diff --git a/extra/openwrt-supplement-files/root/.profile b/extra/openwrt-supplement-files/root/.profile
deleted file mode 100644
index e59834d..0000000
--- a/extra/openwrt-supplement-files/root/.profile
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,2 +0,0 @@
-alias d='ls -la --color=auto'
-alias wopkg='/usr/share/lua/wifibox/opkg.conf'
diff --git a/updater-ng/release-ng.lua b/extra/scripts/publish-wifibox-release.lua
similarity index 98%
rename from updater-ng/release-ng.lua
rename to extra/scripts/publish-wifibox-release.lua
index f611dda..20e3d53 100755
--- a/updater-ng/release-ng.lua
+++ b/extra/scripts/publish-wifibox-release.lua
@@ -44,10 +44,10 @@ local paths = {}
 -----------------------
 
 local function loadUpdateManager()
-	package.path = package.path .. ';' .. pl.path.join(paths.firmware, 'updater-ng') .. '/?.lua'
+	package.path = package.path .. ';' .. pl.path.join(paths.firmware, 'src') .. '/?.lua'
 	local argStash = arg
 	arg = nil
-	um = require('d3d-update-mgr') -- arg must be nil for the update manager to load as module
+	um = require('script.d3d-updater') -- arg must be nil for the update manager to load as module
 	arg = argStash
 end
 
@@ -68,9 +68,9 @@ local function getYesNo(question)
 		io.write(question)
 		io.flush()
 		answer = io.stdin:read('*line'):lower()
-	until answer == 'yes' or answer == 'no' or answer == 'n'
+	until answer == 'yes' or answer == 'y' or answer == 'no' or answer == 'n'
 
-	return (answer == 'yes') and true or false
+	return (answer:sub(1, 1) == 'y') and true or false
 end
 
 local function detectRootPrivileges()
diff --git a/extra/scripts/release-wifibox-updates-dir.sh b/extra/scripts/release-wifibox-updates-dir.sh
index 8f2a1eb..0b27b50 100755
--- a/extra/scripts/release-wifibox-updates-dir.sh
+++ b/extra/scripts/release-wifibox-updates-dir.sh
@@ -4,8 +4,8 @@
 # Using the -u option, it can also upload to doodle3d.com/updates (make sure ssh automatically uses the correct username, or change the rsync command below).
 # Modify WIFIBOX_BASE_DIR to point to your wifibox directory tree.
 
-WIFIBOX_BASE_DIR=~/Files/_devel/eclipse-workspace/wifibox
-DEST_DIR=~/Sites/wifibox
+WIFIBOX_BASE_DIR=~/Files/_devel/eclipse-workspace/doodle3d/doodle3d-firmware
+DEST_DIR=~/public_html/wifibox
 UPDATES_DIR=updates
 BASE_URL=doodle3d.com
 
diff --git a/src/script/d3d-updater.lua b/src/script/d3d-updater.lua
index 42bb48c..7e782d1 100644
--- a/src/script/d3d-updater.lua
+++ b/src/script/d3d-updater.lua
@@ -10,12 +10,12 @@
 --- This script provides an interface to upgrade or downgrade the Doodle3D wifibox.
 -- It can both be used as a standalone command-line tool and as a Lua library.
 
--- TODO/NOTES:
+-- TODO/NOTES: (from old script)
 -- add to status: validImage: none|<version> (can use checkValidImage for this)
 -- any more TODO's across this file?
 -- max 1 image tegelijk (moet api doen), en rekening houden met printbuffer (printen blokkeren?)
 
--- MAYBE/LATER:
+-- MAYBE/LATER: (from old script)
 -- add API calls to retrieve a list of all versions with their info (i.e., the result of getAvailableVersions)
 -- wget: add provision (in verbose mode?) to use '-v' instead of '-q' and disable output redirection
 -- document index file format (Version first, then in any order: Files: sysup; factory, FileSize: sysup; factory, MD5: sysup; factory, ChangelogStart:, ..., ChangelogEnd:)
@@ -45,26 +45,30 @@ M.STATE_NAMES = {
 }
 
 --- The base URL to use for finding update files.
--- This URL will usually contain both an OpenWRT feed directory and an `images`-directory.
--- This script uses only the latter, and expects to find the file @{IMAGE_INDEX_FILE} there.
+-- This URL will usually contain both an OpenWRT feed directory and an `images` directory.
+-- This script uses only the latter, and expects to find the files @{IMAGE_STABLE_INDEX_FILE} and @{IMAGE_BETA_INDEX_FILE} there.
 M.DEFAULT_BASE_URL = 'http://doodle3d.com/updates'
 --M.DEFAULT_BASE_URL = 'http://localhost/~USERNAME/wifibox/updates'
 
---- The index file containing metadata on update images.
-M.IMAGE_INDEX_FILE = 'wifibox-image.index'
+--- The index file containing metadata on stable update images.
+M.IMAGE_STABLE_INDEX_FILE = 'wifibox-image.index'
+
+--- The index file containing metadata on beta update images.
+M.IMAGE_BETA_INDEX_FILE = 'wifibox-image.beta.index'
 
 --- Path to the updater cache.
-M.CACHE_PATH = '/tmp/d3d-updater'
+M.DEFAULT_CACHE_PATH = '/tmp/d3d-updater'
 
---- Name of the file to store current state in, this file resides in @{CACHE_PATH}.
+--- Name of the file to store current state in, this file resides in @{cachePath}.
 M.STATE_FILE = 'update-state'
 
 M.WGET_OPTIONS = "-q -t 1 -T 30"
 --M.WGET_OPTIONS = "-v -t 1 -T 30"
 
-local verbosity = 0 -- set by parseCommandlineArguments()
+local verbosity = 0 -- set by parseCommandlineArguments() or @{setVerbosity}
 local log = nil -- wifibox API can use M.setLogger to enable this module to use its logger
-local useCache = true -- default, can be overwritten using M.setUseCache()
+local useCache = true -- default, can be overwritten using @{setUseCache}
+local cachePath = M.DEFAULT_CACHE_PATH -- default, can be change using @{setCachePath}
 local baseUrl = M.DEFAULT_BASE_URL -- default, can be overwritten by M.setBaseUrl()
 
 
@@ -101,7 +105,7 @@ local function E(msg)
 	end
 end
 
---- Splits the return status from `os.execute`, which consists of two bytes.
+--- Splits the return status from `os.execute` (only Lua <= 5.1), which consists of two bytes.
 --
 -- `os.execute` internally calls [system](http://linux.die.net/man/3/system),
 -- which usually returns the command exit status as high byte (see [WEXITSTATUS](http://linux.die.net/man/2/wait)).
@@ -120,11 +124,12 @@ end
 -- @number exitStatus An exit status from wget.
 -- @treturn string|number Either the status followed by a description, or a message indicating the call was interrupted, or just the status if it was not recognized.
 local function wgetStatusToString(exitStatus)
-	local wgetStatus,systemStatus = splitExitStatus(exitStatus)
+--	local wgetStatus,systemStatus = splitExitStatus(exitStatus)
+	local wgetStatus = exitStatus
 
-	if systemStatus ~= 0 then
-		return "interrupted:" .. systemStatus
-	end
+--	if systemStatus ~= 0 then
+--		return "interrupted: " .. systemStatus
+--	end
 
 	-- adapted from man(1) wget on OSX
 	local statusTexts = {
@@ -149,8 +154,9 @@ end
 -- @return bool|nil True, or nil on error.
 -- @return ?string A message in case of error.
 local function createCacheDirectory()
-	if os.execute('mkdir -p ' .. M.CACHE_PATH) ~= 0 then
-		return nil,"Error: could not create cache directory '" .. M.CACHE_PATH .. "'"
+	local _,rv = M.compatexecute('mkdir -p ' .. cachePath)
+	if rv ~= 0 then
+		return nil,"Error: could not create cache directory '" .. cachePath .. "'"
 	end
 	return true
 end
@@ -159,7 +165,7 @@ end
 -- @treturn STATE The current state code (@{STATE}.NONE if no state has been set).
 -- @treturn string The current state message (empty string if no state has been set).
 local function getState()
-	local file,msg = io.open(M.CACHE_PATH .. '/' .. M.STATE_FILE, 'r')
+	local file,msg = io.open(cachePath .. '/' .. M.STATE_FILE, 'r')
 	if not file then return M.STATE.NONE,"" end
 
 	local state = file:read('*a')
@@ -179,7 +185,7 @@ end
 
 --- Read the contents of a file.
 --
--- TODO: this file has been copied from @{util.utils}.lua and should be merged again.
+-- TODO: this file has been copied from @{util.utils}.lua and should be merged back.
 -- @string filePath The file to read.
 -- @bool trimResult Whether or not to trim the read data.
 -- @treturn bool|nil True, or nil on error.
@@ -201,7 +207,7 @@ end
 
 --- Reports whether or not a file exists.
 --
--- TODO: this file has been copied from @{util.utils}.lua and should be merged again.
+-- TODO: this file has been copied from @{util.utils}.lua and should be merged back.
 -- @string file The file to report about.
 -- @treturn bool True if the file exists, false otherwise.
 local function exists(file)
@@ -216,7 +222,7 @@ end
 
 --- Reports the size of a file or file handle.
 --
--- TODO: this file has been copied from @{util.utils}.lua and should be merged again.
+-- TODO: this file has been copied from @{util.utils}.lua and should be merged back.
 -- @param file A file path or open file handle.
 -- @treturn number Size of the file.
 local function fileSize(file)
@@ -241,8 +247,9 @@ end
 -- @bool dryRun Only log a message if true, otherwise run the command and log a message.
 -- @treturn number Exit status of of command or -1 if dryRun is true.
 local function runCommand(command, dryRun)
-	D("about to run: '" .. command .. "'")
-	return (not dryRun) and os.execute(command) or -1
+	--D("about to run: '" .. command .. "'")
+	if dryRun then return -1 end
+	return M.compatexecute(command)
 end
 
 --- Removes a file.
@@ -260,6 +267,7 @@ end
 local function downloadFile(url, saveDir, filename)
 	if not saveDir or saveDir:len() == 0 then return nil, "saveDir must be non-empty" end
 	local outArg = (filename:len() > 0) and (' -O' .. filename) or ''
+	D("Downloading file '" .. url .. "'")
 	if filename:len() > 0 then
 		return runCommand('wget ' .. M.WGET_OPTIONS .. ' -O ' .. saveDir .. '/' .. filename .. ' ' .. url .. ' 2> /dev/null')
 	else
@@ -328,6 +336,31 @@ end
 -- MODULE FUNCTIONS --
 ----------------------
 
+local compatlua51 = _VERSION == 'Lua 5.1'
+
+--- execute a shell command. Taken from penlight library.
+-- This is a compatibility function that returns the same for Lua 5.1 and Lua 5.2
+-- @param cmd a shell command
+-- @return true if successful
+-- @return actual return code
+function M.compatexecute (cmd)
+	local res1,res2,res3 = os.execute(cmd)
+	if compatlua51 then
+		local cmd, sys = splitExitStatus(res1)
+		return (res1 == 0) and true or nil, sys
+	else
+		return res1, res3
+	end
+end
+
+--- Set verbosity (log level) that determines which messages do get logged and which do not.
+-- @tparam number level The level to set, between -1 and 1.
+function M.setVerbosity(level)
+	if level and level >= -1 and level <= 1 then
+		verbosity = level
+	end
+end
+
 --- Enables use of the given @{util.logger} object, otherwise `stdout`/`stderr` will be used.
 -- @tparam util.logger logger The logger to log future messages to.
 function M.setLogger(logger)
@@ -348,6 +381,12 @@ function M.setBaseUrl(url)
 	baseUrl = url
 end
 
+--- Sets the filesystem path to use as cache for downloaded index and image files.
+-- @string path The path to use, use nil to restore default @{DEFAULT_CACHE_PATH}.
+function M.setCachePath(path)
+	cachePath = path or M.DEFAULT_CACHE_PATH
+end
+
 --- Returns a table with information about current update status of the wifibox.
 --
 -- The result table will contain at least the current version, current state code and text.
@@ -357,7 +396,7 @@ end
 -- @treturn bool True if status has been determined fully, false if not.
 -- @treturn table The result table.
 -- @treturn ?string Descriptive message in case the result table is not complete.
-function M.getStatus()
+function M.getStatus(includeBetas)
 	if not baseUrl then baseUrl = M.DEFAULT_BASE_URL end
 	local unknownVersion = { major = 0, minor = 0, patch = 0 }
 	local result = {}
@@ -366,18 +405,27 @@ function M.getStatus()
 	result.stateCode, result.stateText = getState()
 	result.stateCode = tonumber(result.stateCode)
 
-	local verTable,msg = M.getAvailableVersions()
+	local verTable,msg = M.getAvailableVersions(includeBetas and 'both' or 'stables')
 	if not verTable then
-		D("could not obtain available versions (" .. msg .. ")")
+		D("error: could not obtain available versions (" .. msg .. ")")
 		-- TODO: set an error state in result to signify we probably do not have internet access?
 		return false, result, msg
 	end
 
 	local newest = verTable and verTable[#verTable]
 	result.newestVersion = newest and newest.version or unknownVersion
+	result.newestReleaseTimestamp = newest and newest.timestamp
+
+	-- look up timestamp of current version
+	local cEnt = M.findVersion(result.currentVersion, verTable)
+	if cEnt then
+		result.currentReleaseTimestamp = cEnt.timestamp
+	else
+		D("warning: could not find current wifibox version in release index, beta setting disabled after having beta installed?")
+	end
 
 	if result.stateCode == M.STATE.DOWNLOADING then
-		result.progress = fileSize(M.CACHE_PATH .. '/' .. newest.sysupgradeFilename)
+		result.progress = fileSize(cachePath .. '/' .. newest.sysupgradeFilename)
 		if not result.progress then result.progress = 0 end -- in case the file does not exist yet (which yields nil)
 		result.imageSize = newest.sysupgradeFileSize
 	end
@@ -387,43 +435,77 @@ end
 
 --- Turns a plain-text version as returned by @{formatVersion} into a table.
 -- @tparam string|table versionText The version string to parse, if it is already a table, it is returned as-is.
--- @treturn table A parse version.
+-- @treturn table A parsed version or nil on incorrect argument.
 function M.parseVersion(versionText)
+	if not versionText then return nil end
 	if type(versionText) == 'table' then return versionText end
 	if not versionText or versionText:len() == 0 then return nil end
 
-	local major,minor,patch = versionText:match("^%s*(%d+)%.(%d+)%.(%d+)%s*$")
-	if not major or not minor or not patch then return nil end
+	local major,minor,patch,suffix = versionText:match("^%s*(%d+)%.(%d+)%.(%d+)(-?%w*)%s*$")
+	if not major or not minor or not patch then return nil end -- suffix not required
 
-	return { ['major'] = major, ['minor'] = minor, ['patch'] = patch }
+	if type(suffix) == 'string' and suffix:len() > 0 then
+		if suffix:sub(1, 1) ~= '-' then return nil end
+		suffix = suffix:sub(2)
+	else
+		suffix = nil
+	end
+
+	return { ['major'] = major, ['minor'] = minor, ['patch'] = patch, ['suffix'] = suffix }
 end
 
 --- Formats a version as returned by @{parseVersion}.
 -- @tparam table|string version The version to format, if it is already a string, that will be returned unmodified.
--- @treturn string A formatted version.
+-- @treturn string A formatted version or nil on incorrect argument.
 function M.formatVersion(version)
+	if not version then return nil end
 	if type(version) == 'string' then return version end
-	return version.major .. "." .. version.minor .. "." .. version.patch
+
+	local ver = version.major .. "." .. version.minor .. "." .. version.patch
+	if version.suffix then ver = ver .. '-' .. version.suffix end
+
+	return ver
 end
 
---- Compares two versions.
+--- Compares two versions. Note that the second return value must be used for equality testing.
+-- If given, the timestamps have higher priority than the versions. Suffixes are ignored.
 -- @tparam table versionA A version as returned by @{parseVersion}.
 -- @tparam table versionB A version as returned by @{parseVersion}.
--- @treturn number -1 if versionA is smaller than versionB, 0 if versions are equal or 1 if versionA is larger than versionB.
-function M.compareVersions(versionA, versionB)
+-- @param timestampA[opt] A timestamp as returned by @{parseDate}.
+-- @param timestampB[opt] A timestamp as returned by @{parseDate}.
+-- @treturn number -1 if versionA/timestampA is smaller/older than versionB/timestampB, 0 if versions are equal (or undecided) or 1 if A is larger/newer than B.
+-- @treturn bool True if versions are really equal (first return value can be 0 if everything but the suffix is equal)
+function M.compareVersions(versionA, versionB, timestampA, timestampB)
 	if type(versionA) ~= 'table' or type(versionB) ~= 'table' then return nil end
-	local diff = versionA.major - versionB.major
-	if diff == 0 then diff = versionA.minor - versionB.minor end
-	if diff == 0 then diff = versionA.patch - versionB.patch end
-	return diff > 0 and 1 or (diff < 0 and -1 or 0)
+
+	local diff = 0
+	if timestampA and timestampB then diff = timestampA - timestampB end
+	if diff == 0 then
+		diff = versionA.major - versionB.major
+		if diff == 0 then diff = versionA.minor - versionB.minor end
+		if diff == 0 then diff = versionA.patch - versionB.patch end
+	end
+
+	local result = diff > 0 and 1 or (diff < 0 and -1 or 0)
+	local reallyEqual = (diff == 0) and (versionA.suffix == versionB.suffix)
+
+	return result, (reallyEqual and true or false)
+end
+
+--- Checks if versions are exactly equal.
+-- It returns the second return value of @{compareVersions} and accepts the same arguments.
+-- @treturn bool True if versions are equal, false otherwise.
+function M.versionsEqual(versionA, versionB, timestampA, timestampB)
+	return select(2, M.compareVersions(versionA, versionB, timestampA, timestampB))
 end
 
 --- Returns information on a version if it can be found in a collection of versions as returned by @{getAvailableVersions}.
 -- @tparam table version The version to look for.
 -- @tparam table[opt] verTable A table containing a collection of versions, if not passed in, it will be obtained using @{getAvailableVersions}.
+-- @param timestamp[opt] Specific timestamp to look for.
 -- @treturn table|nil Version information table found in the collection, or nil on error or if not found.
 -- @treturn string Descriptive message in case of error or if the version could not be found.
-function M.findVersion(version, verTable)
+function M.findVersion(version, verTable, timestamp)
 	local msg = nil
 	version = M.parseVersion(version)
 	if not verTable then verTable,msg = M.getAvailableVersions() end
@@ -431,11 +513,28 @@ function M.findVersion(version, verTable)
 	if not verTable then return nil,msg end
 
 	for _,ent in pairs(verTable) do
-		if M.compareVersions(ent.version, version) == 0 then return ent end
+		if M.versionsEqual(ent.version, version, ent.timestamp, timestamp) == true then return ent end
 	end
 	return nil,"no such version"
 end
 
+--- Turns a date of the format 'yyyymmdd' into a timestamp as returned by os.time.
+-- @tparam string dateText The date to parse.
+-- @return A timestamp or nil if the argument does not have correct format.
+function M.parseDate(dateText)
+	if type(dateText) ~= 'string' or dateText:len() ~= 8 or dateText:find('[^%d]') ~= nil then return nil end
+
+	return os.time({ year = dateText:sub(1, 4), month = dateText:sub(5, 6), day = dateText:sub(7,8) })
+end
+
+--- Formats a timestamp as returned by os.time to a date of the form 'yyyymmdd'.
+-- @param timestamp The timestamp to format.
+-- @return A formatted date or nil if the argument is nil.
+function M.formatDate(timestamp)
+	if not timestamp then return nil end
+	return os.date('%Y%m%d', timestamp)
+end
+
 --- Creates an image file name based on given properties.
 -- The generated name has the following form: `doodle3d-wifibox-<version>-<deviceType>-<'factory'|'sysupgrade'>.bin`.
 -- @tparam table|string version The version of the image.
@@ -449,7 +548,7 @@ function M.constructImageFilename(version, devType, isFactory)
 	return 'doodle3d-wifibox-' .. M.formatVersion(v) .. '-' .. dt .. '-' .. sf .. '.bin'
 end
 
---- Checks whether a valid image file is present in @{CACHE_PATH} for the given image properties.
+--- Checks whether a valid image file is present in @{cachePath} for the given image properties.
 -- The versionEntry table will be augmented with an `isValid` key.
 --
 -- NOTE: currently, this function only checks the image exists and has the correct size.
@@ -461,8 +560,8 @@ end
 -- @treturn bool True if a valid image is present, false otherwise.
 function M.checkValidImage(versionEntry, devType, isFactory)
 	local filename = M.constructImageFilename(versionEntry.version, devType, isFactory)
-	--return versionEntry.md5 == md5sum(M.CACHE_PATH .. '/' .. filename)
-	local size = fileSize(M.CACHE_PATH .. '/' .. filename)
+	--return versionEntry.md5 == md5sum(cachePath .. '/' .. filename)
+	local size = fileSize(cachePath .. '/' .. filename)
 	versionEntry.isValid = versionEntry.sysupgradeFileSize == size
 	return versionEntry.isValid
 end
@@ -482,18 +581,14 @@ function M.getCurrentVersion()
 end
 
 --- Returns an indexed and sorted table containing version information tables.
--- The information is obtained from the either cached or downloaded image index (@{IMAGE_INDEX_FILE}).
--- @treturn table A table with a collection of version information tables.
-function M.getAvailableVersions()
+-- The information is obtained from the either cached or downloaded image index file.
+local function fetchIndexTable(indexFile, cachePath)
 	if not baseUrl then baseUrl = M.DEFAULT_BASE_URL end
-	local indexFilename = M.CACHE_PATH .. '/' .. M.IMAGE_INDEX_FILE
-
-	local ccRv,ccMsg = createCacheDirectory()
-	if not ccRv then return nil,ccMsg end
+	local indexFilename = cachePath .. '/' .. indexFile
 
 	if not useCache or not exists(indexFilename) then
-		local rv = downloadFile(baseUrl .. '/images/' .. M.IMAGE_INDEX_FILE, M.CACHE_PATH, M.IMAGE_INDEX_FILE)
-		if rv ~= 0 then return nil,"could not download image index file (" .. wgetStatusToString(rv) .. ")" end
+		local rv1,rv2 = downloadFile(baseUrl .. '/images/' .. indexFile, cachePath, indexFile)
+		if not rv1 then return nil,"could not download image index file (" .. wgetStatusToString(rv2) .. ")" end
 	end
 
 	local status,idxLines = pcall(io.lines, indexFilename)
@@ -505,7 +600,7 @@ function M.getAvailableVersions()
 	for line in idxLines do
 		local k,v = line:match('^(.-):(.*)$')
 		k,v = trim(k), trim(v)
-		if not log then D("#" .. lineno .. ": considering '" .. line .. "' (" .. (k or '<nil>') .. " / " .. (v or '<nil>') .. ")") end
+		--if not log then D("#" .. lineno .. ": considering '" .. line .. "' (" .. (k or '<nil>') .. " / " .. (v or '<nil>') .. ")") end
 		if not changelogMode and (not k or not v) then return nil,"incorrectly formatted line in index file (line " .. lineno .. ")" end
 
 		if k == 'ChangelogEnd' then
@@ -537,6 +632,13 @@ function M.getAvailableVersions()
 				sSum,fSum = trim(sSum), trim(fSum)
 				if sSum then entry.sysupgradeMD5 = sSum end
 				if fSum then entry.factoryMD5 = fSum end
+			elseif k == 'ReleaseDate' then
+				local ts = M.parseDate(v)
+				if not ts then
+					P(0, "ignoring incorrectly formatted ReleaseDate field (line " .. lineno .. ")")
+				else
+					entry.timestamp = ts
+				end
 			else
 				P(-1, "ignoring unrecognized field in index file '" .. k .. "' (line " .. lineno .. ")")
 			end
@@ -553,6 +655,31 @@ function M.getAvailableVersions()
 	return result
 end
 
+--- Returns an indexed and sorted table containing version information tables.
+-- The information is obtained from the either cached or downloaded image index (@{IMAGE_STABLE_INDEX_FILE}).
+-- @tparam which[opt] Which type of versions to fetch, either 'stables' (default), 'betas' or both.
+-- @treturn table A table with a collection of version information tables.
+function M.getAvailableVersions(which)
+	local ccRv,ccMsg = createCacheDirectory()
+	if not ccRv then return nil,ccMsg end
+
+	local verTable, msg = {}, nil
+
+	if which == 'stables' or which == 'both' then
+		verTable,msg = fetchIndexTable(M.IMAGE_STABLE_INDEX_FILE, cachePath)
+		if not verTable then return nil,msg end
+	end
+
+	if which == 'betas' or which == 'both' then
+		local betas,msg = fetchIndexTable(M.IMAGE_BETA_INDEX_FILE, cachePath)
+		if not betas then return nil,msg end
+
+		for k,v in pairs(betas) do verTable[k] = v end
+	end
+
+	return verTable
+end
+
 --- Attempts to download an image file with the requested properties.
 -- @tparam table versionEntry A version information table.
 -- @string[opt] devType Image device type, see @{constructImageFilename}.
@@ -577,7 +704,7 @@ function M.downloadImageFile(versionEntry, devType, isFactory)
 	local rv = 0
 	if doDownload then
 		M.setState(M.STATE.DOWNLOADING, "Downloading image (" .. filename .. ")")
-		rv = downloadFile(baseUrl .. '/images/' .. filename, M.CACHE_PATH, filename)
+		rv = downloadFile(baseUrl .. '/images/' .. filename, cachePath, filename)
 	end
 
 	if rv == 0 then
@@ -585,14 +712,14 @@ function M.downloadImageFile(versionEntry, devType, isFactory)
 			M.setState(M.STATE.IMAGE_READY, "Image downloaded, ready to install (image name: " .. filename .. ")")
 			return true
 		else
-			removeFile(M.CACHE_PATH .. '/' .. filename)
+			removeFile(cachePath .. '/' .. filename)
 			local ws = "Image download failed (invalid image)"
 			M.setState(M.STATE.DOWNLOAD_FAILED, ws)
 			return nil,ws
 		end
 	else
 		local ws = wgetStatusToString(rv)
-		removeFile(M.CACHE_PATH .. '/' .. filename)
+		removeFile(cachePath .. '/' .. filename)
 		M.setState(M.STATE.DOWNLOAD_FAILED, "Image download failed (wget error: " .. ws .. ")")
 		return nil,ws
 	end
@@ -611,7 +738,7 @@ function M.flashImageVersion(versionEntry, noRetain, devType, isFactory)
 	log:info("flashImageVersion")
 	local imgName = M.constructImageFilename(versionEntry.version, devType, isFactory)
 	local cmd = noRetain and 'sysupgrade -n ' or 'sysupgrade '
-	cmd = cmd .. M.CACHE_PATH .. '/' .. imgName
+	cmd = cmd .. cachePath .. '/' .. imgName
 
 	local ccRv,ccMsg = createCacheDirectory()
 	if not ccRv then return nil,ccMsg end
@@ -634,22 +761,22 @@ function M.flashImageVersion(versionEntry, noRetain, devType, isFactory)
 	return (rv == 0) and true or nil,rv
 end
 
---- Clears '*.bin' in the @{CACHE_PATH} directory.
+--- Clears '*.bin' in the @{cachePath} directory.
 -- @treturn bool|nil True on success, or nil on error.
 -- @treturn ?string Descriptive message on error.
 function M.clear()
 	local ccRv,ccMsg = createCacheDirectory()
 	if not ccRv then return nil,ccMsg end
 
-	D("Removing " .. M.CACHE_PATH .. "/doodle3d-wifibox-*.bin")
+	D("Removing " .. cachePath .. "/doodle3d-wifibox-*.bin")
 	M.setState(M.STATE.NONE, "")
-	local rv = os.execute('rm -f ' .. M.CACHE_PATH .. '/doodle3d-wifibox-*.bin')
+	local rv = M.compatexecute('rm -f ' .. cachePath .. '/doodle3d-wifibox-*.bin')
 	return (rv == 0) and true or nil,"could not remove image files"
 end
 
 --- Set updater state.
 --
--- NOTE: make sure the cache directory  @{CACHE_PATH} exists before calling this function or it will fail.
+-- NOTE: make sure the cache directory  @{cachePath} exists before calling this function or it will fail.
 --
 -- NOTE: this function _can_ fail but this is not expected to happen so the return value is mostly ignored for now.
 --
@@ -659,7 +786,7 @@ end
 function M.setState(code, msg)
 	local s = code .. '|' .. msg
 	D("set update state: " .. M.STATE_NAMES[code] .. " ('" .. s .. "')")
-	local file,msg = io.open(M.CACHE_PATH .. '/' .. M.STATE_FILE, 'w')
+	local file,msg = io.open(cachePath .. '/' .. M.STATE_FILE, 'w')
 
 	if not file then
 		E("error: could not open state file for writing (" .. msg .. ")")
diff --git a/test/test-d3d-updater.lua b/test/test-d3d-updater.lua
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2504097
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/test-d3d-updater.lua
@@ -0,0 +1,58 @@
+-- This script contains a number of impromptu tests to check version comparisons, kept around in case real unit tests will be created one day.
+argStash = arg
+arg = nil
+local upd = require('d3d-updater')
+arg = argStash
+
+local function dump(o)
+	if type(o) == 'table' then
+		local s = '{ '
+		for k,v in pairs(o) do
+			if type(k) ~= 'number' then k = '"'..k..'"' end
+			s = s .. '['..k..'] = ' .. dump(v) .. ','
+		end
+		return s .. '} '
+	else
+		return tostring(o)
+	end
+end
+
+local input = '19990213'
+local ts = upd.parseDate(input)
+print("parse " .. input .. ": " .. ts)
+print("format " .. ts .. ": " .. upd.formatDate(ts))
+
+local vertex1 = '0.2.3'
+local vertab1 = upd.parseVersion(vertex1)
+print("parse " .. vertex1 .. ": " .. dump(vertab1))
+print("formatted: " .. upd.formatVersion(vertab1))
+
+local vertex2 = '0.2.3-text'
+local vertab2 = upd.parseVersion(vertex2)
+print("parse " .. vertex2 .. ": " .. dump(vertab2))
+print("formatted: " .. upd.formatVersion(vertab2))
+
+local vA, vB = upd.parseVersion("1.4.5-alpha"), upd.parseVersion("1.4.4-rc1")
+local tsA, tsB = 100000, 100005
+
+local cmp1,cmp2 = upd.compareVersions(vA, vB)
+print("vA <=> vB: " .. cmp1 .. " / " .. dump(cmp2))
+cmp1,cmp2 = upd.compareVersions(vA, vB, tsA, tsB)
+print("vA/tsA <=> vB/tsB: " .. cmp1 .. " / " .. dump(cmp2))
+cmp1,cmp2 = upd.compareVersions(vB, vA, tsA, tsB)
+print("vB/tsA <=> vA/tsB: " .. cmp1 .. " / " .. dump(cmp2))
+cmp1,cmp2 = upd.compareVersions(vA, vB, tsB, tsA)
+print("vA/tsB <=> vB/tsA: " .. cmp1 .. " / " .. dump(cmp2))
+
+local vWithout,vWith = upd.parseVersion('1.2.3'), upd.parseVersion('1.2.3-sfx')
+--print("vWithout: " .. dump(vWithout) .. "; vWith: " .. dump(vWith))
+cmp1,cmp2 = upd.compareVersions(vWithout, vWithout)
+print("1.2.3 <=> 1.2.3: " .. cmp1 .. " / " .. dump(cmp2))
+cmp1,cmp2 = upd.compareVersions(vWithout, vWith)
+print("1.2.3 <=> 1.2.3-sfx: " .. cmp1 .. " / " .. dump(cmp2))
+cmp1,cmp2 = upd.compareVersions(vWith, vWith)
+print("1.2.3-sfx <=> 1.2.3-sfx: " .. cmp1 .. " / " .. dump(cmp2))
+
+print("nn equal? " .. dump(upd.versionsEqual(vWithout, vWithout)))
+print("ny equal? " .. dump(upd.versionsEqual(vWithout, vWith)))
+print("yy equal? " .. dump(upd.versionsEqual(vWith, vWith)))
diff --git a/updater-ng/d3d-update-mgr.lua b/updater-ng/d3d-update-mgr.lua
deleted file mode 100644
index 7e782d1..0000000
--- a/updater-ng/d3d-update-mgr.lua
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,951 +0,0 @@
-#!/usr/bin/env lua
---
--- This file is part of the Doodle3D project (http://doodle3d.com).
---
--- @copyright 2013, Doodle3D
--- @license This software is licensed under the terms of the GNU GPL v2 or later.
--- See file LICENSE.txt or visit http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html for full license details.
-
-
---- This script provides an interface to upgrade or downgrade the Doodle3D wifibox.
--- It can both be used as a standalone command-line tool and as a Lua library.
-
--- TODO/NOTES: (from old script)
--- add to status: validImage: none|<version> (can use checkValidImage for this)
--- any more TODO's across this file?
--- max 1 image tegelijk (moet api doen), en rekening houden met printbuffer (printen blokkeren?)
-
--- MAYBE/LATER: (from old script)
--- add API calls to retrieve a list of all versions with their info (i.e., the result of getAvailableVersions)
--- wget: add provision (in verbose mode?) to use '-v' instead of '-q' and disable output redirection
--- document index file format (Version first, then in any order: Files: sysup; factory, FileSize: sysup; factory, MD5: sysup; factory, ChangelogStart:, ..., ChangelogEnd:)
--- copy improved fileSize back to utils (add unit tests!)
--- create new utils usable by updater as well as api? (remove dependencies on uci and logger etc)
--- note: take care not to print any text in module functions, as this breaks http responses
--- change representation of sysupgrade/factory info in versionInfo? (and also in image index?) <- create api call to get all info on all versions?
-
-local M = {}
-
---- Possible states the updater can be in, they are stored in @{STATE_FILE}.
--- @table STATE
-M.STATE = {
-	NONE = 1, -- @{STATE_FILE} does not exist
-	DOWNLOADING = 2, -- downloading is started but not finished yet
-	DOWNLOAD_FAILED = 3, -- download failed (often occurs when the wifibox is not connected to internet)
-	IMAGE_READY = 4, -- download succeeded and the image is valid
-	INSTALLING = 5, -- image is being installed (this state will probably never be returned since the box is flashing/rebooting)
-	INSTALLED = 6, -- image has been installed successfully (this state will never be returned since the box will reboot)
-	INSTALL_FAILED = 7 -- installation failed
-}
-
--- Names for the states in @{STATE}, these are returned through the REST API.
-M.STATE_NAMES = {
-	[M.STATE.NONE] = 'none', [M.STATE.DOWNLOADING] = 'downloading', [M.STATE.DOWNLOAD_FAILED] = 'download_failed', [M.STATE.IMAGE_READY] = 'image_ready',
-	[M.STATE.INSTALLING] = 'installing', [M.STATE.INSTALLED] = 'installed', [M.STATE.INSTALL_FAILED] = 'install_failed'
-}
-
---- The base URL to use for finding update files.
--- This URL will usually contain both an OpenWRT feed directory and an `images` directory.
--- This script uses only the latter, and expects to find the files @{IMAGE_STABLE_INDEX_FILE} and @{IMAGE_BETA_INDEX_FILE} there.
-M.DEFAULT_BASE_URL = 'http://doodle3d.com/updates'
---M.DEFAULT_BASE_URL = 'http://localhost/~USERNAME/wifibox/updates'
-
---- The index file containing metadata on stable update images.
-M.IMAGE_STABLE_INDEX_FILE = 'wifibox-image.index'
-
---- The index file containing metadata on beta update images.
-M.IMAGE_BETA_INDEX_FILE = 'wifibox-image.beta.index'
-
---- Path to the updater cache.
-M.DEFAULT_CACHE_PATH = '/tmp/d3d-updater'
-
---- Name of the file to store current state in, this file resides in @{cachePath}.
-M.STATE_FILE = 'update-state'
-
-M.WGET_OPTIONS = "-q -t 1 -T 30"
---M.WGET_OPTIONS = "-v -t 1 -T 30"
-
-local verbosity = 0 -- set by parseCommandlineArguments() or @{setVerbosity}
-local log = nil -- wifibox API can use M.setLogger to enable this module to use its logger
-local useCache = true -- default, can be overwritten using @{setUseCache}
-local cachePath = M.DEFAULT_CACHE_PATH -- default, can be change using @{setCachePath}
-local baseUrl = M.DEFAULT_BASE_URL -- default, can be overwritten by M.setBaseUrl()
-
-
-
----------------------
--- LOCAL FUNCTIONS --
----------------------
-
---- Log a message with the given level, if logging is enabled for that level.
--- Messages will be written to [stdout](http://www.cplusplus.com/reference/cstdio/stdout/), or logged using the logger set with @{setLogger}.
--- @number lvl Level to log to, use 1 for important messages, 0 for regular messages and -1 for less important messages.
--- @string msg The message to log.
-local function P(lvl, msg)
-	if log then
-		if lvl == -1 then log:debug(msg)
-		elseif lvl == 0 or lvl == 1 then log:info(msg)
-		end
-	else
-		if (-lvl <= verbosity) then print(msg) end
-	end
-end
-
---- Log a debug message, this function wraps @{P}.
--- The message will be logged with level -1 and be prefixed with '(DBG)'.
--- @string msg The message to log.
-local function D(msg) P(-1, (log and msg or "(DBG) " .. msg)) end
-
---- Log an error.
--- Messages will be written to [stderr](http://www.cplusplus.com/reference/cstdio/stderr/), or logged using the logger set with @{setLogger}.
--- @string msg The message to log.
-local function E(msg)
-	if log then log:error(msg)
-	else io.stderr:write(msg .. '\n')
-	end
-end
-
---- Splits the return status from `os.execute` (only Lua <= 5.1), which consists of two bytes.
---
--- `os.execute` internally calls [system](http://linux.die.net/man/3/system),
--- which usually returns the command exit status as high byte (see [WEXITSTATUS](http://linux.die.net/man/2/wait)).
--- Furthermore, see [shifting bits in Lua](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/16158436/how-to-shift-and-mask-bits-from-integer-in-lua).
--- @number exitStatus The combined exit status.
--- @treturn number The command exit status.
--- @treturn number The `os.execute`/[system](http://linux.die.net/man/3/system) return status.
-local function splitExitStatus(exitStatus)
-	if exitStatus == -1 then return -1,-1 end
-	local cmdStatus = math.floor(exitStatus / 256)
-	local systemStatus = exitStatus - cmdStatus * 256
-	return cmdStatus, systemStatus
-end
-
---- Returns a human-readable message for a [wget exit status](http://www.gnu.org/software/wget/manual/wget.html#Exit-Status).
--- @number exitStatus An exit status from wget.
--- @treturn string|number Either the status followed by a description, or a message indicating the call was interrupted, or just the status if it was not recognized.
-local function wgetStatusToString(exitStatus)
---	local wgetStatus,systemStatus = splitExitStatus(exitStatus)
-	local wgetStatus = exitStatus
-
---	if systemStatus ~= 0 then
---		return "interrupted: " .. systemStatus
---	end
-
-	-- adapted from man(1) wget on OSX
-	local statusTexts = {
-		['0'] = 'Ok',
-		['1'] = 'Generic error',
-		['2'] = 'Parse error', -- for instance, when parsing command-line options, the .wgetrc or .netrc...
-		['3'] = 'File I/O error',
-		['4'] = 'Network failure',
-		['5'] = 'SSL verification failure',
-		['6'] = 'Username/password authentication failure',
-		['7'] = 'Protocol error',
-		['8'] = 'Server issued an error response'
-	}
-	local result = statusTexts[tostring(wgetStatus)]
-
-	if result then return exitStatus .. ": " .. result
-	else return exitStatus
-	end
-end
-
---- Creates the updater cache directory.
--- @return bool|nil True, or nil on error.
--- @return ?string A message in case of error.
-local function createCacheDirectory()
-	local _,rv = M.compatexecute('mkdir -p ' .. cachePath)
-	if rv ~= 0 then
-		return nil,"Error: could not create cache directory '" .. cachePath .. "'"
-	end
-	return true
-end
-
---- Retrieves the current updater state code and message from @{STATE_FILE}.
--- @treturn STATE The current state code (@{STATE}.NONE if no state has been set).
--- @treturn string The current state message (empty string if no state has been set).
-local function getState()
-	local file,msg = io.open(cachePath .. '/' .. M.STATE_FILE, 'r')
-	if not file then return M.STATE.NONE,"" end
-
-	local state = file:read('*a')
-	file:close()
-	local code,msg = string.match(state, '([^|]+)|+(.*)')
-	return code,msg
-end
-
---- Trims whitespace from both ends of a string.
--- See [this Lua snippet](http://snippets.luacode.org/?p=snippets/trim_whitespace_from_string_76).
--- @string s The text to trim.
--- @treturn string s, with whitespace trimmed.
-local function trim(s)
-	if type(s) ~= 'string' then return s end
-	return (s:find('^%s*$') and '' or s:match('^%s*(.*%S)'))
-end
-
---- Read the contents of a file.
---
--- TODO: this file has been copied from @{util.utils}.lua and should be merged back.
--- @string filePath The file to read.
--- @bool trimResult Whether or not to trim the read data.
--- @treturn bool|nil True, or nil on error.
--- @treturn ?string A descriptive message on error.
--- @treturn ?number TODO: find out why this value is returned.
-local function readFile(filePath, trimResult)
-	local f, msg, nr = io.open(filePath, 'r')
-	if not f then return nil,msg,nr end
-
-	local res = f:read('*all')
-	f:close()
-
-	if trimResult then
-		res = trim(res)
-	end
-
-	return res
-end
-
---- Reports whether or not a file exists.
---
--- TODO: this file has been copied from @{util.utils}.lua and should be merged back.
--- @string file The file to report about.
--- @treturn bool True if the file exists, false otherwise.
-local function exists(file)
-	if not file or type(file) ~= 'string' or file:len() == 0 then
-		return nil, "file must be a non-empty string"
-	end
-
-	local r = io.open(file, 'r') -- ignore returned message
-	if r then r:close() end
-	return r ~= nil
-end
-
---- Reports the size of a file or file handle.
---
--- TODO: this file has been copied from @{util.utils}.lua and should be merged back.
--- @param file A file path or open file handle.
--- @treturn number Size of the file.
-local function fileSize(file)
-	local size = nil
-	if type(file) == 'file' then
-		local current = file:seek()
-		size = file:seek('end')
-		file:seek('set', current)
-	elseif type(file) == 'string' then
-		local f = io.open(file)
-		if f then
-			size = f:seek('end')
-			f:close()
-		end
-	end
-
-	return size
-end
-
---- Runs an arbitrary shell command.
--- @string command The command to run.
--- @bool dryRun Only log a message if true, otherwise run the command and log a message.
--- @treturn number Exit status of of command or -1 if dryRun is true.
-local function runCommand(command, dryRun)
-	--D("about to run: '" .. command .. "'")
-	if dryRun then return -1 end
-	return M.compatexecute(command)
-end
-
---- Removes a file.
--- @string filePath The file to remove.
-local function removeFile(filePath)
-	return runCommand('rm ' .. filePath)
-end
-
---- Downloads a file and stores it locally.
--- @string url The full URL to download.
--- @string saveDir The path at which to save the downloaded file.
--- @string[opt] filename File name to save as, note that leaving this out has issues with files not being overwritten but suffixed with '.1', '.2',etc instead.
--- @treturn number|nil Exit status of wget command or nil on error.
--- @treturn ?string Descriptive message if saveDir is nil or empty.
-local function downloadFile(url, saveDir, filename)
-	if not saveDir or saveDir:len() == 0 then return nil, "saveDir must be non-empty" end
-	local outArg = (filename:len() > 0) and (' -O' .. filename) or ''
-	D("Downloading file '" .. url .. "'")
-	if filename:len() > 0 then
-		return runCommand('wget ' .. M.WGET_OPTIONS .. ' -O ' .. saveDir .. '/' .. filename .. ' ' .. url .. ' 2> /dev/null')
-	else
-		return runCommand('wget ' .. M.WGET_OPTIONS .. ' -P ' .. saveDir .. ' ' .. url .. ' 2> /dev/null')
-	end
-end
-
---- Parses command-line arguments and returns a table containing information distilled from them.
--- @tparam table arglist A table in the same form as the [arg table](http://www.lua.org/pil/1.4.html) created by Lua.
--- @treturn table|nil A table containing information on what to do, or nil if invalid arguments were specified.
--- @treturn ?string Descriptive message on error.
-local function parseCommandlineArguments(arglist)
-	local result = { verbosity = 0, baseUrl = M.DEFAULT_BASE_URL, action = nil }
-	local nextIsVersion, nextIsUrl = false, false
-	for index,argument in ipairs(arglist) do
-		if nextIsVersion then
-			result.version = argument; nextIsVersion = false
-		elseif nextIsUrl then
-			result.baseUrl = argument; nextIsUrl = false
-		else
-			if argument == '-h' then result.action = 'showHelp'
-			elseif argument == '-q' then result.verbosity = -1
-			elseif argument == '-V' then result.verbosity = 1
-			elseif argument == '-c' then result.useCache = true
-			elseif argument == '-C' then result.useCache = false
-			elseif argument == '-u' then nextIsUrl = true
-			elseif argument == '-v' then result.action = 'showCurrentVersion'
-			elseif argument == '-s' then result.action = 'showStatus'
-			elseif argument == '-l' then result.action = 'showAvailableVersions'
-			elseif argument == '-i' then result.action = 'showVersionInfo'; nextIsVersion = true
-			elseif argument == '-d' then result.action = 'imageDownload'; nextIsVersion = true
-			elseif argument == '-f' then result.action = 'imageInstall'; nextIsVersion = true
-			elseif argument == '-r' then result.action = 'clear'
-			else return nil,"unrecognized argument '" .. argument .. "'"
-			end
-		end
-	end
-
-	if result.version then
-		result.version = M.parseVersion(result.version)
-		if not result.version then
-			return nil,"error parsing specified version"
-		end
-	end
-
-	if nextIsVersion then return nil, "missing required version argument" end
-	if nextIsUrl then return nil, "missing required URL argument" end
-
-	return result
-end
-
---- Returns the [MD5](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MD5) hash for a given file.
---
--- NOTE: this function is not implemented, and a better hash function should probably be chosen anyway.
--- @string filepath The path of which to calculate the MD5-sum.
--- @treturn nil
-local function md5sum(filepath)
-	return nil
-	-- TODO [osx: md5 -q <file>], [linux: ?]
-end
-
-
-
-
-----------------------
--- MODULE FUNCTIONS --
-----------------------
-
-local compatlua51 = _VERSION == 'Lua 5.1'
-
---- execute a shell command. Taken from penlight library.
--- This is a compatibility function that returns the same for Lua 5.1 and Lua 5.2
--- @param cmd a shell command
--- @return true if successful
--- @return actual return code
-function M.compatexecute (cmd)
-	local res1,res2,res3 = os.execute(cmd)
-	if compatlua51 then
-		local cmd, sys = splitExitStatus(res1)
-		return (res1 == 0) and true or nil, sys
-	else
-		return res1, res3
-	end
-end
-
---- Set verbosity (log level) that determines which messages do get logged and which do not.
--- @tparam number level The level to set, between -1 and 1.
-function M.setVerbosity(level)
-	if level and level >= -1 and level <= 1 then
-		verbosity = level
-	end
-end
-
---- Enables use of the given @{util.logger} object, otherwise `stdout`/`stderr` will be used.
--- @tparam util.logger logger The logger to log future messages to.
-function M.setLogger(logger)
-	log = logger
-end
-
---- Controls whether or not to use pre-existing files over (re-)downloading them.
---
--- Note that the mechanism is currently naive, (e.g., there are no mechanisms like maximum cache age).
--- @bool use If true, try not to download anything unless necessary.
-function M.setUseCache(use)
-	useCache = use
-end
-
---- Sets the base URL to use for finding update images, defaults to @{DEFAULT_BASE_URL}.
--- @string url The new base URL to use.
-function M.setBaseUrl(url)
-	baseUrl = url
-end
-
---- Sets the filesystem path to use as cache for downloaded index and image files.
--- @string path The path to use, use nil to restore default @{DEFAULT_CACHE_PATH}.
-function M.setCachePath(path)
-	cachePath = path or M.DEFAULT_CACHE_PATH
-end
-
---- Returns a table with information about current update status of the wifibox.
---
--- The result table will contain at least the current version, current state code and text.
--- If the box has internet access, it will also include the newest version available.
--- If an image is currently being downloaded, progress information will also be included.
---
--- @treturn bool True if status has been determined fully, false if not.
--- @treturn table The result table.
--- @treturn ?string Descriptive message in case the result table is not complete.
-function M.getStatus(includeBetas)
-	if not baseUrl then baseUrl = M.DEFAULT_BASE_URL end
-	local unknownVersion = { major = 0, minor = 0, patch = 0 }
-	local result = {}
-
-	result.currentVersion = M.getCurrentVersion()
-	result.stateCode, result.stateText = getState()
-	result.stateCode = tonumber(result.stateCode)
-
-	local verTable,msg = M.getAvailableVersions(includeBetas and 'both' or 'stables')
-	if not verTable then
-		D("error: could not obtain available versions (" .. msg .. ")")
-		-- TODO: set an error state in result to signify we probably do not have internet access?
-		return false, result, msg
-	end
-
-	local newest = verTable and verTable[#verTable]
-	result.newestVersion = newest and newest.version or unknownVersion
-	result.newestReleaseTimestamp = newest and newest.timestamp
-
-	-- look up timestamp of current version
-	local cEnt = M.findVersion(result.currentVersion, verTable)
-	if cEnt then
-		result.currentReleaseTimestamp = cEnt.timestamp
-	else
-		D("warning: could not find current wifibox version in release index, beta setting disabled after having beta installed?")
-	end
-
-	if result.stateCode == M.STATE.DOWNLOADING then
-		result.progress = fileSize(cachePath .. '/' .. newest.sysupgradeFilename)
-		if not result.progress then result.progress = 0 end -- in case the file does not exist yet (which yields nil)
-		result.imageSize = newest.sysupgradeFileSize
-	end
-
-	return true, result
-end
-
---- Turns a plain-text version as returned by @{formatVersion} into a table.
--- @tparam string|table versionText The version string to parse, if it is already a table, it is returned as-is.
--- @treturn table A parsed version or nil on incorrect argument.
-function M.parseVersion(versionText)
-	if not versionText then return nil end
-	if type(versionText) == 'table' then return versionText end
-	if not versionText or versionText:len() == 0 then return nil end
-
-	local major,minor,patch,suffix = versionText:match("^%s*(%d+)%.(%d+)%.(%d+)(-?%w*)%s*$")
-	if not major or not minor or not patch then return nil end -- suffix not required
-
-	if type(suffix) == 'string' and suffix:len() > 0 then
-		if suffix:sub(1, 1) ~= '-' then return nil end
-		suffix = suffix:sub(2)
-	else
-		suffix = nil
-	end
-
-	return { ['major'] = major, ['minor'] = minor, ['patch'] = patch, ['suffix'] = suffix }
-end
-
---- Formats a version as returned by @{parseVersion}.
--- @tparam table|string version The version to format, if it is already a string, that will be returned unmodified.
--- @treturn string A formatted version or nil on incorrect argument.
-function M.formatVersion(version)
-	if not version then return nil end
-	if type(version) == 'string' then return version end
-
-	local ver = version.major .. "." .. version.minor .. "." .. version.patch
-	if version.suffix then ver = ver .. '-' .. version.suffix end
-
-	return ver
-end
-
---- Compares two versions. Note that the second return value must be used for equality testing.
--- If given, the timestamps have higher priority than the versions. Suffixes are ignored.
--- @tparam table versionA A version as returned by @{parseVersion}.
--- @tparam table versionB A version as returned by @{parseVersion}.
--- @param timestampA[opt] A timestamp as returned by @{parseDate}.
--- @param timestampB[opt] A timestamp as returned by @{parseDate}.
--- @treturn number -1 if versionA/timestampA is smaller/older than versionB/timestampB, 0 if versions are equal (or undecided) or 1 if A is larger/newer than B.
--- @treturn bool True if versions are really equal (first return value can be 0 if everything but the suffix is equal)
-function M.compareVersions(versionA, versionB, timestampA, timestampB)
-	if type(versionA) ~= 'table' or type(versionB) ~= 'table' then return nil end
-
-	local diff = 0
-	if timestampA and timestampB then diff = timestampA - timestampB end
-	if diff == 0 then
-		diff = versionA.major - versionB.major
-		if diff == 0 then diff = versionA.minor - versionB.minor end
-		if diff == 0 then diff = versionA.patch - versionB.patch end
-	end
-
-	local result = diff > 0 and 1 or (diff < 0 and -1 or 0)
-	local reallyEqual = (diff == 0) and (versionA.suffix == versionB.suffix)
-
-	return result, (reallyEqual and true or false)
-end
-
---- Checks if versions are exactly equal.
--- It returns the second return value of @{compareVersions} and accepts the same arguments.
--- @treturn bool True if versions are equal, false otherwise.
-function M.versionsEqual(versionA, versionB, timestampA, timestampB)
-	return select(2, M.compareVersions(versionA, versionB, timestampA, timestampB))
-end
-
---- Returns information on a version if it can be found in a collection of versions as returned by @{getAvailableVersions}.
--- @tparam table version The version to look for.
--- @tparam table[opt] verTable A table containing a collection of versions, if not passed in, it will be obtained using @{getAvailableVersions}.
--- @param timestamp[opt] Specific timestamp to look for.
--- @treturn table|nil Version information table found in the collection, or nil on error or if not found.
--- @treturn string Descriptive message in case of error or if the version could not be found.
-function M.findVersion(version, verTable, timestamp)
-	local msg = nil
-	version = M.parseVersion(version)
-	if not verTable then verTable,msg = M.getAvailableVersions() end
-
-	if not verTable then return nil,msg end
-
-	for _,ent in pairs(verTable) do
-		if M.versionsEqual(ent.version, version, ent.timestamp, timestamp) == true then return ent end
-	end
-	return nil,"no such version"
-end
-
---- Turns a date of the format 'yyyymmdd' into a timestamp as returned by os.time.
--- @tparam string dateText The date to parse.
--- @return A timestamp or nil if the argument does not have correct format.
-function M.parseDate(dateText)
-	if type(dateText) ~= 'string' or dateText:len() ~= 8 or dateText:find('[^%d]') ~= nil then return nil end
-
-	return os.time({ year = dateText:sub(1, 4), month = dateText:sub(5, 6), day = dateText:sub(7,8) })
-end
-
---- Formats a timestamp as returned by os.time to a date of the form 'yyyymmdd'.
--- @param timestamp The timestamp to format.
--- @return A formatted date or nil if the argument is nil.
-function M.formatDate(timestamp)
-	if not timestamp then return nil end
-	return os.date('%Y%m%d', timestamp)
-end
-
---- Creates an image file name based on given properties.
--- The generated name has the following form: `doodle3d-wifibox-<version>-<deviceType>-<'factory'|'sysupgrade'>.bin`.
--- @tparam table|string version The version of the image.
--- @string[opt] devType Openwrt device identifier (defaults to 'tl-mr3020').
--- @bool[opt] isFactory Switches between factory or sysupgrade image name.
--- @treturn string The constructed file name.
-function M.constructImageFilename(version, devType, isFactory)
-	local sf = isFactory and 'factory' or 'sysupgrade'
-	local v = M.formatVersion(version)
-	local dt = devType and devType or 'tl-mr3020'
-	return 'doodle3d-wifibox-' .. M.formatVersion(v) .. '-' .. dt .. '-' .. sf .. '.bin'
-end
-
---- Checks whether a valid image file is present in @{cachePath} for the given image properties.
--- The versionEntry table will be augmented with an `isValid` key.
---
--- NOTE: currently, this function only checks the image exists and has the correct size.
--- Sysupgrade will perform integrity checks, so this is not a major issue.
---
--- @tparam table versionEntry A version information table.
--- @string[opt] devType Image device type, see @{constructImageFilename}.
--- @bool[opt] isFactory Image type, see @{constructImageFilename}.
--- @treturn bool True if a valid image is present, false otherwise.
-function M.checkValidImage(versionEntry, devType, isFactory)
-	local filename = M.constructImageFilename(versionEntry.version, devType, isFactory)
-	--return versionEntry.md5 == md5sum(cachePath .. '/' .. filename)
-	local size = fileSize(cachePath .. '/' .. filename)
-	versionEntry.isValid = versionEntry.sysupgradeFileSize == size
-	return versionEntry.isValid
-end
-
---- Returns the current wifibox version text, extracted from `/etc/wifibox-version`.
--- @treturn string Current version as plain-text.
-function M.getCurrentVersionText()
-	local res,msg,nr = readFile('/etc/wifibox-version', true)
-	if res then return res else return nil,msg,nr end
-end
-
---- Returns the current wifibox version as a table with major, minor and patch as keys.
--- @treturn table Current version as version table.
-function M.getCurrentVersion()
-	local vt,msg = M.getCurrentVersionText()
-	return vt and M.parseVersion(vt) or nil,msg
-end
-
---- Returns an indexed and sorted table containing version information tables.
--- The information is obtained from the either cached or downloaded image index file.
-local function fetchIndexTable(indexFile, cachePath)
-	if not baseUrl then baseUrl = M.DEFAULT_BASE_URL end
-	local indexFilename = cachePath .. '/' .. indexFile
-
-	if not useCache or not exists(indexFilename) then
-		local rv1,rv2 = downloadFile(baseUrl .. '/images/' .. indexFile, cachePath, indexFile)
-		if not rv1 then return nil,"could not download image index file (" .. wgetStatusToString(rv2) .. ")" end
-	end
-
-	local status,idxLines = pcall(io.lines, indexFilename)
-
-	if not status then return nil,"could not open image index file '" .. indexFilename .. "'" end --do not include io.lines error message
-
-	local result,entry = {}, nil
-	local lineno,changelogMode = 1, false
-	for line in idxLines do
-		local k,v = line:match('^(.-):(.*)$')
-		k,v = trim(k), trim(v)
-		--if not log then D("#" .. lineno .. ": considering '" .. line .. "' (" .. (k or '<nil>') .. " / " .. (v or '<nil>') .. ")") end
-		if not changelogMode and (not k or not v) then return nil,"incorrectly formatted line in index file (line " .. lineno .. ")" end
-
-		if k == 'ChangelogEnd' then
-			changelogMode = false
-		elseif changelogMode then
-			entry.changelog = entry.changelog .. line .. '\n'
-		else
-			if k == 'Version' then
-				if entry ~= nil then table.insert(result, entry) end
-
-				local pv = M.parseVersion(v)
-				if not pv then return nil,"incorrect version text in index file (line " .. lineno .. ")" end
-				entry = { version = pv }
-			elseif k == 'ChangelogStart' then
-				changelogMode = true
-				entry.changelog = ""
-			elseif k == 'Files' then
-				local sName,fName = v:match('^(.-);(.*)$')
-				sName,fName = trim(sName), trim(fName)
-				if sName then entry.sysupgradeFilename = sName end
-				if fName then entry.factoryFilename = fName end
-			elseif k == 'FileSize' then
-				local sSize,fSize = v:match('^(.-);(.*)$')
-				sSize,fSize = trim(sSize), trim(fSize)
-				if sSize then entry.sysupgradeFileSize = tonumber(sSize) end
-				if fSize then entry.factoryFileSize = tonumber(fSize) end
-			elseif k == 'MD5' then
-				local sSum,fSum = v:match('^(.-);(.*)$')
-				sSum,fSum = trim(sSum), trim(fSum)
-				if sSum then entry.sysupgradeMD5 = sSum end
-				if fSum then entry.factoryMD5 = fSum end
-			elseif k == 'ReleaseDate' then
-				local ts = M.parseDate(v)
-				if not ts then
-					P(0, "ignoring incorrectly formatted ReleaseDate field (line " .. lineno .. ")")
-				else
-					entry.timestamp = ts
-				end
-			else
-				P(-1, "ignoring unrecognized field in index file '" .. k .. "' (line " .. lineno .. ")")
-			end
-		end
-		lineno = lineno + 1
-	end
-
-	if entry ~= nil then table.insert(result, entry) end
-
-	table.sort(result, function(a,b)
-		return M.compareVersions(a.version,b.version) < 0
-	end)
-
-	return result
-end
-
---- Returns an indexed and sorted table containing version information tables.
--- The information is obtained from the either cached or downloaded image index (@{IMAGE_STABLE_INDEX_FILE}).
--- @tparam which[opt] Which type of versions to fetch, either 'stables' (default), 'betas' or both.
--- @treturn table A table with a collection of version information tables.
-function M.getAvailableVersions(which)
-	local ccRv,ccMsg = createCacheDirectory()
-	if not ccRv then return nil,ccMsg end
-
-	local verTable, msg = {}, nil
-
-	if which == 'stables' or which == 'both' then
-		verTable,msg = fetchIndexTable(M.IMAGE_STABLE_INDEX_FILE, cachePath)
-		if not verTable then return nil,msg end
-	end
-
-	if which == 'betas' or which == 'both' then
-		local betas,msg = fetchIndexTable(M.IMAGE_BETA_INDEX_FILE, cachePath)
-		if not betas then return nil,msg end
-
-		for k,v in pairs(betas) do verTable[k] = v end
-	end
-
-	return verTable
-end
-
---- Attempts to download an image file with the requested properties.
--- @tparam table versionEntry A version information table.
--- @string[opt] devType Image device type, see @{constructImageFilename}.
--- @bool[opt] isFactory Image type, see @{constructImageFilename}.
--- @treturn bool|nil True if successful, or nil on error.
--- @treturn ?string|number (optional) Descriptive message on general error, or wget exit status.
-function M.downloadImageFile(versionEntry, devType, isFactory)
-	if not baseUrl then baseUrl = M.DEFAULT_BASE_URL end
-	local filename = M.constructImageFilename(versionEntry.version, devType, isFactory)
-	local doDownload = not useCache
-
-	local ccRv,ccMsg = createCacheDirectory()
-	if not ccRv then return nil,ccMsg end
-
-	if versionEntry.isValid == false then
-		doDownload = true
-	elseif versionEntry.isValid == nil then
-		M.checkValidImage(versionEntry, devType, isFactory)
-		if versionEntry.isValid == false then doDownload = true end
-	end
-
-	local rv = 0
-	if doDownload then
-		M.setState(M.STATE.DOWNLOADING, "Downloading image (" .. filename .. ")")
-		rv = downloadFile(baseUrl .. '/images/' .. filename, cachePath, filename)
-	end
-
-	if rv == 0 then
-		if M.checkValidImage(versionEntry, devType, isFactory) then
-			M.setState(M.STATE.IMAGE_READY, "Image downloaded, ready to install (image name: " .. filename .. ")")
-			return true
-		else
-			removeFile(cachePath .. '/' .. filename)
-			local ws = "Image download failed (invalid image)"
-			M.setState(M.STATE.DOWNLOAD_FAILED, ws)
-			return nil,ws
-		end
-	else
-		local ws = wgetStatusToString(rv)
-		removeFile(cachePath .. '/' .. filename)
-		M.setState(M.STATE.DOWNLOAD_FAILED, "Image download failed (wget error: " .. ws .. ")")
-		return nil,ws
-	end
-end
-
---- Issues a [sysupgrade](http://wiki.openwrt.org/doc/howto/generic.sysupgrade) command with a wifibox image file.
---
--- This function will not return if it does its job successfully, the device will flash and reboot instead.
--- @tparam table versionEntry A version information table.
--- @bool[opt] noRetain If true, do not keep files in overlay filesystem (i.e., the '-n' switch in sysupgrade).
--- @string[opt] devType Image device type, see @{constructImageFilename}.
--- @bool[opt] isFactory Image type, see @{constructImageFilename}.
--- @treturn bool|nil True on success (with the 'exception' as noted above) or nil on error.
--- @treturn ?string|number (optional) Descriptive message or sysupgrade exit status on error.
-function M.flashImageVersion(versionEntry, noRetain, devType, isFactory)
-	log:info("flashImageVersion")
-	local imgName = M.constructImageFilename(versionEntry.version, devType, isFactory)
-	local cmd = noRetain and 'sysupgrade -n ' or 'sysupgrade '
-	cmd = cmd .. cachePath .. '/' .. imgName
-
-	local ccRv,ccMsg = createCacheDirectory()
-	if not ccRv then return nil,ccMsg end
-
-	if not M.checkValidImage(versionEntry) then
-		return nil,"no valid image for requested version present"
-	end
-
-	M.setState(M.STATE.INSTALLING, "Installing new image (" .. imgName .. ")") -- yes this is rather pointless
-	local rv = runCommand(cmd) -- if everything goes to plan, this will not return
-
-	if rv == 0 then
-		M.setState(M.STATE.INSTALLED, "Image installed")
-	else
-		-- NOTE: if cmdrv == 127, this means the command was not found
-		local cmdrv,sysrv = splitExitStatus(rv)
-		M.setState(M.STATE.INSTALL_FAILED, "Image installation failed (sysupgrade returned " .. cmdrv .. ", execution status: " .. sysrv .. ")")
-	end
-
-	return (rv == 0) and true or nil,rv
-end
-
---- Clears '*.bin' in the @{cachePath} directory.
--- @treturn bool|nil True on success, or nil on error.
--- @treturn ?string Descriptive message on error.
-function M.clear()
-	local ccRv,ccMsg = createCacheDirectory()
-	if not ccRv then return nil,ccMsg end
-
-	D("Removing " .. cachePath .. "/doodle3d-wifibox-*.bin")
-	M.setState(M.STATE.NONE, "")
-	local rv = M.compatexecute('rm -f ' .. cachePath .. '/doodle3d-wifibox-*.bin')
-	return (rv == 0) and true or nil,"could not remove image files"
-end
-
---- Set updater state.
---
--- NOTE: make sure the cache directory  @{cachePath} exists before calling this function or it will fail.
---
--- NOTE: this function _can_ fail but this is not expected to happen so the return value is mostly ignored for now.
---
--- @number code The @{STATE} code to set.
--- @string msg The accompanying state message to set.
--- @treturn bool True on success or false if the state file could not be opened for writing.
-function M.setState(code, msg)
-	local s = code .. '|' .. msg
-	D("set update state: " .. M.STATE_NAMES[code] .. " ('" .. s .. "')")
-	local file,msg = io.open(cachePath .. '/' .. M.STATE_FILE, 'w')
-
-	if not file then
-		E("error: could not open state file for writing (" .. msg .. ")")
-		return false
-	end
-
-	file:write(s)
-	file:close()
-	return true
-end
-
-
-
-----------
--- MAIN --
-----------
-
---- The main function which will be called in standalone mode.
--- At the end of the file, this function will be invoked only if `arg` is defined,
--- so this file can also be used as a library.
--- Command-line arguments are expected to be present in the global `arg` variable.
-local function main()
-	local argTable,msg = parseCommandlineArguments(arg)
-
-	if not argTable then
-		E("error interpreting command-line arguments, try '-h' for help (".. msg ..")")
-		os.exit(1)
-	end
-
-	verbosity = argTable.verbosity
-	if argTable.useCache ~= nil then useCache = argTable.useCache end
-
-	P(0, "Doodle3D Wifibox firmware updater")
-	local cacheCreated,msg = createCacheDirectory()
-	if not cacheCreated then
-		E(msg)
-		os.exit(1)
-	end
-
-	if argTable.action == 'showHelp' then
-		P(1, "\t-h\t\tShow this help message")
-		P(1, "\t-q\t\tquiet mode")
-		P(1, "\t-V\t\tverbose mode")
-		P(1, "\t-c\t\tUse cache as much as possible")
-		P(1, "\t-C\t\tDo not use the cache")
-		P(1, "\t-u <base_url>\tUse specified base URL (default: " .. M.DEFAULT_BASE_URL .. ")")
-		P(1, "\t-v\t\tShow current image version")
-		P(1, "\t-s\t\tShow current update status")
-		P(1, "\t-l\t\tShow list of available image versions (and which one has been downloaded, if any)")
-		P(1, "\t-i <version>\tShow information (changelog) about the requested image version")
-		P(1, "\t-d <version>\tDownload requested image version")
-		P(1, "\t-f <version>\tFlash to requested image version (by means of sysupgrade)")
-		P(1, "\t-r\t\tClear downloaded images and reset state")
-		os.exit(10)
-
-	elseif argTable.action == 'showCurrentVersion' then
-		local vText,msg,nr = M.getCurrentVersionText()
-		if not vText then E("error reading firmware version (" .. nr .. ": " .. msg .. ")"); os.exit(1) end
-		local v = M.parseVersion(vText)
-		if not v then E("error parsing version '" .. vText .. "'"); os.exit(2) end
-		P(1, "version: " .. M.formatVersion(v))
-
-	elseif argTable.action == 'showStatus' then
-		local status = M.getStatus()
-		P(0, "Current update status:")
-		P(1, "  currentVersion:\t" .. (M.formatVersion(status.currentVersion) or '?'))
-		P(1, "  newestVersion:\t" .. (M.formatVersion(status.newestVersion) or '?'))
-
-		if status.stateText and status.stateText:len() > 0 then
-			P(1, "  state:\t\t" .. M.STATE_NAMES[status.stateCode] .. " (" .. status.stateText .. ")")
-		else
-			P(1, "  state:\t\t" .. M.STATE_NAMES[status.stateCode])
-		end
-
-		if status.stateCode == M.STATE.DOWNLOADING then
-			local percent = (status.imageSize > 0) and (math.ceil(status.progress / status.imageSize * 1000) / 10) or 0
-			P(1, "  download progress:\t" .. status.progress .. "/" .. status.imageSize .. " (" .. percent .. "%)")
-		end
-
-	elseif argTable.action == 'showAvailableVersions' then
-		local verTable,msg = M.getAvailableVersions()
-		if not verTable then
-			E("error collecting version information (" .. msg .. ")")
-			os.exit(2)
-		end
-
-		P(0, "Available versions:")
-		for _,ent in ipairs(verTable) do P(1, M.formatVersion(ent.version)) end
-
-	elseif argTable.action == 'showVersionInfo' then
-		local vEnt,msg = M.findVersion(argTable.version)
-
-		if vEnt then
-			P(0, "Information on version:")
-			P(1, "  version:\t\t" .. M.formatVersion(vEnt.version))
-			P(1, "  sysupgradeFilename:\t" .. (vEnt.sysupgradeFilename or '-'))
-			P(1, "  sysupgradeFileSize:\t" .. (vEnt.sysupgradeFileSize or '-'))
-			P(1, "  sysupgradeMD5:\t" .. (vEnt.sysupgradeMD5 or '-'))
-			P(1, "  factoryFilename:\t" .. (vEnt.factoryFilename or '-'))
-			P(1, "  factoryFileSize:\t" .. (vEnt.factoryFileSize or '-'))
-			P(1, "  factoryMD5:\t\t" .. (vEnt.factoryMD5 or '-'))
-			if vEnt.changelog then
-				P(1, "\n--- Changelog ---\n" .. vEnt.changelog .. '---')
-			else
-				P(1, "  changelog:\t\t-")
-			end
-		elseif vEnt == false then
-			P(1, "no such version")
-			os.exit(4)
-		elseif vEnt == nil then
-			E("error searching version index (" .. msg .. ")")
-			os.exit(2)
-		end
-
-	elseif argTable.action == 'imageDownload' then
-		local vEnt,msg = M.findVersion(argTable.version)
-		if vEnt == false then
-			P(1, "no such version")
-			os.exit(4)
-		elseif vEnt == nil then
-			E("error searching version index (" .. msg .. ")")
-			os.exit(2)
-		end
-
-		local rv,msg = M.downloadImageFile(vEnt)
-		if not rv then E("could not download file (" .. msg .. ")")
-		else P(1, "success")
-		end
-
-	elseif argTable.action == 'clear' then
-		local rv,msg = M.clear()
-		if not rv then P(1, "error (" .. msg .. ")")
-		else P(1, "success")
-		end
-
-	elseif argTable.action == 'imageInstall' then
-		local vEnt, msg = nil, nil
-		vEnt,msg = M.findVersion(argTable.version)
-		if vEnt == false then
-			P(1, "no such version")
-			os.exit(4)
-		elseif vEnt == nil then
-			E("error searching version index (" .. msg .. ")")
-			os.exit(2)
-		end
-
-		local rv
-		rv,msg = M.flashImageVersion(vEnt)
-		E("error: failed to flash image to device (" .. msg .. ")")
-		os.exit(3)
-
-	else
-		P(0, "usage: d3d-updater [-hqVcCvslr] [-u base_url] [-i version] [-d version] [-f version]")
-	end
-
-	os.exit(0)
-end
-
---- Only execute the main function if an arg table is present, this enables usage both as module and as standalone script.
-if arg ~= nil then main() end
-
-return M