diff --git a/doc/source/devref/index.rst b/doc/source/devref/index.rst
index 13baa67fb5c3..335f252421e4 100644
--- a/doc/source/devref/index.rst
+++ b/doc/source/devref/index.rst
@@ -38,6 +38,7 @@ Background Concepts for Nova
 
    architecture
    threading
+   vmstates
    il8n
    filter_scheduler
    multinic
diff --git a/doc/source/devref/vmstates.rst b/doc/source/devref/vmstates.rst
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..6b9d0c705275
--- /dev/null
+++ b/doc/source/devref/vmstates.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+Virtual Machine States and Transitions
+=======================================
+
+Preconditions for commands
+--------------------------
+
+
+The following diagrams show the required virtual machine (VM) states and
+task states for various commands issued by the user:
+
+
+.. image:: /images/PowerStates1.png
+
+.. image:: /images/PowerStates2.png
+
+
+Create instance states
+----------------------
+
+The following diagram shows the sequence of VM states, task states, and
+power states when a new VM instance is created.
+
+
+.. image:: /images/run_instance_walkthrough.png
\ No newline at end of file
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