diff --git a/src/object-db.cc b/src/object-db.cc
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8cadf7e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/object-db.cc
@@ -0,0 +1,124 @@
+/* -*- Mode: C++; c-file-style: "gnu"; indent-tabs-mode:nil -*- */
+/*
+ * Copyright (c) 2012 University of California, Los Angeles
+ *
+ * This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
+ * it under the terms of the GNU General Public License version 2 as
+ * published by the Free Software Foundation;
+ *
+ * This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+ * but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+ * MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+ * GNU General Public License for more details.
+ *
+ * You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
+ * along with this program; if not, write to the Free Software
+ * Foundation, Inc., 59 Temple Place, Suite 330, Boston, MA  02111-1307  USA
+ *
+ * Author: Alexander Afanasyev <alexander.afanasyev@ucla.edu>
+ *	   Zhenkai Zhu <zhenkai@cs.ucla.edu>
+ */
+
+#include "object-db.h"
+#include <iostream>
+#include <boost/make_shared.hpp>
+#include "db-helper.h"
+#include <sys/stat.h>
+
+using namespace std;
+using namespace Ccnx;
+using namespace boost;
+namespace fs = boost::filesystem;
+
+const std::string INIT_DATABASE = "\
+CREATE TABLE                                                            \n\
+    File(                                                               \n\
+        device_name     BLOB NOT NULL,                                  \n\
+        segment         INTEGER,                                        \n\
+        content_object  BLOB,                                           \n\
+                                                                        \
+        PRIMARY KEY (device_name, segment)                              \n\
+    );                                                                  \n\
+";
+
+ObjectDb::ObjectDb (const fs::path &folder, const std::string &hash)
+{
+  fs::path actualFolder = folder / "objects" / hash.substr (0, 2);
+  fs::create_directories (actualFolder);
+  
+  int res = sqlite3_open((actualFolder / hash.substr (2, hash.size () - 2)).c_str (), &m_db);
+  if (res != SQLITE_OK)
+    {
+      BOOST_THROW_EXCEPTION (Error::Db ()
+                             << errmsg_info_str ("Cannot open/create dabatabase: [" +
+                                                 (actualFolder / hash.substr (2, hash.size () - 2)).string () + "]"));
+    }
+  
+  // Alex: determine if tables initialized. if not, initialize... not sure what is the best way to go...
+  // for now, just attempt to create everything
+
+  char *errmsg = 0;
+  res = sqlite3_exec (m_db, INIT_DATABASE.c_str (), NULL, NULL, &errmsg);
+  if (res != SQLITE_OK && errmsg != 0)
+    {
+      std::cerr << "DEBUG: " << errmsg << std::endl;
+      sqlite3_free (errmsg);
+    }  
+}
+
+ObjectDb::~ObjectDb ()
+{
+  int res = sqlite3_close (m_db);
+  if (res != SQLITE_OK)
+    {
+      // complain
+    }
+}
+
+void
+ObjectDb::saveContentObject (const Ccnx::Name &deviceName, sqlite3_int64 segment, const Ccnx::Bytes &data)
+{
+  sqlite3_stmt *stmt;
+  sqlite3_prepare_v2 (m_db, "INSERT INTO File "
+                      "(device_name, segment, content_object) "
+                      "VALUES (?, ?, ?)", -1, &stmt, 0);
+
+  CcnxCharbufPtr buf = deviceName.toCcnxCharbuf ();
+  sqlite3_bind_blob (stmt, 1, buf->buf (), buf->length (), SQLITE_TRANSIENT);
+  sqlite3_bind_int64 (stmt, 2, segment);
+  sqlite3_bind_blob (stmt, 3, &data[0], data.size (), SQLITE_TRANSIENT);
+
+  sqlite3_step (stmt);
+  sqlite3_finalize (stmt);
+}
+
+Ccnx::BytesPtr
+ObjectDb::fetchSegment (const Ccnx::Name &deviceName, sqlite3_int64 segment)
+{
+  sqlite3_stmt *stmt;
+  sqlite3_prepare_v2 (m_db, "SELECT content_object FROM File WHERE device_name=? AND segment=?", -1, &stmt, 0);
+
+  CcnxCharbufPtr buf = deviceName.toCcnxCharbuf ();
+  sqlite3_bind_blob (stmt, 1, buf->buf (), buf->length (), SQLITE_TRANSIENT);
+  sqlite3_bind_int64 (stmt, 2, segment);
+
+  BytesPtr ret;
+  
+  int res = sqlite3_step (stmt);
+  if (res == SQLITE_ROW)
+    {
+      const unsigned char *buf = reinterpret_cast<const unsigned char*> (sqlite3_column_blob (stmt, 0));
+      int bufBytes = sqlite3_column_bytes (stmt, 0);
+
+      ret = make_shared<Bytes> (buf, buf+bufBytes);
+    }
+
+  sqlite3_finalize (stmt);
+
+  return ret;
+}
+
+// sqlite3_int64
+// ObjectDb::getNumberOfSegments (const Ccnx::Name &deviceName)
+// {
+// }