diff --git a/doc/source/database.rst b/doc/source/database.rst
index 67f940fe1d08..b58ea147d5cc 100644
--- a/doc/source/database.rst
+++ b/doc/source/database.rst
@@ -18,12 +18,6 @@
 Database Programming Guide
 ==========================
 
-::
-
-    TODO(todd): document register_models (where should it be called from?)
-                document any relevant test cases
-                document flags
-
 The :mod:`api` Module
 ---------------------
 
@@ -59,3 +53,9 @@ The :mod:`sqlalchemy.session` Module
     :members:
     :undoc-members:
     :show-inheritance:
+
+Tests
+-----
+
+Tests are lacking for the db api layer and for the sqlalchemy driver.
+Failures in the drivers would be dectected in other test cases, though.
diff --git a/nova/db/api.py b/nova/db/api.py
index 7cce591adc9a..659bfd6b8678 100644
--- a/nova/db/api.py
+++ b/nova/db/api.py
@@ -17,6 +17,16 @@
 #    under the License.
 """
 Defines interface for DB access.
+
+The underlying driver is loaded as a :class:`LazyPluggable`.
+
+**Related Flags**
+
+:db_backend:  string to lookup in the list of LazyPluggable backends.
+              `sqlalchemy` is the only supported backend right now.
+
+:sql_connection:  string specifying the sqlalchemy connection to use, like:
+                  `sqlite:///var/lib/nova/nova.sqlite`.
 """
 
 from nova import exception