diff --git a/tests/test_backup.py b/tests/test_backup.py
index 1aa9ede1cf7a7d4f4d9def3d1942af4f7b6c18b3..383148f6c11f19536fb73a4052d640bea1065f15 100755
--- a/tests/test_backup.py
+++ b/tests/test_backup.py
@@ -13,7 +13,8 @@ import imp
 os.chdir(os.path.dirname(__file__))
 
 def test_ssh(server):
-    return subprocess.getstatus('ssh %s ls /tmp' % server) == 0
+    status, out = subprocess.getstatusoutput('ssh %s ls /tmp' % server) 
+    return status == 0
 
 def test_last_backup_is_recent(server, client):
     path = '/backup/%s/current' % client