NVRAM management in a wagering game machine

1. A method for execution by one or more processors, the method comprising:

pre-allocating by the one or more processors a plurality of portions of an NVRAM (non-volatile random access memory) in a wagering game machine, each of the plurality of portions having a reserved purpose and being dedicated for the reserved purpose in a plurality of wagering games before the execution of a wagering game on the wagering game machine;

maintaining metadata that indicates the reserved purpose of the plurality of portions of the NVRAM;

initializing a first wagering game, the first wagering game operable to display an outcome in response to receiving a wager of monetary value, the first wagering game using the pre-allocated plurality of portions for their respective reserved purposes;

receiving an indication that a second wagering game is to be loaded;

saving NVRAM content associated with the first wagering game to a storage unit of the wagering game machine in response to receiving the indication that the second wagering game is to be loaded; and

initializing the second wagering game, wherein the second wagering game reuses the pre-allocated plurality of portions of the NVRAM used by the first wagering game for their respective reserved purposes as indicated by the metadata;

wherein the pre-allocating is performed independently from any of the wagering games.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of portions of NVRAM are pre-allocated according to metadata stored on the NVRAM.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising storing state information regarding the pre-allocated plurality of portions in a state portion of the NVRAM in metadata.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein pre-allocating the plurality of portions includes pre-allocating one or more files in a file system on the NVRAM.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of portions are pre-allocated according to size requirements associated with the purpose of each of the plurality of portions.

6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising clearing the pre-allocated plurality of portions in response to receiving the indication that the second wagering game is to be loaded.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the plurality of portions stores critical data.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the storage unit includes a hard drive, compact flash, or network storage device.

9. A method for execution by one or more processors, the method comprising:

pre-allocating by the one or more processors one or more portions of an NVRAM in a wagering game machine, each of the one or more portions having a reserved purpose in a plurality of wagering games, the one or more portions having a first organization and being dedicated for the reserved purpose before the execution of a wagering game on the wagering game machine;

maintaining metadata that indicates the reserved purpose of the pre-allocated one or more portions of the NVRAM;

initializing a wagering game, the wagering game operable display an outcome in response to receiving a wager of monetary value, the wagering game using the pre-allocated one or more portions for their respective reserved purposes;

copying data written to the pre-allocated one or more portions of the NVRAM to a cache on a storage device of the wagering game machine;

analyzing the data in the cache on the storage device to determine a second organization for the pre-allocated one or more portions;

updating metadata values describing how the data is stored in one or more portions of the NVRAM; and

reorganizing the pre-allocated one or more portions of the NVRAM in accordance with the second organization;

wherein the pre-allocating is performed independently from any of the wagering games.

10. An apparatus comprising:

at least one processor and a memory;

an NVRAM; and

an NVRAM management component executable by the at least one processor and operable to pre-allocate a plurality of portions of the NVRAM, each of the plurality of portions having a reserved purpose in a plurality of wagering games and being dedicated for the reserved purpose before the execution of a wagering game by the at least one processor;

wherein the at least one processor is further operable to:

maintain metadata that indicates the reserved purpose of the plurality of portions of the NVRAM,

initializing a first wagering game, the first wagering game operable display an outcome in response to receiving a wager of monetary value, the first wagering game using the pre-allocated plurality of portions for their respective reserved purposes,

receive an indication that a second wagering game is to be loaded,

save NVRAM content associated with the first wagering game to a storage unit of the wagering game machine in response to the indication that the second wagering game is to be loaded, and

initialize the second wagering game, wherein the second wagering game reuses the pre-allocated plurality of portions of the NVRAM used by the first wagering game for their respective reserved purposes as indicated by the metadata;

wherein the pre-allocation by the NVRAM management component is independent from any of the wagering games.

11. The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the plurality of portions of the NVRAM comprise files in a file system on the NVRAM.

12. The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the NVRAM management component is further operable to:

stop the first wagering game or the second wagering game;

copy data from the NVRAM to a storage device;

clear one or more portions of the NVRAM;

restore the copied data to the NVRAM; and

restart the first wagering game or the second wagering game.

13. The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the NVRAM is a battery-backed RAM.

14. The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the storage unit includes a hard drive, compact flash, or network storage device.

15. A non-transitory machine-readable medium having processor executable instructions stored thereon for causing one or more processors to execute a method, the method comprising:

pre-allocating a plurality of portions of an NVRAM (non-volatile random access memory) in a wagering game machine, each of the plurality of portions having a reserved purpose and being dedicated for the reserved purpose in a plurality of wagering games before the execution of a wagering game on the wagering game machine;

maintaining metadata that indicates the reserved purpose of the plurality of portions of the NVRAM;

initializing a first wagering game, the first wagering game operable display an outcome in response to receiving a wager of monetary value, the first wagering game using the pre-allocated plurality of portions for their respective reserved purposes;

receiving an indication that a second wagering game is to be loaded;

saving NVRAM content associated with the first wagering game to a storage unit of the wagering game machine in response to receiving the indication that the second wagering game is to be loaded; and

initializing the second wagering game, wherein the second wagering game reuses the pre-allocated plurality of portions of the NVRAM used by the first wagering game for their respective reserved purposes as indicated by the metadata;

wherein the pre-allocating is performed independently from any of the wagering games.

16. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 15 , wherein the plurality of portions of NVRAM are pre-allocated according to metadata stored on the NVRAM.

17. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 15 , wherein the method further comprises storing state information regarding the pre-allocated plurality of portions in a state portion of the NVRAM in metadata.

18. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 15 , wherein pre-allocating the plurality of portions includes pre-allocating one or more files in a file system on the NVRAM.

19. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 15 , wherein the plurality of portions are pre-allocated according to size requirements.

20. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 15 , wherein the method further comprises clearing the pre-allocated plurality of portions in response to receiving the indication that the second wagering game is to be loaded.

21. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 15 , wherein at least one of the plurality of portions stores critical data.

22. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 15 , wherein the storage unit includes a hard drive, compact flash, or network storage device.