Long running operation activated through UI

I'm new to Sitefinity so please bear with me.

I have a custom user control with a button.  When this button is clicked it performs a long running operation (in the vacinity of 30 minutes or so).  No issues during a debugging session but the page times out in live environment (obvious as the HTTP request times out).

What are my options to start a long running operation and provide regular feedback on the UI on status updates and error messages?  If there are several options, what's the preferred approach?

Thanks - John