diff --git a/nova/datastore.py b/nova/datastore.py
index 61e507cd..ce9a85ef 100644
--- a/nova/datastore.py
+++ b/nova/datastore.py
@@ -76,19 +76,20 @@ class RedisModel(object):
             self.set_default_state()
 
     def set_default_state(self):
-        self.state = {'state' : 'pending',
+        self.state = {'state': 0,
+                      'state_description': 'pending',
                       'node_name': 'unassigned',
                       'project_id': 'unassigned',
                       'user_id': 'unassigned'}
         self.state[self.object_type+"_id"] = self.object_id
         self.state["create_time"] = time.strftime('%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ', time.gmtime())
-        
+
     @property
     def project(self):
         if self.state.get('project_id', None):
             return self.state['project_id']
         return self.state.get('owner_id', 'unassigned')
-        
+
     @property
     def __redis_key(self):
         """ Magic string for keys """