diff --git a/of/ctl/src/main/java/org/onlab/onos/of/controller/impl/annotations/LogMessageCategory.java b/of/ctl/src/main/java/org/onlab/onos/of/controller/impl/annotations/LogMessageCategory.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..643c639
--- /dev/null
+++ b/of/ctl/src/main/java/org/onlab/onos/of/controller/impl/annotations/LogMessageCategory.java
@@ -0,0 +1,36 @@
+/**
+ *    Copyright 2012, Big Switch Networks, Inc.
+ *    Originally created by David Erickson, Stanford University
+ *
+ *    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.onlab.onos.of.controller.impl.annotations;
+
+import java.lang.annotation.ElementType;
+import java.lang.annotation.Target;
+
+/**
+ * Annotation used to set the category for log messages for a class.
+ *
+ */
+@Target({ ElementType.TYPE, ElementType.METHOD })
+public @interface LogMessageCategory {
+
+    /**
+     * The category for the log messages for this class.
+     *
+     * @return category
+     */
+    String value() default "Core";
+}