diff --git a/js/downloads.js b/js/downloads.js
index 80dbdcbb834..d817dbd6e31 100644
--- a/js/downloads.js
+++ b/js/downloads.js
@@ -3,8 +3,13 @@
 
 releases = {};
 
-function addRelease(version, releaseDate, packages, stable) {
-  releases[version] = {released: releaseDate, packages: packages, stable: stable};
+function addRelease(version, releaseDate, packages, stable, mirrored) {
+  releases[version] = {
+    released: releaseDate,
+    packages: packages,
+    stable: stable,
+    mirrored: mirrored
+  };
 }
 
 var sources = {pretty: "Source Code", tag: "sources"};
@@ -24,26 +29,21 @@ var packagesV7 = [hadoop2p7, hadoop2p6, hadoop2p4, hadoop2p3, hadoopFree, source
 // 2.2.0+
 var packagesV8 = [hadoop2p7, hadoop2p6, hadoopFree, sources];
 
-addRelease("2.3.1", new Date("06/08/2018"), packagesV8, true);
-addRelease("2.3.0", new Date("02/28/2018"), packagesV8, true);
-addRelease("2.2.1", new Date("12/01/2017"), packagesV8, true);
-addRelease("2.2.0", new Date("07/11/2017"), packagesV8, true);
-addRelease("2.1.2", new Date("10/09/2017"), packagesV7, true);
-addRelease("2.1.1", new Date("05/02/2017"), packagesV7, true);
-addRelease("2.1.0", new Date("12/28/2016"), packagesV7, true);
-addRelease("2.0.2", new Date("11/14/2016"), packagesV7, true);
-addRelease("2.0.1", new Date("10/03/2016"), packagesV7, true);
-addRelease("2.0.0", new Date("07/26/2016"), packagesV7, true);
+addRelease("2.3.1", new Date("06/08/2018"), packagesV8, true, true);
+addRelease("2.3.0", new Date("02/28/2018"), packagesV8, true, true);
+addRelease("2.2.1", new Date("12/01/2017"), packagesV8, true, true);
+addRelease("2.2.0", new Date("07/11/2017"), packagesV8, true, false);
+addRelease("2.1.2", new Date("10/09/2017"), packagesV7, true, true);
+addRelease("2.1.1", new Date("05/02/2017"), packagesV7, true, false);
+addRelease("2.1.0", new Date("12/28/2016"), packagesV7, true, false);
+addRelease("2.0.2", new Date("11/14/2016"), packagesV7, true, true);
+addRelease("2.0.1", new Date("10/03/2016"), packagesV7, true, false);
+addRelease("2.0.0", new Date("07/26/2016"), packagesV7, true, false);
 //addRelease("2.0.0-preview", new Date("05/24/2016"), sources.concat(packagesV7), true, false);
-addRelease("1.6.3", new Date("11/07/2016"), packagesV6, true);
-addRelease("1.6.2", new Date("06/25/2016"), packagesV6, true);
-addRelease("1.6.1", new Date("03/09/2016"), packagesV6, true);
-addRelease("1.6.0", new Date("01/04/2016"), packagesV6, true);
-//addRelease("1.5.2", new Date("11/09/2015"), packagesV6, true);
-//addRelease("1.5.1", new Date("10/02/2015"), packagesV6, true);
-//addRelease("1.5.0", new Date("9/09/2015"), packagesV6, true);
-//addRelease("1.4.1", new Date("7/15/2015"), packagesV6, true);
-//addRelease("1.4.0", new Date("6/11/2015"), packagesV6, true);
+addRelease("1.6.3", new Date("11/07/2016"), packagesV6, true, true);
+addRelease("1.6.2", new Date("06/25/2016"), packagesV6, true, false);
+addRelease("1.6.1", new Date("03/09/2016"), packagesV6, true, false);
+addRelease("1.6.0", new Date("01/04/2016"), packagesV6, true, false);
 
 function append(el, contents) {
   el.innerHTML += contents;
@@ -128,10 +128,10 @@ function onVersionSelect() {
   append(verifyLink, link);
 
   // Populate releases
-  updateDownloadLink();
+  updateDownloadLink(releases[version].mirrored);
 }
 
-function updateDownloadLink() {
+function updateDownloadLink(isMirrored) {
   var versionSelect = document.getElementById("sparkVersionSelect");
   var packageSelect = document.getElementById("sparkPackageSelect");
   var downloadLink = document.getElementById("spanDownloadLink");
@@ -147,12 +147,10 @@ function updateDownloadLink() {
     .replace(/-bin-sources/, ""); // special case for source packages
 
   var link = "";
-  if (version < "1.6.3" ||
-      (version >= "2.0.0" && version <= "2.0.1") ||
-      (version >= "2.1.0" && version <= "2.1.1")) {
-    link = "https://archive.apache.org/dist/spark/spark-$ver/$artifact";
-  } else {
+  if (isMirrored) {
     link = "https://www.apache.org/dyn/closer.lua/spark/spark-$ver/$artifact";
+  } else {
+    link = "https://archive.apache.org/dist/spark/spark-$ver/$artifact";
   }
   link = link
     .replace(/\$ver/, version)
diff --git a/release-process.md b/release-process.md
index e756cc0b56a..b2ee62ba98d 100644
--- a/release-process.md
+++ b/release-process.md
@@ -177,26 +177,38 @@ Publishing to CRAN is done using <a href="https://cran.r-project.org/submit.html
 Since it requires further manual steps, please also contact the <a href="mailto:private@spark.apache.org">PMC</a>.
 
 
-<h4>Remove Old Releases from Development Repository and Mirror Network</h4>
+<h4> Remove RC artifacts from repositories</h4>
 
-Spark always keeps two releases in the mirror network: the most recent release on the current and
-previous branches. To delete older versions simply use svn rm. The `downloads.js` file in the
-website `js/` directory must also be updated to reflect the changes. For instance, the two
-releases should be 1.1.1 and 1.0.2, but not 1.1.1 and 1.1.0.
-
-```
-$ svn rm https://dist.apache.org/repos/dist/release/spark/spark-1.1.0
-```
-
-You should also delete the RC directories from the staging repository. For example:
+After the vote passes and you moved the approved RC to the release repository, you should delete
+the RC directories from the staging repository. For example:
 
 ```
 svn rm https://dist.apache.org/repos/dist/dev/spark/v2.3.1-rc1-bin/ \
   https://dist.apache.org/repos/dist/dev/spark/v2.3.1-rc1-docs/ \
   -m"Removing RC artifacts."
+```
+
+Make sure to also remove the unpublished staging repositories from the
+<a href="https://repository.apache.org/">Apache Nexus Repository Manager</a>.
+
 
+<h4>Remove Old Releases from Mirror Network</h4>
+
+Spark always keeps the latest maintance released of each branch in the mirror network.
+To delete older versions simply use svn rm:
+
+```
+$ svn rm https://dist.apache.org/repos/dist/release/spark/spark-1.1.0
 ```
 
+You will also need to update `js/download.js` to indicate the release is not mirrored
+anymore, so that the correct links are generated on the site.
+
+Also take a moment to check `HiveExternalCatalogVersionsSuite.scala` starting with branch-2.2
+and see if it needs to be adjusted, since that test relies on mirrored downloads of previous
+releases.
+
+
 <h4>Update the Spark Apache Repository</h4>
 
 Check out the tagged commit for the release candidate that passed and apply the correct version tag.
diff --git a/site/doap.rdf b/site/doap.rdf
index 1568c3fdea8..25bb8fc4be5 100644
--- a/site/doap.rdf
+++ b/site/doap.rdf
@@ -28,13 +28,16 @@
     <homepage rdf:resource="http://spark.apache.org" />
     <asfext:pmc rdf:resource="http://spark.apache.org" />
     <shortdesc>Apache Spark is a fast and general engine for large-scale data processing.</shortdesc>
-    <description>Apache Spark is a fast and general engine for large-scale data processing. It offers high-level APIs in Java, Scala and Python as well as a rich set of libraries including stream processing, machine learning, and graph analytics.</description>
+    <description>Apache Spark is a fast and general engine for large-scale data processing. It offers high-level APIs in Java, Scala, Python and R, as well as a rich set of libraries including stream processing, machine learning, and graph analytics.</description>
     <bug-database rdf:resource="http://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/SPARK" />
     <mailing-list rdf:resource="http://spark.apache.org/community.html" />
     <download-page rdf:resource="http://spark.apache.org/downloads.html" />
     <programming-language>Java</programming-language>
     <programming-language>Scala</programming-language>
     <programming-language>Python</programming-language>
+    <programming-language>R</programming-language>
+    <programming-language>SQL</programming-language>
+    <programming-language>JDBC</programming-language>
     <category rdf:resource="http://projects.apache.org/category/big-data" />
   </Project>
 </rdf:RDF>
diff --git a/site/js/downloads.js b/site/js/downloads.js
index 80dbdcbb834..d817dbd6e31 100644
--- a/site/js/downloads.js
+++ b/site/js/downloads.js
@@ -3,8 +3,13 @@
 
 releases = {};
 
-function addRelease(version, releaseDate, packages, stable) {
-  releases[version] = {released: releaseDate, packages: packages, stable: stable};
+function addRelease(version, releaseDate, packages, stable, mirrored) {
+  releases[version] = {
+    released: releaseDate,
+    packages: packages,
+    stable: stable,
+    mirrored: mirrored
+  };
 }
 
 var sources = {pretty: "Source Code", tag: "sources"};
@@ -24,26 +29,21 @@ var packagesV7 = [hadoop2p7, hadoop2p6, hadoop2p4, hadoop2p3, hadoopFree, source
 // 2.2.0+
 var packagesV8 = [hadoop2p7, hadoop2p6, hadoopFree, sources];
 
-addRelease("2.3.1", new Date("06/08/2018"), packagesV8, true);
-addRelease("2.3.0", new Date("02/28/2018"), packagesV8, true);
-addRelease("2.2.1", new Date("12/01/2017"), packagesV8, true);
-addRelease("2.2.0", new Date("07/11/2017"), packagesV8, true);
-addRelease("2.1.2", new Date("10/09/2017"), packagesV7, true);
-addRelease("2.1.1", new Date("05/02/2017"), packagesV7, true);
-addRelease("2.1.0", new Date("12/28/2016"), packagesV7, true);
-addRelease("2.0.2", new Date("11/14/2016"), packagesV7, true);
-addRelease("2.0.1", new Date("10/03/2016"), packagesV7, true);
-addRelease("2.0.0", new Date("07/26/2016"), packagesV7, true);
+addRelease("2.3.1", new Date("06/08/2018"), packagesV8, true, true);
+addRelease("2.3.0", new Date("02/28/2018"), packagesV8, true, true);
+addRelease("2.2.1", new Date("12/01/2017"), packagesV8, true, true);
+addRelease("2.2.0", new Date("07/11/2017"), packagesV8, true, false);
+addRelease("2.1.2", new Date("10/09/2017"), packagesV7, true, true);
+addRelease("2.1.1", new Date("05/02/2017"), packagesV7, true, false);
+addRelease("2.1.0", new Date("12/28/2016"), packagesV7, true, false);
+addRelease("2.0.2", new Date("11/14/2016"), packagesV7, true, true);
+addRelease("2.0.1", new Date("10/03/2016"), packagesV7, true, false);
+addRelease("2.0.0", new Date("07/26/2016"), packagesV7, true, false);
 //addRelease("2.0.0-preview", new Date("05/24/2016"), sources.concat(packagesV7), true, false);
-addRelease("1.6.3", new Date("11/07/2016"), packagesV6, true);
-addRelease("1.6.2", new Date("06/25/2016"), packagesV6, true);
-addRelease("1.6.1", new Date("03/09/2016"), packagesV6, true);
-addRelease("1.6.0", new Date("01/04/2016"), packagesV6, true);
-//addRelease("1.5.2", new Date("11/09/2015"), packagesV6, true);
-//addRelease("1.5.1", new Date("10/02/2015"), packagesV6, true);
-//addRelease("1.5.0", new Date("9/09/2015"), packagesV6, true);
-//addRelease("1.4.1", new Date("7/15/2015"), packagesV6, true);
-//addRelease("1.4.0", new Date("6/11/2015"), packagesV6, true);
+addRelease("1.6.3", new Date("11/07/2016"), packagesV6, true, true);
+addRelease("1.6.2", new Date("06/25/2016"), packagesV6, true, false);
+addRelease("1.6.1", new Date("03/09/2016"), packagesV6, true, false);
+addRelease("1.6.0", new Date("01/04/2016"), packagesV6, true, false);
 
 function append(el, contents) {
   el.innerHTML += contents;
@@ -128,10 +128,10 @@ function onVersionSelect() {
   append(verifyLink, link);
 
   // Populate releases
-  updateDownloadLink();
+  updateDownloadLink(releases[version].mirrored);
 }
 
-function updateDownloadLink() {
+function updateDownloadLink(isMirrored) {
   var versionSelect = document.getElementById("sparkVersionSelect");
   var packageSelect = document.getElementById("sparkPackageSelect");
   var downloadLink = document.getElementById("spanDownloadLink");
@@ -147,12 +147,10 @@ function updateDownloadLink() {
     .replace(/-bin-sources/, ""); // special case for source packages
 
   var link = "";
-  if (version < "1.6.3" ||
-      (version >= "2.0.0" && version <= "2.0.1") ||
-      (version >= "2.1.0" && version <= "2.1.1")) {
-    link = "https://archive.apache.org/dist/spark/spark-$ver/$artifact";
-  } else {
+  if (isMirrored) {
     link = "https://www.apache.org/dyn/closer.lua/spark/spark-$ver/$artifact";
+  } else {
+    link = "https://archive.apache.org/dist/spark/spark-$ver/$artifact";
   }
   link = link
     .replace(/\$ver/, version)
diff --git a/site/release-process.html b/site/release-process.html
index a3b311d6981..24157989106 100644
--- a/site/release-process.html
+++ b/site/release-process.html
@@ -376,24 +376,34 @@ <h4>Publish to CRAN</h4>
 <p>Publishing to CRAN is done using <a href="https://cran.r-project.org/submit.html">this form</a>.
 Since it requires further manual steps, please also contact the <a href="mailto:private@spark.apache.org">PMC</a>.</p>
 
-<h4>Remove Old Releases from Development Repository and Mirror Network</h4>
+<h4> Remove RC artifacts from repositories</h4>
 
-<p>Spark always keeps two releases in the mirror network: the most recent release on the current and
-previous branches. To delete older versions simply use svn rm. The <code>downloads.js</code> file in the
-website <code>js/</code> directory must also be updated to reflect the changes. For instance, the two
-releases should be 1.1.1 and 1.0.2, but not 1.1.1 and 1.1.0.</p>
-
-<pre><code>$ svn rm https://dist.apache.org/repos/dist/release/spark/spark-1.1.0
-</code></pre>
-
-<p>You should also delete the RC directories from the staging repository. For example:</p>
+<p>After the vote passes and you moved the approved RC to the release repository, you should delete
+the RC directories from the staging repository. For example:</p>
 
 <pre><code>svn rm https://dist.apache.org/repos/dist/dev/spark/v2.3.1-rc1-bin/ \
   https://dist.apache.org/repos/dist/dev/spark/v2.3.1-rc1-docs/ \
   -m"Removing RC artifacts."
+</code></pre>
+
+<p>Make sure to also remove the unpublished staging repositories from the
+<a href="https://repository.apache.org/">Apache Nexus Repository Manager</a>.</p>
 
+<h4>Remove Old Releases from Mirror Network</h4>
+
+<p>Spark always keeps the latest maintance released of each branch in the mirror network.
+To delete older versions simply use svn rm:</p>
+
+<pre><code>$ svn rm https://dist.apache.org/repos/dist/release/spark/spark-1.1.0
 </code></pre>
 
+<p>You will also need to update <code>js/download.js</code> to indicate the release is not mirrored
+anymore, so that the correct links are generated on the site.</p>
+
+<p>Also take a moment to check <code>HiveExternalCatalogVersionsSuite.scala</code> starting with branch-2.2
+and see if it needs to be adjusted, since that test relies on mirrored downloads of previous
+releases.</p>
+
 <h4>Update the Spark Apache Repository</h4>
 
 <p>Check out the tagged commit for the release candidate that passed and apply the correct version tag.</p>