diff --git a/core/api/src/main/java/org/onlab/onos/cluster/NodeId.java b/core/api/src/main/java/org/onlab/onos/cluster/NodeId.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2430d52
--- /dev/null
+++ b/core/api/src/main/java/org/onlab/onos/cluster/NodeId.java
@@ -0,0 +1,48 @@
+package org.onlab.onos.cluster;
+
+import java.util.Objects;
+
+/**
+ * Controller cluster identity.
+ */
+public class NodeId {
+
+    private final String id;
+
+    // Default constructor for serialization
+    protected NodeId() {
+        id = null;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Creates a new cluster node identifier from the specified string.
+     *
+     * @param id string identifier
+     */
+    public NodeId(String id) {
+        this.id = id;
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public int hashCode() {
+        return Objects.hash(id);
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public boolean equals(Object obj) {
+        if (this == obj) {
+            return true;
+        }
+        if (obj instanceof NodeId) {
+            final NodeId other = (NodeId) obj;
+            return Objects.equals(this.id, other.id);
+        }
+        return false;
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public String toString() {
+        return id;
+    }
+
+}