diff --git a/core/api/src/main/java/org/onosproject/persistence/PersistentMapBuilder.java b/core/api/src/main/java/org/onosproject/persistence/PersistentMapBuilder.java
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+++ b/core/api/src/main/java/org/onosproject/persistence/PersistentMapBuilder.java
@@ -0,0 +1,49 @@
+/*
+ * 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.persistence;
+
+
+import org.onosproject.store.service.Serializer;
+
+import java.util.Map;
+
+/**
+ * The interface for a persistent map builder for use with mapDB.
+ */
+public interface PersistentMapBuilder<K, V> {
+
+    /**
+     * Sets the name of this map.
+     * @param name the string name of this map
+     * @return a persistent map builder with the name option now set
+     */
+    PersistentMapBuilder<K, V> withName(String name);
+
+    /**
+     * Sets the key serializer to be used to serialize this map, this is a required parameter.
+     * @param serializer the serializer to be used for keys
+     * @return a persistent map builder with the key serializer set
+     */
+    PersistentMapBuilder<K, V> withSerializer(Serializer serializer);
+
+    /**
+     * Validates the map settings and then builds this map in the database.  Throws an exception if invalid settings
+     * are found.
+     * @return The map that was created
+     */
+    Map<K, V> build();
+}
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