diff --git a/dev-tools/build_release.py b/dev-tools/build_release.py
index af3baed7e7d..8ae300d98fd 100644
--- a/dev-tools/build_release.py
+++ b/dev-tools/build_release.py
@@ -6,10 +6,10 @@
 # not use this file except in compliance  with the License.
 # You may obtain a copy of the License at
 #
-# http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
 #
 # Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
-# software distributed under the License is distributed on
+# software distributed under the License is distributed on 
 # an 'AS IS' BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND,
 # either express or implied. See the License for the specific
 # language governing permissions and limitations under the License.
@@ -19,119 +19,146 @@ import tempfile
 import shutil
 import os
 import datetime
-import argparse
-import github3
-import smtplib
+import json
+import time
 import sys
+import argparse
+import hmac
+import urllib
+import fnmatch
+import socket
+import urllib.request
+import subprocess
 
-from email.mime.multipart import MIMEMultipart
-from email.mime.text import MIMEText
+from functools import partial
+from http.client import HTTPConnection
+from http.client import HTTPSConnection
 
-from os.path import dirname, abspath
 
-"""
- This tool builds a release from the a given elasticsearch plugin branch.
+""" 
+ This tool builds a release from the a given elasticsearch branch.
  In order to execute it go in the top level directory and run:
-   $ python3 dev_tools/build_release.py --branch master --publish --remote origin
+   $ python3 dev_tools/build_release.py --branch 0.90 --publish --remote origin
 
  By default this script runs in 'dry' mode which essentially simulates a release. If the
- '--publish' option is set the actual release is done.
-
-   $ python3 dev_tools/build_release.py --publish --remote origin
-
- The script takes over almost all
+ '--publish' option is set the actual release is done. The script takes over almost all
  steps necessary for a release from a high level point of view it does the following things:
 
-  - run prerequisite checks
+  - run prerequisit checks ie. check for Java 1.7 being presend or S3 credentials available as env variables
   - detect the version to release from the specified branch (--branch) or the current branch
-  - creates a version release branch & updates pom.xml to point to a release version rather than a snapshot
-  - builds the artifacts
-  - commits the new version and merges the version release branch into the source branch
-  - merges the master release branch into the master branch
-  - creates a tag and pushes branch and master to the specified origin (--remote)
-  - publishes the releases to sonatype
+  - creates a release branch & updates pom.xml and Version.java to point to a release version rather than a snapshot
+  - builds the artifacts and runs smoke-tests on the build zip & tar.gz files
+  - commits the new version and merges the release branch into the source branch
+  - creates a tag and pushes the commit to the specified origin (--remote)
+  - publishes the releases to Sonatype and S3
 
 Once it's done it will print all the remaining steps.
 
  Prerequisites:
     - Python 3k for script execution
+    - Boto for S3 Upload ($ apt-get install python-boto)
+    - RPM for RPM building ($ apt-get install rpm)
+    - S3 keys exported via ENV variables (AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID,  AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY)
+    - GPG data exported via ENV variables (GPG_KEY_ID, GPG_PASSPHRASE, optionally GPG_KEYRING)
+    - S3 target repository via ENV variables (S3_BUCKET_SYNC_TO, optionally S3_BUCKET_SYNC_FROM)
 """
 env = os.environ
 
+PLUGINS = [('license', 'elasticsearch/license/latest'),
+           ('bigdesk', 'lukas-vlcek/bigdesk'),
+           ('paramedic', 'karmi/elasticsearch-paramedic'),
+           ('segmentspy', 'polyfractal/elasticsearch-segmentspy'),
+           ('inquisitor', 'polyfractal/elasticsearch-inquisitor'),
+           ('head', 'mobz/elasticsearch-head')]
+
 LOG = env.get('ES_RELEASE_LOG', '/tmp/elasticsearch_release.log')
-ROOT_DIR = abspath(os.path.join(abspath(dirname(__file__)), '../'))
-POM_FILE = ROOT_DIR + '/pom.xml'
 
-##########################################################
-#
-# Utility methods (log and run)
-#
-##########################################################
-# Log a message
+# console colors
+COLOR_OK = '\033[92m'
+COLOR_END = '\033[0m'
+COLOR_FAIL = '\033[91m'
+
 def log(msg):
-    log_plain('\n%s' % msg)
+  log_plain('\n%s' % msg)
 
-
-# Purge the log file
-def purge_log():
-    try:
-        os.remove(LOG)
-    except FileNotFoundError:
-        pass
-
-
-# Log a message to the LOG file
 def log_plain(msg):
-    f = open(LOG, mode='ab')
-    f.write(msg.encode('utf-8'))
-    f.close()
+  f = open(LOG, mode='ab')
+  f.write(msg.encode('utf-8'))
+  f.close()
 
-
-# Run a command and log it
 def run(command, quiet=False):
-    log('%s: RUN: %s\n' % (datetime.datetime.now(), command))
-    if os.system('%s >> %s 2>&1' % (command, LOG)):
-        msg = '    FAILED: %s [see log %s]' % (command, LOG)
-        if not quiet:
-            print(msg)
-        raise RuntimeError(msg)
+  log('%s: RUN: %s\n' % (datetime.datetime.now(), command))
+  if os.system('%s >> %s 2>&1' % (command, LOG)):
+    msg = '    FAILED: %s [see log %s]' % (command, LOG)
+    if not quiet:
+      print(msg)
+    raise RuntimeError(msg)
 
-##########################################################
-#
-# Clean logs and check JAVA and Maven
-#
-##########################################################
 try:
-    purge_log()
-    JAVA_HOME = env['JAVA_HOME']
+  JAVA_HOME = env['JAVA_HOME']
 except KeyError:
-    raise RuntimeError("""
+  raise RuntimeError("""
   Please set JAVA_HOME in the env before running release tool
   On OSX use: export JAVA_HOME=`/usr/libexec/java_home -v '1.7*'`""")
 
 try:
-    MVN = 'mvn'
-    # make sure mvn3 is used if mvn3 is available
-    # some systems use maven 2 as default
-    run('mvn3 --version', quiet=True)
-    MVN = 'mvn3'
-except RuntimeError:
-    pass
+  JAVA_HOME = env['JAVA7_HOME']
+except KeyError:
+  pass #no JAVA7_HOME - we rely on JAVA_HOME
 
 
+try:
+  # make sure mvn3 is used if mvn3 is available
+  # some systems use maven 2 as default
+  subprocess.check_output('mvn3 --version', shell=True, stderr=subprocess.STDOUT)
+  MVN = 'mvn3'
+except subprocess.CalledProcessError:
+  MVN = 'mvn'
+
 def java_exe():
-    path = JAVA_HOME
-    return 'export JAVA_HOME="%s" PATH="%s/bin:$PATH" JAVACMD="%s/bin/java"' % (path, path, path)
+  path = JAVA_HOME
+  return 'export JAVA_HOME="%s" PATH="%s/bin:$PATH" JAVACMD="%s/bin/java"' % (path, path, path)
 
+def verify_java_version(version):
+  s = os.popen('%s; java -version 2>&1' % java_exe()).read()
+  if ' version "%s.' % version not in s:
+    raise RuntimeError('got wrong version for java %s:\n%s' % (version, s))
+
+# Verifies the java version. We guarantee that we run with Java 1.7
+# If 1.7 is not available fail the build!
+def verify_mvn_java_version(version, mvn):
+  s = os.popen('%s; %s --version 2>&1' % (java_exe(), mvn)).read()
+  if 'Java version: %s' % version not in s:
+    raise RuntimeError('got wrong java version for %s %s:\n%s' % (mvn, version, s))
+
+# Returns the hash of the current git HEAD revision
+def get_head_hash():
+  return os.popen(' git rev-parse --verify HEAD 2>&1').read().strip()
+
+# Returns the hash of the given tag revision
+def get_tag_hash(tag):
+  return os.popen('git show-ref --tags %s --hash 2>&1' % (tag)).read().strip()
+
+# Returns the name of the current branch
+def get_current_branch():
+  return os.popen('git rev-parse --abbrev-ref HEAD  2>&1').read().strip()
 
-##########################################################
-#
-# String and file manipulation utils
-#
-##########################################################
 # Utility that returns the name of the release branch for a given version
-def release_branch(branchsource, version):
-    return 'release_branch_%s_%s' % (branchsource, version)
+def release_branch(version):
+  return 'release_branch_%s' % version
+
+# runs get fetch on the given remote
+def fetch(remote):
+  run('git fetch %s' % remote)
+
+# Creates a new release branch from the given source branch
+# and rebases the source branch from the remote before creating
+# the release branch. Note: This fails if the source branch
+# doesn't exist on the provided remote.
+def create_release_branch(remote, src_branch, release):
+  run('git checkout %s' % src_branch)
+  run('git pull --rebase %s %s' % (remote, src_branch))
+  run('git checkout -b %s' % (release_branch(release)))
 
 
 # Reads the given file and applies the
@@ -139,204 +166,367 @@ def release_branch(branchsource, version):
 # a line the given file is replaced with
 # the modified input.
 def process_file(file_path, line_callback):
-    fh, abs_path = tempfile.mkstemp()
-    modified = False
-    with open(abs_path, 'w', encoding='utf-8') as new_file:
-        with open(file_path, encoding='utf-8') as old_file:
-            for line in old_file:
-                new_line = line_callback(line)
-                modified = modified or (new_line != line)
-                new_file.write(new_line)
-    os.close(fh)
-    if modified:
-        #Remove original file
-        os.remove(file_path)
-        #Move new file
-        shutil.move(abs_path, file_path)
-        return True
-    else:
-        # nothing to do - just remove the tmp file
-        os.remove(abs_path)
-        return False
-
-
-# Split a version x.y.z as an array of digits [x,y,z]
-def split_version_to_digits(version):
-    return list(map(int, re.findall(r'\d+', version)))
-
-
-# Guess the next snapshot version number (increment last digit)
-def guess_snapshot(version):
-    digits = split_version_to_digits(version)
-    source = '%s.%s.%s' % (digits[0], digits[1], digits[2])
-    destination = '%s.%s.%s' % (digits[0], digits[1], digits[2] + 1)
-    return version.replace(source, destination)
-
-
-# Guess the anchor in generated documentation
-# Looks like this "#version-230-for-elasticsearch-13"
-def get_doc_anchor(release, esversion):
-    plugin_digits = split_version_to_digits(release)
-    es_digits = split_version_to_digits(esversion)
-    return '#version-%s%s%s-for-elasticsearch-%s%s' % (
-        plugin_digits[0], plugin_digits[1], plugin_digits[2], es_digits[0], es_digits[1])
+  fh, abs_path = tempfile.mkstemp()
+  modified = False
+  with open(abs_path,'w', encoding='utf-8') as new_file:
+    with open(file_path, encoding='utf-8') as old_file:
+      for line in old_file:
+        new_line = line_callback(line)
+        modified = modified or (new_line != line)
+        new_file.write(new_line)
+  os.close(fh)
+  if modified:
+    #Remove original file
+    os.remove(file_path)
+    #Move new file
+    shutil.move(abs_path, file_path)
+    return True
+  else:
+    # nothing to do - just remove the tmp file
+    os.remove(abs_path)
+    return False
 
+# Walks the given directory path (defaults to 'docs')
+# and replaces all 'coming[$version]' tags with
+# 'added[$version]'. This method only accesses asciidoc files.
+def update_reference_docs(release_version, path='docs'):
+  pattern = 'coming[%s' % (release_version)
+  replacement = 'added[%s' % (release_version)
+  pending_files = []
+  def callback(line):
+    return line.replace(pattern, replacement)
+  for root, _, file_names in os.walk(path):
+    for file_name in fnmatch.filter(file_names, '*.asciidoc'):
+      full_path = os.path.join(root, file_name)
+      if process_file(full_path, callback):
+        pending_files.append(os.path.join(root, file_name))
+  return pending_files
 
 # Moves the pom.xml file from a snapshot to a release
 def remove_maven_snapshot(pom, release):
-    pattern = '<version>%s-SNAPSHOT</version>' % release
-    replacement = '<version>%s</version>' % release
+  pattern = '<version>%s-SNAPSHOT</version>' % (release)
+  replacement = '<version>%s</version>' % (release)
+  def callback(line):
+    return line.replace(pattern, replacement)
+  process_file(pom, callback)
 
-    def callback(line):
-        return line.replace(pattern, replacement)
+# Moves the Version.java file from a snapshot to a release
+def remove_version_snapshot(version_file, release):
+  # 1.0.0.Beta1 -> 1_0_0_Beta1
+  release = release.replace('.', '_')
+  pattern = 'new Version(V_%s_ID, true' % (release)
+  replacement = 'new Version(V_%s_ID, false' % (release)
+  def callback(line):
+    return line.replace(pattern, replacement)
+  process_file(version_file, callback)
 
-    process_file(pom, callback)
+# Stages the given files for the next git commit
+def add_pending_files(*files):
+  for file in files:
+    run('git add %s' % (file))
 
+# Executes a git commit with 'release [version]' as the commit message
+def commit_release(release):
+  run('git commit -m "release [%s]"' % release)
 
-# Moves the pom.xml file to the next snapshot
-def add_maven_snapshot(pom, release, snapshot):
-    pattern = '<version>%s</version>' % release
-    replacement = '<version>%s-SNAPSHOT</version>' % snapshot
+def commit_feature_flags(release):
+    run('git commit -m "Update Documentation Feature Flags [%s]"' % release)
 
-    def callback(line):
-        return line.replace(pattern, replacement)
+def tag_release(release):
+  run('git tag -a v%s -m "Tag release version %s"' % (release, release))
 
-    process_file(pom, callback)
+def run_mvn(*cmd):
+  for c in cmd:
+    run('%s; %s %s' % (java_exe(), MVN, c))
 
+def build_release(run_tests=False, dry_run=True, cpus=1, bwc_version=None):
+  target = 'deploy'
+  if dry_run:
+    target = 'package'
+  if run_tests:
+    run_mvn('clean',
+            'test -Dtests.jvms=%s -Des.node.mode=local' % (cpus),
+            'test -Dtests.jvms=%s -Des.node.mode=network' % (cpus))
+  if bwc_version:
+      print('Running Backwards compatibility tests against version [%s]' % (bwc_version))
+      run_mvn('clean', 'test -Dtests.filter=@backwards -Dtests.bwc.version=%s -Dtests.bwc=true -Dtests.jvms=1' % bwc_version)
+  run_mvn('clean test-compile -Dforbidden.test.signatures="org.apache.lucene.util.LuceneTestCase\$AwaitsFix @ Please fix all bugs before release"')
+  gpg_args = '-Dgpg.key="%s" -Dgpg.passphrase="%s" -Ddeb.sign=true' % (env.get('GPG_KEY_ID'), env.get('GPG_PASSPHRASE'))
+  if env.get('GPG_KEYRING'):
+    gpg_args += ' -Dgpg.keyring="%s"' % env.get('GPG_KEYRING')
+  run_mvn('clean %s -DskipTests %s' % (target, gpg_args))
+  success = False
+  try:
+    run_mvn('-DskipTests rpm:rpm %s' % (gpg_args))
+    success = True
+  finally:
+    if not success:
+      print("""
+  RPM Bulding failed make sure "rpm" tools are installed.
+  Use on of the following commands to install:
+    $ brew install rpm # on OSX
+    $ apt-get install rpm # on Ubuntu et.al
+  """)
 
-# Checks the pom.xml for the release version. <version>2.0.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+# Uses the github API to fetch open tickets for the given release version
+# if it finds any tickets open for that version it will throw an exception
+def ensure_no_open_tickets(version):
+  version = "v%s" % version
+  conn = HTTPSConnection('api.github.com')
+  try:
+    log('Checking for open tickets on Github for version %s' % version)
+    log('Check if node is available')
+    conn.request('GET', '/repos/elastic/elasticsearch/issues?state=open&labels=%s' % version, headers= {'User-Agent' : 'Elasticsearch version checker'})
+    res = conn.getresponse()
+    if res.status == 200:
+      issues = json.loads(res.read().decode("utf-8"))
+      if issues:
+        urls = []
+        for issue in issues:
+          urls.append(issue['html_url'])
+        raise RuntimeError('Found open issues for release version %s:\n%s' % (version, '\n'.join(urls)))
+      else:
+        log("No open issues found for version %s" % version)
+    else:
+      raise RuntimeError('Failed to fetch issue list from Github for release version %s' % version)
+  except socket.error as e:
+    log("Failed to fetch issue list from Github for release version %s' % version - Exception: [%s]" % (version, e))
+    #that is ok it might not be there yet
+  finally:
+    conn.close()
+
+def wait_for_node_startup(host='127.0.0.1', port=9200,timeout=15):
+  for _ in range(timeout):
+    conn = HTTPConnection(host, port, timeout)
+    try:
+      log('Waiting until node becomes available for 1 second')
+      time.sleep(1)
+      log('Check if node is available')
+      conn.request('GET', '')
+      res = conn.getresponse()
+      if res.status == 200:
+        return True
+    except socket.error as e:
+      log("Failed while waiting for node - Exception: [%s]" % e)
+      #that is ok it might not be there yet
+    finally:
+      conn.close()
+
+  return False
+
+# Ensures we are using a true Lucene release, not a snapshot build:
+def verify_lucene_version():
+  s = open('pom.xml', encoding='utf-8').read()
+  if 'download.elastic.co/lucenesnapshots' in s:
+    raise RuntimeError('pom.xml contains download.elastic.co/lucenesnapshots repository: remove that before releasing')
+
+  m = re.search(r'<lucene.version>(.*?)</lucene.version>', s)
+  if m is None:
+    raise RuntimeError('unable to locate lucene.version in pom.xml')
+  lucene_version = m.group(1)
+
+  m = re.search(r'<lucene.maven.version>(.*?)</lucene.maven.version>', s)
+  if m is None:
+    raise RuntimeError('unable to locate lucene.maven.version in pom.xml')
+  lucene_maven_version = m.group(1)
+  if lucene_version != lucene_maven_version:
+    raise RuntimeError('pom.xml is still using a snapshot release of lucene (%s): cutover to a real lucene release before releasing' % lucene_maven_version)
+    
+# Checks the pom.xml for the release version.
 # This method fails if the pom file has no SNAPSHOT version set ie.
 # if the version is already on a release version we fail.
 # Returns the next version string ie. 0.90.7
 def find_release_version(src_branch):
-    git_checkout(src_branch)
-    with open(POM_FILE, encoding='utf-8') as file:
-        for line in file:
-            match = re.search(r'<version>(.+)-SNAPSHOT</version>', line)
-            if match:
-                return match.group(1)
-        raise RuntimeError('Could not find release version in branch %s' % src_branch)
+  run('git checkout %s' % src_branch)
+  with open('pom.xml', encoding='utf-8') as file:
+    for line in file:
+      match = re.search(r'<version>(.+)-SNAPSHOT</version>', line)
+      if match:
+        return match.group(1)
+    raise RuntimeError('Could not find release version in branch %s' % src_branch)
 
+def artifact_names(release, path = ''):
+  return [os.path.join(path, 'elasticsearch-%s.%s' % (release, t)) for t in ['deb', 'tar.gz', 'zip']]
 
-# extract a value from pom.xml
-def find_from_pom(tag):
-    with open(POM_FILE, encoding='utf-8') as file:
-        for line in file:
-            match = re.search(r'<%s>(.+)</%s>' % (tag, tag), line)
-            if match:
-                return match.group(1)
-        raise RuntimeError('Could not find <%s> in pom.xml file' % (tag))
+def get_artifacts(release):
+  common_artifacts = artifact_names(release, 'target/releases/')
+  for f in common_artifacts:
+    if not os.path.isfile(f):
+      raise RuntimeError('Could not find required artifact at %s' % f)
+  rpm = os.path.join('target/rpm/elasticsearch/RPMS/noarch/', 'elasticsearch-%s-1.noarch.rpm' % release)
+  if os.path.isfile(rpm):
+    log('RPM [%s] contains: ' % rpm)
+    run('rpm -pqli %s' % rpm)
+    # this is an oddness of RPM that is attches -1 so we have to rename it
+    renamed_rpm = os.path.join('target/rpm/elasticsearch/RPMS/noarch/', 'elasticsearch-%s.noarch.rpm' % release)
+    shutil.move(rpm, renamed_rpm)
+    common_artifacts.append(renamed_rpm)
+  else:
+    raise RuntimeError('Could not find required artifact at %s' % rpm)
+  return common_artifacts
 
+# Checks the jar files in each package
+# Barfs if any of the package jar files differ
+def check_artifacts_for_same_jars(artifacts):
+  jars = []
+  for file in artifacts:
+    if file.endswith('.zip'):
+      jars.append(subprocess.check_output("unzip -l %s  | grep '\.jar$' | awk -F '/' '{ print $NF }' | sort" % file, shell=True))
+    if file.endswith('.tar.gz'):
+      jars.append(subprocess.check_output("tar tzvf %s  | grep '\.jar$' | awk -F '/' '{ print $NF }' | sort" % file, shell=True))
+    if file.endswith('.rpm'):
+      jars.append(subprocess.check_output("rpm -pqli %s | grep '\.jar$' | awk -F '/' '{ print $NF }' | sort" % file, shell=True))
+    if file.endswith('.deb'):
+      jars.append(subprocess.check_output("dpkg -c %s   | grep '\.jar$' | awk -F '/' '{ print $NF }' | sort" % file, shell=True))
+  if len(set(jars)) != 1:
+    raise RuntimeError('JAR contents of packages are not the same, please check the package contents. Use [unzip -l], [tar tzvf], [dpkg -c], [rpm -pqli] to inspect')
 
-##########################################################
-#
-# GIT commands
-#
-##########################################################
-# Returns the hash of the current git HEAD revision
-def get_head_hash():
-    return os.popen('git rev-parse --verify HEAD 2>&1').read().strip()
+# Generates sha1 checsums for all files
+# and returns the checksum files as well
+# as the given files in a list
+def generate_checksums(files):
+  res = []
+  for release_file in files:
+    directory = os.path.dirname(release_file)
+    file = os.path.basename(release_file)
+    checksum_file = '%s.sha1.txt' % file
 
+    if os.system('cd %s; shasum %s > %s' % (directory, file, checksum_file)):
+      raise RuntimeError('Failed to generate checksum for file %s' % release_file)
+    res = res + [os.path.join(directory, checksum_file), release_file]
+  return res
 
-# Returns the name of the current branch
-def get_current_branch():
-    return os.popen('git rev-parse --abbrev-ref HEAD  2>&1').read().strip()
-
-
-# runs get fetch on the given remote
-def fetch(remote):
-    run('git fetch %s' % remote)
-
-
-# Creates a new release branch from the given source branch
-# and rebases the source branch from the remote before creating
-# the release branch. Note: This fails if the source branch
-# doesn't exist on the provided remote.
-def create_release_branch(remote, src_branch, release):
-    git_checkout(src_branch)
-    run('git pull --rebase %s %s' % (remote, src_branch))
-    run('git checkout -b %s' % (release_branch(src_branch, release)))
-
-
-# Stages the given files for the next git commit
-def add_pending_files(*files):
+def download_and_verify(release, files, plugins=None, base_url='https://download.elastic.co/elasticsearch/elasticsearch'):
+  print('Downloading and verifying release %s from %s' % (release, base_url))
+  tmp_dir = tempfile.mkdtemp()
+  try:
+    downloaded_files = []
     for file in files:
-        run('git add %s' % file)
+      name = os.path.basename(file)
+      url = '%s/%s' % (base_url, name)
+      abs_file_path = os.path.join(tmp_dir, name)
+      print('  Downloading %s' % (url))
+      downloaded_files.append(abs_file_path)
+      urllib.request.urlretrieve(url, abs_file_path)
+      url = ''.join([url, '.sha1.txt'])
+      checksum_file = os.path.join(tmp_dir, ''.join([abs_file_path, '.sha1.txt']))
+      urllib.request.urlretrieve(url, checksum_file)
+      print('  Verifying checksum %s' % (checksum_file))
+      run('cd %s && sha1sum -c %s' % (tmp_dir, os.path.basename(checksum_file)))
+    smoke_test_release(release, downloaded_files, get_tag_hash('v%s' % release), plugins)
+    print('  SUCCESS')
+  finally:
+    shutil.rmtree(tmp_dir)
 
-
-# Executes a git commit with 'release [version]' as the commit message
-def commit_release(artifact_id, release):
-    run('git commit -m "prepare release %s-%s"' % (artifact_id, release))
-
-
-# Commit documentation changes on the master branch
-def commit_master(release):
-    run('git commit -m "update documentation with release %s"' % release)
-
-
-# Commit next snapshot files
-def commit_snapshot():
-    run('git commit -m "prepare for next development iteration"')
-
-
-# Put the version tag on on the current commit
-def tag_release(release):
-    run('git tag -a v%s -m "Tag release version %s"' % (release, release))
-
-
-# Checkout a given branch
-def git_checkout(branch):
-    run('git checkout %s' % branch)
-
-
-# Merge the release branch with the actual branch
-def git_merge(src_branch, release_version):
-    git_checkout(src_branch)
-    run('git merge %s' % release_branch(src_branch, release_version))
-
-
-# Push the actual branch and master branch
-def git_push(remote, src_branch, release_version, dry_run):
-    if not dry_run:
-        run('git push %s %s master' % (remote, src_branch))  # push the commit and the master
-        run('git push %s v%s' % (remote, release_version))  # push the tag
+def smoke_test_release(release, files, expected_hash, plugins):
+  for release_file in files:
+    if not os.path.isfile(release_file):
+      raise RuntimeError('Smoketest failed missing file %s' % (release_file))
+    tmp_dir = tempfile.mkdtemp()
+    if release_file.endswith('tar.gz'):
+      run('tar -xzf %s -C %s' % (release_file, tmp_dir))
+    elif release_file.endswith('zip'):
+      run('unzip %s -d %s' % (release_file, tmp_dir))
     else:
-        print('  dryrun [True] -- skipping push to remote %s %s master' % (remote, src_branch))
+      log('Skip SmokeTest for [%s]' % release_file)
+      continue # nothing to do here
+    es_run_path = os.path.join(tmp_dir, 'elasticsearch-%s' % (release), 'bin/elasticsearch')
+    print('  Smoke testing package [%s]' % release_file)
+    es_plugin_path = os.path.join(tmp_dir, 'elasticsearch-%s' % (release),'bin/plugin')
+    plugin_names = {}
+    for name, plugin  in plugins:
+      print('  Install plugin [%s] from [%s]' % (name, plugin))
+      run('%s; %s %s %s' % (java_exe(), es_plugin_path, '-install', plugin))
+      plugin_names[name] = True
 
+    if release.startswith("0.90."):
+      background = '' # 0.90.x starts in background automatically
+    else:
+      background = '-d'
+    print('  Starting elasticsearch deamon from [%s]' % os.path.join(tmp_dir, 'elasticsearch-%s' % release))
+    run('%s; %s -Des.node.name=smoke_tester -Des.cluster.name=prepare_release -Des.discovery.zen.ping.multicast.enabled=false -Des.script.inline=on -Des.script.indexed=on %s'
+         % (java_exe(), es_run_path, background))
+    conn = HTTPConnection('127.0.0.1', 9200, 20);
+    wait_for_node_startup()
+    try:
+      try:
+        conn.request('GET', '')
+        res = conn.getresponse()
+        if res.status == 200:
+          version = json.loads(res.read().decode("utf-8"))['version']
+          if release != version['number']:
+            raise RuntimeError('Expected version [%s] but was [%s]' % (release, version['number']))
+          if version['build_snapshot']:
+            raise RuntimeError('Expected non snapshot version')
+          if version['build_hash'].strip() !=  expected_hash:
+            raise RuntimeError('HEAD hash does not match expected [%s] but got [%s]' % (expected_hash, version['build_hash']))
+          print('  Running REST Spec tests against package [%s]' % release_file)
+          run_mvn('test -Dtests.cluster=%s -Dtests.class=*.*RestTests' % ("127.0.0.1:9300"))
+          print('  Verify if plugins are listed in _nodes')
+          conn.request('GET', '/_nodes?plugin=true&pretty=true')
+          res = conn.getresponse()
+          if res.status == 200:
+            nodes = json.loads(res.read().decode("utf-8"))['nodes']
+            for _, node in nodes.items():
+              node_plugins = node['plugins']
+              for node_plugin in node_plugins:
+                if not plugin_names.get(node_plugin['name'], False):
+                  raise RuntimeError('Unexpeced plugin %s' % node_plugin['name'])
+                del plugin_names[node_plugin['name']]
+            if plugin_names:
+              raise RuntimeError('Plugins not loaded %s' % list(plugin_names.keys()))
 
-##########################################################
-#
-# Maven commands
-#
-##########################################################
-# Run a given maven command
-def run_mvn(*cmd):
-    for c in cmd:
-        run('%s; %s -f %s %s' % (java_exe(), MVN, POM_FILE, c))
+          else:
+           raise RuntimeError('Expected HTTP 200 but got %s' % res.status)
+        else:
+          raise RuntimeError('Expected HTTP 200 but got %s' % res.status)
+      finally:
+        conn.request('POST', '/_cluster/nodes/_local/_shutdown')
+        time.sleep(1) # give the node some time to shut down
+        if conn.getresponse().status != 200:
+          raise RuntimeError('Expected HTTP 200 but got %s on node shutdown' % res.status)
 
+    finally:
+      conn.close()
+    shutil.rmtree(tmp_dir)
 
-# Run deploy or package depending on dry_run
-# Default to run mvn package
-# When run_tests=True a first mvn clean test is run
-def build_release(run_tests=False, dry_run=True):
-    target = 'deploy'
-    tests = '-DskipTests'
-    if run_tests:
-        tests = ''
+def merge_tag_push(remote, src_branch, release_version, dry_run):
+  run('git checkout %s' %  src_branch)
+  run('git merge %s' %  release_branch(release_version))
+  run('git tag v%s' % release_version)
+  if not dry_run:
+    run('git push %s %s' % (remote, src_branch)) # push the commit
+    run('git push %s v%s' % (remote, release_version)) # push the tag
+  else:
+    print('  dryrun [True] -- skipping push to remote %s' % remote)
+
+def publish_artifacts(artifacts, base='elasticsearch/elasticsearch', dry_run=True):
+  location = os.path.dirname(os.path.realpath(__file__))
+  for artifact in artifacts:
     if dry_run:
-        target = 'package'
-    run_mvn('clean %s %s' % (target, tests))
+      print('Skip Uploading %s to Amazon S3' % artifact)
+    else:
+      print('Uploading %s to Amazon S3' % artifact)
+      # requires boto to be installed but it is not available on python3k yet so we use a dedicated tool
+      run('python %s/upload-s3.py --file %s ' % (location, os.path.abspath(artifact)))
 
+def publish_repositories(version, dry_run=True):
+  if dry_run:
+    print('Skipping package repository update')
+  else:
+    print('Triggering repository update - calling dev-tools/build_repositories.sh %s' % version)
+    # src_branch is a version like 1.5/1.6/2.0/etc.. so we can use this
+    run('dev-tools/build_repositories.sh %s' % src_branch)
 
 def print_sonatype_notice():
-    settings = os.path.join(os.path.expanduser('~'), '.m2/settings.xml')
-    if os.path.isfile(settings):
-        with open(settings, encoding='utf-8') as settings_file:
-            for line in settings_file:
-                if line.strip() == '<id>sonatype-nexus-snapshots</id>':
-                    # moving out - we found the indicator no need to print the warning
-                    return
-    print("""
+  settings = os.path.join(os.path.expanduser('~'), '.m2/settings.xml')
+  if os.path.isfile(settings):
+     with open(settings, encoding='utf-8') as settings_file:
+       for line in settings_file:
+         if line.strip() == '<id>sonatype-nexus-snapshots</id>':
+           # moving out - we found the indicator no need to print the warning
+           return
+  print("""
     NOTE: No sonatype settings detected, make sure you have configured
     your sonatype credentials in '~/.m2/settings.xml':
 
@@ -358,146 +548,256 @@ def print_sonatype_notice():
   </settings>
   """)
 
+def check_command_exists(name, cmd):
+  try:
+    subprocess.check_output(cmd, shell=True, stderr=subprocess.STDOUT)
+  except subprocess.CalledProcessError:
+    raise RuntimeError('Could not run command %s - please make sure it is installed' % (name))
 
-# we print a notice if we can not find the relevant infos in the ~/.m2/settings.xml
-print_sonatype_notice()
+VERSION_FILE = 'src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/Version.java'
+POM_FILE = 'pom.xml'
+
+# finds the highest available bwc version to test against
+def find_bwc_version(release_version, bwc_dir='backwards'):
+  log('  Lookup bwc version in directory [%s]' % bwc_dir)
+  bwc_version = None
+  if os.path.exists(bwc_dir) and os.path.isdir(bwc_dir):
+    max_version = [int(x) for x in release_version.split('.')]
+    for dir in os.listdir(bwc_dir):
+      if os.path.isdir(os.path.join(bwc_dir, dir)) and dir.startswith('elasticsearch-'):
+        version = [int(x) for x in dir[len('elasticsearch-'):].split('.')]
+        if version < max_version: # bwc tests only against smaller versions
+          if (not bwc_version) or version > [int(x) for x in bwc_version.split('.')]:
+            bwc_version = dir[len('elasticsearch-'):]
+    log('  Using bwc version [%s]' % bwc_version)
+  else:
+    log('  bwc directory [%s] does not exists or is not a directory - skipping' % bwc_dir)
+  return bwc_version
+
+def ensure_checkout_is_clean(branchName):
+  # Make sure no local mods:
+  s = subprocess.check_output('git diff --shortstat', shell=True)
+  if len(s) > 0:
+    raise RuntimeError('git diff --shortstat is non-empty: got:\n%s' % s)
+
+  # Make sure no untracked files:
+  s = subprocess.check_output('git status', shell=True).decode('utf-8', errors='replace')
+  if 'Untracked files:' in s:
+    raise RuntimeError('git status shows untracked files: got:\n%s' % s)
+
+  # Make sure we are on the right branch (NOTE: a bit weak, since we default to current branch):
+  if 'On branch %s' % branchName not in s:
+    raise RuntimeError('git status does not show branch %s: got:\n%s' % (branchName, s))
+
+  # Make sure we have all changes from origin:
+  if 'is behind' in s:
+    raise RuntimeError('git status shows not all changes pulled from origin; try running "git pull origin %s": got:\n%s' % (branchName, s))
+
+  # Make sure we no local unpushed changes (this is supposed to be a clean area):
+  if 'is ahead' in s:
+    raise RuntimeError('git status shows local commits; try running "git fetch origin", "git checkout %s", "git reset --hard origin/%s": got:\n%s' % (branchName, branchName, s))
+
+# Checks all source files for //NORELEASE comments
+def check_norelease(path='src'):
+  pattern = re.compile(r'\bnorelease\b', re.IGNORECASE)
+  for root, _, file_names in os.walk(path):
+    for file_name in fnmatch.filter(file_names, '*.java'):
+      full_path = os.path.join(root, file_name)
+      line_number = 0
+      with open(full_path, 'r', encoding='utf-8') as current_file:
+        for line in current_file:
+          line_number = line_number + 1
+          if pattern.search(line):
+            raise RuntimeError('Found //norelease comment in %s line %s' % (full_path, line_number))
+
+def run_and_print(text, run_function):
+  try:
+    print(text, end='')
+    run_function()
+    print(COLOR_OK + 'OK' + COLOR_END)
+    return True
+  except RuntimeError:
+    print(COLOR_FAIL + 'NOT OK' + COLOR_END)
+    return False
+
+def check_env_var(text, env_var):
+  try:
+    print(text, end='')
+    env[env_var]
+    print(COLOR_OK + 'OK' + COLOR_END)
+    return True
+  except KeyError:
+    print(COLOR_FAIL + 'NOT OK' + COLOR_END)
+    return False
+
+def check_environment_and_commandline_tools(check_only):
+  checks = list()
+  checks.append(check_env_var('Checking for AWS env configuration AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY_ID...     ', 'AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY'))
+  checks.append(check_env_var('Checking for AWS env configuration AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID...            ', 'AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID'))
+  checks.append(check_env_var('Checking for SONATYPE env configuration SONATYPE_USERNAME...       ', 'SONATYPE_USERNAME'))
+  checks.append(check_env_var('Checking for SONATYPE env configuration SONATYPE_PASSWORD...       ', 'SONATYPE_PASSWORD'))
+  checks.append(check_env_var('Checking for GPG env configuration GPG_KEY_ID...                   ', 'GPG_KEY_ID'))
+  checks.append(check_env_var('Checking for GPG env configuration GPG_PASSPHRASE...               ', 'GPG_PASSPHRASE'))
+  checks.append(check_env_var('Checking for S3 repo upload env configuration S3_BUCKET_SYNC_TO... ', 'S3_BUCKET_SYNC_TO'))
+  checks.append(check_env_var('Checking for git env configuration GIT_AUTHOR_NAME...              ', 'GIT_AUTHOR_NAME'))
+  checks.append(check_env_var('Checking for git env configuration GIT_AUTHOR_EMAIL...             ', 'GIT_AUTHOR_EMAIL'))
+
+  checks.append(run_and_print('Checking command: rpm...            ', partial(check_command_exists, 'rpm', 'rpm --version')))
+  checks.append(run_and_print('Checking command: dpkg...           ', partial(check_command_exists, 'dpkg', 'dpkg --version')))
+  checks.append(run_and_print('Checking command: gpg...            ', partial(check_command_exists, 'gpg', 'gpg --version')))
+  checks.append(run_and_print('Checking command: expect...         ', partial(check_command_exists, 'expect', 'expect -v')))
+  checks.append(run_and_print('Checking command: createrepo...     ', partial(check_command_exists, 'createrepo', 'createrepo --version')))
+  checks.append(run_and_print('Checking command: s3cmd...          ', partial(check_command_exists, 's3cmd', 's3cmd --version')))
+  checks.append(run_and_print('Checking command: apt-ftparchive... ', partial(check_command_exists, 'apt-ftparchive', 'apt-ftparchive --version')))
+
+  # boto, check error code being returned
+  location = os.path.dirname(os.path.realpath(__file__))
+  command = 'python %s/upload-s3.py -h' % (location)
+  checks.append(run_and_print('Testing boto python dependency...   ', partial(check_command_exists, 'python-boto', command)))
+
+  checks.append(run_and_print('Checking java version...            ', partial(verify_java_version, '1.7')))
+  checks.append(run_and_print('Checking java mvn version...        ', partial(verify_mvn_java_version, '1.7', MVN)))
+
+  if check_only:
+    sys.exit(0)
+
+  if False in checks:
+    print("Exiting due to failing checks")
+    sys.exit(0)
 
 if __name__ == '__main__':
-    parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(description='Builds and publishes a Elasticsearch Plugin Release')
-    parser.add_argument('--branch', '-b', metavar='master', default=get_current_branch(),
-                        help='The branch to release from. Defaults to the current branch.')
-    parser.add_argument('--skiptests', '-t', dest='tests', action='store_false',
-                        help='Skips tests before release. Tests are run by default.')
-    parser.set_defaults(tests=True)
-    parser.add_argument('--remote', '-r', metavar='origin', default='origin',
-                        help='The remote to push the release commit and tag to. Default is [origin]')
-    parser.add_argument('--publish', '-p', dest='dryrun', action='store_false',
-                        help='Publishes the release. Disable by default.')
-    parser.add_argument('--disable_mail', '-dm', dest='mail', action='store_false',
-                        help='Do not send a release email. Email is sent by default.')
+  parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(description='Builds and publishes a Elasticsearch Release')
+  parser.add_argument('--branch', '-b', metavar='RELEASE_BRANCH', default=get_current_branch(),
+                       help='The branch to release from. Defaults to the current branch.')
+  parser.add_argument('--cpus', '-c', metavar='1', default=1,
+                       help='The number of cpus to use for running the test. Default is [1]')
+  parser.add_argument('--skiptests', '-t', dest='tests', action='store_false',
+                      help='Skips tests before release. Tests are run by default.')
+  parser.set_defaults(tests=True)
+  parser.add_argument('--remote', '-r', metavar='origin', default='origin',
+                      help='The remote to push the release commit and tag to. Default is [origin]')
+  parser.add_argument('--publish', '-d', dest='dryrun', action='store_false',
+                      help='Publishes the release. Disable by default.')
+  parser.add_argument('--smoke', '-s', dest='smoke', default='',
+                      help='Smoke tests the given release')
+  parser.add_argument('--bwc', '-w', dest='bwc', metavar='backwards', default='backwards',
+                      help='Backwards compatibility version path to use to run compatibility tests against')
+  parser.add_argument('--check-only', dest='check_only', action='store_true',
+                      help='Checks and reports for all requirements and then exits')
 
-    parser.set_defaults(dryrun=True)
-    parser.set_defaults(mail=True)
-    args = parser.parse_args()
+  parser.set_defaults(dryrun=True)
+  parser.set_defaults(smoke=None)
+  parser.set_defaults(check_only=False)
+  args = parser.parse_args()
+  bwc_path = args.bwc
+  src_branch = args.branch
+  remote = args.remote
+  run_tests = args.tests
+  dry_run = args.dryrun
+  cpus = args.cpus
+  build = not args.smoke
+  smoke_test_version = args.smoke
 
-    src_branch = args.branch
-    remote = args.remote
-    run_tests = args.tests
-    dry_run = args.dryrun
-    mail = args.mail
+  check_environment_and_commandline_tools(args.check_only)
 
-    if src_branch == 'master':
-        raise RuntimeError('Can not release the master branch. You need to create another branch before a release')
+  # we print a notice if we can not find the relevant infos in the ~/.m2/settings.xml
+  print_sonatype_notice()
 
-    if not dry_run:
-        print('WARNING: dryrun is set to "false" - this will push and publish the release')
-        input('Press Enter to continue...')
+  # we require to build with 1.7
+  verify_java_version('1.7')
+  verify_mvn_java_version('1.7', MVN)
 
-    print(''.join(['-' for _ in range(80)]))
-    print('Preparing Release from branch [%s] running tests: [%s] dryrun: [%s]' % (src_branch, run_tests, dry_run))
-    print('  JAVA_HOME is [%s]' % JAVA_HOME)
-    print('  Running with maven command: [%s] ' % (MVN))
+  if os.path.exists(LOG):
+    raise RuntimeError('please remove old release log %s first' % LOG)
 
+  if not dry_run:
+    print('WARNING: dryrun is set to "false" - this will push and publish the release')
+    input('Press Enter to continue...')
+
+  print(''.join(['-' for _ in range(80)]))
+  print('Preparing Release from branch [%s] running tests: [%s] dryrun: [%s]' % (src_branch, run_tests, dry_run))
+  print('  JAVA_HOME is [%s]' % JAVA_HOME)
+  print('  Running with maven command: [%s] ' % (MVN))
+  if build:
+    check_norelease(path='src')
+    ensure_checkout_is_clean(src_branch)
+    verify_lucene_version()
     release_version = find_release_version(src_branch)
-    artifact_id = find_from_pom('artifactId')
-    artifact_name = find_from_pom('name')
-    artifact_description = find_from_pom('description')
-    elasticsearch_version = find_from_pom('elasticsearch.version')
-    print('  Artifact Id: [%s]' % artifact_id)
-    print('  Release version: [%s]' % release_version)
-    print('  Elasticsearch: [%s]' % elasticsearch_version)
-    if elasticsearch_version.find('-SNAPSHOT') != -1:
-        raise RuntimeError('Can not release with a SNAPSHOT elasticsearch dependency: %s' % elasticsearch_version)
-
-    # extract snapshot
-    default_snapshot_version = guess_snapshot(release_version)
-    snapshot_version = input('Enter next snapshot version [%s]:' % default_snapshot_version)
-    snapshot_version = snapshot_version or default_snapshot_version
-
-    print('  Next version: [%s-SNAPSHOT]' % snapshot_version)
-    print('  Artifact Name: [%s]' % artifact_name)
-    print('  Artifact Description: [%s]' % artifact_description)
-
+    ensure_no_open_tickets(release_version)
     if not dry_run:
-        smoke_test_version = release_version
-
-    try:
-        git_checkout(src_branch)
-        version_hash = get_head_hash()
-        run_mvn('clean')  # clean the env!
-        create_release_branch(remote, src_branch, release_version)
-        print('  Created release branch [%s]' % (release_branch(src_branch, release_version)))
-    except RuntimeError:
-        print('Logs:')
-        with open(LOG, 'r') as log_file:
-            print(log_file.read())
-        sys.exit(-1)
-
+      smoke_test_version = release_version
+    head_hash = get_head_hash()
+    run_mvn('clean') # clean the env!
+    print('  Release version: [%s]' % release_version)
+    create_release_branch(remote, src_branch, release_version)
+    print('  Created release branch [%s]' % (release_branch(release_version)))
     success = False
     try:
-        ########################################
-        # Start update process in version branch
-        ########################################
-        pending_files = [POM_FILE]
-        remove_maven_snapshot(POM_FILE, release_version)
-        print('  Done removing snapshot version')
-        add_pending_files(*pending_files)  # expects var args use * to expand
-        commit_release(artifact_id, release_version)
-        print('  Committed release version [%s]' % release_version)
-        print(''.join(['-' for _ in range(80)]))
-        print('Building Release candidate')
-        input('Press Enter to continue...')
-        if not dry_run:
-            print('  Running maven builds now and publish to sonatype - run-tests [%s]' % run_tests)
-        else:
-            print('  Running maven builds now run-tests [%s]' % run_tests)
-        build_release(run_tests=run_tests, dry_run=dry_run)
-
-        print(''.join(['-' for _ in range(80)]))
-
-        print('Finish Release -- dry_run: %s' % dry_run)
-        input('Press Enter to continue...')
-
-        print('  merge release branch')
-        git_merge(src_branch, release_version)
-        print('  tag')
-        tag_release(release_version)
-
-        add_maven_snapshot(POM_FILE, release_version, snapshot_version)
-        add_pending_files(*pending_files)
-        commit_snapshot()
-
-        print('  push to %s %s -- dry_run: %s' % (remote, src_branch, dry_run))
-        git_push(remote, src_branch, release_version, dry_run)
-
-        pending_msg = """
-Release successful pending steps:
-    * close and release sonatype repo: https://oss.sonatype.org/
-    * check if the release is there https://oss.sonatype.org/content/repositories/releases/org/elasticsearch/%(artifact_id)s/%(version)s
-"""
-        print(pending_msg % {'version': release_version,
-                             'artifact_id': artifact_id})
-        success = True
+      pending_files = [POM_FILE, VERSION_FILE]
+      remove_maven_snapshot(POM_FILE, release_version)
+      remove_version_snapshot(VERSION_FILE, release_version)
+      print('  Done removing snapshot version')
+      add_pending_files(*pending_files) # expects var args use * to expand
+      commit_release(release_version)
+      pending_files = update_reference_docs(release_version)
+      version_head_hash = None
+      # split commits for docs and version to enable easy cherry-picking
+      if pending_files:
+        add_pending_files(*pending_files) # expects var args use * to expand
+        commit_feature_flags(release_version)
+        version_head_hash = get_head_hash()
+      print('  Committed release version [%s]' % release_version)
+      print(''.join(['-' for _ in range(80)]))
+      print('Building Release candidate')
+      input('Press Enter to continue...')
+      if not dry_run:
+        print('  Running maven builds now and publish to Sonatype - run-tests [%s]' % run_tests)
+      else:
+        print('  Running maven builds now run-tests [%s]' % run_tests)
+      build_release(run_tests=run_tests, dry_run=dry_run, cpus=cpus, bwc_version=find_bwc_version(release_version, bwc_path))
+      artifacts = get_artifacts(release_version)
+      print('Checking if all artifacts contain the same jars')
+      check_artifacts_for_same_jars(artifacts)
+      artifacts_and_checksum = generate_checksums(artifacts)
+      smoke_test_release(release_version, artifacts, get_head_hash(), PLUGINS)
+      print(''.join(['-' for _ in range(80)]))
+      print('Finish Release -- dry_run: %s' % dry_run)
+      input('Press Enter to continue...')
+      print('  merge release branch, tag and push to %s %s -- dry_run: %s' % (remote, src_branch, dry_run))
+      merge_tag_push(remote, src_branch, release_version, dry_run)
+      print('  publish artifacts to S3 -- dry_run: %s' % dry_run)
+      publish_artifacts(artifacts_and_checksum, dry_run=dry_run)
+      print('  Updating package repositories -- dry_run: %s' % dry_run)
+      publish_repositories(src_branch, dry_run=dry_run)
+      cherry_pick_command = '.'
+      if version_head_hash:
+        cherry_pick_command = ' and cherry-pick the documentation changes: \'git cherry-pick %s\' to the development branch' % (version_head_hash)
+      pending_msg = """
+      Release successful pending steps:
+        * create a new vX.Y.Z label on github for the next release, with label color #dddddd (https://github.com/elastic/elasticsearch/labels)
+        * publish the maven artifacts on Sonatype: https://oss.sonatype.org/index.html
+           - here is a guide: http://central.sonatype.org/pages/releasing-the-deployment.html
+        * check if the release is there https://oss.sonatype.org/content/repositories/releases/org/elasticsearch/elasticsearch/%(version)s
+        * announce the release on the website / blog post
+        * tweet about the release
+        * announce the release in the google group/mailinglist
+        * Move to a Snapshot version to the current branch for the next point release%(cherry_pick)s
+      """
+      print(pending_msg % { 'version' : release_version, 'cherry_pick' : cherry_pick_command} )
+      success = True
     finally:
-        if not success:
-            print('Logs:')
-            with open(LOG, 'r') as log_file:
-                print(log_file.read())
-            git_checkout(src_branch)
-            run('git reset --hard %s' % version_hash)
-            try:
-                run('git tag -d v%s' % release_version)
-            except RuntimeError:
-                pass
-        elif dry_run:
-            print('End of dry_run')
-            input('Press Enter to reset changes...')
-            git_checkout(src_branch)
-            run('git reset --hard %s' % version_hash)
-            run('git tag -d v%s' % release_version)
-
-        # we delete this one anyways
-        run('git branch -D %s' % (release_branch(src_branch, release_version)))
-
-        # Checkout the branch we started from
-        git_checkout(src_branch)
+      if not success:
+        run('git reset --hard HEAD')
+        run('git checkout %s' %  src_branch)
+      elif dry_run:
+        run('git reset --hard %s' % head_hash)
+        run('git tag -d v%s' % release_version)
+      # we delete this one anyways
+      run('git branch -D %s' %  (release_branch(release_version)))
+  else:
+    print("Skipping build - smoketest only against version %s" % smoke_test_version)
+    run_mvn('clean') # clean the env!
+    
+  if smoke_test_version:
+    fetch(remote)
+    download_and_verify(smoke_test_version, artifact_names(smoke_test_version), plugins=PLUGINS)