diff --git a/common/ring.h b/common/ring.h
index ff4ef6dd..bd030d25 100644
--- a/common/ring.h
+++ b/common/ring.h
@@ -154,6 +154,19 @@ static inline RingItem *ring_prev(Ring *ring, RingItem *pos)
             (var) = ring_prev(ring, var))
 
 
+static inline unsigned int ring_get_length(Ring *ring)
+{
+    RingItem *i;
+    unsigned int ret = 0;
+
+    for (i = ring_get_head(ring);
+         i != NULL;
+         i = ring_next(ring, i))
+        ret++;
+
+    return ret;
+}
+
 #ifdef __cplusplus
 }
 #endif