name(), worker.task_id);
+						} else {
+							workers.push(async move {
+								worker.step().await;
+								worker
+							}.boxed());
+						}
+					}
+				}
+				_ = self.stop_signal.changed() => (),
+			}
+		}
+
+		// We are exiting, drain everything
+		let drain_half_time = Instant::now() + Duration::from_secs(5);
+		let drain_everything = async move {
+			while let Some(mut worker) = workers.next().await {
+				if worker.status == WorkerStatus::Busy
+					|| (worker.status == WorkerStatus::Idle && Instant::now() < drain_half_time)
+				{
+					workers.push(async move {
+						worker.step().await;
+						worker
+					}.boxed());
+				} else {
+					info!("Worker {} (TID {}) exited", worker.worker.name(), worker.task_id);
+				}
+			}
+		};
+
+		select! {
+			_ = drain_everything => {
+				info!("All workers exited in time \\o/");
+			}
+			_ = tokio::time::sleep(Duration::from_secs(9)) => {
+				warn!("Some workers could not exit in time, we are cancelling some things in the middle.");
+			}
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+// TODO add tranquilizer
+struct WorkerHandler {
+	task_id: usize,
+	stop_signal: watch::Receiver<bool>,
+	worker: Box<dyn Worker>,
+	status: WorkerStatus,
+}
+
+impl WorkerHandler {
+	async fn step(&mut self) { 
+		match self.status {
+			WorkerStatus::Busy => {
+				match self.worker.work(&mut self.stop_signal).await {
+					Ok(s) => {
+						self.status = s;
+					}
+					Err(e) => {
+						error!("Error in worker {}: {}", self.worker.name(), e);
+					}
+				}
+			}
+			WorkerStatus::Idle => {
+				self.status = self.worker.wait_for_work(&mut self.stop_signal).await;
+			}
+			WorkerStatus::Done => unreachable!()
+		}
+	}
+}
diff --git a/src/util/lib.rs b/src/util/lib.rs
index 8ca6e310..fce151af 100644
--- a/src/util/lib.rs
+++ b/src/util/lib.rs
@@ -11,7 +11,6 @@ pub mod error;
 pub mod formater;
 pub mod metrics;
 pub mod persister;
-//pub mod sled_counter;
 pub mod time;
 pub mod token_bucket;
 pub mod tranquilizer;