diff --git a/core/api/src/main/java/org/onlab/onos/net/device/DefaultDeviceDescription.java b/core/api/src/main/java/org/onlab/onos/net/device/DefaultDeviceDescription.java
index 788d23a..ede2eb2 100644
--- a/core/api/src/main/java/org/onlab/onos/net/device/DefaultDeviceDescription.java
+++ b/core/api/src/main/java/org/onlab/onos/net/device/DefaultDeviceDescription.java
@@ -96,4 +96,13 @@
                 .toString();
     }
 
+    // default constructor for serialization
+    private DefaultDeviceDescription() {
+        this.uri = null;
+        this.type = null;
+        this.manufacturer = null;
+        this.hwVersion = null;
+        this.swVersion = null;
+        this.serialNumber = null;
+    }
 }