diff --git a/Makefile.am b/Makefile.am
index 3ec9b22799a6fc66fa0ad5ca6a000e83df386256..4f0b2d080f773ea324f9bf4d7320aee81227e7b7 100644
--- a/Makefile.am
+++ b/Makefile.am
@@ -245,7 +245,8 @@ impexpd_PYTHON = \
 
 watcher_PYTHON = \
 	lib/watcher/__init__.py \
-	lib/watcher/nodemaint.py
+	lib/watcher/nodemaint.py \
+	lib/watcher/state.py
 
 server_PYTHON = \
 	lib/server/__init__.py \
diff --git a/lib/watcher/__init__.py b/lib/watcher/__init__.py
index f931388d3efe30079133fa989c57fe0c133117f2..98f8d70aaedbb65868a82bf383244bda41d281aa 100644
--- a/lib/watcher/__init__.py
+++ b/lib/watcher/__init__.py
@@ -37,7 +37,6 @@ from optparse import OptionParser
 from ganeti import utils
 from ganeti import constants
 from ganeti import compat
-from ganeti import serializer
 from ganeti import errors
 from ganeti import opcodes
 from ganeti import cli
@@ -46,22 +45,16 @@ from ganeti import rapi
 from ganeti import netutils
 
 import ganeti.rapi.client # pylint: disable-msg=W0611
-import ganeti.watcher.nodemaint # pylint: disable-msg=W0611
+
+from ganeti.watcher import nodemaint
+from ganeti.watcher import state
 
 
 MAXTRIES = 5
-# Delete any record that is older than 8 hours; this value is based on
-# the fact that the current retry counter is 5, and watcher runs every
-# 5 minutes, so it takes around half an hour to exceed the retry
-# counter, so 8 hours (16*1/2h) seems like a reasonable reset time
-RETRY_EXPIRATION = 8 * 3600
 BAD_STATES = [constants.INSTST_ERRORDOWN]
 HELPLESS_STATES = [constants.INSTST_NODEDOWN, constants.INSTST_NODEOFFLINE]
 NOTICE = 'NOTICE'
 ERROR = 'ERROR'
-KEY_RESTART_COUNT = "restart_count"
-KEY_RESTART_WHEN = "restart_when"
-KEY_BOOT_ID = "bootid"
 
 
 # Global LUXI client object
@@ -118,166 +111,13 @@ def RunWatcherHooks():
                       runresult.output)
 
 
-class WatcherState(object):
-  """Interface to a state file recording restart attempts.
-
-  """
-  def __init__(self, statefile):
-    """Open, lock, read and parse the file.
-
-    @type statefile: file
-    @param statefile: State file object
-
-    """
-    self.statefile = statefile
-
-    try:
-      state_data = self.statefile.read()
-      if not state_data:
-        self._data = {}
-      else:
-        self._data = serializer.Load(state_data)
-    except Exception, msg: # pylint: disable-msg=W0703
-      # Ignore errors while loading the file and treat it as empty
-      self._data = {}
-      logging.warning(("Invalid state file. Using defaults."
-                       " Error message: %s"), msg)
-
-    if "instance" not in self._data:
-      self._data["instance"] = {}
-    if "node" not in self._data:
-      self._data["node"] = {}
-
-    self._orig_data = serializer.Dump(self._data)
-
-  def Save(self):
-    """Save state to file, then unlock and close it.
-
-    """
-    assert self.statefile
-
-    serialized_form = serializer.Dump(self._data)
-    if self._orig_data == serialized_form:
-      logging.debug("Data didn't change, just touching status file")
-      os.utime(constants.WATCHER_STATEFILE, None)
-      return
-
-    # We need to make sure the file is locked before renaming it, otherwise
-    # starting ganeti-watcher again at the same time will create a conflict.
-    fd = utils.WriteFile(constants.WATCHER_STATEFILE,
-                         data=serialized_form,
-                         prewrite=utils.LockFile, close=False)
-    self.statefile = os.fdopen(fd, 'w+')
-
-  def Close(self):
-    """Unlock configuration file and close it.
-
-    """
-    assert self.statefile
-
-    # Files are automatically unlocked when closing them
-    self.statefile.close()
-    self.statefile = None
-
-  def GetNodeBootID(self, name):
-    """Returns the last boot ID of a node or None.
-
-    """
-    ndata = self._data["node"]
-
-    if name in ndata and KEY_BOOT_ID in ndata[name]:
-      return ndata[name][KEY_BOOT_ID]
-    return None
-
-  def SetNodeBootID(self, name, bootid):
-    """Sets the boot ID of a node.
-
-    """
-    assert bootid
-
-    ndata = self._data["node"]
-
-    if name not in ndata:
-      ndata[name] = {}
-
-    ndata[name][KEY_BOOT_ID] = bootid
-
-  def NumberOfRestartAttempts(self, instance):
-    """Returns number of previous restart attempts.
-
-    @type instance: L{Instance}
-    @param instance: the instance to look up
-
-    """
-    idata = self._data["instance"]
-
-    if instance.name in idata:
-      return idata[instance.name][KEY_RESTART_COUNT]
-
-    return 0
-
-  def MaintainInstanceList(self, instances):
-    """Perform maintenance on the recorded instances.
-
-    @type instances: list of string
-    @param instances: the list of currently existing instances
-
-    """
-    idict = self._data["instance"]
-    # First, delete obsolete instances
-    obsolete_instances = set(idict).difference(instances)
-    for inst in obsolete_instances:
-      logging.debug("Forgetting obsolete instance %s", inst)
-      del idict[inst]
-
-    # Second, delete expired records
-    earliest = time.time() - RETRY_EXPIRATION
-    expired_instances = [i for i in idict
-                         if idict[i][KEY_RESTART_WHEN] < earliest]
-    for inst in expired_instances:
-      logging.debug("Expiring record for instance %s", inst)
-      del idict[inst]
-
-  def RecordRestartAttempt(self, instance):
-    """Record a restart attempt.
-
-    @type instance: L{Instance}
-    @param instance: the instance being restarted
-
-    """
-    idata = self._data["instance"]
-
-    if instance.name not in idata:
-      inst = idata[instance.name] = {}
-    else:
-      inst = idata[instance.name]
-
-    inst[KEY_RESTART_WHEN] = time.time()
-    inst[KEY_RESTART_COUNT] = inst.get(KEY_RESTART_COUNT, 0) + 1
-
-  def RemoveInstance(self, instance):
-    """Update state to reflect that a machine is running.
-
-    This method removes the record for a named instance (as we only
-    track down instances).
-
-    @type instance: L{Instance}
-    @param instance: the instance to remove from books
-
-    """
-    idata = self._data["instance"]
-
-    if instance.name in idata:
-      del idata[instance.name]
-
-
 class Instance(object):
   """Abstraction for a Virtual Machine instance.
 
   """
-  def __init__(self, name, state, autostart, snodes):
+  def __init__(self, name, status, autostart, snodes):
     self.name = name
-    self.state = state
+    self.status = status
     self.autostart = autostart
     self.snodes = snodes
 
@@ -431,7 +271,7 @@ class Watcher(object):
     notepad.MaintainInstanceList(self.instances.keys())
 
     for instance in self.instances.values():
-      if instance.state in BAD_STATES:
+      if instance.status in BAD_STATES:
         n = notepad.NumberOfRestartAttempts(instance)
 
         if n > MAXTRIES:
@@ -454,7 +294,7 @@ class Watcher(object):
                             instance.name)
 
         notepad.RecordRestartAttempt(instance)
-      elif instance.state in HELPLESS_STATES:
+      elif instance.status in HELPLESS_STATES:
         if notepad.NumberOfRestartAttempts(instance):
           notepad.RemoveInstance(instance)
       else:
@@ -519,7 +359,7 @@ class Watcher(object):
     job = []
     for name in offline_disk_instances:
       instance = self.instances[name]
-      if (instance.state in HELPLESS_STATES or
+      if (instance.status in HELPLESS_STATES or
           self._CheckForOfflineNodes(instance)):
         logging.info("Skip instance %s because it is in helpless state or has"
                      " one offline secondary", name)
@@ -535,30 +375,6 @@ class Watcher(object):
         logging.exception("Error while activating disks")
 
 
-def OpenStateFile(path):
-  """Opens the state file and acquires a lock on it.
-
-  @type path: string
-  @param path: Path to state file
-
-  """
-  # The two-step dance below is necessary to allow both opening existing
-  # file read/write and creating if not existing. Vanilla open will truncate
-  # an existing file -or- allow creating if not existing.
-  statefile_fd = os.open(path, os.O_RDWR | os.O_CREAT)
-
-  # Try to acquire lock on state file. If this fails, another watcher instance
-  # might already be running or another program is temporarily blocking the
-  # watcher from running.
-  try:
-    utils.LockFile(statefile_fd)
-  except errors.LockError, err:
-    logging.error("Can't acquire lock on state file %s: %s", path, err)
-    return None
-
-  return os.fdopen(statefile_fd, "w+")
-
-
 def IsRapiResponding(hostname):
   """Connects to RAPI port and does a simple test.
 
@@ -628,7 +444,8 @@ def Main():
     logging.debug("Pause has been set, exiting")
     return constants.EXIT_SUCCESS
 
-  statefile = OpenStateFile(constants.WATCHER_STATEFILE)
+  statefile = \
+    state.OpenStateFile(constants.WATCHER_STATEFILE)
   if not statefile:
     return constants.EXIT_FAILURE
 
@@ -638,10 +455,10 @@ def Main():
     RunWatcherHooks()
     # run node maintenance in all cases, even if master, so that old
     # masters can be properly cleaned up too
-    if nodemaint.NodeMaintenance.ShouldRun(): # pylint: disable-msg=E0602
-      nodemaint.NodeMaintenance().Exec() # pylint: disable-msg=E0602
+    if nodemaint.NodeMaintenance.ShouldRun():
+      nodemaint.NodeMaintenance().Exec()
 
-    notepad = WatcherState(statefile)
+    notepad = state.WatcherState(statefile)
     try:
       try:
         client = cli.GetClient()
diff --git a/lib/watcher/state.py b/lib/watcher/state.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..ec659b825c121290eabdec0105cfd7595fbee3f9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/watcher/state.py
@@ -0,0 +1,221 @@
+#
+#
+
+# Copyright (C) 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 Google Inc.
+#
+# This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
+# it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
+# the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or
+# (at your option) any later version.
+#
+# 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., 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA
+# 02110-1301, USA.
+
+
+"""Module keeping state for Ganeti watcher.
+
+"""
+
+import os
+import time
+import logging
+
+from ganeti import utils
+from ganeti import constants
+from ganeti import serializer
+from ganeti import errors
+
+
+# Delete any record that is older than 8 hours; this value is based on
+# the fact that the current retry counter is 5, and watcher runs every
+# 5 minutes, so it takes around half an hour to exceed the retry
+# counter, so 8 hours (16*1/2h) seems like a reasonable reset time
+RETRY_EXPIRATION = 8 * 3600
+
+KEY_RESTART_COUNT = "restart_count"
+KEY_RESTART_WHEN = "restart_when"
+KEY_BOOT_ID = "bootid"
+
+
+def OpenStateFile(path):
+  """Opens the state file and acquires a lock on it.
+
+  @type path: string
+  @param path: Path to state file
+
+  """
+  # The two-step dance below is necessary to allow both opening existing
+  # file read/write and creating if not existing. Vanilla open will truncate
+  # an existing file -or- allow creating if not existing.
+  statefile_fd = os.open(path, os.O_RDWR | os.O_CREAT)
+
+  # Try to acquire lock on state file. If this fails, another watcher instance
+  # might already be running or another program is temporarily blocking the
+  # watcher from running.
+  try:
+    utils.LockFile(statefile_fd)
+  except errors.LockError, err:
+    logging.error("Can't acquire lock on state file %s: %s", path, err)
+    return None
+
+  return os.fdopen(statefile_fd, "w+")
+
+
+class WatcherState(object):
+  """Interface to a state file recording restart attempts.
+
+  """
+  def __init__(self, statefile):
+    """Open, lock, read and parse the file.
+
+    @type statefile: file
+    @param statefile: State file object
+
+    """
+    self.statefile = statefile
+
+    try:
+      state_data = self.statefile.read()
+      if not state_data:
+        self._data = {}
+      else:
+        self._data = serializer.Load(state_data)
+    except Exception, msg: # pylint: disable-msg=W0703
+      # Ignore errors while loading the file and treat it as empty
+      self._data = {}
+      logging.warning(("Invalid state file. Using defaults."
+                       " Error message: %s"), msg)
+
+    if "instance" not in self._data:
+      self._data["instance"] = {}
+    if "node" not in self._data:
+      self._data["node"] = {}
+
+    self._orig_data = serializer.Dump(self._data)
+
+  def Save(self):
+    """Save state to file, then unlock and close it.
+
+    """
+    assert self.statefile
+
+    serialized_form = serializer.Dump(self._data)
+    if self._orig_data == serialized_form:
+      logging.debug("Data didn't change, just touching status file")
+      os.utime(constants.WATCHER_STATEFILE, None)
+      return
+
+    # We need to make sure the file is locked before renaming it, otherwise
+    # starting ganeti-watcher again at the same time will create a conflict.
+    fd = utils.WriteFile(constants.WATCHER_STATEFILE,
+                         data=serialized_form,
+                         prewrite=utils.LockFile, close=False)
+    self.statefile = os.fdopen(fd, 'w+')
+
+  def Close(self):
+    """Unlock configuration file and close it.
+
+    """
+    assert self.statefile
+
+    # Files are automatically unlocked when closing them
+    self.statefile.close()
+    self.statefile = None
+
+  def GetNodeBootID(self, name):
+    """Returns the last boot ID of a node or None.
+
+    """
+    ndata = self._data["node"]
+
+    if name in ndata and KEY_BOOT_ID in ndata[name]:
+      return ndata[name][KEY_BOOT_ID]
+    return None
+
+  def SetNodeBootID(self, name, bootid):
+    """Sets the boot ID of a node.
+
+    """
+    assert bootid
+
+    ndata = self._data["node"]
+
+    if name not in ndata:
+      ndata[name] = {}
+
+    ndata[name][KEY_BOOT_ID] = bootid
+
+  def NumberOfRestartAttempts(self, instance):
+    """Returns number of previous restart attempts.
+
+    @type instance: L{Instance}
+    @param instance: the instance to look up
+
+    """
+    idata = self._data["instance"]
+
+    if instance.name in idata:
+      return idata[instance.name][KEY_RESTART_COUNT]
+
+    return 0
+
+  def MaintainInstanceList(self, instances):
+    """Perform maintenance on the recorded instances.
+
+    @type instances: list of string
+    @param instances: the list of currently existing instances
+
+    """
+    idict = self._data["instance"]
+    # First, delete obsolete instances
+    obsolete_instances = set(idict).difference(instances)
+    for inst in obsolete_instances:
+      logging.debug("Forgetting obsolete instance %s", inst)
+      del idict[inst]
+
+    # Second, delete expired records
+    earliest = time.time() - RETRY_EXPIRATION
+    expired_instances = [i for i in idict
+                         if idict[i][KEY_RESTART_WHEN] < earliest]
+    for inst in expired_instances:
+      logging.debug("Expiring record for instance %s", inst)
+      del idict[inst]
+
+  def RecordRestartAttempt(self, instance):
+    """Record a restart attempt.
+
+    @type instance: L{Instance}
+    @param instance: the instance being restarted
+
+    """
+    idata = self._data["instance"]
+
+    if instance.name not in idata:
+      inst = idata[instance.name] = {}
+    else:
+      inst = idata[instance.name]
+
+    inst[KEY_RESTART_WHEN] = time.time()
+    inst[KEY_RESTART_COUNT] = inst.get(KEY_RESTART_COUNT, 0) + 1
+
+  def RemoveInstance(self, instance):
+    """Update state to reflect that a machine is running.
+
+    This method removes the record for a named instance (as we only
+    track down instances).
+
+    @type instance: L{Instance}
+    @param instance: the instance to remove from books
+
+    """
+    idata = self._data["instance"]
+
+    if instance.name in idata:
+      del idata[instance.name]