diff --git a/conf.py b/conf.py
index cd4fa28..35dda32 100644
--- a/conf.py
+++ b/conf.py
@@ -3,11 +3,14 @@ import logging
 import sys
 from nodefilter import NodeFilter
 
+
 class Conf(object):
     """Configuration parameters"""
     hard_filter = None
     soft_filter = NodeFilter()
-    ssh = {'opts': '-oConnectTimeout=2 -oStrictHostKeyChecking=no -oUserKnownHostsFile=/dev/null -oLogLevel=error -lroot -oBatchMode=yes',
+    ssh = {'opts': '''-oConnectTimeout=2 -oStrictHostKeyChecking=no
+                   -oUserKnownHostsFile=/dev/null -oLogLevel=error
+                   -lroot -oBatchMode=yes''',
            'vars': 'OPENRC=/root/openrc IPTABLES_STR="iptables -nvL"'}
     cluster = None
     fuelip = 'localhost'
@@ -27,7 +30,7 @@ class Conf(object):
             self.hard_filter = NodeFilter(**entries['hard_filter'])
         if 'soft_filter' in entries:
             self.soft_filter = NodeFilter(**entries['soft_filter'])
- 
+
     @staticmethod
     def load_conf(filename):
         try:
@@ -40,7 +43,7 @@ class Conf(object):
             logging.error("Could not convert data")
             sys.exit(1)
         except yaml.parser.ParserError as e:
-            logging.error("Could not parse %s:\n%s" %(filename, str(e)))
+            logging.error("Could not parse %s:\n%s" % (filename, str(e)))
             sys.exit(1)
         except:
             logging.error("Unexpected error: %s" % sys.exc_info()[0])
diff --git a/nodefilter.py b/nodefilter.py
index 4efcf64..35fd316 100644
--- a/nodefilter.py
+++ b/nodefilter.py
@@ -1,9 +1,9 @@
 class NodeFilter(object):
 
-     status = ['ready', 'discover']
-     online = True
-     roles = []
-     node_ids = []
-     def __init__(self, **entries):
-         self.__dict__.update(entries)
+    status = ['ready', 'discover']
+    online = True
+    roles = []
+    node_ids = []
 
+    def __init__(self, **entries):
+        self.__dict__.update(entries)
diff --git a/timmy.py b/timmy.py
index f428ac1..17cfb46 100755
--- a/timmy.py
+++ b/timmy.py
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ import sys
 import os
 from conf import Conf
 import flock
+from tools import import_subprocess
 
 def main(argv=None):
     if argv is None:
@@ -61,6 +62,7 @@ def main(argv=None):
             loglevel = logging.INFO
     logging.basicConfig(level=loglevel,
                         format='%(asctime)s %(levelname)s %(message)s')
+    import_subprocess()
     config = Conf.load_conf(args.config)
     n = nodes.Nodes(conf=config,
                     extended=args.extended,
diff --git a/tools.py b/tools.py
index 9d957dc..8668f55 100644
--- a/tools.py
+++ b/tools.py
@@ -21,9 +21,27 @@ tools module
 
 import os
 import logging
-import subprocess
 import sys
 
+def import_subprocess():
+    if 'subprocess' not in globals():
+        global subprocess
+        try:
+            import subprocess32 as subprocess
+            logging.info("using improved subprocess32 module\n")
+        except:
+            import subprocess
+            logging.warning(("Please upgrade the module 'subprocess' to the latest version: "
+                            "https://pypi.python.org/pypi/subprocess32/"))
+            ### set not_ok python
+            global ok_python
+            ok_python = True
+            if sys.version > (2,7,0):
+                ok_python = False
+                logging.warning('this subprocess module does not support timeouts')
+    else:
+            logging.info('subprocess is already loaded')
+
 
 def get_dir_structure(rootdir):
     """
@@ -60,13 +78,22 @@ def launch_cmd(command, timeout):
                          shell=True,
                          stdout=subprocess.PIPE,
                          stderr=subprocess.PIPE)
-    try:
-        outs, errs = p.communicate(timeout=timeout+1)
-    except subprocess.TimeoutExpired:
-        p.kill()
-        outs, errs = p.communicate()
-        logging.error("command: %s err: %s, returned: %s" %
-                      (command, errs, p.returncode))
+    if ok_python:
+        try:
+            outs, errs = p.communicate(timeout=timeout+1)
+        except subprocess.TimeoutExpired:
+            p.kill()
+            outs, errs = p.communicate()
+            logging.error("command: %s err: %s, returned: %s" %
+                          (command, errs, p.returncode))
+    else:
+        try:
+            outs, errs = p.communicate()
+        except:
+            p.kill()
+            outs, errs = p.communicate()
+            logging.error("command: %s err: %s, returned: %s" %
+                          (command, errs, p.returncode))
     logging.debug("ssh return: err:%s\nouts:%s\ncode:%s" %
                   (errs, outs, p.returncode))
     logging.info("ssh return: err:%s\ncode:%s" %
@@ -117,13 +144,23 @@ def get_files_rsync(ip, data, sshopts, dpath, timeout=15):
                          stdin=subprocess.PIPE,
                          stdout=subprocess.PIPE,
                          stderr=subprocess.PIPE)
-    try:
-        outs, errs = p.communicate(input=data, timeout=timeout+1)
-    except subprocess.TimeoutExpired:
-        p.kill()
-        outs, errs = p.communicate()
-        logging.error("ip: %s, command: %s err: %s, returned: %s" %
-                      (ip, cmd, errs, p.returncode))
+    if ok_python:
+        try:
+            outs, errs = p.communicate(input=data, timeout=timeout+1)
+        except subprocess.TimeoutExpired:
+            p.kill()
+            outs, errs = p.communicate()
+            logging.error("ip: %s, command: %s err: %s, returned: %s" %
+                          (ip, cmd, errs, p.returncode))
+    else:
+        try:
+            outs, errs = p.communicate(input=data)
+        except:
+            p.kill()
+            outs, errs = p.communicate()
+            logging.error("ip: %s, command: %s err: %s, returned: %s" %
+                          (ip, cmd, errs, p.returncode))
+
     logging.debug("ip: %s, ssh return: err:%s\nouts:%s\ncode:%s" %
                   (ip, errs, outs, p.returncode))
     logging.info("ip: %s, ssh return: err:%s\ncode:%s" %