diff --git a/core/api/src/main/java/org/onosproject/net/NetTools.java b/core/api/src/main/java/org/onosproject/net/NetTools.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..fc56188
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+++ b/core/api/src/main/java/org/onosproject/net/NetTools.java
@@ -0,0 +1,37 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2015 Open Networking Laboratory
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+package org.onosproject.net;
+
+/**
+ * Networking domain tools.
+ */
+public final class NetTools {
+
+    private NetTools() {
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Converts DPIDs of the form xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx to OpenFlow provider
+     * device URIs. The is helpful for converting DPIDs coming from configuration
+     * or REST to URIs that the core understands.
+     *
+     * @param dpid the DPID string to convert
+     * @return the URI string for this device
+     */
+    public static String dpidToUri(String dpid) {
+        return "of:" + dpid.replace(":", "");
+    }
+}