diff --git a/examples/bin/start-hbase.sh b/examples/bin/start-hbase.sh
index 47ce27a64..1acafda33 100755
--- a/examples/bin/start-hbase.sh
+++ b/examples/bin/start-hbase.sh
@@ -1,8 +1,9 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env bash
 
-HBASE_VERSION=hbase-0.94.24
+HBASE_VERSION=hbase-0.94.25
 HBASE_FILE=$HBASE_VERSION.tar.gz
 HBASE_DL_URL=http://apache.mirror.cdnetworks.com/hbase/$HBASE_VERSION/$HBASE_FILE
+HBASE_ARCHIVE_DL_URL=http://archive.apache.org/dist/hbase/$HBASE_VERSION/$HBASE_FILE
 
 this="${BASH_SOURCE-$0}"
 while [ -h "$this" ]; do
@@ -21,30 +22,74 @@ script=`basename "$this"`
 bin=`cd "$bin">/dev/null; pwd`
 this="$bin/$script"
 
+CURRENT_DIR=$bin
 BASE_DIR=`dirname "$bin"`
 
 CONF_DIR=$BASE_DIR/conf
 HBASE_DIR=$BASE_DIR/hbase
 
-# check if HBase exists
-if [ -d $HBASE_DIR/$HBASE_VERSION ]; then
-    echo "HBase already installed. Starting hbase..."
+function func_check_hbase_installation
+{
+    if [ -d $HBASE_DIR/$HBASE_VERSION ]; then
+        echo "true"
+    else
+        echo "false"
+    fi
+}
+
+function func_download_hbase
+{
+    if type curl > /dev/null 2>&1; then
+        if [[ `curl -s --head $HBASE_DL_URL | head -n 1 2>&1 | grep "HTTP/1.[01] [23].."` ]]; then
+            curl -O $HBASE_DL_URL
+        else
+            curl -O $HBASE_ARCHIVE_DL_URL
+        fi
+        echo "true"
+    elif type wget > /dev/null 2>&1; then
+        if [[ `wget -S --spider $FAIL_URL 2>&1 | grep "HTTP/1.[01] [23].."` ]]; then 
+            wget $HBASE_DL_URL
+        else
+            wget $HBASE_ARCHIVE_DL_URL
+        fi
+        echo "true"
+    else
+        echo "false"
+    fi
+}
+
+function func_install_hbase
+{
+    if [ ! -d $HBASE_DIR ]; then
+        mkdir $HBASE_DIR
+    fi
+    cd $HBASE_DIR
+    echo "Downloading hbase..."
+    download_successful=$(func_download_hbase)
+    if [[ "$download_successful" == "false" ]]; then
+        echo "hbase download failed - wget or curl required."
+        echo "Exiting"
+        exit 0
+    fi
+    tar xzf $HBASE_FILE
+    rm $HBASE_FILE
+    ln -s $HBASE_VERSION hbase
+    cp $CONF_DIR/hbase/hbase-site.xml $HBASE_DIR/$HBASE_VERSION/conf/
+    chmod +x $HBASE_DIR/$HBASE_VERSION/bin/start-hbase.sh
+}
+
+function func_start_hbase
+{
+    hbase_already_installed=$(func_check_hbase_installation)
+    if [[ "$hbase_already_installed" == "true" ]]; then
+        echo "HBase already installed. Starting hbase..."
+    else
+        echo "Hbase not detected."
+        func_install_hbase
+    fi
     cd $HBASE_DIR/$HBASE_VERSION/bin
     ./start-hbase.sh
-    exit 0
-fi
-
-# install and start HBase standalone
-echo "HBase not detected. Installing hbase..."
-mkdir $HBASE_DIR
-cd $HBASE_DIR
-wget $HBASE_DL_URL 2>/dev/null || curl -O $HBASE_DL_URL
-tar xzf $HBASE_FILE
-rm $HBASE_FILE
-cp $CONF_DIR/hbase/hbase-site.xml $HBASE_DIR/$HBASE_VERSION/conf/
-cd $HBASE_DIR/$HBASE_VERSION/bin
-
-echo "HBase installation complete. Starting hbase..."
-chmod +x start-hbase.sh
-./start-hbase.sh
+    cd $CURRENT_DIR
+}
 
+func_start_hbase
\ No newline at end of file