diff --git a/server/include/utils.h b/server/include/utils.h
index 8b5f72582..4e822af04 100644
--- a/server/include/utils.h
+++ b/server/include/utils.h
@@ -75,6 +75,9 @@ void print(enum log_level lvl, const char *fmt, ...);
  */
 cpu_set_t to_cpu_set(int set);
 
+/** Allocate and initialize memory. */
+void * alloc(size_t bytes);
+
 /** Get delta between two timespec structs */
 double timespec_delta(struct timespec *start, struct timespec *end);
 
diff --git a/server/src/utils.c b/server/src/utils.c
index 7464ad8f1..c332e7799 100644
--- a/server/src/utils.c
+++ b/server/src/utils.c
@@ -80,6 +80,17 @@ cpu_set_t to_cpu_set(int set)
 	return cset;
 }
 
+void * alloc(size_t bytes)
+{
+	void *p = malloc(bytes);
+	if (!p)
+		error("Failed to allocate memory");
+
+	memset(p, 0, bytes);
+	
+	return p;
+}
+
 double timespec_delta(struct timespec *start, struct timespec *end)
 {
 	double sec  = end->tv_sec - start->tv_sec;