diff --git a/header/header.go b/header/header.go
index f22509b8..b973141f 100644
--- a/header/header.go
+++ b/header/header.go
@@ -174,6 +174,10 @@ func (h *H) SubTypeName() string {
 	return SubTypeName(h.Type, h.Subtype)
 }
 
+func (h *H) IsValidSubType() bool {
+	return IsValidSubType(h.Type, h.Subtype)
+}
+
 // SubTypeName will transform a nebula message sub type into a human string
 func SubTypeName(t MessageType, s MessageSubType) string {
 	if n, ok := subTypeMap[t]; ok {
@@ -185,6 +189,16 @@ func SubTypeName(t MessageType, s MessageSubType) string {
 	return "unknown"
 }
 
+func IsValidSubType(t MessageType, s MessageSubType) bool {
+	if n, ok := subTypeMap[t]; ok {
+		if _, ok := (*n)[s]; ok {
+			return true
+		}
+	}
+
+	return false
+}
+
 // NewHeader turns bytes into a header
 func NewHeader(b []byte) (*H, error) {
 	h := new(H)
diff --git a/message_metrics.go b/message_metrics.go
index 10e8472c..45de9a5c 100644
--- a/message_metrics.go
+++ b/message_metrics.go
@@ -13,6 +13,8 @@ type MessageMetrics struct {
 
 	rxUnknown metrics.Counter
 	txUnknown metrics.Counter
+
+	rxInvalid metrics.Counter
 }
 
 func (m *MessageMetrics) Rx(t header.MessageType, s header.MessageSubType, i int64) {
@@ -33,6 +35,11 @@ func (m *MessageMetrics) Tx(t header.MessageType, s header.MessageSubType, i int
 		}
 	}
 }
+func (m *MessageMetrics) RxInvalid(i int64) {
+	if m != nil && m.rxInvalid != nil {
+		m.rxInvalid.Inc(i)
+	}
+}
 
 func newMessageMetrics() *MessageMetrics {
 	gen := func(t string) [][]metrics.Counter {
@@ -56,6 +63,7 @@ func newMessageMetrics() *MessageMetrics {
 
 		rxUnknown: metrics.GetOrRegisterCounter("messages.rx.other", nil),
 		txUnknown: metrics.GetOrRegisterCounter("messages.tx.other", nil),
+		rxInvalid: metrics.GetOrRegisterCounter("messages.rx.invalid", nil),
 	}
 }
 
diff --git a/outside.go b/outside.go
index 1e00a0a9..17013ed3 100644
--- a/outside.go
+++ b/outside.go
@@ -20,23 +20,46 @@ const (
 	minFwPacketLen = 4
 )
 
+var ErrOutOfWindow = errors.New("out of window packet")
+
 func (f *Interface) readOutsidePackets(via ViaSender, out []byte, packet []byte, h *header.H, fwPacket *firewall.Packet, lhf *LightHouseHandler, nb []byte, q int, localCache firewall.ConntrackCache) {
 	err := h.Parse(packet)
 	if err != nil {
 		// Hole punch packets are 0 or 1 byte big, so lets ignore printing those errors
+		// TODO: record metrics for rx holepunch/punchy packets?
 		if len(packet) > 1 {
-			f.l.Info("Error while parsing inbound packet",
-				"from", via,
-				"error", err,
-				"packet", packet,
-			)
+			f.messageMetrics.RxInvalid(1)
+			if f.l.Enabled(context.Background(), slog.LevelDebug) {
+				f.l.Debug("Error while parsing inbound packet",
+					"from", via,
+					"error", err,
+					"packet", packet,
+				)
+			}
+		}
+		return
+	}
+
+	if h.Version != header.Version {
+		f.messageMetrics.RxInvalid(1)
+		if f.l.Enabled(context.Background(), slog.LevelDebug) {
+			f.l.Debug("Unexpected header version received", "from", via)
+		}
+		return
+	}
+
+	// Check before processing to see if this is a expected type/subtype
+	if !h.IsValidSubType() {
+		f.messageMetrics.RxInvalid(1)
+		if f.l.Enabled(context.Background(), slog.LevelDebug) {
+			f.l.Debug("Unexpected packet received", "from", via)
 		}
 		return
 	}
 
-	//l.Error("in packet ", header, packet[HeaderLen:])
 	if !via.IsRelayed {
 		if f.myVpnNetworksTable.Contains(via.UdpAddr.Addr()) {
+			f.messageMetrics.RxInvalid(1)
 			if f.l.Enabled(context.Background(), slog.LevelDebug) {
 				f.l.Debug("Refusing to process double encrypted packet", "from", via)
 			}
@@ -44,215 +67,192 @@ func (f *Interface) readOutsidePackets(via ViaSender, out []byte, packet []byte,
 		}
 	}
 
+	// don't keep Rx metrics for message type, since you can see those in the tun metrics
+	if h.Type != header.Message {
+		f.messageMetrics.Rx(h.Type, h.Subtype, 1)
+	}
+
+	// Unencrypted packets
+	switch h.Type {
+	case header.Handshake:
+		f.handshakeManager.HandleIncoming(via, packet, h)
+		return
+
+	case header.RecvError:
+		f.handleRecvError(via.UdpAddr, h)
+		return
+	}
+
+	// Relay packets are special
+	isMessageRelay := (h.Type == header.Message && h.Subtype == header.MessageRelay)
+
 	var hostinfo *HostInfo
-	// verify if we've seen this index before, otherwise respond to the handshake initiation
-	if h.Type == header.Message && h.Subtype == header.MessageRelay {
+	if isMessageRelay {
 		hostinfo = f.hostMap.QueryRelayIndex(h.RemoteIndex)
 	} else {
 		hostinfo = f.hostMap.QueryIndex(h.RemoteIndex)
 	}
 
-	var ci *ConnectionState
-	if hostinfo != nil {
-		ci = hostinfo.ConnectionState
+	// At this point we should have a valid existing tunnel, verify and send
+	// recvError if necessary
+	if hostinfo == nil || hostinfo.ConnectionState == nil {
+		if !via.IsRelayed {
+			f.maybeSendRecvError(via.UdpAddr, h.RemoteIndex)
+		}
+		return
 	}
 
+	// All remaining packets are encrypted
+	ci := hostinfo.ConnectionState
+	if !ci.window.Check(f.l, h.MessageCounter) {
+		return
+	}
+
+	// Relay packets are special
+	if isMessageRelay {
+		f.handleOutsideRelayPacket(hostinfo, via, out, packet, h, fwPacket, lhf, nb, q, localCache)
+
+		return
+	}
+
+	out, err = f.decrypt(hostinfo, h.MessageCounter, out, packet, h, nb)
+	if err != nil {
+		if f.l.Enabled(context.Background(), slog.LevelDebug) {
+			hostinfo.logger(f.l).Debug("Failed to decrypt packet",
+				"error", err,
+				"from", via,
+				"header", h,
+			)
+		}
+		return
+	}
+
+	// Roam before we respond
+	f.handleHostRoaming(hostinfo, via)
+	f.connectionManager.In(hostinfo)
+
 	switch h.Type {
 	case header.Message:
-		if !f.handleEncrypted(ci, via, h) {
-			return
-		}
-
 		switch h.Subtype {
 		case header.MessageNone:
-			if !f.decryptToTun(hostinfo, h.MessageCounter, out, packet, fwPacket, nb, q, localCache) {
-				return
-			}
-		case header.MessageRelay:
-			// The entire body is sent as AD, not encrypted.
-			// The packet consists of a 16-byte parsed Nebula header, Associated Data-protected payload, and a trailing 16-byte AEAD signature value.
-			// The packet is guaranteed to be at least 16 bytes at this point, b/c it got past the h.Parse() call above. If it's
-			// otherwise malformed (meaning, there is no trailing 16 byte AEAD value), then this will result in at worst a 0-length slice
-			// which will gracefully fail in the DecryptDanger call.
-			signedPayload := packet[:len(packet)-hostinfo.ConnectionState.dKey.Overhead()]
-			signatureValue := packet[len(packet)-hostinfo.ConnectionState.dKey.Overhead():]
-			out, err = hostinfo.ConnectionState.dKey.DecryptDanger(out, signedPayload, signatureValue, h.MessageCounter, nb)
-			if err != nil {
-				return
-			}
-			// Successfully validated the thing. Get rid of the Relay header.
-			signedPayload = signedPayload[header.Len:]
-			// Pull the Roaming parts up here, and return in all call paths.
-			f.handleHostRoaming(hostinfo, via)
-			// Track usage of both the HostInfo and the Relay for the received & authenticated packet
-			f.connectionManager.In(hostinfo)
-			f.connectionManager.RelayUsed(h.RemoteIndex)
-
-			relay, ok := hostinfo.relayState.QueryRelayForByIdx(h.RemoteIndex)
-			if !ok {
-				// The only way this happens is if hostmap has an index to the correct HostInfo, but the HostInfo is missing
-				// its internal mapping. This should never happen.
-				hostinfo.logger(f.l).Error("HostInfo missing remote relay index",
-					"vpnAddrs", hostinfo.vpnAddrs,
-					"remoteIndex", h.RemoteIndex,
-				)
-				return
-			}
-
-			switch relay.Type {
-			case TerminalType:
-				// If I am the target of this relay, process the unwrapped packet
-				// From this recursive point, all these variables are 'burned'. We shouldn't rely on them again.
-				via = ViaSender{
-					UdpAddr:   via.UdpAddr,
-					relayHI:   hostinfo,
-					remoteIdx: relay.RemoteIndex,
-					relay:     relay,
-					IsRelayed: true,
-				}
-				f.readOutsidePackets(via, out[:0], signedPayload, h, fwPacket, lhf, nb, q, localCache)
-				return
-			case ForwardingType:
-				// Find the target HostInfo relay object
-				targetHI, targetRelay, err := f.hostMap.QueryVpnAddrsRelayFor(hostinfo.vpnAddrs, relay.PeerAddr)
-				if err != nil {
-					hostinfo.logger(f.l).Info("Failed to find target host info by ip",
-						"relayTo", relay.PeerAddr,
-						"error", err,
-						"hostinfo.vpnAddrs", hostinfo.vpnAddrs,
-					)
-					return
-				}
-
-				// If that relay is Established, forward the payload through it
-				if targetRelay.State == Established {
-					switch targetRelay.Type {
-					case ForwardingType:
-						// Forward this packet through the relay tunnel
-						// Find the target HostInfo
-						f.SendVia(targetHI, targetRelay, signedPayload, nb, out, false)
-						return
-					case TerminalType:
-						hostinfo.logger(f.l).Error("Unexpected Relay Type of Terminal")
-					}
-				} else {
-					hostinfo.logger(f.l).Info("Unexpected target relay state",
-						"relayTo", relay.PeerAddr,
-						"relayFrom", hostinfo.vpnAddrs[0],
-						"targetRelayState", targetRelay.State,
-					)
-					return
-				}
-			}
+			f.handleOutsideMessagePacket(hostinfo, out, packet, fwPacket, nb, q, localCache)
+		default:
+			hostinfo.logger(f.l).Error("IsValidSubType was true, but unexpected message subtype seen", "from", via, "header", h)
+			return
 		}
 
 	case header.LightHouse:
-		f.messageMetrics.Rx(h.Type, h.Subtype, 1)
-		if !f.handleEncrypted(ci, via, h) {
-			return
-		}
-
-		d, err := f.decrypt(hostinfo, h.MessageCounter, out, packet, h, nb)
-		if err != nil {
-			hostinfo.logger(f.l).Error("Failed to decrypt lighthouse packet",
-				"error", err,
-				"from", via,
-				"packet", packet,
-			)
-			return
-		}
-
 		//TODO: assert via is not relayed
-		lhf.HandleRequest(via.UdpAddr, hostinfo.vpnAddrs, d, f)
-
-		// Fallthrough to the bottom to record incoming traffic
+		lhf.HandleRequest(via.UdpAddr, hostinfo.vpnAddrs, out, f)
 
 	case header.Test:
-		f.messageMetrics.Rx(h.Type, h.Subtype, 1)
-		if !f.handleEncrypted(ci, via, h) {
+		switch h.Subtype {
+		case header.TestReply:
+			// No-op, useful for the Roaming and connectionManager side-effects above
+		case header.TestRequest:
+			f.send(header.Test, header.TestReply, ci, hostinfo, out, nb, out)
+		default:
+			hostinfo.logger(f.l).Error("IsValidSubType was true, but unexpected test subtype seen", "from", via, "header", h)
 			return
 		}
 
-		d, err := f.decrypt(hostinfo, h.MessageCounter, out, packet, h, nb)
-		if err != nil {
-			hostinfo.logger(f.l).Error("Failed to decrypt test packet",
-				"error", err,
-				"from", via,
-				"packet", packet,
-			)
-			return
-		}
-
-		if h.Subtype == header.TestRequest {
-			// This testRequest might be from TryPromoteBest, so we should roam
-			// to the new IP address before responding
-			f.handleHostRoaming(hostinfo, via)
-			f.send(header.Test, header.TestReply, ci, hostinfo, d, nb, out)
-		}
-
-		// Fallthrough to the bottom to record incoming traffic
-
-		// Non encrypted messages below here, they should not fall through to avoid tracking incoming traffic since they
-		// are unauthenticated
-
-	case header.Handshake:
-		f.messageMetrics.Rx(h.Type, h.Subtype, 1)
-		f.handshakeManager.HandleIncoming(via, packet, h)
-		return
-
-	case header.RecvError:
-		f.messageMetrics.Rx(h.Type, h.Subtype, 1)
-		f.handleRecvError(via.UdpAddr, h)
-		return
-
 	case header.CloseTunnel:
-		f.messageMetrics.Rx(h.Type, h.Subtype, 1)
-		if !f.handleEncrypted(ci, via, h) {
-			return
-		}
-		_, err = f.decrypt(hostinfo, h.MessageCounter, out, packet, h, nb)
-		if err != nil {
-			hostinfo.logger(f.l).Error("Failed to decrypt CloseTunnel packet",
-				"error", err,
-				"from", via,
-				"packet", packet,
-			)
-			return
-		}
-
 		hostinfo.logger(f.l).Info("Close tunnel received, tearing down.", "from", via)
-
 		f.closeTunnel(hostinfo)
-		return
 
 	case header.Control:
-		if !f.handleEncrypted(ci, via, h) {
-			return
-		}
-
-		d, err := f.decrypt(hostinfo, h.MessageCounter, out, packet, h, nb)
-		if err != nil {
-			hostinfo.logger(f.l).Error("Failed to decrypt Control packet",
-				"error", err,
-				"from", via,
-				"packet", packet,
-			)
-			return
-		}
-
-		f.relayManager.HandleControlMsg(hostinfo, d, f)
+		f.relayManager.HandleControlMsg(hostinfo, out, f)
 
 	default:
-		f.messageMetrics.Rx(h.Type, h.Subtype, 1)
-		if f.l.Enabled(context.Background(), slog.LevelDebug) {
-			hostinfo.logger(f.l).Debug("Unexpected packet received", "from", via)
-		}
+		hostinfo.logger(f.l).Error("IsValidSubType was true, but unexpected message type seen", "from", via, "header", h)
+	}
+}
+
+func (f *Interface) handleOutsideRelayPacket(hostinfo *HostInfo, via ViaSender, out []byte, packet []byte, h *header.H, fwPacket *firewall.Packet, lhf *LightHouseHandler, nb []byte, q int, localCache firewall.ConntrackCache) {
+	// The entire body is sent as AD, not encrypted.
+	// The packet consists of a 16-byte parsed Nebula header, Associated Data-protected payload, and a trailing 16-byte AEAD signature value.
+	// The packet is guaranteed to be at least 16 bytes at this point, b/c it got past the h.Parse() call above. If it's
+	// otherwise malformed (meaning, there is no trailing 16 byte AEAD value), then this will result in at worst a 0-length slice
+	// which will gracefully fail in the DecryptDanger call.
+	signedPayload := packet[:len(packet)-hostinfo.ConnectionState.dKey.Overhead()]
+	signatureValue := packet[len(packet)-hostinfo.ConnectionState.dKey.Overhead():]
+	var err error
+	out, err = hostinfo.ConnectionState.dKey.DecryptDanger(out, signedPayload, signatureValue, h.MessageCounter, nb)
+	if err != nil {
+		return
+	}
+	// Successfully validated the thing. Get rid of the Relay header.
+	signedPayload = signedPayload[header.Len:]
+	// Pull the Roaming parts up here, and return in all call paths.
+	f.handleHostRoaming(hostinfo, via)
+	// Track usage of both the HostInfo and the Relay for the received & authenticated packet
+	f.connectionManager.In(hostinfo)
+	f.connectionManager.RelayUsed(h.RemoteIndex)
+
+	relay, ok := hostinfo.relayState.QueryRelayForByIdx(h.RemoteIndex)
+	if !ok {
+		// The only way this happens is if hostmap has an index to the correct HostInfo, but the HostInfo is missing
+		// its internal mapping. This should never happen.
+		hostinfo.logger(f.l).Error("HostInfo missing remote relay index",
+			"vpnAddrs", hostinfo.vpnAddrs,
+			"remoteIndex", h.RemoteIndex,
+		)
 		return
 	}
 
-	f.handleHostRoaming(hostinfo, via)
+	switch relay.Type {
+	case TerminalType:
+		// If I am the target of this relay, process the unwrapped packet
+		// From this recursive point, all these variables are 'burned'. We shouldn't rely on them again.
+		via = ViaSender{
+			UdpAddr:   via.UdpAddr,
+			relayHI:   hostinfo,
+			remoteIdx: relay.RemoteIndex,
+			relay:     relay,
+			IsRelayed: true,
+		}
+		f.readOutsidePackets(via, out[:0], signedPayload, h, fwPacket, lhf, nb, q, localCache)
+	case ForwardingType:
+		// Find the target HostInfo relay object
+		targetHI, targetRelay, err := f.hostMap.QueryVpnAddrsRelayFor(hostinfo.vpnAddrs, relay.PeerAddr)
+		if err != nil {
+			hostinfo.logger(f.l).Info("Failed to find target host info by ip",
+				"relayTo", relay.PeerAddr,
+				"error", err,
+				"hostinfo.vpnAddrs", hostinfo.vpnAddrs,
+			)
+			return
+		}
 
-	f.connectionManager.In(hostinfo)
+		// If that relay is Established, forward the payload through it
+		if targetRelay.State == Established {
+			switch targetRelay.Type {
+			case ForwardingType:
+				// Forward this packet through the relay tunnel
+				// Find the target HostInfo
+				f.SendVia(targetHI, targetRelay, signedPayload, nb, out, false)
+			case TerminalType:
+				hostinfo.logger(f.l).Error("Unexpected Relay Type of Terminal")
+				return
+			default:
+				if f.l.Enabled(context.Background(), slog.LevelDebug) {
+					hostinfo.logger(f.l).Debug("Unexpected targetRelay Type", "from", via, "relayType", targetRelay.Type)
+				}
+				return
+			}
+		} else {
+			hostinfo.logger(f.l).Info("Unexpected target relay state",
+				"relayTo", relay.PeerAddr,
+				"relayFrom", hostinfo.vpnAddrs[0],
+				"targetRelayState", targetRelay.State,
+			)
+			return
+		}
+	default:
+		if f.l.Enabled(context.Background(), slog.LevelDebug) {
+			hostinfo.logger(f.l).Debug("Unexpected relay type", "from", via, "relayType", relay.Type)
+		}
+	}
 }
 
 // closeTunnel closes a tunnel locally, it does not send a closeTunnel packet to the remote
@@ -300,23 +300,6 @@ func (f *Interface) handleHostRoaming(hostinfo *HostInfo, via ViaSender) {
 
 }
 
-// handleEncrypted returns true if a packet should be processed, false otherwise
-func (f *Interface) handleEncrypted(ci *ConnectionState, via ViaSender, h *header.H) bool {
-	// If connectionstate does not exist, send a recv error, if possible, to encourage a fast reconnect
-	if ci == nil {
-		if !via.IsRelayed {
-			f.maybeSendRecvError(via.UdpAddr, h.RemoteIndex)
-		}
-		return false
-	}
-	// If the window check fails, refuse to process the packet, but don't send a recv error
-	if !ci.window.Check(f.l, h.MessageCounter) {
-		return false
-	}
-
-	return true
-}
-
 var (
 	ErrPacketTooShort          = errors.New("packet is too short")
 	ErrUnknownIPVersion        = errors.New("packet is an unknown ip version")
@@ -523,38 +506,20 @@ func (f *Interface) decrypt(hostinfo *HostInfo, mc uint64, out []byte, packet []
 	}
 
 	if !hostinfo.ConnectionState.window.Update(f.l, mc) {
-		if f.l.Enabled(context.Background(), slog.LevelDebug) {
-			hostinfo.logger(f.l).Debug("dropping out of window packet", "header", h)
-		}
-		return nil, errors.New("out of window packet")
+		return nil, ErrOutOfWindow
 	}
 
 	return out, nil
 }
 
-func (f *Interface) decryptToTun(hostinfo *HostInfo, messageCounter uint64, out []byte, packet []byte, fwPacket *firewall.Packet, nb []byte, q int, localCache firewall.ConntrackCache) bool {
-	var err error
-
-	out, err = hostinfo.ConnectionState.dKey.DecryptDanger(out, packet[:header.Len], packet[header.Len:], messageCounter, nb)
-	if err != nil {
-		hostinfo.logger(f.l).Error("Failed to decrypt packet", "error", err)
-		return false
-	}
-
-	err = newPacket(out, true, fwPacket)
+func (f *Interface) handleOutsideMessagePacket(hostinfo *HostInfo, out []byte, packet []byte, fwPacket *firewall.Packet, nb []byte, q int, localCache firewall.ConntrackCache) {
+	err := newPacket(out, true, fwPacket)
 	if err != nil {
 		hostinfo.logger(f.l).Warn("Error while validating inbound packet",
 			"error", err,
 			"packet", out,
 		)
-		return false
-	}
-
-	if !hostinfo.ConnectionState.window.Update(f.l, messageCounter) {
-		if f.l.Enabled(context.Background(), slog.LevelDebug) {
-			hostinfo.logger(f.l).Debug("dropping out of window packet", "fwPacket", fwPacket)
-		}
-		return false
+		return
 	}
 
 	dropReason := f.firewall.Drop(*fwPacket, true, hostinfo, f.pki.GetCAPool(), localCache)
@@ -568,15 +533,13 @@ func (f *Interface) decryptToTun(hostinfo *HostInfo, messageCounter uint64, out
 				"reason", dropReason,
 			)
 		}
-		return false
+		return
 	}
 
-	f.connectionManager.In(hostinfo)
 	_, err = f.readers[q].Write(out)
 	if err != nil {
 		f.l.Error("Failed to write to tun", "error", err)
 	}
-	return true
 }
 
 func (f *Interface) maybeSendRecvError(endpoint netip.AddrPort, index uint32) {