Experimenting

connection_manager.go

@@ -153,8 +153,8 @@ func (cm *connectionManager) Start(ctx context.Context) {
 	defer clockSource.Stop()
 
 	p := []byte("")
-	nb := make([]byte, 12, 12)
-	out := make([]byte, mtu)
+	// Long-lived buf for the traffic-check goroutine; never released.
+	buf := cm.intf.bufAlloc.Acquire()
 
 	for {
 		select {
@@ -169,13 +169,13 @@ func (cm *connectionManager) Start(ctx context.Context) {
 					break
 				}
 
-				cm.doTrafficCheck(localIndex, p, nb, out, now)
+				cm.doTrafficCheck(localIndex, p, buf, now)
 			}
 		}
 	}
 }
 
-func (cm *connectionManager) doTrafficCheck(localIndex uint32, p, nb, out []byte, now time.Time) {
+func (cm *connectionManager) doTrafficCheck(localIndex uint32, p []byte, buf *WireBuffer, now time.Time) {
 	decision, hostinfo, primary := cm.makeTrafficDecision(localIndex, now)
 
 	switch decision {
@@ -199,7 +199,7 @@ func (cm *connectionManager) doTrafficCheck(localIndex uint32, p, nb, out []byte
 		cm.tryRehandshake(hostinfo)
 
 	case sendTestPacket:
-		cm.intf.SendMessageToHostInfo(header.Test, header.TestRequest, hostinfo, p, nb, out)
+		cm.intf.SendMessageToHostInfo(header.Test, header.TestRequest, hostinfo, p, buf)
 	}
 
 	cm.resetRelayTrafficCheck(hostinfo)
@@ -308,7 +308,9 @@ func (cm *connectionManager) migrateRelayUsed(oldhostinfo, newhostinfo *HostInfo
 		if err != nil {
 			cm.l.Error("failed to marshal Control message to migrate relay", "error", err)
 		} else {
-			cm.intf.SendMessageToHostInfo(header.Control, 0, newhostinfo, msg, make([]byte, 12), make([]byte, mtu))
+			migBuf := cm.intf.bufAlloc.Acquire()
+			cm.intf.SendMessageToHostInfo(header.Control, 0, newhostinfo, msg, migBuf)
+			cm.intf.bufAlloc.Release(migBuf)
 			cm.l.Info("send CreateRelayRequest",
 				"relayFrom", req.RelayFromAddr,
 				"relayTo", req.RelayToAddr,

connection_manager_test.go

@@ -67,9 +67,9 @@ func Test_NewConnectionManagerTest(t *testing.T) {
 	punchy := NewPunchyFromConfig(test.NewLogger(), conf)
 	nc := newConnectionManagerFromConfig(test.NewLogger(), conf, hostMap, punchy)
 	nc.intf = ifce
+
 	p := []byte("")
-	nb := make([]byte, 12, 12)
-	out := make([]byte, mtu)
+	buf := NewWireBuffer(mtu, 0)
 
 	// Add an ip we have established a connection w/ to hostmap
 	hostinfo := &HostInfo{
@@ -92,7 +92,7 @@ func Test_NewConnectionManagerTest(t *testing.T) {
 	assert.True(t, hostinfo.in.Load())
 
 	// Do a traffic check tick, should not be pending deletion but should not have any in/out packets recorded
-	nc.doTrafficCheck(hostinfo.localIndexId, p, nb, out, time.Now())
+	nc.doTrafficCheck(hostinfo.localIndexId, p, buf, time.Now())
 	assert.False(t, hostinfo.pendingDeletion.Load())
 	assert.False(t, hostinfo.out.Load())
 	assert.False(t, hostinfo.in.Load())
@@ -100,7 +100,7 @@ func Test_NewConnectionManagerTest(t *testing.T) {
 	// Do another traffic check tick, this host should be pending deletion now
 	nc.Out(hostinfo)
 	assert.True(t, hostinfo.out.Load())
-	nc.doTrafficCheck(hostinfo.localIndexId, p, nb, out, time.Now())
+	nc.doTrafficCheck(hostinfo.localIndexId, p, buf, time.Now())
 	assert.True(t, hostinfo.pendingDeletion.Load())
 	assert.False(t, hostinfo.out.Load())
 	assert.False(t, hostinfo.in.Load())
@@ -108,7 +108,7 @@ func Test_NewConnectionManagerTest(t *testing.T) {
 	assert.Contains(t, nc.hostMap.Hosts, hostinfo.vpnAddrs[0])
 
 	// Do a final traffic check tick, the host should now be removed
-	nc.doTrafficCheck(hostinfo.localIndexId, p, nb, out, time.Now())
+	nc.doTrafficCheck(hostinfo.localIndexId, p, buf, time.Now())
 	assert.NotContains(t, nc.hostMap.Hosts, hostinfo.vpnAddrs)
 	assert.NotContains(t, nc.hostMap.Indexes, hostinfo.localIndexId)
 }
@@ -149,9 +149,9 @@ func Test_NewConnectionManagerTest2(t *testing.T) {
 	punchy := NewPunchyFromConfig(test.NewLogger(), conf)
 	nc := newConnectionManagerFromConfig(test.NewLogger(), conf, hostMap, punchy)
 	nc.intf = ifce
+
 	p := []byte("")
-	nb := make([]byte, 12, 12)
-	out := make([]byte, mtu)
+	buf := NewWireBuffer(mtu, 0)
 
 	// Add an ip we have established a connection w/ to hostmap
 	hostinfo := &HostInfo{
@@ -174,14 +174,14 @@ func Test_NewConnectionManagerTest2(t *testing.T) {
 	assert.Contains(t, nc.hostMap.Indexes, hostinfo.localIndexId)
 
 	// Do a traffic check tick, should not be pending deletion but should not have any in/out packets recorded
-	nc.doTrafficCheck(hostinfo.localIndexId, p, nb, out, time.Now())
+	nc.doTrafficCheck(hostinfo.localIndexId, p, buf, time.Now())
 	assert.False(t, hostinfo.pendingDeletion.Load())
 	assert.False(t, hostinfo.out.Load())
 	assert.False(t, hostinfo.in.Load())
 
 	// Do another traffic check tick, this host should be pending deletion now
 	nc.Out(hostinfo)
-	nc.doTrafficCheck(hostinfo.localIndexId, p, nb, out, time.Now())
+	nc.doTrafficCheck(hostinfo.localIndexId, p, buf, time.Now())
 	assert.True(t, hostinfo.pendingDeletion.Load())
 	assert.False(t, hostinfo.out.Load())
 	assert.False(t, hostinfo.in.Load())
@@ -190,7 +190,7 @@ func Test_NewConnectionManagerTest2(t *testing.T) {
 
 	// We saw traffic, should no longer be pending deletion
 	nc.In(hostinfo)
-	nc.doTrafficCheck(hostinfo.localIndexId, p, nb, out, time.Now())
+	nc.doTrafficCheck(hostinfo.localIndexId, p, buf, time.Now())
 	assert.False(t, hostinfo.pendingDeletion.Load())
 	assert.False(t, hostinfo.out.Load())
 	assert.False(t, hostinfo.in.Load())

control.go

@@ -278,15 +278,9 @@ func (c *Control) CloseTunnel(vpnIp netip.Addr, localOnly bool) bool {
 	}
 
 	if !localOnly {
-		c.f.send(
-			header.CloseTunnel,
-			0,
-			hostInfo.ConnectionState,
-			hostInfo,
-			[]byte{},
-			make([]byte, 12, 12),
-			make([]byte, mtu),
-		)
+		buf := c.f.bufAlloc.Acquire()
+		c.f.send(header.CloseTunnel, 0, hostInfo.ConnectionState, hostInfo, []byte{}, buf)
+		c.f.bufAlloc.Release(buf)
 	}
 
 	c.f.closeTunnel(hostInfo)
@@ -296,11 +290,14 @@ func (c *Control) CloseTunnel(vpnIp netip.Addr, localOnly bool) bool {
 // CloseAllTunnels is just like CloseTunnel except it goes through and shuts them all down, optionally you can avoid shutting down lighthouse tunnels
 // the int returned is a count of tunnels closed
 func (c *Control) CloseAllTunnels(excludeLighthouses bool) (closed int) {
+	// One WireBuffer for the whole shutdown loop.
+	buf := c.f.bufAlloc.Acquire()
+	defer c.f.bufAlloc.Release(buf)
 	shutdown := func(h *HostInfo) {
 		if excludeLighthouses && c.f.lightHouse.IsAnyLighthouseAddr(h.vpnAddrs) {
 			return
 		}
-		c.f.send(header.CloseTunnel, 0, h.ConnectionState, h, []byte{}, make([]byte, 12, 12), make([]byte, mtu))
+		c.f.send(header.CloseTunnel, 0, h.ConnectionState, h, []byte{}, buf)
 		c.f.closeTunnel(h)
 
 		c.l.Debug("Sending close tunnel message",

control_tester.go

@@ -5,8 +5,6 @@ package nebula
 import (
 	"net/netip"
 
-	"github.com/google/gopacket"
-	"github.com/google/gopacket/layers"
 	"github.com/slackhq/nebula/header"
 	"github.com/slackhq/nebula/overlay"
 	"github.com/slackhq/nebula/udp"
@@ -22,7 +20,9 @@ func (c *Control) WaitForType(msgType header.MessageType, subType header.Message
 			panic(err)
 		}
 		pipeTo.InjectUDPPacket(p)
-		if h.Type == msgType && h.Subtype == subType {
+		match := h.Type == msgType && h.Subtype == subType
+		p.Release()
+		if match {
 			return
 		}
 	}
@@ -38,7 +38,9 @@ func (c *Control) WaitForTypeByIndex(toIndex uint32, msgType header.MessageType,
 			panic(err)
 		}
 		pipeTo.InjectUDPPacket(p)
-		if h.RemoteIndex == toIndex && h.Type == msgType && h.Subtype == subType {
+		match := h.RemoteIndex == toIndex && h.Type == msgType && h.Subtype == subType
+		p.Release()
+		if match {
 			return
 		}
 	}
@@ -90,65 +92,15 @@ func (c *Control) GetTunTxChan() <-chan []byte {
 	return c.f.inside.(*overlay.TestTun).TxPackets
 }
 
-// InjectUDPPacket will inject a packet into the udp side of nebula
+// InjectUDPPacket injects a packet into the udp side. We copy internally so the caller keeps ownership of p.
+// The copy comes from the freelist so steady-state alloc is zero.
 func (c *Control) InjectUDPPacket(p *udp.Packet) {
-	c.f.outside.(*udp.TesterConn).Send(p)
+	c.f.outside.(*udp.TesterConn).Send(p.Copy())
 }
 
-// InjectTunUDPPacket puts a udp packet on the tun interface. Using UDP here because it's a simpler protocol
-func (c *Control) InjectTunUDPPacket(toAddr netip.Addr, toPort uint16, fromAddr netip.Addr, fromPort uint16, data []byte) {
-	serialize := make([]gopacket.SerializableLayer, 0)
-	var netLayer gopacket.NetworkLayer
-	if toAddr.Is6() {
-		if !fromAddr.Is6() {
-			panic("Cant send ipv6 to ipv4")
-		}
-		ip := &layers.IPv6{
-			Version:    6,
-			NextHeader: layers.IPProtocolUDP,
-			SrcIP:      fromAddr.Unmap().AsSlice(),
-			DstIP:      toAddr.Unmap().AsSlice(),
-		}
-		serialize = append(serialize, ip)
-		netLayer = ip
-	} else {
-		if !fromAddr.Is4() {
-			panic("Cant send ipv4 to ipv6")
-		}
-
-		ip := &layers.IPv4{
-			Version:  4,
-			TTL:      64,
-			Protocol: layers.IPProtocolUDP,
-			SrcIP:    fromAddr.Unmap().AsSlice(),
-			DstIP:    toAddr.Unmap().AsSlice(),
-		}
-		serialize = append(serialize, ip)
-		netLayer = ip
-	}
-
-	udp := layers.UDP{
-		SrcPort: layers.UDPPort(fromPort),
-		DstPort: layers.UDPPort(toPort),
-	}
-	err := udp.SetNetworkLayerForChecksum(netLayer)
-	if err != nil {
-		panic(err)
-	}
-
-	buffer := gopacket.NewSerializeBuffer()
-	opt := gopacket.SerializeOptions{
-		ComputeChecksums: true,
-		FixLengths:       true,
-	}
-
-	serialize = append(serialize, &udp, gopacket.Payload(data))
-	err = gopacket.SerializeLayers(buffer, opt, serialize...)
-	if err != nil {
-		panic(err)
-	}
-
-	c.f.inside.(*overlay.TestTun).Send(buffer.Bytes())
+// InjectTunPacket pushes an IP packet onto the tun interface.
+func (c *Control) InjectTunPacket(packet []byte) {
+	c.f.inside.(*overlay.TestTun).Send(packet)
 }
 
 func (c *Control) GetVpnAddrs() []netip.Addr {

e2e/bench_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,68 @@
+//go:build e2e_testing
+// +build e2e_testing
+
+package e2e
+
+import (
+	"testing"
+	"time"
+
+	"github.com/slackhq/nebula/cert"
+	"github.com/slackhq/nebula/cert_test"
+	"github.com/slackhq/nebula/e2e/router"
+)
+
+// BenchmarkHandshake measures end-to-end tunnel establishment time. The two
+// nodes and the router are constructed once before the loop so the timed window
+// is just the handshake itself: trigger packet -> handshake1 -> handshake2 ->
+// cached packet replay -> arrival on the remote TUN. Between iterations we
+// tear down both sides locally (no CloseTunnel notification on the wire) and
+// re-inject the lighthouse address that closeTunnel cleared, so the next
+// iteration runs through a fresh handshake against the same harness.
+func BenchmarkHandshake(b *testing.B) {
+	ca, _, caKey, _ := cert_test.NewTestCaCert(cert.Version2, cert.Curve_CURVE25519, time.Now(), time.Now().Add(10*time.Minute), nil, nil, []string{})
+
+	// Default try_interval is 100ms. The handshake manager schedules handshake1
+	// on its OutboundHandshakeTimer rather than firing immediately on trigger
+	// (the trigger channel only fast-paths static hosts), so a 100ms default
+	// drowns the actual handshake cost. Drop it to 1ms so the bench reflects
+	// the computation, not the wheel cadence.
+	bovr := m{"handshakes": m{"try_interval": "1ms"}}
+	myControl, myVpnIpNet, myUdpAddr, _ := newSimpleServer(cert.Version2, ca, caKey, "me", "10.128.0.1/24", bovr)
+	theirControl, theirVpnIpNet, theirUdpAddr, _ := newSimpleServer(cert.Version2, ca, caKey, "them", "10.128.0.2/24", bovr)
+
+	myControl.InjectLightHouseAddr(theirVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), theirUdpAddr)
+	theirControl.InjectLightHouseAddr(myVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), myUdpAddr)
+
+	myControl.Start()
+	theirControl.Start()
+	defer myControl.Stop()
+	defer theirControl.Stop()
+
+	r := router.NewR(b, myControl, theirControl)
+	r.CancelFlowLogs()
+	r.EnableFanIn()
+
+	trigger := BuildTunUDPPacket(theirVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, myVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, []byte("Hi from me"))
+
+	b.ReportAllocs()
+	b.ResetTimer()
+
+	for n := 0; n < b.N; n++ {
+		myControl.InjectTunPacket(trigger)
+		// RouteForAllUntilTxTun returns the moment the cached packet arrives at
+		// the remote TUN, which is also when both sides are fully established.
+		_ = r.RouteForAllUntilTxTun(theirControl)
+
+		b.StopTimer()
+		// Local-only close removes hostmap state on both sides without putting a
+		// CloseTunnel packet on the wire that we'd then have to drain. The
+		// closeTunnel path also clears learned lighthouse state for the peer
+		// when the last hostinfo for that addr goes away, so we re-inject.
+		myControl.CloseTunnel(theirVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), true)
+		theirControl.CloseTunnel(myVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), true)
+		myControl.InjectLightHouseAddr(theirVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), theirUdpAddr)
+		theirControl.InjectLightHouseAddr(myVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), myUdpAddr)
+		b.StartTimer()
+	}
+}

e2e/handshake_manager_test.go

@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ func TestHandshakeRetransmitDuplicate(t *testing.T) {
 	defer r.RenderFlow()
 
 	t.Log("Trigger handshake from me to them")
-	myControl.InjectTunUDPPacket(theirVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, myVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, []byte("Hi"))
+	myControl.InjectTunPacket(BuildTunUDPPacket(theirVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, myVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, []byte("Hi")))
 
 	t.Log("Grab my msg1")
 	msg1 := myControl.GetFromUDP(true)
@@ -97,7 +97,7 @@ func TestHandshakeTruncatedPacketRecovery(t *testing.T) {
 	defer r.RenderFlow()
 
 	t.Log("Trigger handshake")
-	myControl.InjectTunUDPPacket(theirVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, myVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, []byte("Hi"))
+	myControl.InjectTunPacket(BuildTunUDPPacket(theirVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, myVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, []byte("Hi")))
 
 	t.Log("Get msg1 and deliver to responder")
 	msg1 := myControl.GetFromUDP(true)
@@ -146,7 +146,7 @@ func TestHandshakeOrphanedMsg2Dropped(t *testing.T) {
 	defer r.RenderFlow()
 
 	t.Log("Complete a normal handshake")
-	myControl.InjectTunUDPPacket(theirVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, myVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, []byte("Hi"))
+	myControl.InjectTunPacket(BuildTunUDPPacket(theirVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, myVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, []byte("Hi")))
 	r.RouteForAllUntilTxTun(theirControl)
 	assertTunnel(t, myVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), theirVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), myControl, theirControl, r)
 
@@ -248,7 +248,7 @@ func TestHandshakeLateResponse(t *testing.T) {
 	theirControl.Start()
 
 	t.Log("Trigger handshake from me")
-	myControl.InjectTunUDPPacket(theirVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, myVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, []byte("Hi"))
+	myControl.InjectTunPacket(BuildTunUDPPacket(theirVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, myVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, []byte("Hi")))
 
 	t.Log("Grab msg1 but don't deliver")
 	msg1 := myControl.GetFromUDP(true)
@@ -292,7 +292,7 @@ func TestHandshakeSelfConnectionRejected(t *testing.T) {
 	myControl.Start()
 
 	t.Log("Trigger handshake from me")
-	myControl.InjectTunUDPPacket(netip.MustParseAddr("10.128.0.2"), 80, myVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, []byte("Hi"))
+	myControl.InjectTunPacket(BuildTunUDPPacket(netip.MustParseAddr("10.128.0.2"), 80, myVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, []byte("Hi")))
 	msg1 := myControl.GetFromUDP(true)
 
 	t.Log("Drain any handshake retransmits before injecting")
@@ -375,7 +375,7 @@ func TestHandshakeRemoteAllowList(t *testing.T) {
 	defer r.RenderFlow()
 
 	t.Log("Trigger handshake from them")
-	theirControl.InjectTunUDPPacket(myVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, theirVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, []byte("Hi"))
+	theirControl.InjectTunPacket(BuildTunUDPPacket(myVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, theirVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, []byte("Hi")))
 	msg1 := theirControl.GetFromUDP(true)
 
 	t.Log("Rewrite the source to a blocked IP and inject")
@@ -426,7 +426,7 @@ func TestHandshakeAlreadySeenPreferredRemote(t *testing.T) {
 	defer r.RenderFlow()
 
 	t.Log("Complete a normal handshake via the router")
-	myControl.InjectTunUDPPacket(theirVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, myVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, []byte("Hi"))
+	myControl.InjectTunPacket(BuildTunUDPPacket(theirVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, myVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, []byte("Hi")))
 	r.RouteForAllUntilTxTun(theirControl)
 	assertTunnel(t, myVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), theirVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), myControl, theirControl, r)
 
@@ -437,7 +437,7 @@ func TestHandshakeAlreadySeenPreferredRemote(t *testing.T) {
 	originalRemote := hi.CurrentRemote
 
 	t.Log("Re-trigger traffic to cause a new handshake attempt (ErrAlreadySeen)")
-	myControl.InjectTunUDPPacket(theirVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, myVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, []byte("roam"))
+	myControl.InjectTunPacket(BuildTunUDPPacket(theirVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, myVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, []byte("roam")))
 	r.RouteForAllUntilTxTun(theirControl)
 
 	t.Log("Verify tunnel still works")
@@ -475,8 +475,8 @@ func TestHandshakeWrongResponderPacketStore(t *testing.T) {
 	evilControl.Start()
 
 	t.Log("Send multiple packets to them (cached during handshake)")
-	myControl.InjectTunUDPPacket(theirVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, myVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, []byte("packet1"))
-	myControl.InjectTunUDPPacket(theirVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, myVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, []byte("packet2"))
+	myControl.InjectTunPacket(BuildTunUDPPacket(theirVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, myVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, []byte("packet1")))
+	myControl.InjectTunPacket(BuildTunUDPPacket(theirVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, myVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, []byte("packet2")))
 
 	t.Log("Route until evil tunnel is closed")
 	h := &header.H{}
@@ -540,7 +540,7 @@ func TestHandshakeRelayComplete(t *testing.T) {
 	theirControl.Start()
 
 	t.Log("Trigger handshake via relay")
-	myControl.InjectTunUDPPacket(theirVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, myVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, []byte("Hi via relay"))
+	myControl.InjectTunPacket(BuildTunUDPPacket(theirVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, myVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, []byte("Hi via relay")))
 
 	p := r.RouteForAllUntilTxTun(theirControl)
 	assertUdpPacket(t, []byte("Hi via relay"), p, myVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), theirVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, 80)
@@ -568,7 +568,7 @@ func TestHandshakeRelayComplete(t *testing.T) {
 }
 
 // NOTE: Relay V1 cert + IPv6 rejection is not tested here because
-// InjectTunUDPPacket from a V4 node to a V6 address panics in the test
+// BuildTunUDPPacket from a V4 node to a V6 address panics in the test
 // framework. The check is in handshake_manager.go handleOutbound relay
 // logic (lines ~304-313): if the relay host has a V1 cert and either
 // address is IPv6, the relay is skipped.

e2e/handshakes_test.go

@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ import (
 	"github.com/slackhq/nebula/cert_test"
 	"github.com/slackhq/nebula/e2e/router"
 	"github.com/slackhq/nebula/header"
+	"github.com/slackhq/nebula/overlay"
 	"github.com/slackhq/nebula/udp"
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
@@ -39,11 +40,22 @@ func BenchmarkHotPath(b *testing.B) {
 	r.CancelFlowLogs()
 
 	assertTunnel(b, myVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), theirVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), myControl, theirControl, r)
+
+	// Pre-build the IP packet bytes once so the bench measures the data plane,
+	// not gopacket SerializeLayers overhead.
+	prebuilt := BuildTunUDPPacket(theirVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, myVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, []byte("Hi from me"))
+
+	// EnableFanIn switches the router to a 0-alloc routing path. Required
+	// for hot-path benchmarks; would conflict with GetFromUDP-using tests.
+	r.EnableFanIn()
+
 	b.ResetTimer()
 
 	for n := 0; n < b.N; n++ {
-		myControl.InjectTunUDPPacket(theirVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, myVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, []byte("Hi from me"))
-		_ = r.RouteForAllUntilTxTun(theirControl)
+		myControl.InjectTunPacket(prebuilt)
+		// Release the TUN-side bytes back to the harness freelist; the bench
+		// just confirms a packet arrived, the contents aren't inspected.
+		overlay.ReleaseTunBuf(r.RouteForAllUntilTxTun(theirControl))
 	}
 
 	myControl.Stop()
@@ -71,11 +83,15 @@ func BenchmarkHotPathRelay(b *testing.B) {
 	theirControl.Start()
 
 	assertTunnel(b, theirVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), myVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), theirControl, myControl, r)
+
+	prebuilt := BuildTunUDPPacket(theirVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, myVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, []byte("Hi from me"))
+	r.EnableFanIn()
+
 	b.ResetTimer()
 
 	for n := 0; n < b.N; n++ {
-		myControl.InjectTunUDPPacket(theirVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, myVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, []byte("Hi from me"))
-		_ = r.RouteForAllUntilTxTun(theirControl)
+		myControl.InjectTunPacket(prebuilt)
+		overlay.ReleaseTunBuf(r.RouteForAllUntilTxTun(theirControl))
 	}
 
 	myControl.Stop()
@@ -97,7 +113,7 @@ func TestGoodHandshake(t *testing.T) {
 	theirControl.Start()
 
 	t.Log("Send a udp packet through to begin standing up the tunnel, this should come out the other side")
-	myControl.InjectTunUDPPacket(theirVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, myVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, []byte("Hi from me"))
+	myControl.InjectTunPacket(BuildTunUDPPacket(theirVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, myVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, []byte("Hi from me")))
 
 	t.Log("Have them consume my stage 0 packet. They have a tunnel now")
 	theirControl.InjectUDPPacket(myControl.GetFromUDP(true))
@@ -149,7 +165,7 @@ func TestGoodHandshakeNoOverlap(t *testing.T) {
 
 	empty := []byte{}
 	t.Log("do something to cause a handshake")
-	myControl.GetF().SendMessageToVpnAddr(header.Test, header.MessageNone, theirVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), empty, empty, empty)
+	myControl.GetF().SendMessageToVpnAddr(header.Test, header.MessageNone, theirVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), empty, nebula.NewWireBuffer(9001, 0))
 
 	t.Log("Have them consume my stage 0 packet. They have a tunnel now")
 	theirControl.InjectUDPPacket(myControl.GetFromUDP(true))
@@ -191,7 +207,7 @@ func TestWrongResponderHandshake(t *testing.T) {
 	evilControl.Start()
 
 	t.Log("Start the handshake process, we will route until we see the evil tunnel closed")
-	myControl.InjectTunUDPPacket(theirVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, myVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, []byte("Hi from me"))
+	myControl.InjectTunPacket(BuildTunUDPPacket(theirVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, myVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, []byte("Hi from me")))
 
 	h := &header.H{}
 	r.RouteForAllExitFunc(func(p *udp.Packet, c *nebula.Control) router.ExitType {
@@ -273,7 +289,7 @@ func TestWrongResponderHandshakeStaticHostMap(t *testing.T) {
 	evilControl.Start()
 
 	t.Log("Start the handshake process, we will route until we see the evil tunnel closed")
-	myControl.InjectTunUDPPacket(theirVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, myVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, []byte("Hi from me"))
+	myControl.InjectTunPacket(BuildTunUDPPacket(theirVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, myVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, []byte("Hi from me")))
 
 	h := &header.H{}
 	r.RouteForAllExitFunc(func(p *udp.Packet, c *nebula.Control) router.ExitType {
@@ -352,8 +368,8 @@ func TestStage1Race(t *testing.T) {
 	theirControl.Start()
 
 	t.Log("Trigger a handshake to start on both me and them")
-	myControl.InjectTunUDPPacket(theirVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, myVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, []byte("Hi from me"))
-	theirControl.InjectTunUDPPacket(myVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, theirVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, []byte("Hi from them"))
+	myControl.InjectTunPacket(BuildTunUDPPacket(theirVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, myVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, []byte("Hi from me")))
+	theirControl.InjectTunPacket(BuildTunUDPPacket(myVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, theirVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, []byte("Hi from them")))
 
 	t.Log("Get both stage 1 handshake packets")
 	myHsForThem := myControl.GetFromUDP(true)
@@ -430,7 +446,7 @@ func TestUncleanShutdownRaceLoser(t *testing.T) {
 	theirControl.Start()
 
 	r.Log("Trigger a handshake from me to them")
-	myControl.InjectTunUDPPacket(theirVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, myVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, []byte("Hi from me"))
+	myControl.InjectTunPacket(BuildTunUDPPacket(theirVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, myVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, []byte("Hi from me")))
 
 	p := r.RouteForAllUntilTxTun(theirControl)
 	assertUdpPacket(t, []byte("Hi from me"), p, myVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), theirVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, 80)
@@ -441,7 +457,7 @@ func TestUncleanShutdownRaceLoser(t *testing.T) {
 	myHostmap.Indexes = map[uint32]*nebula.HostInfo{}
 	myHostmap.RemoteIndexes = map[uint32]*nebula.HostInfo{}
 
-	myControl.InjectTunUDPPacket(theirVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, myVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, []byte("Hi from me again"))
+	myControl.InjectTunPacket(BuildTunUDPPacket(theirVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, myVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, []byte("Hi from me again")))
 	p = r.RouteForAllUntilTxTun(theirControl)
 	assertUdpPacket(t, []byte("Hi from me again"), p, myVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), theirVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, 80)
 
@@ -480,7 +496,7 @@ func TestUncleanShutdownRaceWinner(t *testing.T) {
 	theirControl.Start()
 
 	r.Log("Trigger a handshake from me to them")
-	myControl.InjectTunUDPPacket(theirVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, myVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, []byte("Hi from me"))
+	myControl.InjectTunPacket(BuildTunUDPPacket(theirVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, myVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, []byte("Hi from me")))
 
 	p := r.RouteForAllUntilTxTun(theirControl)
 	assertUdpPacket(t, []byte("Hi from me"), p, myVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), theirVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, 80)
@@ -492,7 +508,7 @@ func TestUncleanShutdownRaceWinner(t *testing.T) {
 	theirHostmap.Indexes = map[uint32]*nebula.HostInfo{}
 	theirHostmap.RemoteIndexes = map[uint32]*nebula.HostInfo{}
 
-	theirControl.InjectTunUDPPacket(myVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, theirVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, []byte("Hi from them again"))
+	theirControl.InjectTunPacket(BuildTunUDPPacket(myVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, theirVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, []byte("Hi from them again")))
 	p = r.RouteForAllUntilTxTun(myControl)
 	assertUdpPacket(t, []byte("Hi from them again"), p, theirVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), myVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, 80)
 	r.RenderHostmaps("Derp hostmaps", myControl, theirControl)
@@ -535,7 +551,7 @@ func TestRelays(t *testing.T) {
 	theirControl.Start()
 
 	t.Log("Trigger a handshake from me to them via the relay")
-	myControl.InjectTunUDPPacket(theirVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, myVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, []byte("Hi from me"))
+	myControl.InjectTunPacket(BuildTunUDPPacket(theirVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, myVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, []byte("Hi from me")))
 
 	p := r.RouteForAllUntilTxTun(theirControl)
 	r.Log("Assert the tunnel works")
@@ -565,7 +581,7 @@ func TestRelaysDontCareAboutIps(t *testing.T) {
 	theirControl.Start()
 
 	t.Log("Trigger a handshake from me to them via the relay")
-	myControl.InjectTunUDPPacket(theirVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, myVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, []byte("Hi from me"))
+	myControl.InjectTunPacket(BuildTunUDPPacket(theirVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, myVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, []byte("Hi from me")))
 
 	p := r.RouteForAllUntilTxTun(theirControl)
 	r.Log("Assert the tunnel works")
@@ -595,14 +611,14 @@ func TestReestablishRelays(t *testing.T) {
 	theirControl.Start()
 
 	t.Log("Trigger a handshake from me to them via the relay")
-	myControl.InjectTunUDPPacket(theirVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, myVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, []byte("Hi from me"))
+	myControl.InjectTunPacket(BuildTunUDPPacket(theirVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, myVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, []byte("Hi from me")))
 
 	p := r.RouteForAllUntilTxTun(theirControl)
 	r.Log("Assert the tunnel works")
 	assertUdpPacket(t, []byte("Hi from me"), p, myVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), theirVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, 80)
 
 	t.Log("Ensure packet traversal from them to me via the relay")
-	theirControl.InjectTunUDPPacket(myVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, theirVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, []byte("Hi from them"))
+	theirControl.InjectTunPacket(BuildTunUDPPacket(myVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, theirVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, []byte("Hi from them")))
 
 	p = r.RouteForAllUntilTxTun(myControl)
 	r.Log("Assert the tunnel works")
@@ -617,7 +633,7 @@ func TestReestablishRelays(t *testing.T) {
 	for curIndexes >= start {
 		curIndexes = len(myControl.GetHostmap().Indexes)
 		r.Logf("Wait for the dead index to go away:start=%v indexes, current=%v indexes", start, curIndexes)
-		myControl.InjectTunUDPPacket(theirVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, myVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, []byte("Hi from me should fail"))
+		myControl.InjectTunPacket(BuildTunUDPPacket(theirVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, myVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, []byte("Hi from me should fail")))
 
 		r.RouteForAllExitFunc(func(p *udp.Packet, c *nebula.Control) router.ExitType {
 			return router.RouteAndExit
@@ -634,7 +650,7 @@ func TestReestablishRelays(t *testing.T) {
 		myControl.InjectLightHouseAddr(relayVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), relayUdpAddr)
 		myControl.InjectRelays(theirVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), []netip.Addr{relayVpnIpNet[0].Addr()})
 		relayControl.InjectLightHouseAddr(theirVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), theirUdpAddr)
-		myControl.InjectTunUDPPacket(theirVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, myVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, []byte("Hi from me"))
+		myControl.InjectTunPacket(BuildTunUDPPacket(theirVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, myVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, []byte("Hi from me")))
 
 		p = r.RouteForAllUntilTxTun(theirControl)
 		r.Log("Assert the tunnel works")
@@ -669,7 +685,7 @@ func TestReestablishRelays(t *testing.T) {
 	t.Log("Assert the tunnel works the other way, too")
 	for {
 		t.Log("RouteForAllUntilTxTun")
-		theirControl.InjectTunUDPPacket(myVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, theirVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, []byte("Hi from them"))
+		theirControl.InjectTunPacket(BuildTunUDPPacket(myVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, theirVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, []byte("Hi from them")))
 
 		p = r.RouteForAllUntilTxTun(myControl)
 		r.Log("Assert the tunnel works")
@@ -739,8 +755,8 @@ func TestStage1RaceRelays(t *testing.T) {
 	assertTunnel(t, theirVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), relayVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), theirControl, relayControl, r)
 
 	r.Log("Trigger a handshake from both them and me via relay to them and me")
-	myControl.InjectTunUDPPacket(theirVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, myVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, []byte("Hi from me"))
-	theirControl.InjectTunUDPPacket(myVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, theirVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, []byte("Hi from them"))
+	myControl.InjectTunPacket(BuildTunUDPPacket(theirVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, myVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, []byte("Hi from me")))
+	theirControl.InjectTunPacket(BuildTunUDPPacket(myVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, theirVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, []byte("Hi from them")))
 
 	r.Log("Wait for a packet from them to me")
 	p := r.RouteForAllUntilTxTun(myControl)
@@ -787,8 +803,8 @@ func TestStage1RaceRelays2(t *testing.T) {
 	assertTunnel(t, theirVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), relayVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), theirControl, relayControl, r)
 
 	r.Log("Trigger a handshake from both them and me via relay to them and me")
-	myControl.InjectTunUDPPacket(theirVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, myVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, []byte("Hi from me"))
-	theirControl.InjectTunUDPPacket(myVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, theirVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, []byte("Hi from them"))
+	myControl.InjectTunPacket(BuildTunUDPPacket(theirVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, myVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, []byte("Hi from me")))
+	theirControl.InjectTunPacket(BuildTunUDPPacket(myVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, theirVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, []byte("Hi from them")))
 
 	//r.RouteUntilAfterMsgType(myControl, header.Control, header.MessageNone)
 	//r.RouteUntilAfterMsgType(theirControl, header.Control, header.MessageNone)
@@ -852,7 +868,7 @@ func TestRehandshakingRelays(t *testing.T) {
 	theirControl.Start()
 
 	t.Log("Trigger a handshake from me to them via the relay")
-	myControl.InjectTunUDPPacket(theirVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, myVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, []byte("Hi from me"))
+	myControl.InjectTunPacket(BuildTunUDPPacket(theirVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, myVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, []byte("Hi from me")))
 
 	p := r.RouteForAllUntilTxTun(theirControl)
 	r.Log("Assert the tunnel works")
@@ -957,7 +973,7 @@ func TestRehandshakingRelaysPrimary(t *testing.T) {
 	theirControl.Start()
 
 	t.Log("Trigger a handshake from me to them via the relay")
-	myControl.InjectTunUDPPacket(theirVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, myVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, []byte("Hi from me"))
+	myControl.InjectTunPacket(BuildTunUDPPacket(theirVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, myVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, []byte("Hi from me")))
 
 	p := r.RouteForAllUntilTxTun(theirControl)
 	r.Log("Assert the tunnel works")
@@ -1259,8 +1275,8 @@ func TestRaceRegression(t *testing.T) {
 	//them rx stage:2 initiatorIndex=120607833 responderIndex=4209862089
 
 	t.Log("Start both handshakes")
-	myControl.InjectTunUDPPacket(theirVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, myVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, []byte("Hi from me"))
-	theirControl.InjectTunUDPPacket(myVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, theirVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, []byte("Hi from them"))
+	myControl.InjectTunPacket(BuildTunUDPPacket(theirVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, myVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, []byte("Hi from me")))
+	theirControl.InjectTunPacket(BuildTunUDPPacket(myVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, theirVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, []byte("Hi from them")))
 
 	t.Log("Get both stage 1")
 	myStage1ForThem := myControl.GetFromUDP(true)
@@ -1476,7 +1492,7 @@ func TestGoodHandshakeUnsafeDest(t *testing.T) {
 	theirControl.Start()
 
 	t.Log("Send a udp packet through to begin standing up the tunnel, this should come out the other side")
-	myControl.InjectTunUDPPacket(spookyDest, 80, myVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, []byte("Hi from me"))
+	myControl.InjectTunPacket(BuildTunUDPPacket(spookyDest, 80, myVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, []byte("Hi from me")))
 
 	t.Log("Have them consume my stage 0 packet. They have a tunnel now")
 	theirControl.InjectUDPPacket(myControl.GetFromUDP(true))
@@ -1504,7 +1520,7 @@ func TestGoodHandshakeUnsafeDest(t *testing.T) {
 	assertUdpPacket(t, []byte("Hi from me"), myCachedPacket, myVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), spookyDest, 80, 80)
 
 	//reply
-	theirControl.InjectTunUDPPacket(myVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, spookyDest, 80, []byte("Hi from the spookyman"))
+	theirControl.InjectTunPacket(BuildTunUDPPacket(myVpnIpNet[0].Addr(), 80, spookyDest, 80, []byte("Hi from the spookyman")))
 	//wait for reply
 	theirControl.WaitForType(1, 0, myControl)
 	theirCachedPacket := myControl.GetFromTun(true)

e2e/helpers_test.go

@@ -294,12 +294,12 @@ func deadline(t *testing.T, seconds time.Duration) doneCb {
 
 func assertTunnel(t testing.TB, vpnIpA, vpnIpB netip.Addr, controlA, controlB *nebula.Control, r *router.R) {
 	// Send a packet from them to me
-	controlB.InjectTunUDPPacket(vpnIpA, 80, vpnIpB, 90, []byte("Hi from B"))
+	controlB.InjectTunPacket(BuildTunUDPPacket(vpnIpA, 80, vpnIpB, 90, []byte("Hi from B")))
 	bPacket := r.RouteForAllUntilTxTun(controlA)
 	assertUdpPacket(t, []byte("Hi from B"), bPacket, vpnIpB, vpnIpA, 90, 80)
 
 	// And once more from me to them
-	controlA.InjectTunUDPPacket(vpnIpB, 80, vpnIpA, 90, []byte("Hello from A"))
+	controlA.InjectTunPacket(BuildTunUDPPacket(vpnIpB, 80, vpnIpA, 90, []byte("Hello from A")))
 	aPacket := r.RouteForAllUntilTxTun(controlB)
 	assertUdpPacket(t, []byte("Hello from A"), aPacket, vpnIpA, vpnIpB, 90, 80)
 }
@@ -408,3 +408,58 @@ func testLogLevelName() string {
 	}
 	return "info"
 }
+
+// BuildTunUDPPacket assembles an IP+UDP packet suitable for Control.InjectTunPacket.
+// Using UDP here because it's a simpler protocol.
+func BuildTunUDPPacket(toAddr netip.Addr, toPort uint16, fromAddr netip.Addr, fromPort uint16, data []byte) []byte {
+	serialize := make([]gopacket.SerializableLayer, 0)
+	var netLayer gopacket.NetworkLayer
+	if toAddr.Is6() {
+		if !fromAddr.Is6() {
+			panic("Cant send ipv6 to ipv4")
+		}
+		ip := &layers.IPv6{
+			Version:    6,
+			NextHeader: layers.IPProtocolUDP,
+			SrcIP:      fromAddr.Unmap().AsSlice(),
+			DstIP:      toAddr.Unmap().AsSlice(),
+		}
+		serialize = append(serialize, ip)
+		netLayer = ip
+	} else {
+		if !fromAddr.Is4() {
+			panic("Cant send ipv4 to ipv6")
+		}
+
+		ip := &layers.IPv4{
+			Version:  4,
+			TTL:      64,
+			Protocol: layers.IPProtocolUDP,
+			SrcIP:    fromAddr.Unmap().AsSlice(),
+			DstIP:    toAddr.Unmap().AsSlice(),
+		}
+		serialize = append(serialize, ip)
+		netLayer = ip
+	}
+
+	udp := layers.UDP{
+		SrcPort: layers.UDPPort(fromPort),
+		DstPort: layers.UDPPort(toPort),
+	}
+	if err := udp.SetNetworkLayerForChecksum(netLayer); err != nil {
+		panic(err)
+	}
+
+	buffer := gopacket.NewSerializeBuffer()
+	opt := gopacket.SerializeOptions{
+		ComputeChecksums: true,
+		FixLengths:       true,
+	}
+
+	serialize = append(serialize, &udp, gopacket.Payload(data))
+	if err := gopacket.SerializeLayers(buffer, opt, serialize...); err != nil {
+		panic(err)
+	}
+
+	return buffer.Bytes()
+}

e2e/router/router.go

@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ import (
 	"regexp"
 	"sort"
 	"sync"
+	"sync/atomic"
 	"testing"
 	"time"
 
@@ -24,6 +25,19 @@ import (
 	"golang.org/x/exp/maps"
 )
 
+// outNatKey is the (from, to) pair used by outNat. Comparable struct, so it works as a map key without the
+// allocation cost of a string-concat key.
+type outNatKey struct {
+	from, to netip.AddrPort
+}
+
+// fannedPacket pairs a UDP TX packet with its source control so the router can route it after popping from
+// the fan-in channel.
+type fannedPacket struct {
+	from *nebula.Control
+	pkt  *udp.Packet
+}
+
 type R struct {
 	// Simple map of the ip:port registered on a control to the control
 	// Basically a router, right?
@@ -34,12 +48,28 @@ type R struct {
 
 	// A last used map, if an inbound packet hit the inNat map then
 	// all return packets should use the same last used inbound address for the outbound sender
-	// map[from address + ":" + to address] => ip:port to rewrite in the udp packet to receiver
-	outNat map[string]netip.AddrPort
+	outNat map[outNatKey]netip.AddrPort
 
 	// A map of vpn ip to the nebula control it belongs to
 	vpnControls map[netip.Addr]*nebula.Control
 
+	// Cached select infrastructure for RouteForAllUntilTxTun.
+	// The controls map is immutable after NewR so the cases are good for the test lifetime.
+	// We only rebuild if a different receiver is asked.
+	selRecvCtl *nebula.Control
+	selCases   []reflect.SelectCase
+	selCtls    []*nebula.Control
+
+	// Optional fan-in mode for hot-path benchmarks: one forwarder goroutine per control drains UDP TX into udpFanIn,
+	// so RouteForAllUntilTxTun can do a fixed 2-way native select instead of paying reflect.Select per call.
+	// Off by default (would otherwise interleave with tests that use GetFromUDP directly on the same control).
+	// Enabled by EnableFanIn.
+	udpFanIn  chan fannedPacket
+	stopFanIn chan struct{}
+	fanInWG   sync.WaitGroup
+	fanInMu   sync.Mutex
+	fanInOn   atomic.Bool
+
 	ignoreFlows []ignoreFlow
 	flow        []flowEntry
 
@@ -119,7 +149,7 @@ func NewR(t testing.TB, controls ...*nebula.Control) *R {
 		controls:     make(map[netip.AddrPort]*nebula.Control),
 		vpnControls:  make(map[netip.Addr]*nebula.Control),
 		inNat:        make(map[netip.AddrPort]*nebula.Control),
-		outNat:       make(map[string]netip.AddrPort),
+		outNat:       make(map[outNatKey]netip.AddrPort),
 		flow:         []flowEntry{},
 		ignoreFlows:  []ignoreFlow{},
 		fn:           filepath.Join("mermaid", fmt.Sprintf("%s.md", t.Name())),
@@ -153,8 +183,10 @@ func NewR(t testing.TB, controls ...*nebula.Control) *R {
 			case <-ctx.Done():
 				return
 			case <-clockSource.C:
+				r.Lock()
 				r.renderHostmaps("clock tick")
 				r.renderFlow()
+				r.Unlock()
 			}
 		}
 	}()
@@ -180,15 +212,21 @@ func (r *R) AddRoute(ip netip.Addr, port uint16, c *nebula.Control) {
 // RenderFlow renders the packet flow seen up until now and stops further automatic renders from happening.
 func (r *R) RenderFlow() {
 	r.cancelRender()
+	r.Lock()
+	defer r.Unlock()
 	r.renderFlow()
 }
 
 // CancelFlowLogs stops flow logs from being tracked and destroys any logs already collected
 func (r *R) CancelFlowLogs() {
 	r.cancelRender()
+	r.Lock()
 	r.flow = nil
+	r.Unlock()
 }
 
+// renderFlow writes the flow log to disk. Caller must hold r.Lock. renderFlow reads r.flow / r.additionalGraphs and
+// the *packet pointers stashed inside, all of which are mutated under the same lock by routing paths.
 func (r *R) renderFlow() {
 	if r.flow == nil {
 		return
@@ -434,68 +472,157 @@ func (r *R) RouteUntilTxTun(sender *nebula.Control, receiver *nebula.Control) []
 				panic("No control for udp tx " + a.String())
 			}
 			fp := r.unlockedInjectFlow(sender, c, p, false)
-			c.InjectUDPPacket(p)
+			c.InjectUDPPacket(p) // copies internally; original is ours to release
 			fp.WasReceived()
 			r.Unlock()
+			p.Release()
 		}
 	}
 }
 
-// RouteForAllUntilTxTun will route for everyone and return when a packet is seen on receivers tun
-// If the router doesn't have the nebula controller for that address, we panic
+// RouteForAllUntilTxTun will route for everyone and return when a packet is seen on the receiver's tun.
+// If a control's UDP TX address can't be matched to a registered control, we panic.
+//
+// For allocation-sensitive callers (hot-path benchmarks, in particular relay
+// benches with 3+ controls), call EnableFanIn() first.
 func (r *R) RouteForAllUntilTxTun(receiver *nebula.Control) []byte {
+	if r.fanInOn.Load() {
+		return r.routeFanIn(receiver)
+	}
+	return r.routeReflect(receiver)
+}
+
+// routeFanIn is the alloc-free path used when EnableFanIn is in effect.
+func (r *R) routeFanIn(receiver *nebula.Control) []byte {
+	tunTx := receiver.GetTunTxChan()
+	for {
+		select {
+		case p := <-tunTx:
+			r.Lock()
+			if r.flow != nil {
+				np := udp.Packet{Data: make([]byte, len(p))}
+				copy(np.Data, p)
+				r.unlockedInjectFlow(receiver, receiver, &np, true)
+			}
+			r.Unlock()
+			return p
+		case fp := <-r.udpFanIn:
+			r.routeUDP(fp.from, fp.pkt)
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+// routeReflect is the default reflect.Select-based path. Pays the boxing allocation per call but doesn't interfere
+// with tests that pull packets directly from controls' UDP TX channels via GetFromUDP.
+func (r *R) routeReflect(receiver *nebula.Control) []byte {
+	sc, cm := r.selectCasesFor(receiver)
+	for {
+		x, rx, _ := reflect.Select(sc)
+		if x == 0 {
+			p := rx.Interface().([]byte)
+			r.Lock()
+			if r.flow != nil {
+				np := udp.Packet{Data: make([]byte, len(p))}
+				copy(np.Data, p)
+				r.unlockedInjectFlow(cm[x], cm[x], &np, true)
+			}
+			r.Unlock()
+			return p
+		}
+		r.routeUDP(cm[x], rx.Interface().(*udp.Packet))
+	}
+}
+
+// EnableFanIn switches RouteForAllUntilTxTun to the alloc-free fan-in path.
+// One forwarder goroutine per registered control drains UDP TX into a shared channel that RouteForAllUntilTxTun selects
+// on alongside the receiver's TUN TX channel.
+func (r *R) EnableFanIn() {
+	r.fanInMu.Lock()
+	defer r.fanInMu.Unlock()
+	if r.fanInOn.Load() {
+		return
+	}
+	r.udpFanIn = make(chan fannedPacket, 32)
+	r.stopFanIn = make(chan struct{})
+	for _, c := range r.controls {
+		r.startFanInWorker(c)
+	}
+	r.fanInOn.Store(true)
+	r.t.Cleanup(r.stopFanInWorkers)
+}
+
+// startFanInWorker spawns a goroutine that drains c's UDP TX into r.udpFanIn.
+func (r *R) startFanInWorker(c *nebula.Control) {
+	r.fanInWG.Add(1)
+	udpTx := c.GetUDPTxChan()
+	go func() {
+		defer r.fanInWG.Done()
+		for {
+			select {
+			case <-r.stopFanIn:
+				return
+			case p := <-udpTx:
+				select {
+				case <-r.stopFanIn:
+					p.Release()
+					return
+				case r.udpFanIn <- fannedPacket{from: c, pkt: p}:
+				}
+			}
+		}
+	}()
+}
+
+// stopFanInWorkers signals the fan-in goroutines to exit and waits for them.
+func (r *R) stopFanInWorkers() {
+	r.fanInMu.Lock()
+	wasOn := r.fanInOn.Swap(false)
+	r.fanInMu.Unlock()
+	if !wasOn {
+		return
+	}
+	close(r.stopFanIn)
+	r.fanInWG.Wait()
+}
+
+// routeUDP forwards a UDP TX packet from the named source control to the destination control derived from p.To,
+// releasing the source packet after InjectUDPPacket has copied its bytes into a fresh pool slot.
+func (r *R) routeUDP(from *nebula.Control, p *udp.Packet) {
+	r.Lock()
+	defer r.Unlock()
+	a := from.GetUDPAddr()
+	c := r.getControl(a, p.To, p)
+	if c == nil {
+		panic(fmt.Sprintf("No control for udp tx %s", p.To))
+	}
+	fp := r.unlockedInjectFlow(from, c, p, false)
+	c.InjectUDPPacket(p) // copies internally; original is ours to release
+	fp.WasReceived()
+	p.Release()
+}
+
+// selectCasesFor returns the SelectCase array used by routeReflect: one slot for the receiver's TUN TX channel followed
+// by one per control's UDP TX channel. Cached for the test lifetime, only rebuilt if the receiver changes.
+func (r *R) selectCasesFor(receiver *nebula.Control) ([]reflect.SelectCase, []*nebula.Control) {
+	r.Lock()
+	defer r.Unlock()
+	if r.selRecvCtl == receiver && r.selCases != nil {
+		return r.selCases, r.selCtls
+	}
 	sc := make([]reflect.SelectCase, len(r.controls)+1)
 	cm := make([]*nebula.Control, len(r.controls)+1)
-
-	i := 0
-	sc[i] = reflect.SelectCase{
-		Dir:  reflect.SelectRecv,
-		Chan: reflect.ValueOf(receiver.GetTunTxChan()),
-		Send: reflect.Value{},
-	}
-	cm[i] = receiver
-
-	i++
+	sc[0] = reflect.SelectCase{Dir: reflect.SelectRecv, Chan: reflect.ValueOf(receiver.GetTunTxChan())}
+	cm[0] = receiver
+	i := 1
 	for _, c := range r.controls {
-		sc[i] = reflect.SelectCase{
-			Dir:  reflect.SelectRecv,
-			Chan: reflect.ValueOf(c.GetUDPTxChan()),
-			Send: reflect.Value{},
-		}
-
+		sc[i] = reflect.SelectCase{Dir: reflect.SelectRecv, Chan: reflect.ValueOf(c.GetUDPTxChan())}
 		cm[i] = c
 		i++
 	}
-
-	for {
-		x, rx, _ := reflect.Select(sc)
-		r.Lock()
-
-		if x == 0 {
-			// we are the tun tx, we can exit
-			p := rx.Interface().([]byte)
-			np := udp.Packet{Data: make([]byte, len(p))}
-			copy(np.Data, p)
-
-			r.unlockedInjectFlow(cm[x], cm[x], &np, true)
-			r.Unlock()
-			return p
-
-		} else {
-			// we are a udp tx, route and continue
-			p := rx.Interface().(*udp.Packet)
-			a := cm[x].GetUDPAddr()
-			c := r.getControl(a, p.To, p)
-			if c == nil {
-				r.Unlock()
-				panic(fmt.Sprintf("No control for udp tx %s", p.To))
-			}
-			fp := r.unlockedInjectFlow(cm[x], c, p, false)
-			c.InjectUDPPacket(p)
-			fp.WasReceived()
-		}
-		r.Unlock()
-	}
+	r.selRecvCtl = receiver
+	r.selCases = sc
+	r.selCtls = cm
+	return sc, cm
 }
 
 // RouteExitFunc will call the whatDo func with each udp packet from sender.
@@ -522,6 +649,7 @@ func (r *R) RouteExitFunc(sender *nebula.Control, whatDo ExitFunc) {
 		switch e {
 		case ExitNow:
 			r.Unlock()
+			p.Release()
 			return
 
 		case RouteAndExit:
@@ -529,6 +657,7 @@ func (r *R) RouteExitFunc(sender *nebula.Control, whatDo ExitFunc) {
 			receiver.InjectUDPPacket(p)
 			fp.WasReceived()
 			r.Unlock()
+			p.Release()
 			return
 
 		case KeepRouting:
@@ -541,6 +670,7 @@ func (r *R) RouteExitFunc(sender *nebula.Control, whatDo ExitFunc) {
 		}
 
 		r.Unlock()
+		p.Release()
 	}
 }
 
@@ -641,6 +771,7 @@ func (r *R) RouteForAllExitFunc(whatDo ExitFunc) {
 		switch e {
 		case ExitNow:
 			r.Unlock()
+			p.Release()
 			return
 
 		case RouteAndExit:
@@ -648,6 +779,7 @@ func (r *R) RouteForAllExitFunc(whatDo ExitFunc) {
 			receiver.InjectUDPPacket(p)
 			fp.WasReceived()
 			r.Unlock()
+			p.Release()
 			return
 
 		case KeepRouting:
@@ -659,6 +791,7 @@ func (r *R) RouteForAllExitFunc(whatDo ExitFunc) {
 			panic(fmt.Sprintf("Unknown exitFunc return: %v", e))
 		}
 		r.Unlock()
+		p.Release()
 	}
 }
 
@@ -702,19 +835,20 @@ func (r *R) FlushAll() {
 		}
 		receiver.InjectUDPPacket(p)
 		r.Unlock()
+		p.Release()
 	}
 }
 
 // getControl performs or seeds NAT translation and returns the control for toAddr, p from fields may change
 // This is an internal router function, the caller must hold the lock
 func (r *R) getControl(fromAddr, toAddr netip.AddrPort, p *udp.Packet) *nebula.Control {
-	if newAddr, ok := r.outNat[fromAddr.String()+":"+toAddr.String()]; ok {
+	if newAddr, ok := r.outNat[outNatKey{from: fromAddr, to: toAddr}]; ok {
 		p.From = newAddr
 	}
 
 	c, ok := r.inNat[toAddr]
 	if ok {
-		r.outNat[c.GetUDPAddr().String()+":"+fromAddr.String()] = toAddr
+		r.outNat[outNatKey{from: c.GetUDPAddr(), to: fromAddr}] = toAddr
 		return c
 	}
 

e2e/tunnels_test.go

@@ -355,14 +355,14 @@ func TestCrossStackRelaysWork(t *testing.T) {
 	theirControl.Start()
 
 	t.Log("Trigger a handshake from me to them via the relay")
-	myControl.InjectTunUDPPacket(theirVpnV6.Addr(), 80, myVpnV6.Addr(), 80, []byte("Hi from me"))
+	myControl.InjectTunPacket(BuildTunUDPPacket(theirVpnV6.Addr(), 80, myVpnV6.Addr(), 80, []byte("Hi from me")))
 
 	p := r.RouteForAllUntilTxTun(theirControl)
 	r.Log("Assert the tunnel works")
 	assertUdpPacket(t, []byte("Hi from me"), p, myVpnV6.Addr(), theirVpnV6.Addr(), 80, 80)
 
 	t.Log("reply?")
-	theirControl.InjectTunUDPPacket(myVpnV6.Addr(), 80, theirVpnV6.Addr(), 80, []byte("Hi from them"))
+	theirControl.InjectTunPacket(BuildTunUDPPacket(myVpnV6.Addr(), 80, theirVpnV6.Addr(), 80, []byte("Hi from them")))
 	p = r.RouteForAllUntilTxTun(myControl)
 	assertUdpPacket(t, []byte("Hi from them"), p, theirVpnV6.Addr(), myVpnV6.Addr(), 80, 80)
 

handshake_manager.go

@@ -971,11 +971,11 @@ func (hm *HandshakeManager) continueHandshake(via ViaSender, hh *HandshakeHostIn
 		if f.l.Enabled(context.Background(), slog.LevelDebug) {
 			hostinfo.logger(f.l).Debug("Sending stored packets", "count", len(hh.packetStore))
 		}
-		nb := make([]byte, 12, 12)
-		out := make([]byte, mtu)
+		buf := f.bufAlloc.Acquire()
 		for _, cp := range hh.packetStore {
-			cp.callback(cp.messageType, cp.messageSubType, hostinfo, cp.packet, nb, out)
+			cp.callback(cp.messageType, cp.messageSubType, hostinfo, cp.packet, buf)
 		}
+		f.bufAlloc.Release(buf)
 		f.cachedPacketMetrics.sent.Inc(int64(len(hh.packetStore)))
 	}
 
@@ -1085,7 +1085,9 @@ func (hm *HandshakeManager) sendHandshakeResponse(via ViaSender, msg []byte, hos
 		// We received a valid handshake on this relay, so make sure the relay
 		// state reflects that, in case it had been marked Disestablished.
 		via.relayHI.relayState.UpdateRelayForByIdxState(via.remoteIdx, Established)
-		f.SendVia(via.relayHI, via.relay, msg, make([]byte, 12), make([]byte, mtu), false)
+		buf := f.bufAlloc.Acquire()
+		f.SendVia(via.relayHI, via.relay, msg, buf)
+		f.bufAlloc.Release(buf)
 		f.l.Info("Handshake message sent", append(logFields, "relay", via.relayHI.vpnAddrs[0])...)
 	}
 }
@@ -1102,7 +1104,9 @@ func (hm *HandshakeManager) handleCheckAndCompleteError(err error, existing, hos
 	switch err {
 	case ErrAlreadySeen:
 		if existing.SetRemoteIfPreferred(f.hostMap, via) {
-			f.SendMessageToVpnAddr(header.Test, header.TestRequest, hostinfo.vpnAddrs[0], []byte(""), make([]byte, 12, 12), make([]byte, mtu))
+			buf := f.bufAlloc.Acquire()
+			f.SendMessageToVpnAddr(header.Test, header.TestRequest, hostinfo.vpnAddrs[0], []byte(""), buf)
+			f.bufAlloc.Release(buf)
 		}
 		// Resend the original response. The peer is committed to that response's
 		// ephemeral keys; a freshly-built one would have different keys and break
@@ -1125,7 +1129,9 @@ func (hm *HandshakeManager) handleCheckAndCompleteError(err error, existing, hos
 			"responderIndex", hostinfo.localIndexId,
 			"handshake", hsFields,
 		)
-		f.SendMessageToVpnAddr(header.Test, header.TestRequest, hostinfo.vpnAddrs[0], []byte(""), make([]byte, 12, 12), make([]byte, mtu))
+		buf := f.bufAlloc.Acquire()
+		f.SendMessageToVpnAddr(header.Test, header.TestRequest, hostinfo.vpnAddrs[0], []byte(""), buf)
+		f.bufAlloc.Release(buf)
 
 	case ErrLocalIndexCollision:
 		f.l.Error("Failed to add HostInfo due to localIndex collision",

handshake_manager_test.go

@@ -80,15 +80,15 @@ func testCountTimerWheelEntries(tw *LockingTimerWheel[netip.Addr]) (c int) {
 type mockEncWriter struct {
 }
 
-func (mw *mockEncWriter) SendMessageToVpnAddr(_ header.MessageType, _ header.MessageSubType, _ netip.Addr, _, _, _ []byte) {
+func (mw *mockEncWriter) SendMessageToVpnAddr(_ header.MessageType, _ header.MessageSubType, _ netip.Addr, _ []byte, _ *WireBuffer) {
 	return
 }
 
-func (mw *mockEncWriter) SendVia(_ *HostInfo, _ *Relay, _, _, _ []byte, _ bool) {
+func (mw *mockEncWriter) SendVia(_ *HostInfo, _ *Relay, _ []byte, _ *WireBuffer) {
 	return
 }
 
-func (mw *mockEncWriter) SendMessageToHostInfo(_ header.MessageType, _ header.MessageSubType, _ *HostInfo, _, _, _ []byte) {
+func (mw *mockEncWriter) SendMessageToHostInfo(_ header.MessageType, _ header.MessageSubType, _ *HostInfo, _ []byte, _ *WireBuffer) {
 	return
 }
 

hostmap.go

@@ -308,7 +308,7 @@ type cachedPacket struct {
 	packet         []byte
 }
 
-type packetCallback func(t header.MessageType, st header.MessageSubType, h *HostInfo, p, nb, out []byte)
+type packetCallback func(t header.MessageType, st header.MessageSubType, h *HostInfo, p []byte, buf *WireBuffer)
 
 type cachedPacketMetrics struct {
 	sent    metrics.Counter
@@ -691,6 +691,7 @@ func (i *HostInfo) TryPromoteBest(preferredRanges []netip.Prefix, ifce *Interfac
 			}
 		}
 
+		buf := ifce.bufAlloc.Acquire()
 		i.remotes.ForEach(preferredRanges, func(addr netip.AddrPort, preferred bool) {
 			if remote.IsValid() && (!addr.IsValid() || !preferred) {
 				return
@@ -698,8 +699,9 @@ func (i *HostInfo) TryPromoteBest(preferredRanges []netip.Prefix, ifce *Interfac
 
 			// Try to send a test packet to that host, this should
 			// cause it to detect a roaming event and switch remotes
-			ifce.sendTo(header.Test, header.TestRequest, i.ConnectionState, i, addr, []byte(""), make([]byte, 12, 12), make([]byte, mtu))
+			ifce.sendTo(header.Test, header.TestRequest, i.ConnectionState, i, addr, []byte(""), buf)
 		})
+		ifce.bufAlloc.Release(buf)
 	}
 
 	// Re query our lighthouses for new remotes occasionally

inside.go

@@ -8,12 +8,13 @@ import (
 	"github.com/slackhq/nebula/firewall"
 	"github.com/slackhq/nebula/header"
 	"github.com/slackhq/nebula/iputil"
-	"github.com/slackhq/nebula/noiseutil"
 	"github.com/slackhq/nebula/routing"
 )
 
-func (f *Interface) consumeInsidePacket(packet []byte, fwPacket *firewall.Packet, nb, out []byte, q int, localCache firewall.ConntrackCache) {
-	err := newPacket(packet, false, fwPacket)
+func (f *Interface) consumeInsidePacket(buf *WireBuffer, q int, localCache firewall.ConntrackCache) {
+	packet := buf.IPPacket()
+
+	err := newPacket(packet, false, buf.FwPacket)
 	if err != nil {
 		if f.l.Enabled(context.Background(), slog.LevelDebug) {
 			f.l.Debug("Error while validating outbound packet",
@@ -26,12 +27,12 @@ func (f *Interface) consumeInsidePacket(packet []byte, fwPacket *firewall.Packet
 
 	// Ignore local broadcast packets
 	if f.dropLocalBroadcast {
-		if f.myBroadcastAddrsTable.Contains(fwPacket.RemoteAddr) {
+		if f.myBroadcastAddrsTable.Contains(buf.FwPacket.RemoteAddr) {
 			return
 		}
 	}
 
-	if f.myVpnAddrsTable.Contains(fwPacket.RemoteAddr) {
+	if f.myVpnAddrsTable.Contains(buf.FwPacket.RemoteAddr) {
 		// Immediately forward packets from self to self.
 		// This should only happen on Darwin-based and FreeBSD hosts, which
 		// routes packets from the Nebula addr to the Nebula addr through the Nebula
@@ -48,20 +49,20 @@ func (f *Interface) consumeInsidePacket(packet []byte, fwPacket *firewall.Packet
 	}
 
 	// Ignore multicast packets
-	if f.dropMulticast && fwPacket.RemoteAddr.IsMulticast() {
+	if f.dropMulticast && buf.FwPacket.RemoteAddr.IsMulticast() {
 		return
 	}
 
-	hostinfo, ready := f.getOrHandshakeConsiderRouting(fwPacket, func(hh *HandshakeHostInfo) {
+	hostinfo, ready := f.getOrHandshakeConsiderRouting(buf.FwPacket, func(hh *HandshakeHostInfo) {
 		hh.cachePacket(f.l, header.Message, 0, packet, f.sendMessageNow, f.cachedPacketMetrics)
 	})
 
 	if hostinfo == nil {
-		f.rejectInside(packet, out, q)
+		f.rejectInside(packet, buf.Out, q)
 		if f.l.Enabled(context.Background(), slog.LevelDebug) {
 			f.l.Debug("dropping outbound packet, vpnAddr not in our vpn networks or in unsafe networks",
-				"vpnAddr", fwPacket.RemoteAddr,
-				"fwPacket", fwPacket,
+				"vpnAddr", buf.FwPacket.RemoteAddr,
+				"fwPacket", buf.FwPacket,
 			)
 		}
 		return
@@ -71,15 +72,15 @@ func (f *Interface) consumeInsidePacket(packet []byte, fwPacket *firewall.Packet
 		return
 	}
 
-	dropReason := f.firewall.Drop(*fwPacket, false, hostinfo, f.pki.GetCAPool(), localCache)
+	dropReason := f.firewall.Drop(*buf.FwPacket, false, hostinfo, f.pki.GetCAPool(), localCache)
 	if dropReason == nil {
-		f.sendNoMetrics(header.Message, 0, hostinfo.ConnectionState, hostinfo, netip.AddrPort{}, packet, nb, out, q)
+		f.sendNoMetrics(header.Message, 0, hostinfo.ConnectionState, hostinfo, netip.AddrPort{}, packet, buf, q)
 
 	} else {
-		f.rejectInside(packet, out, q)
+		f.rejectInside(packet, buf.Out, q)
 		if f.l.Enabled(context.Background(), slog.LevelDebug) {
 			hostinfo.logger(f.l).Debug("dropping outbound packet",
-				"fwPacket", fwPacket,
+				"fwPacket", buf.FwPacket,
 				"reason", dropReason,
 			)
 		}
@@ -102,27 +103,27 @@ func (f *Interface) rejectInside(packet []byte, out []byte, q int) {
 	}
 }
 
-func (f *Interface) rejectOutside(packet []byte, ci *ConnectionState, hostinfo *HostInfo, nb, out []byte, q int) {
+func (f *Interface) rejectOutside(packet []byte, ci *ConnectionState, hostinfo *HostInfo, scratch []byte, buf *WireBuffer, q int) {
 	if !f.firewall.OutSendReject {
 		return
 	}
 
-	out = iputil.CreateRejectPacket(packet, out)
-	if len(out) == 0 {
+	rejectIP := iputil.CreateRejectPacket(packet, scratch)
+	if len(rejectIP) == 0 {
 		return
 	}
 
-	if len(out) > iputil.MaxRejectPacketSize {
+	if len(rejectIP) > iputil.MaxRejectPacketSize {
 		if f.l.Enabled(context.Background(), slog.LevelInfo) {
 			f.l.Info("rejectOutside: packet too big, not sending",
 				"packet", packet,
-				"outPacket", out,
+				"outPacket", rejectIP,
 			)
 		}
 		return
 	}
 
-	f.sendNoMetrics(header.Message, 0, ci, hostinfo, netip.AddrPort{}, out, nb, packet, q)
+	f.sendNoMetrics(header.Message, 0, ci, hostinfo, netip.AddrPort{}, rejectIP, buf, q)
 }
 
 // Handshake will attempt to initiate a tunnel with the provided vpn address. This is a no-op if the tunnel is already established or being established
@@ -215,7 +216,7 @@ func (f *Interface) getOrHandshakeConsiderRouting(fwPacket *firewall.Packet, cac
 
 }
 
-func (f *Interface) sendMessageNow(t header.MessageType, st header.MessageSubType, hostinfo *HostInfo, p, nb, out []byte) {
+func (f *Interface) sendMessageNow(t header.MessageType, st header.MessageSubType, hostinfo *HostInfo, p []byte, buf *WireBuffer) {
 	fp := &firewall.Packet{}
 	err := newPacket(p, false, fp)
 	if err != nil {
@@ -235,12 +236,12 @@ func (f *Interface) sendMessageNow(t header.MessageType, st header.MessageSubTyp
 		return
 	}
 
-	f.sendNoMetrics(header.Message, st, hostinfo.ConnectionState, hostinfo, netip.AddrPort{}, p, nb, out, 0)
+	f.sendNoMetrics(header.Message, st, hostinfo.ConnectionState, hostinfo, netip.AddrPort{}, p, buf, 0)
 }
 
 // SendMessageToVpnAddr handles real addr:port lookup and sends to the current best known address for vpnAddr.
 // This function ignores myVpnNetworksTable, and will always attempt to treat the address as a vpnAddr
-func (f *Interface) SendMessageToVpnAddr(t header.MessageType, st header.MessageSubType, vpnAddr netip.Addr, p, nb, out []byte) {
+func (f *Interface) SendMessageToVpnAddr(t header.MessageType, st header.MessageSubType, vpnAddr netip.Addr, p []byte, buf *WireBuffer) {
 	hostInfo, ready := f.handshakeManager.GetOrHandshake(vpnAddr, func(hh *HandshakeHostInfo) {
 		hh.cachePacket(f.l, t, st, p, f.SendMessageToHostInfo, f.cachedPacketMetrics)
 	})
@@ -258,113 +259,73 @@ func (f *Interface) SendMessageToVpnAddr(t header.MessageType, st header.Message
 		return
 	}
 
-	f.SendMessageToHostInfo(t, st, hostInfo, p, nb, out)
+	f.SendMessageToHostInfo(t, st, hostInfo, p, buf)
 }
 
-func (f *Interface) SendMessageToHostInfo(t header.MessageType, st header.MessageSubType, hi *HostInfo, p, nb, out []byte) {
-	f.send(t, st, hi.ConnectionState, hi, p, nb, out)
+func (f *Interface) SendMessageToHostInfo(t header.MessageType, st header.MessageSubType, hi *HostInfo, p []byte, buf *WireBuffer) {
+	f.send(t, st, hi.ConnectionState, hi, p, buf)
 }
 
-func (f *Interface) send(t header.MessageType, st header.MessageSubType, ci *ConnectionState, hostinfo *HostInfo, p, nb, out []byte) {
+func (f *Interface) send(t header.MessageType, st header.MessageSubType, ci *ConnectionState, hostinfo *HostInfo, p []byte, buf *WireBuffer) {
 	f.messageMetrics.Tx(t, st, 1)
-	f.sendNoMetrics(t, st, ci, hostinfo, netip.AddrPort{}, p, nb, out, 0)
+	f.sendNoMetrics(t, st, ci, hostinfo, netip.AddrPort{}, p, buf, 0)
 }
 
-func (f *Interface) sendTo(t header.MessageType, st header.MessageSubType, ci *ConnectionState, hostinfo *HostInfo, remote netip.AddrPort, p, nb, out []byte) {
+func (f *Interface) sendTo(t header.MessageType, st header.MessageSubType, ci *ConnectionState, hostinfo *HostInfo, remote netip.AddrPort, p []byte, buf *WireBuffer) {
 	f.messageMetrics.Tx(t, st, 1)
-	f.sendNoMetrics(t, st, ci, hostinfo, remote, p, nb, out, 0)
+	f.sendNoMetrics(t, st, ci, hostinfo, remote, p, buf, 0)
 }
 
 // SendVia sends a payload through a Relay tunnel. No authentication or encryption is done
 // to the payload for the ultimate target host, making this a useful method for sending
 // handshake messages to peers through relay tunnels.
-// via is the HostInfo through which the message is relayed.
-// ad is the plaintext data to authenticate, but not encrypt
-// nb is a buffer used to store the nonce value, re-used for performance reasons.
-// out is a buffer used to store the result of the Encrypt operation
-// q indicates which writer to use to send the packet.
-func (f *Interface) SendVia(via *HostInfo,
-	relay *Relay,
-	ad,
-	nb,
-	out []byte,
-	nocopy bool,
-) {
-	if noiseutil.EncryptLockNeeded {
-		// NOTE: for goboring AESGCMTLS we need to lock because of the nonce check
-		via.ConnectionState.writeLock.Lock()
-	}
-	c := via.ConnectionState.messageCounter.Add(1)
-
-	out = header.Encode(out, header.Version, header.Message, header.MessageRelay, relay.RemoteIndex, c)
-	f.connectionManager.Out(via)
-
-	// Authenticate the header and payload, but do not encrypt for this message type.
-	// The payload consists of the inner, unencrypted Nebula header, as well as the end-to-end encrypted payload.
-	if len(out)+len(ad)+via.ConnectionState.eKey.Overhead() > cap(out) {
-		if noiseutil.EncryptLockNeeded {
-			via.ConnectionState.writeLock.Unlock()
-		}
+//
+// via is the HostInfo through which the message is relayed. ad is staged into
+// the inner-payload slot of buf and then AAD-only sealed under via's key by
+// SealRelayInPlace. The sendNoMetrics relay-forward path skips this entry
+// point and calls sendViaInPlace directly because its inner ciphertext is
+// already in place from the encrypt step.
+func (f *Interface) SendVia(via *HostInfo, relay *Relay, ad []byte, buf *WireBuffer) {
+	if header.Len+len(ad)+via.ConnectionState.eKey.Overhead() > cap(buf.Out) {
 		via.logger(f.l).Error("SendVia out buffer not large enough for relay",
-			"outCap", cap(out),
+			"outCap", cap(buf.Out),
 			"payloadLen", len(ad),
-			"headerLen", len(out),
+			"headerLen", header.Len,
 			"cipherOverhead", via.ConnectionState.eKey.Overhead(),
 		)
 		return
 	}
+	buf.StageRelayInner(ad)
+	f.sendViaInPlace(via, relay, len(ad), buf)
+}
 
-	// The header bytes are written to the 'out' slice; Grow the slice to hold the header and associated data payload.
-	offset := len(out)
-	out = out[:offset+len(ad)]
-
-	// In one call path, the associated data _is_ already stored in out. In other call paths, the associated data must
-	// be copied into 'out'.
-	if !nocopy {
-		copy(out[offset:], ad)
-	}
-
-	var err error
-	out, err = via.ConnectionState.eKey.EncryptDanger(out, out, nil, c, nb)
-	if noiseutil.EncryptLockNeeded {
-		via.ConnectionState.writeLock.Unlock()
-	}
+// sendViaInPlace stamps the outer relay header, AAD-seals over the [outer
+// header | inner-already-staged] region, and writes the result to via.remote.
+// Called from SendVia (after staging ad) and from sendNoMetrics' relay-forward
+// path (where the inner ciphertext is already in place from SealForRelay).
+func (f *Interface) sendViaInPlace(via *HostInfo, relay *Relay, innerLen int, buf *WireBuffer) {
+	f.connectionManager.Out(via)
+	out, err := buf.SealRelayInPlace(via.ConnectionState, relay.RemoteIndex, innerLen)
 	if err != nil {
 		via.logger(f.l).Info("Failed to EncryptDanger in sendVia", "error", err)
 		return
 	}
-	err = f.writers[0].WriteTo(out, via.remote)
-	if err != nil {
+	if err := f.writers[0].WriteTo(out, via.remote); err != nil {
 		via.logger(f.l).Info("Failed to WriteTo in sendVia", "error", err)
 	}
 	f.connectionManager.RelayUsed(relay.LocalIndex)
 }
 
-func (f *Interface) sendNoMetrics(t header.MessageType, st header.MessageSubType, ci *ConnectionState, hostinfo *HostInfo, remote netip.AddrPort, p, nb, out []byte, q int) {
+// sendNoMetrics encrypts and writes one outbound nebula packet (data, control,
+// lighthouse, etc) using buf as the per-call wire scratch. When the hostinfo
+// has no direct remote we encrypt into the relay-reserved slot via
+// SealForRelay so sendViaInPlace can wrap it without an extra copy.
+func (f *Interface) sendNoMetrics(t header.MessageType, st header.MessageSubType, ci *ConnectionState, hostinfo *HostInfo, remote netip.AddrPort, p []byte, buf *WireBuffer, q int) {
 	if ci.eKey == nil {
 		return
 	}
 	useRelay := !remote.IsValid() && !hostinfo.remote.IsValid()
-	fullOut := out
 
-	if useRelay {
-		if len(out) < header.Len {
-			// out always has a capacity of mtu, but not always a length greater than the header.Len.
-			// Grow it to make sure the next operation works.
-			out = out[:header.Len]
-		}
-		// Save a header's worth of data at the front of the 'out' buffer.
-		out = out[header.Len:]
-	}
-
-	if noiseutil.EncryptLockNeeded {
-		// NOTE: for goboring AESGCMTLS we need to lock because of the nonce check
-		ci.writeLock.Lock()
-	}
-	c := ci.messageCounter.Add(1)
-
-	//l.WithField("trace", string(debug.Stack())).Error("out Header ", &Header{Version, t, st, 0, hostinfo.remoteIndexId, c}, p)
-	out = header.Encode(out, header.Version, t, st, hostinfo.remoteIndexId, c)
 	f.connectionManager.Out(hostinfo)
 
 	// Query our LH if we haven't since the last time we've been rebound, this will cause the remote to punch against
@@ -381,50 +342,42 @@ func (f *Interface) sendNoMetrics(t header.MessageType, st header.MessageSubType
 		}
 	}
 
+	var out []byte
 	var err error
-	out, err = ci.eKey.EncryptDanger(out, out, p, c, nb)
-	if noiseutil.EncryptLockNeeded {
-		ci.writeLock.Unlock()
+	if useRelay {
+		out, err = buf.SealForRelay(ci, t, st, hostinfo.remoteIndexId, p)
+	} else {
+		out, err = buf.Seal(ci, t, st, hostinfo.remoteIndexId, p)
 	}
 	if err != nil {
 		hostinfo.logger(f.l).Error("Failed to encrypt outgoing packet",
 			"error", err,
 			"udpAddr", remote,
-			"counter", c,
-			"attemptedCounter", c,
 		)
 		return
 	}
 
-	if remote.IsValid() {
-		err = f.writers[q].WriteTo(out, remote)
-		if err != nil {
-			hostinfo.logger(f.l).Error("Failed to write outgoing packet",
-				"error", err,
-				"udpAddr", remote,
-			)
+	switch {
+	case remote.IsValid():
+		if err := f.writers[q].WriteTo(out, remote); err != nil {
+			hostinfo.logger(f.l).Error("Failed to write outgoing packet", "error", err, "udpAddr", remote)
 		}
-	} else if hostinfo.remote.IsValid() {
-		err = f.writers[q].WriteTo(out, hostinfo.remote)
-		if err != nil {
-			hostinfo.logger(f.l).Error("Failed to write outgoing packet",
-				"error", err,
-				"udpAddr", remote,
-			)
+	case hostinfo.remote.IsValid():
+		if err := f.writers[q].WriteTo(out, hostinfo.remote); err != nil {
+			hostinfo.logger(f.l).Error("Failed to write outgoing packet", "error", err, "udpAddr", hostinfo.remote)
 		}
-	} else {
-		// Try to send via a relay
+	default:
+		// SealForRelay placed the inner ciphertext at buf.Out[header.Len:],
+		// so sendViaInPlace can wrap it with the outer relay header without
+		// an extra copy.
 		for _, relayIP := range hostinfo.relayState.CopyRelayIps() {
 			relayHostInfo, relay, err := f.hostMap.QueryVpnAddrsRelayFor(hostinfo.vpnAddrs, relayIP)
 			if err != nil {
 				hostinfo.relayState.DeleteRelay(relayIP)
-				hostinfo.logger(f.l).Info("sendNoMetrics failed to find HostInfo",
-					"relay", relayIP,
-					"error", err,
-				)
+				hostinfo.logger(f.l).Info("sendNoMetrics failed to find HostInfo", "relay", relayIP, "error", err)
 				continue
 			}
-			f.SendVia(relayHostInfo, relay, out, nb, fullOut[:header.Len+len(out)], true)
+			f.sendViaInPlace(relayHostInfo, relay, len(out), buf)
 			break
 		}
 	}

interface.go

@@ -101,19 +101,19 @@ type Interface struct {
 	messageMetrics      *MessageMetrics
 	cachedPacketMetrics *cachedPacketMetrics
 
+	// bufAlloc hands out reusable WireBuffers sized for this interface's
+	// inside Device. All buf consumers (hot-path data-plane goroutines,
+	// long-lived workers, and cold callers) acquire from here so sizing
+	// is centralized and consistent. Long-lived owners just don't release.
+	bufAlloc WireBufferAllocator
+
 	l *slog.Logger
 }
 
 type EncWriter interface {
-	SendVia(via *HostInfo,
-		relay *Relay,
-		ad,
-		nb,
-		out []byte,
-		nocopy bool,
-	)
-	SendMessageToVpnAddr(t header.MessageType, st header.MessageSubType, vpnAddr netip.Addr, p, nb, out []byte)
-	SendMessageToHostInfo(t header.MessageType, st header.MessageSubType, hostinfo *HostInfo, p, nb, out []byte)
+	SendVia(via *HostInfo, relay *Relay, ad []byte, buf *WireBuffer)
+	SendMessageToVpnAddr(t header.MessageType, st header.MessageSubType, vpnAddr netip.Addr, p []byte, buf *WireBuffer)
+	SendMessageToHostInfo(t header.MessageType, st header.MessageSubType, hostinfo *HostInfo, p []byte, buf *WireBuffer)
 	Handshake(vpnAddr netip.Addr)
 	GetHostInfo(vpnAddr netip.Addr) *HostInfo
 	GetCertState() *CertState
@@ -204,6 +204,8 @@ func NewInterface(ctx context.Context, c *InterfaceConfig) (*Interface, error) {
 			dropped: metrics.GetOrRegisterCounter("hostinfo.cached_packets.dropped", nil),
 		},
 
+		bufAlloc: NewWireBufferPool(mtu, c.Inside.TunPrefixLen()),
+
 		l: c.l,
 	}
 
@@ -311,13 +313,11 @@ func (f *Interface) listenOut(i int) {
 
 	ctCache := firewall.NewConntrackCacheTicker(f.ctx, f.l, f.conntrackCacheTimeout)
 	lhh := f.lightHouse.NewRequestHandler()
-	plaintext := make([]byte, udp.MTU)
-	h := &header.H{}
-	fwPacket := &firewall.Packet{}
-	nb := make([]byte, 12, 12)
+	// Long-lived per-receive-goroutine buf; never released back to the pool.
+	buf := f.bufAlloc.Acquire()
 
 	err := li.ListenOut(func(fromUdpAddr netip.AddrPort, payload []byte) {
-		f.readOutsidePackets(ViaSender{UdpAddr: fromUdpAddr}, plaintext[:0], payload, h, fwPacket, lhh, nb, i, ctCache.Get())
+		f.readOutsidePackets(ViaSender{UdpAddr: fromUdpAddr}, buf, payload, lhh, i, ctCache.Get())
 	})
 
 	if err != nil && !f.closed.Load() {
@@ -329,15 +329,12 @@ func (f *Interface) listenOut(i int) {
 }
 
 func (f *Interface) listenIn(reader io.ReadWriteCloser, i int) {
-	packet := make([]byte, mtu)
-	out := make([]byte, mtu)
-	fwPacket := &firewall.Packet{}
-	nb := make([]byte, 12, 12)
-
+	// Long-lived per-tun-reader buf; never released back to the pool.
+	buf := f.bufAlloc.Acquire()
 	conntrackCache := firewall.NewConntrackCacheTicker(f.ctx, f.l, f.conntrackCacheTimeout)
 
 	for {
-		n, err := reader.Read(packet)
+		_, err := buf.ReadIPFromTUN(reader)
 		if err != nil {
 			if !f.closed.Load() {
 				f.l.Error("Error while reading outbound packet, closing", "error", err, "reader", i)
@@ -346,7 +343,7 @@ func (f *Interface) listenIn(reader io.ReadWriteCloser, i int) {
 			break
 		}
 
-		f.consumeInsidePacket(packet[:n], fwPacket, nb, out, i, conntrackCache.Get())
+		f.consumeInsidePacket(buf, i, conntrackCache.Get())
 	}
 
 	f.l.Debug("overlay reader is done", "reader", i)

lighthouse.go

@@ -63,7 +63,11 @@ type LightHouse struct {
 	interval     atomic.Int64
 	updateCancel context.CancelFunc
 	ifce         EncWriter
-	nebulaPort   uint32 // 32 bits because protobuf does not have a uint16
+	// bufAlloc lets the lighthouse query/update workers, request handlers
+	// and punchback goroutines acquire correctly sized WireBuffers from
+	// the same pool as the data plane. Set by main.go alongside ifce.
+	bufAlloc   WireBufferAllocator
+	nebulaPort uint32 // 32 bits because protobuf does not have a uint16
 
 	advertiseAddrs atomic.Pointer[[]netip.AddrPort]
 
@@ -109,7 +113,11 @@ func NewLightHouseFromConfig(ctx context.Context, l *slog.Logger, c *config.C, c
 		punchy:             p,
 		updateTrigger:      make(chan struct{}, 1),
 		queryChan:          make(chan netip.Addr, c.GetUint32("handshakes.query_buffer", 64)),
-		l:                  l,
+		// Default to a no-prefix pool so the query/update workers and
+		// request handlers have a working WireBufferAllocator before
+		// main.go wires up the real one from the Interface.
+		bufAlloc: NewWireBufferPool(mtu, 0),
+		l:        l,
 	}
 	lighthouses := make([]netip.Addr, 0)
 	h.lighthouses.Store(&lighthouses)
@@ -758,21 +766,22 @@ func (lh *LightHouse) startQueryWorker() {
 	}
 
 	go func() {
-		nb := make([]byte, 12, 12)
-		out := make([]byte, mtu)
+		// Long-lived per-worker WireBuffer; reused for every lighthouse query
+		// this worker issues for the life of the goroutine.
+		buf := lh.bufAlloc.Acquire()
 
 		for {
 			select {
 			case <-lh.ctx.Done():
 				return
 			case addr := <-lh.queryChan:
-				lh.innerQueryServer(addr, nb, out)
+				lh.innerQueryServer(addr, buf)
 			}
 		}
 	}()
 }
 
-func (lh *LightHouse) innerQueryServer(addr netip.Addr, nb, out []byte) {
+func (lh *LightHouse) innerQueryServer(addr netip.Addr, buf *WireBuffer) {
 	if lh.IsLighthouseAddr(addr) {
 		return
 	}
@@ -821,7 +830,7 @@ func (lh *LightHouse) innerQueryServer(addr netip.Addr, nb, out []byte) {
 				}
 			}
 
-			lh.ifce.SendMessageToVpnAddr(header.LightHouse, 0, lhVpnAddr, v1Query, nb, out)
+			lh.ifce.SendMessageToVpnAddr(header.LightHouse, 0, lhVpnAddr, v1Query, buf)
 			queried++
 
 		} else if v == cert.Version2 {
@@ -840,7 +849,7 @@ func (lh *LightHouse) innerQueryServer(addr netip.Addr, nb, out []byte) {
 				}
 			}
 
-			lh.ifce.SendMessageToVpnAddr(header.LightHouse, 0, lhVpnAddr, v2Query, nb, out)
+			lh.ifce.SendMessageToVpnAddr(header.LightHouse, 0, lhVpnAddr, v2Query, buf)
 			queried++
 
 		} else {
@@ -869,8 +878,12 @@ func (lh *LightHouse) StartUpdateWorker() {
 	go func() {
 		defer clockSource.Stop()
 
+		// Long-lived per-worker WireBuffer; reused across every periodic
+		// update for the life of this goroutine.
+		buf := lh.bufAlloc.Acquire()
+
 		for {
-			lh.SendUpdate()
+			lh.sendUpdate(buf)
 
 			select {
 			case <-updateCtx.Done():
@@ -884,6 +897,15 @@ func (lh *LightHouse) StartUpdateWorker() {
 	}()
 }
 
+// SendUpdate is the public entry point that triggers a one-shot lighthouse
+// update outside the worker loop (e.g. tests or reload paths). It allocates
+// its own WireBuffer since callers don't already own one.
+func (lh *LightHouse) SendUpdate() {
+	buf := lh.bufAlloc.Acquire()
+	defer lh.bufAlloc.Release(buf)
+	lh.sendUpdate(buf)
+}
+
 // TriggerUpdate requests an immediate lighthouse update. This is a non-blocking
 // operation intended to be called after a handshake completes with a lighthouse,
 // so the lighthouse has our current addresses without waiting for the next
@@ -895,7 +917,7 @@ func (lh *LightHouse) TriggerUpdate() {
 	}
 }
 
-func (lh *LightHouse) SendUpdate() {
+func (lh *LightHouse) sendUpdate(buf *WireBuffer) {
 	var v4 []*V4AddrPort
 	var v6 []*V6AddrPort
 
@@ -921,9 +943,6 @@ func (lh *LightHouse) SendUpdate() {
 		}
 	}
 
-	nb := make([]byte, 12, 12)
-	out := make([]byte, mtu)
-
 	var v1Update, v2Update []byte
 	var err error
 	updated := 0
@@ -974,7 +993,7 @@ func (lh *LightHouse) SendUpdate() {
 				}
 			}
 
-			lh.ifce.SendMessageToVpnAddr(header.LightHouse, 0, lhVpnAddr, v1Update, nb, out)
+			lh.ifce.SendMessageToVpnAddr(header.LightHouse, 0, lhVpnAddr, v1Update, buf)
 			updated++
 
 		} else if v == cert.Version2 {
@@ -1003,7 +1022,7 @@ func (lh *LightHouse) SendUpdate() {
 				}
 			}
 
-			lh.ifce.SendMessageToVpnAddr(header.LightHouse, 0, lhVpnAddr, v2Update, nb, out)
+			lh.ifce.SendMessageToVpnAddr(header.LightHouse, 0, lhVpnAddr, v2Update, buf)
 			updated++
 
 		} else {
@@ -1019,9 +1038,11 @@ func (lh *LightHouse) SendUpdate() {
 }
 
 type LightHouseHandler struct {
-	lh   *LightHouse
-	nb   []byte
-	out  []byte
+	lh *LightHouse
+	// buf is the long-lived per-handler wire scratch. NewRequestHandler is
+	// called once per data-plane receive goroutine, so buf is owned by that
+	// goroutine and reused for every lighthouse send the handler issues.
+	buf  *WireBuffer
 	pb   []byte
 	meta *NebulaMeta
 	l    *slog.Logger
@@ -1030,8 +1051,7 @@ type LightHouseHandler struct {
 func (lh *LightHouse) NewRequestHandler() *LightHouseHandler {
 	lhh := &LightHouseHandler{
 		lh:  lh,
-		nb:  make([]byte, 12, 12),
-		out: make([]byte, mtu),
+		buf: lh.bufAlloc.Acquire(),
 		l:   lh.l,
 		pb:  make([]byte, mtu),
 
@@ -1168,7 +1188,7 @@ func (lhh *LightHouseHandler) handleHostQuery(n *NebulaMeta, fromVpnAddrs []neti
 	}
 
 	lhh.lh.metricTx(NebulaMeta_HostQueryReply, 1)
-	w.SendMessageToVpnAddr(header.LightHouse, 0, fromVpnAddrs[0], lhh.pb[:ln], lhh.nb, lhh.out[:0])
+	w.SendMessageToVpnAddr(header.LightHouse, 0, fromVpnAddrs[0], lhh.pb[:ln], lhh.buf)
 
 	lhh.sendHostPunchNotification(n, fromVpnAddrs, queryVpnAddr, w)
 }
@@ -1228,7 +1248,7 @@ func (lhh *LightHouseHandler) sendHostPunchNotification(n *NebulaMeta, fromVpnAd
 	}
 
 	lhh.lh.metricTx(NebulaMeta_HostPunchNotification, 1)
-	w.SendMessageToVpnAddr(header.LightHouse, 0, punchNotifDest, lhh.pb[:ln], lhh.nb, lhh.out[:0])
+	w.SendMessageToVpnAddr(header.LightHouse, 0, punchNotifDest, lhh.pb[:ln], lhh.buf)
 }
 
 func (lhh *LightHouseHandler) coalesceAnswers(v cert.Version, c *cache, n *NebulaMeta) {
@@ -1385,7 +1405,7 @@ func (lhh *LightHouseHandler) handleHostUpdateNotification(n *NebulaMeta, fromVp
 	}
 
 	lhh.lh.metricTx(NebulaMeta_HostUpdateNotificationAck, 1)
-	w.SendMessageToVpnAddr(header.LightHouse, 0, fromVpnAddrs[0], lhh.pb[:ln], lhh.nb, lhh.out[:0])
+	w.SendMessageToVpnAddr(header.LightHouse, 0, fromVpnAddrs[0], lhh.pb[:ln], lhh.buf)
 }
 
 func (lhh *LightHouseHandler) handleHostPunchNotification(n *NebulaMeta, fromVpnAddrs []netip.Addr, w EncWriter) {
@@ -1452,10 +1472,13 @@ func (lhh *LightHouseHandler) handleHostPunchNotification(n *NebulaMeta, fromVpn
 					"vpnAddr", detailsVpnAddr,
 				)
 			}
-			//NOTE: we have to allocate a new output buffer here since we are spawning a new goroutine
-			// for each punchBack packet. We should move this into a timerwheel or a single goroutine
+			// We acquire and release a fresh buf within this goroutine so it
+			// returns to the pool once the punchback send completes. We
+			// should move this into a timerwheel or a single goroutine
 			// managed by a channel.
-			w.SendMessageToVpnAddr(header.Test, header.TestRequest, detailsVpnAddr, []byte(""), make([]byte, 12, 12), make([]byte, mtu))
+			pbuf := lhh.lh.bufAlloc.Acquire()
+			defer lhh.lh.bufAlloc.Release(pbuf)
+			w.SendMessageToVpnAddr(header.Test, header.TestRequest, detailsVpnAddr, []byte(""), pbuf)
 		}()
 	}
 }

lighthouse_test.go

@@ -372,12 +372,12 @@ type testEncWriter struct {
 	protocolVersion cert.Version
 }
 
-func (tw *testEncWriter) SendVia(via *HostInfo, relay *Relay, ad, nb, out []byte, nocopy bool) {
+func (tw *testEncWriter) SendVia(via *HostInfo, relay *Relay, ad []byte, buf *WireBuffer) {
 }
 func (tw *testEncWriter) Handshake(vpnIp netip.Addr) {
 }
 
-func (tw *testEncWriter) SendMessageToHostInfo(t header.MessageType, st header.MessageSubType, hostinfo *HostInfo, p, _, _ []byte) {
+func (tw *testEncWriter) SendMessageToHostInfo(t header.MessageType, st header.MessageSubType, hostinfo *HostInfo, p []byte, _ *WireBuffer) {
 	msg := &NebulaMeta{}
 	err := msg.Unmarshal(p)
 	if tw.metaFilter == nil || msg.Type == *tw.metaFilter {
@@ -394,7 +394,7 @@ func (tw *testEncWriter) SendMessageToHostInfo(t header.MessageType, st header.M
 	}
 }
 
-func (tw *testEncWriter) SendMessageToVpnAddr(t header.MessageType, st header.MessageSubType, vpnIp netip.Addr, p, _, _ []byte) {
+func (tw *testEncWriter) SendMessageToVpnAddr(t header.MessageType, st header.MessageSubType, vpnIp netip.Addr, p []byte, _ *WireBuffer) {
 	msg := &NebulaMeta{}
 	err := msg.Unmarshal(p)
 	if tw.metaFilter == nil || msg.Type == *tw.metaFilter {

main.go

@@ -232,6 +232,7 @@ func Main(c *config.C, configTest bool, buildVersion string, l *slog.Logger, dev
 
 		ifce.writers = udpConns
 		lightHouse.ifce = ifce
+		lightHouse.bufAlloc = ifce.bufAlloc
 
 		ifce.RegisterConfigChangeCallbacks(c)
 		ifce.reloadDisconnectInvalid(c)

noise.go

@@ -14,6 +14,19 @@ type endianness interface {
 
 var noiseEndianness endianness = binary.BigEndian
 
+// NonceSize is the AEAD nonce length used by all ciphers nebula supports
+// today (AES-GCM and ChaCha20-Poly1305 both use 96-bit nonces). Encrypt-
+// and DecryptDanger lay out the nonce as 4 zero bytes followed by an 8-byte
+// big-endian counter; if a future cipher with a different nonce size is
+// added, this constant and those layouts must change together.
+const NonceSize = 12
+
+// AEADOverhead is the AEAD authentication tag length the ciphers nebula
+// supports append to ciphertext. Both AES-GCM and ChaCha20-Poly1305 use
+// 128-bit tags. NebulaCipherState.Overhead() returns this dynamically from
+// the cipher; the constant is for sizing buffers at construction time.
+const AEADOverhead = 16
+
 type NebulaCipherState struct {
 	c cipher.AEAD
 }

outside.go

@@ -20,7 +20,8 @@ const (
 	minFwPacketLen = 4
 )
 
-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) {
+func (f *Interface) readOutsidePackets(via ViaSender, buf *WireBuffer, packet []byte, lhf *LightHouseHandler, q int, localCache firewall.ConntrackCache) {
+	h := buf.H
 	err := h.Parse(packet)
 	if err != nil {
 		// Hole punch packets are 0 or 1 byte big, so lets ignore printing those errors
@@ -65,7 +66,7 @@ func (f *Interface) readOutsidePackets(via ViaSender, out []byte, packet []byte,
 
 		switch h.Subtype {
 		case header.MessageNone:
-			if !f.decryptToTun(hostinfo, h.MessageCounter, out, packet, fwPacket, nb, q, localCache) {
+			if !f.decryptToTun(hostinfo, h.MessageCounter, buf, packet, q, localCache) {
 				return
 			}
 		case header.MessageRelay:
@@ -76,8 +77,9 @@ func (f *Interface) readOutsidePackets(via ViaSender, out []byte, packet []byte,
 			// 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 {
+			// AAD-only validation: passing dst=nil since there's no plaintext
+			// to recover (ciphertext is just the trailing AEAD tag).
+			if _, err = hostinfo.ConnectionState.dKey.DecryptDanger(nil, signedPayload, signatureValue, h.MessageCounter, buf.NB); err != nil {
 				return
 			}
 			// Successfully validated the thing. Get rid of the Relay header.
@@ -110,7 +112,8 @@ func (f *Interface) readOutsidePackets(via ViaSender, out []byte, packet []byte,
 					relay:     relay,
 					IsRelayed: true,
 				}
-				f.readOutsidePackets(via, out[:0], signedPayload, h, fwPacket, lhf, nb, q, localCache)
+				buf.Reset()
+				f.readOutsidePackets(via, buf, signedPayload, lhf, q, localCache)
 				return
 			case ForwardingType:
 				// Find the target HostInfo relay object
@@ -130,7 +133,7 @@ func (f *Interface) readOutsidePackets(via ViaSender, out []byte, packet []byte,
 					case ForwardingType:
 						// Forward this packet through the relay tunnel
 						// Find the target HostInfo
-						f.SendVia(targetHI, targetRelay, signedPayload, nb, out, false)
+						f.SendVia(targetHI, targetRelay, signedPayload, buf)
 						return
 					case TerminalType:
 						hostinfo.logger(f.l).Error("Unexpected Relay Type of Terminal")
@@ -152,7 +155,7 @@ func (f *Interface) readOutsidePackets(via ViaSender, out []byte, packet []byte,
 			return
 		}
 
-		d, err := f.decrypt(hostinfo, h.MessageCounter, out, packet, h, nb)
+		d, err := f.decrypt(hostinfo, h.MessageCounter, buf, packet, h)
 		if err != nil {
 			hostinfo.logger(f.l).Error("Failed to decrypt lighthouse packet",
 				"error", err,
@@ -173,7 +176,7 @@ func (f *Interface) readOutsidePackets(via ViaSender, out []byte, packet []byte,
 			return
 		}
 
-		d, err := f.decrypt(hostinfo, h.MessageCounter, out, packet, h, nb)
+		d, err := f.decrypt(hostinfo, h.MessageCounter, buf, packet, h)
 		if err != nil {
 			hostinfo.logger(f.l).Error("Failed to decrypt test packet",
 				"error", err,
@@ -185,9 +188,9 @@ func (f *Interface) readOutsidePackets(via ViaSender, out []byte, packet []byte,
 
 		if h.Subtype == header.TestRequest {
 			// This testRequest might be from TryPromoteBest, so we should roam
-			// to the new IP address before responding
+			// to the new IP address before responding.
 			f.handleHostRoaming(hostinfo, via)
-			f.send(header.Test, header.TestReply, ci, hostinfo, d, nb, out)
+			f.send(header.Test, header.TestReply, ci, hostinfo, d, buf)
 		}
 
 		// Fallthrough to the bottom to record incoming traffic
@@ -210,7 +213,7 @@ func (f *Interface) readOutsidePackets(via ViaSender, out []byte, packet []byte,
 		if !f.handleEncrypted(ci, via, h) {
 			return
 		}
-		_, err = f.decrypt(hostinfo, h.MessageCounter, out, packet, h, nb)
+		_, err = f.decrypt(hostinfo, h.MessageCounter, buf, packet, h)
 		if err != nil {
 			hostinfo.logger(f.l).Error("Failed to decrypt CloseTunnel packet",
 				"error", err,
@@ -230,7 +233,7 @@ func (f *Interface) readOutsidePackets(via ViaSender, out []byte, packet []byte,
 			return
 		}
 
-		d, err := f.decrypt(hostinfo, h.MessageCounter, out, packet, h, nb)
+		d, err := f.decrypt(hostinfo, h.MessageCounter, buf, packet, h)
 		if err != nil {
 			hostinfo.logger(f.l).Error("Failed to decrypt Control packet",
 				"error", err,
@@ -266,7 +269,9 @@ func (f *Interface) closeTunnel(hostInfo *HostInfo) {
 
 // sendCloseTunnel is a helper function to send a proper close tunnel packet to a remote
 func (f *Interface) sendCloseTunnel(h *HostInfo) {
-	f.send(header.CloseTunnel, 0, h.ConnectionState, h, []byte{}, make([]byte, 12, 12), make([]byte, mtu))
+	buf := f.bufAlloc.Acquire()
+	defer f.bufAlloc.Release(buf)
+	f.send(header.CloseTunnel, 0, h.ConnectionState, h, []byte{}, buf)
 }
 
 func (f *Interface) handleHostRoaming(hostinfo *HostInfo, via ViaSender) {
@@ -515,9 +520,8 @@ func parseV4(data []byte, incoming bool, fp *firewall.Packet) error {
 	return nil
 }
 
-func (f *Interface) decrypt(hostinfo *HostInfo, mc uint64, out []byte, packet []byte, h *header.H, nb []byte) ([]byte, error) {
-	var err error
-	out, err = hostinfo.ConnectionState.dKey.DecryptDanger(out, packet[:header.Len], packet[header.Len:], mc, nb)
+func (f *Interface) decrypt(hostinfo *HostInfo, mc uint64, buf *WireBuffer, packet []byte, h *header.H) ([]byte, error) {
+	plaintext, err := buf.DecryptForHandler(hostinfo.ConnectionState, packet, mc)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
@@ -529,42 +533,41 @@ func (f *Interface) decrypt(hostinfo *HostInfo, mc uint64, out []byte, packet []
 		return nil, errors.New("out of window packet")
 	}
 
-	return out, nil
+	return plaintext, 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 {
+func (f *Interface) decryptToTun(hostinfo *HostInfo, messageCounter uint64, buf *WireBuffer, packet []byte, q int, localCache firewall.ConntrackCache) bool {
+	if err := buf.DecryptDatagram(hostinfo.ConnectionState, packet, messageCounter); err != nil {
 		hostinfo.logger(f.l).Error("Failed to decrypt packet", "error", err)
 		return false
 	}
 
-	err = newPacket(out, true, fwPacket)
-	if err != nil {
+	ipPacket := buf.IPPacket()
+	if err := newPacket(ipPacket, true, buf.FwPacket); err != nil {
 		hostinfo.logger(f.l).Warn("Error while validating inbound packet",
 			"error", err,
-			"packet", out,
+			"packet", ipPacket,
 		)
 		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)
+			hostinfo.logger(f.l).Debug("dropping out of window packet", "fwPacket", buf.FwPacket)
 		}
 		return false
 	}
 
-	dropReason := f.firewall.Drop(*fwPacket, true, hostinfo, f.pki.GetCAPool(), localCache)
+	dropReason := f.firewall.Drop(*buf.FwPacket, true, hostinfo, f.pki.GetCAPool(), localCache)
 	if dropReason != nil {
-		// NOTE: We give `packet` as the `out` here since we already decrypted from it and we don't need it anymore
-		// This gives us a buffer to build the reject packet in
-		f.rejectOutside(out, hostinfo.ConnectionState, hostinfo, nb, packet, q)
+		// NOTE: We hand `packet` (the original UDP ciphertext we already
+		// decrypted from) as the reject-IP scratch since we no longer
+		// need its ciphertext, and it's disjoint from buf.Out where
+		// sendNoMetrics will encrypt the wire packet.
+		f.rejectOutside(ipPacket, hostinfo.ConnectionState, hostinfo, packet, buf, q)
 		if f.l.Enabled(context.Background(), slog.LevelDebug) {
 			hostinfo.logger(f.l).Debug("dropping inbound packet",
-				"fwPacket", fwPacket,
+				"fwPacket", buf.FwPacket,
 				"reason", dropReason,
 			)
 		}
@@ -572,8 +575,7 @@ func (f *Interface) decryptToTun(hostinfo *HostInfo, messageCounter uint64, out
 	}
 
 	f.connectionManager.In(hostinfo)
-	_, err = f.readers[q].Write(out)
-	if err != nil {
+	if _, err := buf.WriteIPToTUN(f.readers[q]); err != nil {
 		f.l.Error("Failed to write to tun", "error", err)
 	}
 	return true

overlay/device.go

@@ -15,4 +15,7 @@ type Device interface {
 	RoutesFor(netip.Addr) routing.Gateways
 	SupportsMultiqueue() bool
 	NewMultiQueueReader() (io.ReadWriteCloser, error)
+	// TunPrefixLen reports the number of bytes the device prepends to every IP packet on the wire.
+	// Currently only non zero for the BSD tun devices.
+	TunPrefixLen() int
 }

overlay/overlaytest/noop.go

@@ -50,3 +50,5 @@ func (NoopTun) NewMultiQueueReader() (io.ReadWriteCloser, error) {
 func (NoopTun) Close() error {
 	return nil
 }
+
+func (NoopTun) TunPrefixLen() int { return 0 }

overlay/tun_android.go

@@ -102,3 +102,5 @@ func (t *tun) SupportsMultiqueue() bool {
 func (t *tun) NewMultiQueueReader() (io.ReadWriteCloser, error) {
 	return nil, fmt.Errorf("TODO: multiqueue not implemented for android")
 }
+
+func (t *tun) TunPrefixLen() int { return 0 }

overlay/tun_bsd.go

@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+//go:build (darwin || ios || freebsd || openbsd || netbsd) && !e2e_testing
+
+package overlay
+
+import (
+	"fmt"
+	"syscall"
+)
+
+// StampTunPrefix writes the 4-byte AF_INET / AF_INET6 protocol-family marker into buf[0:4] in place,
+// picking the family from the first byte of the IP packet at buf[4].
+func StampTunPrefix(buf []byte) error {
+	if len(buf) < 5 {
+		return fmt.Errorf("tun write buffer too small for prefix")
+	}
+	ipVer := buf[4] >> 4
+	buf[0] = 0
+	buf[1] = 0
+	buf[2] = 0
+	switch ipVer {
+	case 4:
+		buf[3] = syscall.AF_INET
+	case 6:
+		buf[3] = syscall.AF_INET6
+	default:
+		return fmt.Errorf("unable to determine IP version from packet")
+	}
+	return nil
+}

overlay/tun_darwin.go

@@ -11,7 +11,6 @@ import (
 	"net/netip"
 	"os"
 	"sync/atomic"
-	"syscall"
 	"unsafe"
 
 	"github.com/gaissmai/bart"
@@ -31,9 +30,6 @@ type tun struct {
 	routeTree   atomic.Pointer[bart.Table[routing.Gateways]]
 	linkAddr    *netroute.LinkAddr
 	l           *slog.Logger
-
-	// cache out buffer since we need to prepend 4 bytes for tun metadata
-	out []byte
 }
 
 type ifReq struct {
@@ -502,44 +498,6 @@ func delRoute(prefix netip.Prefix, gateway netroute.Addr) error {
 	return nil
 }
 
-func (t *tun) Read(to []byte) (int, error) {
-	buf := make([]byte, len(to)+4)
-
-	n, err := t.ReadWriteCloser.Read(buf)
-
-	copy(to, buf[4:])
-	return n - 4, err
-}
-
-// Write is only valid for single threaded use
-func (t *tun) Write(from []byte) (int, error) {
-	buf := t.out
-	if cap(buf) < len(from)+4 {
-		buf = make([]byte, len(from)+4)
-		t.out = buf
-	}
-	buf = buf[:len(from)+4]
-
-	if len(from) == 0 {
-		return 0, syscall.EIO
-	}
-
-	// Determine the IP Family for the NULL L2 Header
-	ipVer := from[0] >> 4
-	if ipVer == 4 {
-		buf[3] = syscall.AF_INET
-	} else if ipVer == 6 {
-		buf[3] = syscall.AF_INET6
-	} else {
-		return 0, fmt.Errorf("unable to determine IP version from packet")
-	}
-
-	copy(buf[4:], from)
-
-	n, err := t.ReadWriteCloser.Write(buf)
-	return n - 4, err
-}
-
 func (t *tun) Networks() []netip.Prefix {
 	return t.vpnNetworks
 }
@@ -555,3 +513,7 @@ func (t *tun) SupportsMultiqueue() bool {
 func (t *tun) NewMultiQueueReader() (io.ReadWriteCloser, error) {
 	return nil, fmt.Errorf("TODO: multiqueue not implemented for darwin")
 }
+
+// TunPrefixLen reports the 4-byte BSD AF_INET / AF_INET6 protocol-family
+// marker the kernel prepends on read and expects on write.
+func (t *tun) TunPrefixLen() int { return 4 }

overlay/tun_disabled.go

@@ -136,3 +136,5 @@ func (p prettyPacket) String() string {
 
 	return s.String()
 }
+
+func (t *disabledTun) TunPrefixLen() int { return 0 }

overlay/tun_freebsd.go

@@ -158,74 +158,43 @@ func (t *tun) blockOnWrite() error {
 }
 
 func (t *tun) Read(to []byte) (int, error) {
-	// first 4 bytes is protocol family, in network byte order
-	var head [4]byte
-	iovecs := [2]syscall.Iovec{
-		{&head[0], 4},
-		{&to[0], uint64(len(to))},
-	}
 	for {
-		n, _, errno := syscall.Syscall(syscall.SYS_READV, uintptr(t.fd), uintptr(unsafe.Pointer(&iovecs[0])), 2)
-		if errno == 0 {
-			bytesRead := int(n)
-			if bytesRead < 4 {
-				return 0, nil
-			}
-			return bytesRead - 4, nil
+		n, err := unix.Read(t.fd, to)
+		if err == nil {
+			return n, nil
 		}
-		switch errno {
+		switch err {
 		case unix.EAGAIN:
-			if err := t.blockOnRead(); err != nil {
-				return 0, err
+			if berr := t.blockOnRead(); berr != nil {
+				return 0, berr
 			}
 		case unix.EINTR:
 			// retry
 		case unix.EBADF:
 			return 0, os.ErrClosed
 		default:
-			return 0, errno
+			return 0, err
 		}
 	}
 }
 
-// Write is only valid for single threaded use
 func (t *tun) Write(from []byte) (int, error) {
-	if len(from) <= 1 {
-		return 0, syscall.EIO
-	}
-
-	ipVer := from[0] >> 4
-	var head [4]byte
-	// first 4 bytes is protocol family, in network byte order
-	switch ipVer {
-	case 4:
-		head[3] = syscall.AF_INET
-	case 6:
-		head[3] = syscall.AF_INET6
-	default:
-		return 0, fmt.Errorf("unable to determine IP version from packet")
-	}
-
-	iovecs := [2]syscall.Iovec{
-		{&head[0], 4},
-		{&from[0], uint64(len(from))},
-	}
 	for {
-		n, _, errno := syscall.Syscall(syscall.SYS_WRITEV, uintptr(t.fd), uintptr(unsafe.Pointer(&iovecs[0])), 2)
-		if errno == 0 {
-			return int(n) - 4, nil
+		n, err := unix.Write(t.fd, from)
+		if err == nil {
+			return n, nil
 		}
-		switch errno {
+		switch err {
 		case unix.EAGAIN:
-			if err := t.blockOnWrite(); err != nil {
-				return 0, err
+			if berr := t.blockOnWrite(); berr != nil {
+				return 0, berr
 			}
 		case unix.EINTR:
 			// retry
 		case unix.EBADF:
 			return 0, os.ErrClosed
 		default:
-			return 0, errno
+			return 0, err
 		}
 	}
 }
@@ -732,3 +701,7 @@ func getLinkAddr(name string) (*netroute.LinkAddr, error) {
 
 	return nil, nil
 }
+
+// TunPrefixLen reports the 4-byte BSD AF_INET / AF_INET6 protocol-family
+// marker the kernel prepends on read and expects on write.
+func (t *tun) TunPrefixLen() int { return 4 }

overlay/tun_ios.go

@@ -4,15 +4,12 @@
 package overlay
 
 import (
-	"errors"
 	"fmt"
 	"io"
 	"log/slog"
 	"net/netip"
 	"os"
-	"sync"
 	"sync/atomic"
-	"syscall"
 
 	"github.com/gaissmai/bart"
 	"github.com/slackhq/nebula/config"
@@ -36,7 +33,7 @@ func newTunFromFd(c *config.C, l *slog.Logger, deviceFd int, vpnNetworks []netip
 	file := os.NewFile(uintptr(deviceFd), "/dev/tun")
 	t := &tun{
 		vpnNetworks:     vpnNetworks,
-		ReadWriteCloser: &tunReadCloser{f: file},
+		ReadWriteCloser: file,
 		l:               l,
 	}
 
@@ -85,64 +82,6 @@ func (t *tun) RoutesFor(ip netip.Addr) routing.Gateways {
 	return r
 }
 
-// The following is hoisted up from water, we do this so we can inject our own fd on iOS
-type tunReadCloser struct {
-	f io.ReadWriteCloser
-
-	rMu  sync.Mutex
-	rBuf []byte
-
-	wMu  sync.Mutex
-	wBuf []byte
-}
-
-func (tr *tunReadCloser) Read(to []byte) (int, error) {
-	tr.rMu.Lock()
-	defer tr.rMu.Unlock()
-
-	if cap(tr.rBuf) < len(to)+4 {
-		tr.rBuf = make([]byte, len(to)+4)
-	}
-	tr.rBuf = tr.rBuf[:len(to)+4]
-
-	n, err := tr.f.Read(tr.rBuf)
-	copy(to, tr.rBuf[4:])
-	return n - 4, err
-}
-
-func (tr *tunReadCloser) Write(from []byte) (int, error) {
-	if len(from) == 0 {
-		return 0, syscall.EIO
-	}
-
-	tr.wMu.Lock()
-	defer tr.wMu.Unlock()
-
-	if cap(tr.wBuf) < len(from)+4 {
-		tr.wBuf = make([]byte, len(from)+4)
-	}
-	tr.wBuf = tr.wBuf[:len(from)+4]
-
-	// Determine the IP Family for the NULL L2 Header
-	ipVer := from[0] >> 4
-	if ipVer == 4 {
-		tr.wBuf[3] = syscall.AF_INET
-	} else if ipVer == 6 {
-		tr.wBuf[3] = syscall.AF_INET6
-	} else {
-		return 0, errors.New("unable to determine IP version from packet")
-	}
-
-	copy(tr.wBuf[4:], from)
-
-	n, err := tr.f.Write(tr.wBuf)
-	return n - 4, err
-}
-
-func (tr *tunReadCloser) Close() error {
-	return tr.f.Close()
-}
-
 func (t *tun) Networks() []netip.Prefix {
 	return t.vpnNetworks
 }
@@ -158,3 +97,7 @@ func (t *tun) SupportsMultiqueue() bool {
 func (t *tun) NewMultiQueueReader() (io.ReadWriteCloser, error) {
 	return nil, fmt.Errorf("TODO: multiqueue not implemented for ios")
 }
+
+// TunPrefixLen reports the 4-byte BSD AF_INET / AF_INET6 protocol-family
+// marker the kernel prepends on read and expects on write.
+func (t *tun) TunPrefixLen() int { return 4 }

overlay/tun_linux.go

@@ -907,3 +907,5 @@ func (t *tun) Close() error {
 	}
 	return err
 }
+
+func (t *tun) TunPrefixLen() int { return 0 }

overlay/tun_netbsd.go

@@ -58,13 +58,13 @@ type addrLifetime struct {
 }
 
 type tun struct {
+	io.ReadWriteCloser
 	Device      string
 	vpnNetworks []netip.Prefix
 	MTU         int
 	Routes      atomic.Pointer[[]Route]
 	routeTree   atomic.Pointer[bart.Table[routing.Gateways]]
 	l           *slog.Logger
-	f           *os.File
 	fd          int
 }
 
@@ -96,12 +96,12 @@ func newTun(c *config.C, l *slog.Logger, vpnNetworks []netip.Prefix, _ bool) (*t
 	}
 
 	t := &tun{
-		f:           os.NewFile(uintptr(fd), ""),
-		fd:          fd,
-		Device:      deviceName,
-		vpnNetworks: vpnNetworks,
-		MTU:         c.GetInt("tun.mtu", DefaultMTU),
-		l:           l,
+		ReadWriteCloser: os.NewFile(uintptr(fd), ""),
+		fd:              fd,
+		Device:          deviceName,
+		vpnNetworks:     vpnNetworks,
+		MTU:             c.GetInt("tun.mtu", DefaultMTU),
+		l:               l,
 	}
 
 	err = t.reload(c, true)
@@ -120,12 +120,12 @@ func newTun(c *config.C, l *slog.Logger, vpnNetworks []netip.Prefix, _ bool) (*t
 }
 
 func (t *tun) Close() error {
-	if t.f != nil {
-		if err := t.f.Close(); err != nil {
+	if t.ReadWriteCloser != nil {
+		if err := t.ReadWriteCloser.Close(); err != nil {
 			return fmt.Errorf("error closing tun file: %w", err)
 		}
 
-		// t.f.Close should have handled it for us but let's be extra sure
+		// Close on the os.File should have handled the fd for us but let's be extra sure
 		_ = unix.Close(t.fd)
 
 		s, err := syscall.Socket(syscall.AF_INET, syscall.SOCK_DGRAM, syscall.IPPROTO_IP)
@@ -141,99 +141,6 @@ func (t *tun) Close() error {
 	return nil
 }
 
-func (t *tun) Read(to []byte) (int, error) {
-	rc, err := t.f.SyscallConn()
-	if err != nil {
-		return 0, fmt.Errorf("failed to get syscall conn for tun: %w", err)
-	}
-
-	var errno syscall.Errno
-	var n uintptr
-	err = rc.Read(func(fd uintptr) bool {
-		// first 4 bytes is protocol family, in network byte order
-		head := [4]byte{}
-		iovecs := []syscall.Iovec{
-			{&head[0], 4},
-			{&to[0], uint64(len(to))},
-		}
-
-		n, _, errno = syscall.Syscall(syscall.SYS_READV, fd, uintptr(unsafe.Pointer(&iovecs[0])), uintptr(2))
-		if errno.Temporary() {
-			// We got an EAGAIN, EINTR, or EWOULDBLOCK, go again
-			return false
-		}
-		return true
-	})
-	if err != nil {
-		if err == syscall.EBADF || err.Error() == "use of closed file" {
-			// Go doesn't export poll.ErrFileClosing but happily reports it to us so here we are
-			// https://github.com/golang/go/blob/master/src/internal/poll/fd_poll_runtime.go#L121
-			return 0, os.ErrClosed
-		}
-		return 0, fmt.Errorf("failed to make read call for tun: %w", err)
-	}
-
-	if errno != 0 {
-		return 0, fmt.Errorf("failed to make inner read call for tun: %w", errno)
-	}
-
-	// fix bytes read number to exclude header
-	bytesRead := int(n)
-	if bytesRead < 0 {
-		return bytesRead, nil
-	} else if bytesRead < 4 {
-		return 0, nil
-	} else {
-		return bytesRead - 4, nil
-	}
-}
-
-// Write is only valid for single threaded use
-func (t *tun) Write(from []byte) (int, error) {
-	if len(from) <= 1 {
-		return 0, syscall.EIO
-	}
-
-	ipVer := from[0] >> 4
-	var head [4]byte
-	// first 4 bytes is protocol family, in network byte order
-	if ipVer == 4 {
-		head[3] = syscall.AF_INET
-	} else if ipVer == 6 {
-		head[3] = syscall.AF_INET6
-	} else {
-		return 0, fmt.Errorf("unable to determine IP version from packet")
-	}
-
-	rc, err := t.f.SyscallConn()
-	if err != nil {
-		return 0, err
-	}
-
-	var errno syscall.Errno
-	var n uintptr
-	err = rc.Write(func(fd uintptr) bool {
-		iovecs := []syscall.Iovec{
-			{&head[0], 4},
-			{&from[0], uint64(len(from))},
-		}
-
-		n, _, errno = syscall.Syscall(syscall.SYS_WRITEV, fd, uintptr(unsafe.Pointer(&iovecs[0])), uintptr(2))
-		// According to NetBSD documentation for TUN, writes will only return errors in which
-		// this packet will never be delivered so just go on living life.
-		return true
-	})
-	if err != nil {
-		return 0, err
-	}
-
-	if errno != 0 {
-		return 0, errno
-	}
-
-	return int(n) - 4, err
-}
-
 func (t *tun) addIp(cidr netip.Prefix) error {
 	if cidr.Addr().Is4() {
 		var req ifreqAlias4
@@ -551,3 +458,7 @@ func delRoute(prefix netip.Prefix, gateways []netip.Prefix) error {
 
 	return nil
 }
+
+// TunPrefixLen reports the 4-byte BSD AF_INET / AF_INET6 protocol-family
+// marker the kernel prepends on read and expects on write.
+func (t *tun) TunPrefixLen() int { return 4 }

overlay/tun_no_prefix.go

@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+//go:build (!darwin && !ios && !freebsd && !openbsd && !netbsd) || e2e_testing
+
+package overlay
+
+// StampTunPrefix is a no-op on platforms whose tun devices have no
+// protocol-family marker. WireBuffer only invokes it when its prefixLen
+// is non-zero, so this should never be reached on these platforms.
+func StampTunPrefix(buf []byte) error {
+	return nil
+}

overlay/tun_openbsd.go

@@ -49,16 +49,14 @@ type ifreq struct {
 }
 
 type tun struct {
+	io.ReadWriteCloser
 	Device      string
 	vpnNetworks []netip.Prefix
 	MTU         int
 	Routes      atomic.Pointer[[]Route]
 	routeTree   atomic.Pointer[bart.Table[routing.Gateways]]
 	l           *slog.Logger
-	f           *os.File
 	fd          int
-	// cache out buffer since we need to prepend 4 bytes for tun metadata
-	out []byte
 }
 
 var deviceNameRE = regexp.MustCompile(`^tun[0-9]+$`)
@@ -89,12 +87,12 @@ func newTun(c *config.C, l *slog.Logger, vpnNetworks []netip.Prefix, _ bool) (*t
 	}
 
 	t := &tun{
-		f:           os.NewFile(uintptr(fd), ""),
-		fd:          fd,
-		Device:      deviceName,
-		vpnNetworks: vpnNetworks,
-		MTU:         c.GetInt("tun.mtu", DefaultMTU),
-		l:           l,
+		ReadWriteCloser: os.NewFile(uintptr(fd), ""),
+		fd:              fd,
+		Device:          deviceName,
+		vpnNetworks:     vpnNetworks,
+		MTU:             c.GetInt("tun.mtu", DefaultMTU),
+		l:               l,
 	}
 
 	err = t.reload(c, true)
@@ -113,55 +111,17 @@ func newTun(c *config.C, l *slog.Logger, vpnNetworks []netip.Prefix, _ bool) (*t
 }
 
 func (t *tun) Close() error {
-	if t.f != nil {
-		if err := t.f.Close(); err != nil {
+	if t.ReadWriteCloser != nil {
+		if err := t.ReadWriteCloser.Close(); err != nil {
 			return fmt.Errorf("error closing tun file: %w", err)
 		}
 
-		// t.f.Close should have handled it for us but let's be extra sure
+		// Close on the os.File should have handled the fd for us but let's be extra sure
 		_ = unix.Close(t.fd)
 	}
 	return nil
 }
 
-func (t *tun) Read(to []byte) (int, error) {
-	buf := make([]byte, len(to)+4)
-
-	n, err := t.f.Read(buf)
-
-	copy(to, buf[4:])
-	return n - 4, err
-}
-
-// Write is only valid for single threaded use
-func (t *tun) Write(from []byte) (int, error) {
-	buf := t.out
-	if cap(buf) < len(from)+4 {
-		buf = make([]byte, len(from)+4)
-		t.out = buf
-	}
-	buf = buf[:len(from)+4]
-
-	if len(from) == 0 {
-		return 0, syscall.EIO
-	}
-
-	// Determine the IP Family for the NULL L2 Header
-	ipVer := from[0] >> 4
-	if ipVer == 4 {
-		buf[3] = syscall.AF_INET
-	} else if ipVer == 6 {
-		buf[3] = syscall.AF_INET6
-	} else {
-		return 0, fmt.Errorf("unable to determine IP version from packet")
-	}
-
-	copy(buf[4:], from)
-
-	n, err := t.f.Write(buf)
-	return n - 4, err
-}
-
 func (t *tun) addIp(cidr netip.Prefix) error {
 	if cidr.Addr().Is4() {
 		var req ifreqAlias4
@@ -471,3 +431,7 @@ func delRoute(prefix netip.Prefix, gateways []netip.Prefix) error {
 
 	return nil
 }
+
+// TunPrefixLen reports the 4-byte BSD AF_INET / AF_INET6 protocol-family
+// marker the kernel prepends on read and expects on write.
+func (t *tun) TunPrefixLen() int { return 4 }

overlay/tun_tester.go

@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@ import (
 	"github.com/gaissmai/bart"
 	"github.com/slackhq/nebula/config"
 	"github.com/slackhq/nebula/routing"
+	"github.com/slackhq/nebula/udp"
 )
 
 type TestTun struct {
@@ -54,9 +55,12 @@ func newTunFromFd(_ *config.C, _ *slog.Logger, _ int, _ []netip.Prefix) (*TestTu
 	return nil, fmt.Errorf("newTunFromFd not supported")
 }
 
-// Send will place a byte array onto the receive queue for nebula to consume
+// Send will place a byte array onto the receive queue for nebula to consume.
 // These are unencrypted ip layer frames destined for another nebula node.
-// packets should exit the udp side, capture them with udpConn.Get
+// packets should exit the udp side, capture them with udpConn.Get.
+//
+// Send copies the input via the freelist, so the caller is free to mutate
+// or reuse it after the call returns.
 func (t *TestTun) Send(packet []byte) {
 	if t.closed.Load() {
 		return
@@ -65,7 +69,9 @@ func (t *TestTun) Send(packet []byte) {
 	if t.l.Enabled(context.Background(), slog.LevelDebug) {
 		t.l.Debug("Tun receiving injected packet", "dataLen", len(packet))
 	}
-	t.rxPackets <- packet
+	buf := acquireTunBuf(len(packet))
+	copy(buf, packet)
+	t.rxPackets <- buf
 }
 
 // Get will pull an unencrypted ip layer frame from the transmit queue
@@ -110,12 +116,44 @@ func (t *TestTun) Write(b []byte) (n int, err error) {
 		return 0, io.ErrClosedPipe
 	}
 
-	packet := make([]byte, len(b), len(b))
+	packet := acquireTunBuf(len(b))
 	copy(packet, b)
 	t.TxPackets <- packet
 	return len(b), nil
 }
 
+// ReleaseTunBuf returns a slice from TxPackets to the harness freelist, don't use the bytes after the call.
+// Channel-backed instead of sync.Pool because putting a []byte in a sync.Pool escapes the slice header to heap.
+func ReleaseTunBuf(b []byte) {
+	if b == nil {
+		return
+	}
+	select {
+	case tunBufFreelist <- b:
+	default:
+		// Freelist full; drop the buffer for the GC.
+	}
+}
+
+// tunBufFreelist retains the backing arrays for TestTun.Write so steady-state allocation drops to zero once the
+// freelist has saturated for the current MTU.
+var tunBufFreelist = make(chan []byte, 64)
+
+func acquireTunBuf(n int) []byte {
+	var b []byte
+	select {
+	case b = <-tunBufFreelist:
+	default:
+		b = make([]byte, 0, udp.MTU)
+	}
+	if cap(b) < n {
+		b = make([]byte, n)
+	} else {
+		b = b[:n]
+	}
+	return b
+}
+
 func (t *TestTun) Close() error {
 	if t.closed.CompareAndSwap(false, true) {
 		close(t.rxPackets)
@@ -129,8 +167,14 @@ func (t *TestTun) Read(b []byte) (int, error) {
 	if !ok {
 		return 0, os.ErrClosed
 	}
+	n := len(p)
 	copy(b, p)
-	return len(p), nil
+	// Send always pushes a freelist-acquired slice, return it once we've copied the bytes into the caller's buffer.
+	select {
+	case tunBufFreelist <- p:
+	default:
+	}
+	return n, nil
 }
 
 func (t *TestTun) SupportsMultiqueue() bool {
@@ -140,3 +184,5 @@ func (t *TestTun) SupportsMultiqueue() bool {
 func (t *TestTun) NewMultiQueueReader() (io.ReadWriteCloser, error) {
 	return nil, fmt.Errorf("TODO: multiqueue not implemented")
 }
+
+func (t *TestTun) TunPrefixLen() int { return 0 }

overlay/tun_windows.go

@@ -296,3 +296,5 @@ func checkWinTunExists() error {
 	_, err = syscall.LoadDLL(filepath.Join(filepath.Dir(myPath), "dist", "windows", "wintun", "bin", arch, "wintun.dll"))
 	return err
 }
+
+func (t *winTun) TunPrefixLen() int { return 0 }

overlay/user.go

@@ -69,3 +69,5 @@ func (d *UserDevice) Close() error {
 	d.outboundWriter.Close()
 	return nil
 }
+
+func (d *UserDevice) TunPrefixLen() int { return 0 }

relay_manager.go

@@ -63,6 +63,9 @@ func (rm *relayManager) StartRelays(f *Interface, vpnIp netip.Addr, hostinfo *Ho
 	}
 
 	hostinfo.logger(rm.l).Info("Attempt to relay through hosts", "relays", hostinfo.remotes.relays)
+	// One WireBuffer for the whole relay-fanout loop.
+	buf := f.bufAlloc.Acquire()
+	defer f.bufAlloc.Release(buf)
 	// Send a RelayRequest to all known Relay IP's
 	for _, relay := range hostinfo.remotes.relays {
 		// Don't relay through the host I'm trying to connect to
@@ -124,7 +127,7 @@ func (rm *relayManager) StartRelays(f *Interface, vpnIp netip.Addr, hostinfo *Ho
 				if err != nil {
 					hostinfo.logger(rm.l).Error("Failed to marshal Control message to create relay", "error", err)
 				} else {
-					f.SendMessageToHostInfo(header.Control, 0, relayHostInfo, msg, make([]byte, 12), make([]byte, mtu))
+					f.SendMessageToHostInfo(header.Control, 0, relayHostInfo, msg, buf)
 					rm.l.Info("send CreateRelayRequest",
 						"relayFrom", f.myVpnAddrs[0],
 						"relayTo", vpnIp,
@@ -139,7 +142,7 @@ func (rm *relayManager) StartRelays(f *Interface, vpnIp netip.Addr, hostinfo *Ho
 		switch existingRelay.State {
 		case Established:
 			hostinfo.logger(rm.l).Info("Send handshake via relay", "relay", relay.String())
-			f.SendVia(relayHostInfo, existingRelay, stage0, make([]byte, 12), make([]byte, mtu), false)
+			f.SendVia(relayHostInfo, existingRelay, stage0, buf)
 		case Disestablished:
 			// Mark this relay as 'requested'
 			relayHostInfo.relayState.UpdateRelayForByIpState(vpnIp, Requested)
@@ -180,7 +183,7 @@ func (rm *relayManager) StartRelays(f *Interface, vpnIp netip.Addr, hostinfo *Ho
 				hostinfo.logger(rm.l).Error("Failed to marshal Control message to create relay", "error", err)
 			} else {
 				// This must send over the hostinfo, not over hm.Hosts[ip]
-				f.SendMessageToHostInfo(header.Control, 0, relayHostInfo, msg, make([]byte, 12), make([]byte, mtu))
+				f.SendMessageToHostInfo(header.Control, 0, relayHostInfo, msg, buf)
 				rm.l.Info("send CreateRelayRequest",
 					"relayFrom", f.myVpnAddrs[0],
 					"relayTo", vpnIp,
@@ -368,7 +371,9 @@ func (rm *relayManager) handleCreateRelayResponse(v cert.Version, h *HostInfo, f
 		if err != nil {
 			rm.l.Error("relayManager Failed to marshal Control CreateRelayResponse message to create relay", "error", err)
 		} else {
-			f.SendMessageToHostInfo(header.Control, 0, peerHostInfo, msg, make([]byte, 12), make([]byte, mtu))
+			buf := f.bufAlloc.Acquire()
+			f.SendMessageToHostInfo(header.Control, 0, peerHostInfo, msg, buf)
+			f.bufAlloc.Release(buf)
 			rm.l.Info("send CreateRelayResponse",
 				"relayFrom", resp.RelayFromAddr,
 				"relayTo", resp.RelayToAddr,
@@ -468,7 +473,9 @@ func (rm *relayManager) handleCreateRelayRequest(v cert.Version, h *HostInfo, f
 		if err != nil {
 			logMsg.Error("relayManager Failed to marshal Control CreateRelayResponse message to create relay", "error", err)
 		} else {
-			f.SendMessageToHostInfo(header.Control, 0, h, msg, make([]byte, 12), make([]byte, mtu))
+			buf := f.bufAlloc.Acquire()
+			f.SendMessageToHostInfo(header.Control, 0, h, msg, buf)
+			f.bufAlloc.Release(buf)
 			rm.l.Info("send CreateRelayResponse",
 				"relayFrom", from,
 				"relayTo", target,
@@ -538,7 +545,9 @@ func (rm *relayManager) handleCreateRelayRequest(v cert.Version, h *HostInfo, f
 		if err != nil {
 			logMsg.Error("relayManager Failed to marshal Control message to create relay", "error", err)
 		} else {
-			f.SendMessageToHostInfo(header.Control, 0, peer, msg, make([]byte, 12), make([]byte, mtu))
+			buf := f.bufAlloc.Acquire()
+			f.SendMessageToHostInfo(header.Control, 0, peer, msg, buf)
+			f.bufAlloc.Release(buf)
 			rm.l.Info("send CreateRelayRequest",
 				"relayFrom", h.vpnAddrs[0],
 				"relayTo", target,

ssh.go

@@ -632,15 +632,9 @@ func sshCloseTunnel(ifce *Interface, fs any, a []string, w sshd.StringWriter) er
 	}
 
 	if !flags.LocalOnly {
-		ifce.send(
-			header.CloseTunnel,
-			0,
-			hostInfo.ConnectionState,
-			hostInfo,
-			[]byte{},
-			make([]byte, 12, 12),
-			make([]byte, mtu),
-		)
+		buf := ifce.bufAlloc.Acquire()
+		ifce.send(header.CloseTunnel, 0, hostInfo.ConnectionState, hostInfo, []byte{}, buf)
+		ifce.bufAlloc.Release(buf)
 	}
 
 	ifce.closeTunnel(hostInfo)

udp/udp_tester.go

@@ -21,17 +21,48 @@ type Packet struct {
 	Data []byte
 }
 
+// Copy returns a fresh *Packet (from the freelist) with a duplicate Data buffer.
 func (u *Packet) Copy() *Packet {
-	n := &Packet{
-		To:   u.To,
-		From: u.From,
-		Data: make([]byte, len(u.Data)),
+	n := acquirePacket()
+	n.To = u.To
+	n.From = u.From
+	if cap(n.Data) < len(u.Data) {
+		n.Data = make([]byte, len(u.Data))
+	} else {
+		n.Data = n.Data[:len(u.Data)]
 	}
-
 	copy(n.Data, u.Data)
 	return n
 }
 
+// Release returns p to the harness packet freelist.
+// Callers that pull a *Packet from Get / TxPackets must Release when done.
+// Channel-backed instead of sync.Pool because sync.Pool's per-P caches drain badly under cross-goroutine Get/Put,
+// and putting a []byte in a Pool escapes the slice header to heap.
+func (p *Packet) Release() {
+	if p == nil {
+		return
+	}
+	p.Data = p.Data[:0]
+	select {
+	case packetFreelist <- p:
+	default:
+		// Freelist full; drop the *Packet for the GC.
+	}
+}
+
+// packetFreelist retains *Packet structs (and their backing Data arrays) so steady-state allocation drops to zero.
+var packetFreelist = make(chan *Packet, 64)
+
+func acquirePacket() *Packet {
+	select {
+	case p := <-packetFreelist:
+		return p
+	default:
+		return &Packet{}
+	}
+}
+
 type TesterConn struct {
 	Addr netip.AddrPort
 
@@ -64,13 +95,15 @@ func NewListener(l *slog.Logger, ip netip.Addr, port int, _ bool, _ int) (Conn,
 // this is an encrypted packet or a handshake message in most cases
 // packets were transmitted from another nebula node, you can send them with Tun.Send
 func (u *TesterConn) Send(packet *Packet) {
-	h := &header.H{}
-	if err := h.Parse(packet.Data); err != nil {
-		panic(err)
-	}
 	if u.l.Enabled(context.Background(), slog.LevelDebug) {
+		// Parse the header only under debug logging, otherwise the
+		// allocation would show up in every Send call.
+		var h header.H
+		if err := h.Parse(packet.Data); err != nil {
+			panic(err)
+		}
 		u.l.Debug("UDP receiving injected packet",
-			"header", h,
+			"header", &h,
 			"udpAddr", packet.From,
 			"dataLen", len(packet.Data),
 		)
@@ -107,15 +140,18 @@ func (u *TesterConn) Get(block bool) *Packet {
 //********************************************************************************************************************//
 
 func (u *TesterConn) WriteTo(b []byte, addr netip.AddrPort) error {
-	p := &Packet{
-		Data: make([]byte, len(b), len(b)),
-		From: u.Addr,
-		To:   addr,
+	p := acquirePacket()
+	if cap(p.Data) < len(b) {
+		p.Data = make([]byte, len(b))
+	} else {
+		p.Data = p.Data[:len(b)]
 	}
-
 	copy(p.Data, b)
+	p.From = u.Addr
+	p.To = addr
 	select {
 	case <-u.done:
+		p.Release()
 		return io.ErrClosedPipe
 	case u.TxPackets <- p:
 		return nil
@@ -129,6 +165,7 @@ func (u *TesterConn) ListenOut(r EncReader) error {
 			return os.ErrClosed
 		case p := <-u.RxPackets:
 			r(p.From, p.Data)
+			p.Release()
 		}
 	}
 }

wire_buffer.go

@@ -0,0 +1,255 @@
+package nebula
+
+import (
+	"io"
+	"sync"
+
+	"github.com/slackhq/nebula/firewall"
+	"github.com/slackhq/nebula/header"
+	"github.com/slackhq/nebula/noiseutil"
+	"github.com/slackhq/nebula/overlay"
+)
+
+// WireBuffer is the per-goroutine working set for processing one IP packet
+// through the data plane. It owns:
+//
+//   - The IP-payload byte buffer used to hold the current inbound or
+//     outbound packet, with prefixLen bytes of slack at the front for
+//     the BSD AF_INET protocol-family marker.
+//   - The fwPacket scratch parsed by newPacket().
+//   - The 12-byte AEAD nonce scratch.
+//   - The header.H parse target used by the receive path.
+//   - An mtu-sized wire-output scratch for sendNoMetrics and for building
+//     reject packets.
+//
+// One WireBuffer is allocated per data-plane goroutine (listenIn for the
+// TUN-side, listenOut for the UDP-side) and reused for every packet. No
+// per-packet allocation. Future GRO/GSO/TSO and reliable-transport work
+// will likely extend this to carry batch state and fragment metadata.
+//
+// The TUN protocol-family prefix is handled here, not in the overlay
+// package. On BSDs the kernel writes the 4-byte marker into the slack on
+// read, and we stamp it into the slack before write. On linux/windows
+// /userspace devices prefixLen is 0 and the slack is empty.
+type WireBuffer struct {
+	// FwPacket is the parsed IP packet metadata (5-tuple, fragment flags,
+	// etc.) populated by newPacket().
+	FwPacket *firewall.Packet
+	// NB is a 12-byte scratch the AEAD uses for the nonce; reused so we
+	// don't allocate one per encrypt/decrypt.
+	NB []byte
+	// H is the parse target for inbound nebula headers. Receive path only.
+	H *header.H
+	// Out is an mtu-sized wire-output scratch passed to sendNoMetrics and
+	// rejectInside / rejectOutside. Sized to fit any single wire packet.
+	Out []byte
+
+	// ip is the IP-payload region: a slice of len 0, cap linkMTU sliced
+	// from raw at offset prefixLen. The current packet (if any) is
+	// ip[:bodyN]. The TUN prefix slack lives at raw[0:prefixLen] just
+	// before ip.
+	ip []byte
+	// raw is the backing slab. Layout:
+	//   [prefixLen bytes prefix slack | linkMTU bytes IP region | outSize bytes Out scratch]
+	// Holding it lets ReadIPFromTUN / WriteIPToTUN address the slack
+	// region directly.
+	raw       []byte
+	prefixLen int
+	bodyN     int
+}
+
+// NewWireBuffer returns a buffer sized to hold any single IP packet up to
+// linkMTU, plus a disjoint wire-output scratch sliced from the same backing
+// slab (the AEAD's Seal contract requires plaintext and dst not to partially
+// overlap, and keeping them in one slab gives a single allocation per
+// goroutine). Out is sized for the relay worst case
+// (linkMTU + 2*header.Len + 2*AEADOverhead).
+//
+// prefixLen is the number of bytes the destination tun device prepends/
+// expects on each IP packet (overlay.Device.TunPrefixLen). On BSDs this
+// is 4 (AF_INET marker); on linux/windows/userspace devices it is 0.
+func NewWireBuffer(linkMTU, prefixLen int) *WireBuffer {
+	outSize := linkMTU + 2*header.Len + 2*AEADOverhead
+	raw := make([]byte, prefixLen+linkMTU+outSize)
+	outStart := prefixLen + linkMTU
+	return &WireBuffer{
+		FwPacket:  &firewall.Packet{},
+		NB:        make([]byte, NonceSize),
+		H:         &header.H{},
+		Out:       raw[outStart : outStart : outStart+outSize],
+		ip:        raw[prefixLen:prefixLen:outStart],
+		raw:       raw,
+		prefixLen: prefixLen,
+	}
+}
+
+// Reset clears the body-length record so the buffer is ready for another
+// recv (e.g. relay-receive recursion before a nested decrypt).
+func (b *WireBuffer) Reset() { b.bodyN = 0 }
+
+// IPPacket returns the IP packet currently held in the payload region (after
+// a successful ReadIPFromTUN or DecryptDatagram). The slice aliases the
+// buffer; do not retain past the next operation.
+func (b *WireBuffer) IPPacket() []byte {
+	return b.ip[:b.bodyN]
+}
+
+// Seal stamps a nebula header at the front of buf.Out and AEAD-seals p as the
+// payload, treating the header as additional authenticated data. The lock
+// scope around counter increment + encrypt matches what goboring AESGCMTLS
+// requires; non-boring builds skip the lock.
+//
+// Returns the wire bytes (header || ciphertext || tag), aliased to buf.Out.
+// The slice is invalidated by the next Seal* call on this buffer.
+func (b *WireBuffer) Seal(ci *ConnectionState, t header.MessageType, st header.MessageSubType, remoteIndex uint32, p []byte) ([]byte, error) {
+	return b.sealInto(b.Out[:cap(b.Out)], ci, t, st, remoteIndex, p)
+}
+
+// SealForRelay is like Seal but reserves header.Len bytes of slack at the front
+// of buf.Out for an outer relay header. The inner header + ciphertext lands at
+// offset header.Len so a follow-up SealRelayInPlace can stamp the outer header
+// without copying. Use this when the caller may need to wrap the result in a
+// relay envelope after the fact.
+func (b *WireBuffer) SealForRelay(ci *ConnectionState, t header.MessageType, st header.MessageSubType, remoteIndex uint32, p []byte) ([]byte, error) {
+	return b.sealInto(b.Out[header.Len:cap(b.Out)], ci, t, st, remoteIndex, p)
+}
+
+func (b *WireBuffer) sealInto(out []byte, ci *ConnectionState, t header.MessageType, st header.MessageSubType, remoteIndex uint32, p []byte) ([]byte, error) {
+	if noiseutil.EncryptLockNeeded {
+		ci.writeLock.Lock()
+	}
+	c := ci.messageCounter.Add(1)
+	out = header.Encode(out, header.Version, t, st, remoteIndex, c)
+	out, err := ci.eKey.EncryptDanger(out, out, p, c, b.NB)
+	if noiseutil.EncryptLockNeeded {
+		ci.writeLock.Unlock()
+	}
+	return out, err
+}
+
+// SealRelayInPlace wraps an inner message that is already staged at
+// buf.Out[header.Len:header.Len+innerLen] (either from a SealForRelay encrypt
+// or from a copy via the SendVia entry point). It stamps the outer relay
+// header into buf.Out[:header.Len] and AAD-only seals over the entire region,
+// producing the wire bytes for the relay tunnel.
+//
+// Returns the wire bytes aliased to buf.Out; invalidated by the next Seal*
+// call on this buffer.
+func (b *WireBuffer) SealRelayInPlace(ci *ConnectionState, remoteIndex uint32, innerLen int) ([]byte, error) {
+	if noiseutil.EncryptLockNeeded {
+		ci.writeLock.Lock()
+	}
+	c := ci.messageCounter.Add(1)
+	out := b.Out[:cap(b.Out)]
+	out = header.Encode(out, header.Version, header.Message, header.MessageRelay, remoteIndex, c)
+	out = out[:header.Len+innerLen]
+	out, err := ci.eKey.EncryptDanger(out, out, nil, c, b.NB)
+	if noiseutil.EncryptLockNeeded {
+		ci.writeLock.Unlock()
+	}
+	return out, err
+}
+
+// StageRelayInner copies ad into the inner-payload slot at buf.Out[header.Len:]
+// so SealRelayInPlace can wrap it on the next call. Used by SendVia when ad
+// did not come from a prior SealForRelay (e.g. a handshake message being
+// forwarded through a relay tunnel without our own encryption).
+func (b *WireBuffer) StageRelayInner(ad []byte) int {
+	return copy(b.Out[header.Len:cap(b.Out)], ad)
+}
+
+// ReadIPFromTUN reads one IP packet from r into the payload region and
+// updates bodyN. On BSDs the kernel writes its 4-byte protocol-family
+// marker into the slack at raw[0:prefixLen] and the IP packet at
+// raw[prefixLen:prefixLen+n]; we hand it the slack-prefixed slice so
+// the kernel can do this in one syscall with no copy. On linux/windows/
+// userspace devices prefixLen is 0 and the slack is empty.
+func (b *WireBuffer) ReadIPFromTUN(r io.Reader) (int, error) {
+	n, err := r.Read(b.raw[:b.prefixLen+cap(b.ip)])
+	if err != nil {
+		b.bodyN = 0
+		return 0, err
+	}
+	if n < b.prefixLen {
+		b.bodyN = 0
+		return 0, nil
+	}
+	b.bodyN = n - b.prefixLen
+	return b.bodyN, nil
+}
+
+// WriteIPToTUN writes the IP packet currently in the payload region to w.
+// On BSDs we stamp the protocol-family marker into the slack at
+// raw[0:prefixLen] in place and write the entire slack+IP region in a
+// single syscall, so the kernel sees [marker][ip] back to back without a
+// userspace copy. On linux/windows/userspace devices the slack is empty
+// and we just write the IP region.
+func (b *WireBuffer) WriteIPToTUN(w io.Writer) (int, error) {
+	out := b.raw[:b.prefixLen+b.bodyN]
+	if b.prefixLen > 0 {
+		if err := overlay.StampTunPrefix(out); err != nil {
+			return 0, err
+		}
+	}
+	return w.Write(out)
+}
+
+// DecryptDatagram decrypts an inbound UDP packet into the payload region.
+func (b *WireBuffer) DecryptDatagram(ci *ConnectionState, packet []byte, mc uint64) error {
+	dst, err := ci.dKey.DecryptDanger(b.ip[:0], packet[:header.Len], packet[header.Len:], mc, b.NB)
+	if err != nil {
+		b.bodyN = 0
+		return err
+	}
+	b.bodyN = len(dst)
+	return nil
+}
+
+// DecryptForHandler decrypts an inbound UDP packet (lighthouse, test,
+// control, close-tunnel) into the payload region and returns the plaintext
+// slice for the in-process handler. Returned slice aliases the buffer.
+func (b *WireBuffer) DecryptForHandler(ci *ConnectionState, packet []byte, mc uint64) ([]byte, error) {
+	dst, err := ci.dKey.DecryptDanger(b.ip[:0], packet[:header.Len], packet[header.Len:], mc, b.NB)
+	if err != nil {
+		b.bodyN = 0
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	b.bodyN = len(dst)
+	return dst, nil
+}
+
+// WireBufferAllocator hands out reusable WireBuffers for cold callers that
+// don't own a long-lived per-goroutine buffer (control plane, relay manager,
+// connection manager teardown, etc.). Hot-path goroutines hold their own
+// buffer for the life of the goroutine and don't need to acquire one.
+type WireBufferAllocator interface {
+	Acquire() *WireBuffer
+	Release(*WireBuffer)
+}
+
+// wireBufferPool is a sync.Pool-backed WireBufferAllocator. The pool is
+// keyed off a single linkMTU and prefixLen; cold callers send across the
+// data-plane mtu and target the same Device, so we size the pool's
+// buffers the same way.
+type wireBufferPool struct {
+	pool sync.Pool
+}
+
+func NewWireBufferPool(linkMTU, prefixLen int) *wireBufferPool {
+	return &wireBufferPool{
+		pool: sync.Pool{
+			New: func() any {
+				return NewWireBuffer(linkMTU, prefixLen)
+			},
+		},
+	}
+}
+
+func (p *wireBufferPool) Acquire() *WireBuffer {
+	return p.pool.Get().(*WireBuffer)
+}
+
+func (p *wireBufferPool) Release(b *WireBuffer) {
+	b.Reset()
+	p.pool.Put(b)
+}