batched tun interface

handshake_manager.go

@@ -974,6 +974,7 @@ func (hm *HandshakeManager) continueHandshake(via ViaSender, hh *HandshakeHostIn
 		nb := make([]byte, 12, 12)
 		out := make([]byte, mtu)
 		for _, cp := range hh.packetStore {
+			//todo use a sendbatcher
 			cp.callback(cp.messageType, cp.messageSubType, hostinfo, cp.packet, nb, out)
 		}
 		f.cachedPacketMetrics.sent.Inc(int64(len(hh.packetStore)))

inside.go

@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ package nebula
 
 import (
 	"context"
+	"io"
 	"log/slog"
 	"net/netip"
 
@@ -9,10 +10,16 @@ import (
 	"github.com/slackhq/nebula/header"
 	"github.com/slackhq/nebula/iputil"
 	"github.com/slackhq/nebula/noiseutil"
+	"github.com/slackhq/nebula/overlay/batch"
+	"github.com/slackhq/nebula/overlay/tio"
 	"github.com/slackhq/nebula/routing"
 )
 
-func (f *Interface) consumeInsidePacket(packet []byte, fwPacket *firewall.Packet, nb, out []byte, q int, localCache firewall.ConntrackCache) {
+func (f *Interface) consumeInsidePacket(pkt tio.Packet, fwPacket *firewall.Packet, nb []byte, sendBatch batch.TxBatcher, rejectBuf []byte, q int, localCache firewall.ConntrackCache) {
+	// borrowed: pkt.Bytes is owned by the originating tio.Queue and is
+	// only valid until the next Read on that queue. If you must keep
+	// the packet, use pkt.Clone() to detach it
+	packet := pkt.Bytes
 	err := newPacket(packet, false, fwPacket)
 	if err != nil {
 		if f.l.Enabled(context.Background(), slog.LevelDebug) {
@@ -37,7 +44,10 @@ func (f *Interface) consumeInsidePacket(packet []byte, fwPacket *firewall.Packet
 		// routes packets from the Nebula addr to the Nebula addr through the Nebula
 		// TUN device.
 		if immediatelyForwardToSelf {
-			_, err := f.readers[q].Write(packet)
+			err := tio.SegmentSuperpacket(pkt, func(seg []byte) error {
+				_, werr := f.readers[q].Write(seg)
+				return werr
+			})
 			if err != nil {
 				f.l.Error("Failed to forward to tun", "error", err)
 			}
@@ -53,11 +63,23 @@ func (f *Interface) consumeInsidePacket(packet []byte, fwPacket *firewall.Packet
 	}
 
 	hostinfo, ready := f.getOrHandshakeConsiderRouting(fwPacket, func(hh *HandshakeHostInfo) {
-		hh.cachePacket(f.l, header.Message, 0, packet, f.sendMessageNow, f.cachedPacketMetrics)
+		// borrowed: SegmentSuperpacket builds each segment in the kernel-supplied pkt
+		// bytes underneath. cachePacket explicitly copies its argument (handshake_manager.go cachePacket),
+		// so retaining segments past the loop is safe.
+		err := tio.SegmentSuperpacket(pkt, func(seg []byte) error {
+			hh.cachePacket(f.l, header.Message, 0, seg, f.sendMessageNow, f.cachedPacketMetrics)
+			return nil
+		})
+		if err != nil && f.l.Enabled(context.Background(), slog.LevelDebug) {
+			f.l.Debug("Failed to segment superpacket for handshake cache",
+				"error", err,
+				"vpnAddr", fwPacket.RemoteAddr,
+			)
+		}
 	})
 
 	if hostinfo == nil {
-		f.rejectInside(packet, out, q)
+		f.rejectInside(packet, rejectBuf, 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,
@@ -73,10 +95,9 @@ func (f *Interface) consumeInsidePacket(packet []byte, fwPacket *firewall.Packet
 
 	dropReason := f.firewall.Drop(*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.sendInsideMessage(hostinfo, pkt, nb, sendBatch)
 	} else {
-		f.rejectInside(packet, out, q)
+		f.rejectInside(packet, rejectBuf, q)
 		if f.l.Enabled(context.Background(), slog.LevelDebug) {
 			hostinfo.logger(f.l).Debug("dropping outbound packet",
 				"fwPacket", fwPacket,
@@ -86,6 +107,124 @@ func (f *Interface) consumeInsidePacket(packet []byte, fwPacket *firewall.Packet
 	}
 }
 
+func (f *Interface) sendInsideEncrypt(hostinfo *HostInfo, ci *ConnectionState, seg, scratch, nb []byte) []byte {
+	if noiseutil.EncryptLockNeeded {
+		ci.writeLock.Lock()
+	}
+	c := ci.messageCounter.Add(1)
+
+	out := header.Encode(scratch, header.Version, header.Message, 0, hostinfo.remoteIndexId, c)
+	f.connectionManager.Out(hostinfo)
+
+	out, encErr := ci.eKey.EncryptDanger(out, out, seg, c, nb)
+	if noiseutil.EncryptLockNeeded {
+		ci.writeLock.Unlock()
+	}
+	if encErr != nil {
+		hostinfo.logger(f.l).Error("Failed to encrypt outgoing packet",
+			"error", encErr,
+			"udpAddr", hostinfo.remote,
+			"counter", c,
+		)
+		// Skip this segment; the rest of the superpacket can still
+		// go out — TCP will retransmit anything we drop here.
+		return nil
+	}
+
+	return out
+}
+
+// sendInsideMessage encrypts a firewall-approved inside packet (or every
+// segment of a TSO/USO superpacket) into the caller's batch slot for
+// later sendmmsg flush. Segmentation is fused with encryption here so the
+// kernel-supplied superpacket bytes never get written into a separate
+// scratch arena: SegmentSuperpacket builds each segment's plaintext in
+// segScratch[:segLen] in turn, and we encrypt directly into a fresh
+// SendBatch slot.
+func (f *Interface) sendInsideMessage(hostinfo *HostInfo, pkt tio.Packet, nb []byte, sendBatch batch.TxBatcher) {
+	ci := hostinfo.ConnectionState
+	if ci.eKey == nil {
+		return
+	}
+
+	if hostinfo.lastRebindCount != f.rebindCount {
+		//NOTE: there is an update hole if a tunnel isn't used and exactly 256 rebinds occur before the tunnel is
+		// finally used again. This tunnel would eventually be torn down and recreated if this action didn't help.
+		f.lightHouse.QueryServer(hostinfo.vpnAddrs[0])
+		hostinfo.lastRebindCount = f.rebindCount
+		if f.l.Enabled(context.Background(), slog.LevelDebug) {
+			hostinfo.logger(f.l).Debug("Lighthouse update triggered for punch due to rebind counter",
+				"vpnAddrs", hostinfo.vpnAddrs,
+			)
+		}
+	}
+
+	if !hostinfo.remote.IsValid() { //the relay path
+		//first, find our relay hostinfo:
+		var relayHostInfo *HostInfo
+		var relay *Relay
+		var err error
+		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,
+				)
+				continue
+			}
+			break
+		}
+		if relayHostInfo == nil || relay == nil {
+			//failure already logged
+			return
+		}
+
+		err = tio.SegmentSuperpacket(pkt, func(seg []byte) error {
+			//relay header + header + plaintext + AEAD tag (16 bytes for both AES-GCM and ChaCha20-Poly1305) + relay tag
+			scratch := sendBatch.Reserve(header.Len + header.Len + len(seg) + 16 + 16)
+
+			innerPacket := f.sendInsideEncrypt(hostinfo, ci, seg, scratch[header.Len:], nb)
+			if innerPacket == nil {
+				return nil
+			}
+
+			//now we need to do a relay-encrypt:
+			toSend, err := f.prepareSendVia(relayHostInfo, relay, innerPacket, nb, scratch, true)
+			if err != nil {
+				//already logged
+				return nil
+			}
+
+			sendBatch.Commit(toSend, relayHostInfo.remote, 0)
+			return nil
+		})
+		if err != nil {
+			hostinfo.logger(f.l).Error("Failed to segment superpacket for relay send", "error", err)
+		}
+		return
+	}
+
+	err := tio.SegmentSuperpacket(pkt, func(seg []byte) error {
+		// header + plaintext + AEAD tag (16 bytes for both AES-GCM and ChaCha20-Poly1305)
+		scratch := sendBatch.Reserve(header.Len + len(seg) + 16)
+
+		out := f.sendInsideEncrypt(hostinfo, ci, seg, scratch, nb)
+		if out == nil {
+			return nil
+		}
+
+		sendBatch.Commit(out, hostinfo.remote, 0)
+		return nil
+	})
+	if err != nil {
+		hostinfo.logger(f.l).Error("Failed to segment superpacket for send",
+			"error", err,
+		)
+	}
+}
+
 func (f *Interface) rejectInside(packet []byte, out []byte, q int) {
 	if !f.firewall.InSendReject {
 		return
@@ -275,21 +414,13 @@ func (f *Interface) sendTo(t header.MessageType, st header.MessageSubType, ci *C
 	f.sendNoMetrics(t, st, ci, hostinfo, remote, p, nb, out, 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,
+func (f *Interface) prepareSendVia(via *HostInfo,
 	relay *Relay,
 	ad,
 	nb,
 	out []byte,
 	nocopy bool,
-) {
+) ([]byte, error) {
 	if noiseutil.EncryptLockNeeded {
 		// NOTE: for goboring AESGCMTLS we need to lock because of the nonce check
 		via.ConnectionState.writeLock.Lock()
@@ -311,7 +442,7 @@ func (f *Interface) SendVia(via *HostInfo,
 			"headerLen", len(out),
 			"cipherOverhead", via.ConnectionState.eKey.Overhead(),
 		)
-		return
+		return nil, io.ErrShortBuffer
 	}
 
 	// The header bytes are written to the 'out' slice; Grow the slice to hold the header and associated data payload.
@@ -331,13 +462,36 @@ func (f *Interface) SendVia(via *HostInfo,
 	}
 	if err != nil {
 		via.logger(f.l).Info("Failed to EncryptDanger in sendVia", "error", err)
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	f.connectionManager.RelayUsed(relay.LocalIndex)
+	return out, nil
+}
+
+// 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,
+) {
+	toSend, err := f.prepareSendVia(via, relay, ad, nb, out, nocopy)
+	if err != nil {
+		via.logger(f.l).Info("Failed to prepareSendVia", "error", err)
 		return
 	}
-	err = f.writers[0].WriteTo(out, via.remote)
+	err = f.writers[0].WriteTo(toSend, via.remote)
 	if 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) {

interface.go

@@ -12,13 +12,14 @@ import (
 
 	"github.com/gaissmai/bart"
 	"github.com/rcrowley/go-metrics"
-	"github.com/slackhq/nebula/overlay/tio"
 	"github.com/slackhq/nebula/wire"
 
 	"github.com/slackhq/nebula/config"
 	"github.com/slackhq/nebula/firewall"
 	"github.com/slackhq/nebula/header"
 	"github.com/slackhq/nebula/overlay"
+	"github.com/slackhq/nebula/overlay/batch"
+	"github.com/slackhq/nebula/overlay/tio"
 	"github.com/slackhq/nebula/udp"
 )
 
@@ -90,7 +91,11 @@ type Interface struct {
 	ctx     context.Context
 	writers []udp.Conn
 	readers []tio.Queue
-	wg      sync.WaitGroup
+	// batchers is one per tun queue, wrapping readers[i].
+	// decryptToTun sends plaintext into the batch.RxBatcher;
+	// listenOut calls its Flush at the end of each UDP recvmmsg batch.
+	batchers []batch.RxBatcher
+	wg       sync.WaitGroup
 
 	// fatalErr holds the first unexpected reader error that caused shutdown.
 	// nil means "no fatal error" (yet)
@@ -189,6 +194,7 @@ func NewInterface(ctx context.Context, c *InterfaceConfig) (*Interface, error) {
 		version:               c.version,
 		writers:               make([]udp.Conn, c.routines),
 		readers:               make([]tio.Queue, c.routines),
+		batchers:              make([]batch.RxBatcher, c.routines),
 		myVpnNetworks:         cs.myVpnNetworks,
 		myVpnNetworksTable:    cs.myVpnNetworksTable,
 		myVpnAddrs:            cs.myVpnAddrs,
@@ -254,6 +260,10 @@ func (f *Interface) activate() error {
 		}
 	}
 	f.readers = f.inside.Readers()
+	for i := range f.readers {
+		arena := batch.NewArena(batch.DefaultPassthroughArenaCap)
+		f.batchers[i] = batch.NewPassthrough(f.readers[i], arena)
+	}
 
 	f.wg.Add(1) // for us to wait on Close() to return
 	if err = f.inside.Activate(); err != nil {
@@ -310,14 +320,22 @@ 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)
 
-	err := li.ListenOut(func(fromUdpAddr netip.AddrPort, payload []byte) {
-		f.readOutsidePackets(ViaSender{UdpAddr: fromUdpAddr}, plaintext[:0], payload, h, fwPacket, lhh, nb, i, ctCache.Get())
-	})
+	listener := func(fromUdpAddr netip.AddrPort, payload []byte, meta udp.RxMeta) {
+		plaintext := f.batchers[i].Reserve(len(payload))
+		f.readOutsidePackets(ViaSender{UdpAddr: fromUdpAddr}, plaintext[:0], payload, h, fwPacket, lhh, nb, i, ctCache.Get(), meta)
+	}
+
+	flusher := func() {
+		if err := f.batchers[i].Flush(); err != nil {
+			f.l.Error("Failed to flush tun coalescer", "error", err)
+		}
+	}
+
+	err := li.ListenOut(listener, flusher)
 
 	if err != nil && !f.closed.Load() {
 		f.l.Error("Error while reading inbound packet, closing", "error", err)
@@ -332,6 +350,9 @@ func (f *Interface) listenIn(reader tio.Queue, q int) {
 	// TODO get the amount of bonus info from the reader
 	packets := make([]wire.TunPacket, 1)
 	out := make([]byte, mtu)
+	rejectBuf := make([]byte, mtu)
+	arenaSize := batch.SendBatchCap * (udp.MTU + 32)
+	sb := batch.NewSendBatch(f.writers[q], batch.SendBatchCap, batch.NewArena(arenaSize))
 	fwPacket := &firewall.Packet{}
 	nb := make([]byte, 12, 12)
 
@@ -346,9 +367,13 @@ func (f *Interface) listenIn(reader tio.Queue, q int) {
 			}
 			break
 		}
+
 		ctCache := conntrackCache.Get()
-		for i := range n {
-			f.consumeInsidePacket(packets[i].Bytes, fwPacket, nb, out, q, ctCache)
+		for i := range n{
+			f.consumeInsidePacket(packets[i], fwPacket, nb, sb, rejectBuf, q, ctCache)
+		}
+		if err := sb.Flush(); err != nil {
+			f.l.Error("Failed to write outgoing batch", "error", err, "writer", q)
 		}
 	}
 

outside.go

@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ import (
 
 	"github.com/slackhq/nebula/firewall"
 	"github.com/slackhq/nebula/header"
+	"github.com/slackhq/nebula/udp"
 	"golang.org/x/net/ipv4"
 )
 
@@ -22,7 +23,7 @@ const (
 
 var ErrOutOfWindow = errors.New("out of window packet")
 
-func (f *Interface) readOutsidePackets(via ViaSender, out []byte, packet []byte, h *header.H, fwPacket *firewall.Packet, lhf *LightHouseHandler, nb []byte, q int, localCache firewall.ConntrackCache) {
+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, meta udp.RxMeta) {
 	err := h.Parse(packet)
 	if err != nil {
 		// Hole punch packets are 0 or 1 byte big, so lets ignore printing those errors
@@ -110,8 +111,7 @@ func (f *Interface) readOutsidePackets(via ViaSender, out []byte, packet []byte,
 
 	// Relay packets are special
 	if isMessageRelay {
-		f.handleOutsideRelayPacket(hostinfo, via, out, packet, h, fwPacket, lhf, nb, q, localCache)
-
+		f.handleOutsideRelayPacket(hostinfo, via, out, packet, h, fwPacket, lhf, nb, q, localCache, meta)
 		return
 	}
 
@@ -135,7 +135,7 @@ func (f *Interface) readOutsidePackets(via ViaSender, out []byte, packet []byte,
 	case header.Message:
 		switch h.Subtype {
 		case header.MessageNone:
-			f.handleOutsideMessagePacket(hostinfo, out, packet, fwPacket, nb, q, localCache)
+			f.handleOutsideMessagePacket(hostinfo, out, packet, fwPacket, nb, q, localCache, meta)
 		default:
 			hostinfo.logger(f.l).Error("IsValidSubType was true, but unexpected message subtype seen", "from", via, "header", h)
 			return
@@ -168,7 +168,7 @@ func (f *Interface) readOutsidePackets(via ViaSender, out []byte, packet []byte,
 	}
 }
 
-func (f *Interface) handleOutsideRelayPacket(hostinfo *HostInfo, via ViaSender, out []byte, packet []byte, h *header.H, fwPacket *firewall.Packet, lhf *LightHouseHandler, nb []byte, q int, localCache firewall.ConntrackCache) {
+func (f *Interface) handleOutsideRelayPacket(hostinfo *HostInfo, via ViaSender, out []byte, packet []byte, h *header.H, fwPacket *firewall.Packet, lhf *LightHouseHandler, nb []byte, q int, localCache firewall.ConntrackCache, meta udp.RxMeta) {
 	// The entire body is sent as AD, not encrypted.
 	// The packet consists of a 16-byte parsed Nebula header, Associated Data-protected payload, and a trailing 16-byte AEAD signature value.
 	// The packet is guaranteed to be at least 16 bytes at this point, b/c it got past the h.Parse() call above. If it's
@@ -211,7 +211,7 @@ func (f *Interface) handleOutsideRelayPacket(hostinfo *HostInfo, via ViaSender,
 			relay:     relay,
 			IsRelayed: true,
 		}
-		f.readOutsidePackets(via, out[:0], signedPayload, h, fwPacket, lhf, nb, q, localCache)
+		f.readOutsidePackets(via, out[:0], signedPayload, h, fwPacket, lhf, nb, q, localCache, meta)
 	case ForwardingType:
 		// Find the target HostInfo relay object
 		targetHI, targetRelay, err := f.hostMap.QueryVpnAddrsRelayFor(hostinfo.vpnAddrs, relay.PeerAddr)
@@ -229,7 +229,7 @@ func (f *Interface) handleOutsideRelayPacket(hostinfo *HostInfo, via ViaSender,
 			switch targetRelay.Type {
 			case ForwardingType:
 				// Forward this packet through the relay tunnel
-				// Find the target HostInfo
+				// Find the target HostInfo //todo it would potentially be nice to batch these
 				f.SendVia(targetHI, targetRelay, signedPayload, nb, out, false)
 			case TerminalType:
 				hostinfo.logger(f.l).Error("Unexpected Relay Type of Terminal")
@@ -512,7 +512,7 @@ func (f *Interface) decrypt(hostinfo *HostInfo, mc uint64, out []byte, packet []
 	return out, nil
 }
 
-func (f *Interface) handleOutsideMessagePacket(hostinfo *HostInfo, out []byte, packet []byte, fwPacket *firewall.Packet, nb []byte, q int, localCache firewall.ConntrackCache) {
+func (f *Interface) handleOutsideMessagePacket(hostinfo *HostInfo, out []byte, packet []byte, fwPacket *firewall.Packet, nb []byte, q int, localCache firewall.ConntrackCache, meta udp.RxMeta) {
 	err := newPacket(out, true, fwPacket)
 	if err != nil {
 		hostinfo.logger(f.l).Warn("Error while validating inbound packet",
@@ -536,7 +536,7 @@ func (f *Interface) handleOutsideMessagePacket(hostinfo *HostInfo, out []byte, p
 		return
 	}
 
-	_, err = f.readers[q].Write(out)
+	err = f.batchers[q].Commit(out)
 	if err != nil {
 		f.l.Error("Failed to write to tun", "error", err)
 	}

overlay/batch/batch.go

@@ -0,0 +1,28 @@
+package batch
+
+import "net/netip"
+
+type RxBatcher interface {
+	// Reserve creates a pkt to borrow
+	Reserve(sz int) []byte
+	// Commit borrows pkt. The caller must keep pkt valid until the next Flush
+	Commit(pkt []byte) error
+	// Flush emits every queued packet in arrival order. Returns the
+	// first error observed; keeps draining so one bad packet doesn't hold up
+	// the rest. After Flush returns, borrowed payload slices may be recycled.
+	Flush() error
+}
+
+type TxBatcher interface {
+	// Reserve creates a pkt to borrow
+	Reserve(sz int) []byte
+	// Commit borrows pkt and records its destination plus the 2-bit
+	// IP-level ECN codepoint to set on the outer (carrier) header. The
+	// caller must keep pkt valid until the next Flush. Pass 0 (Not-ECT)
+	// to leave the outer ECN field unset.
+	Commit(pkt []byte, dst netip.AddrPort, outerECN byte)
+	// Flush emits every queued packet via the underlying batch writer in
+	// arrival order. Returns an errors.Join of one or more errors. After Flush returns,
+	// borrowed payload slices may be recycled.
+	Flush() error
+}

overlay/batch/coalesce_core.go

@@ -0,0 +1,42 @@
+package batch
+
+// Arena is an injectable byte-slab that hands out non-overlapping borrowed
+// slices via Reserve and releases them in bulk via Reset. Coalescers take
+// an *Arena at construction so the caller controls the slab lifetime and
+// can share one slab across multiple coalescers (MultiCoalescer hands the
+// same *Arena to every lane so the lanes don't carry their own backings).
+//
+// Reserve borrows; the slice is valid until the next Reset. The slab grows
+// (by allocating a fresh, larger backing array) if a Reserve doesn't fit;
+// pre-size the arena via NewArena to avoid that path on the hot path.
+type Arena struct {
+	buf []byte
+}
+
+// NewArena returns an Arena with a pre-allocated backing of the given
+// capacity. Pass 0 if you don't intend to call Reserve (e.g. a test that
+// only feeds the coalescer pre-made []byte packets via Commit).
+func NewArena(capacity int) *Arena {
+	return &Arena{buf: make([]byte, 0, capacity)}
+}
+
+// Reserve hands out a non-overlapping sz-byte slice from the arena. If the
+// request doesn't fit the current backing, a fresh, larger backing is
+// allocated; already-borrowed slices reference the old backing and remain
+// valid until Reset.
+func (a *Arena) Reserve(sz int) []byte {
+	if len(a.buf)+sz > cap(a.buf) {
+		newCap := max(cap(a.buf)*2, sz)
+		a.buf = make([]byte, 0, newCap)
+	}
+	start := len(a.buf)
+	a.buf = a.buf[:start+sz]
+	return a.buf[start : start+sz : start+sz]
+}
+
+// Reset releases every slice handed out since the last Reset. Callers must
+// not use any previously-borrowed slice after this returns. The underlying
+// backing array is retained so subsequent Reserves don't re-allocate.
+func (a *Arena) Reset() {
+	a.buf = a.buf[:0]
+}

overlay/batch/passthrough.go

@@ -0,0 +1,52 @@
+package batch
+
+import (
+	"io"
+
+	"github.com/slackhq/nebula/udp"
+)
+
+// Passthrough is a RxBatcher that doesn't batch anything, it just accumulates and then sends packets.
+type Passthrough struct {
+	out    io.Writer
+	slots  [][]byte
+	arena  *Arena
+	cursor int
+}
+
+const passthroughBaseNumSlots = 128
+
+// DefaultPassthroughArenaCap is the recommended arena capacity for a
+// standalone Passthrough batcher: 128 slots × udp.MTU ≈ 1.1 MiB.
+const DefaultPassthroughArenaCap = passthroughBaseNumSlots * udp.MTU
+
+func NewPassthrough(w io.Writer, arena *Arena) *Passthrough {
+	return &Passthrough{
+		out:   w,
+		slots: make([][]byte, 0, passthroughBaseNumSlots),
+		arena: arena,
+	}
+}
+
+func (p *Passthrough) Reserve(sz int) []byte {
+	return p.arena.Reserve(sz)
+}
+
+func (p *Passthrough) Commit(pkt []byte) error {
+	p.slots = append(p.slots, pkt)
+	return nil
+}
+
+func (p *Passthrough) Flush() error {
+	var firstErr error
+	for _, s := range p.slots {
+		_, err := p.out.Write(s)
+		if err != nil && firstErr == nil {
+			firstErr = err
+		}
+	}
+	clear(p.slots)
+	p.slots = p.slots[:0]
+	p.arena.Reset()
+	return firstErr
+}

overlay/batch/tx_batch.go

@@ -0,0 +1,65 @@
+package batch
+
+import (
+	"net/netip"
+
+	"github.com/slackhq/nebula/udp"
+)
+
+const SendBatchCap = 128
+
+// DefaultSendBatchArenaCap is the recommended arena capacity for a
+// standalone SendBatch: 128 slots × (udp.MTU + 32) ≈ 1.1 MiB. The +32 covers
+// the nebula header + AEAD tag tacked onto each plaintext segment.
+const DefaultSendBatchArenaCap = SendBatchCap * (udp.MTU + 32)
+
+// batchWriter is the minimal subset of udp.Conn needed by SendBatch to flush.
+type batchWriter interface {
+	WriteBatch(bufs [][]byte, addrs []netip.AddrPort, outerECNs []byte) error
+}
+
+// SendBatch accumulates encrypted UDP packets and flushes them via WriteBatch.
+// One SendBatch is owned by each listenIn goroutine; no locking is needed.
+// Slot bytes are borrowed from the injected Arena and remain valid until
+// Flush, which Resets the arena.
+type SendBatch struct {
+	out   batchWriter
+	bufs  [][]byte
+	dsts  []netip.AddrPort
+	ecns  []byte
+	arena *Arena
+}
+
+// NewSendBatch makes a SendBatch with batchCap slots backed by arena.
+func NewSendBatch(out batchWriter, batchCap int, arena *Arena) *SendBatch {
+	return &SendBatch{
+		out:   out,
+		bufs:  make([][]byte, 0, batchCap),
+		dsts:  make([]netip.AddrPort, 0, batchCap),
+		ecns:  make([]byte, 0, batchCap),
+		arena: arena,
+	}
+}
+
+func (b *SendBatch) Reserve(sz int) []byte {
+	return b.arena.Reserve(sz)
+}
+
+func (b *SendBatch) Commit(pkt []byte, dst netip.AddrPort, outerECN byte) {
+	b.bufs = append(b.bufs, pkt)
+	b.dsts = append(b.dsts, dst)
+	b.ecns = append(b.ecns, outerECN)
+}
+
+func (b *SendBatch) Flush() error {
+	var err error
+	if len(b.bufs) > 0 {
+		err = b.out.WriteBatch(b.bufs, b.dsts, b.ecns)
+	}
+	clear(b.bufs)
+	b.bufs = b.bufs[:0]
+	b.dsts = b.dsts[:0]
+	b.ecns = b.ecns[:0]
+	b.arena.Reset()
+	return err
+}

overlay/batch/tx_batch_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,124 @@
+package batch
+
+import (
+	"net/netip"
+	"testing"
+)
+
+type fakeBatchWriter struct {
+	bufs  [][]byte
+	addrs []netip.AddrPort
+	ecns  []byte
+}
+
+func (w *fakeBatchWriter) WriteBatch(bufs [][]byte, addrs []netip.AddrPort, ecns []byte) error {
+	// Snapshot — SendBatch.Flush nils its slot pointers right after WriteBatch
+	// returns, so tests must capture data before that happens.
+	w.bufs = make([][]byte, len(bufs))
+	for i, b := range bufs {
+		cp := make([]byte, len(b))
+		copy(cp, b)
+		w.bufs[i] = cp
+	}
+	w.addrs = append(w.addrs[:0], addrs...)
+	w.ecns = append(w.ecns[:0], ecns...)
+	return nil
+}
+
+func TestSendBatchReserveCommitFlush(t *testing.T) {
+	fw := &fakeBatchWriter{}
+	b := NewSendBatch(fw, 4, NewArena(32))
+
+	ap := netip.MustParseAddrPort("10.0.0.1:4242")
+	for i := 0; i < 4; i++ {
+		slot := b.Reserve(32)
+		if cap(slot) != 32 {
+			t.Fatalf("slot %d: cap=%d want 32", i, cap(slot))
+		}
+		pkt := append(slot[:0], byte(i), byte(i+1), byte(i+2))
+		b.Commit(pkt, ap, 0)
+	}
+	if err := b.Flush(); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("Flush: %v", err)
+	}
+	if len(fw.bufs) != 4 {
+		t.Fatalf("WriteBatch got %d bufs want 4", len(fw.bufs))
+	}
+	for i, buf := range fw.bufs {
+		if len(buf) != 3 || buf[0] != byte(i) {
+			t.Errorf("buf %d: %x", i, buf)
+		}
+		if fw.addrs[i] != ap {
+			t.Errorf("addr %d: got %v want %v", i, fw.addrs[i], ap)
+		}
+	}
+
+	// Flush again with nothing committed — should be a no-op.
+	fw.bufs = nil
+	if err := b.Flush(); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("empty Flush: %v", err)
+	}
+	if fw.bufs != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("empty Flush triggered WriteBatch")
+	}
+
+	// Reuse after Flush.
+	slot := b.Reserve(32)
+	if cap(slot) != 32 {
+		t.Fatalf("after Flush Reserve wrong cap: %d", cap(slot))
+	}
+}
+
+func TestSendBatchSlotsDoNotOverlap(t *testing.T) {
+	fw := &fakeBatchWriter{}
+	b := NewSendBatch(fw, 3, NewArena(8))
+	ap := netip.MustParseAddrPort("10.0.0.1:80")
+
+	for i := 0; i < 3; i++ {
+		s := b.Reserve(8)
+		pkt := append(s[:0], byte(0xA0+i), byte(0xB0+i))
+		b.Commit(pkt, ap, 0)
+	}
+	if err := b.Flush(); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("Flush: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	for i, buf := range fw.bufs {
+		if buf[0] != byte(0xA0+i) || buf[1] != byte(0xB0+i) {
+			t.Errorf("slot %d corrupted: %x", i, buf)
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+func TestSendBatchGrowPreservesCommitted(t *testing.T) {
+	fw := &fakeBatchWriter{}
+	// Tiny initial backing forces a grow on the second Reserve.
+	b := NewSendBatch(fw, 1, NewArena(4))
+	ap := netip.MustParseAddrPort("10.0.0.1:80")
+
+	s1 := b.Reserve(4)
+	pkt1 := append(s1[:0], 0x11, 0x22, 0x33, 0x44)
+	b.Commit(pkt1, ap, 0)
+
+	s2 := b.Reserve(8) // exceeds remaining cap, triggers grow
+	pkt2 := append(s2[:0], 0xA, 0xB, 0xC, 0xD, 0xE)
+	b.Commit(pkt2, ap, 0)
+
+	// pkt1 must still be intact even though backing reallocated.
+	if pkt1[0] != 0x11 || pkt1[3] != 0x44 {
+		t.Fatalf("first packet corrupted by grow: %x", pkt1)
+	}
+
+	if err := b.Flush(); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("Flush: %v", err)
+	}
+	if len(fw.bufs) != 2 {
+		t.Fatalf("got %d bufs want 2", len(fw.bufs))
+	}
+	if fw.bufs[0][0] != 0x11 || fw.bufs[0][3] != 0x44 {
+		t.Errorf("first packet on the wire: %x", fw.bufs[0])
+	}
+	if fw.bufs[1][0] != 0xA || fw.bufs[1][4] != 0xE {
+		t.Errorf("second packet on the wire: %x", fw.bufs[1])
+	}
+}

overlay/device.go

@@ -8,6 +8,10 @@ import (
 	"github.com/slackhq/nebula/routing"
 )
 
+// defaultBatchBufSize is the per-Queue scratch size for Read on backends
+// that don't do TSO segmentation. 65535 covers any single IP packet.
+const defaultBatchBufSize = 65535
+
 type Device interface {
 	io.Closer
 	Activate() error

overlay/tio/segment.go

@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+package tio
+
+import "fmt"
+
+// SegmentSuperpacket invokes fn once per segment of pkt.
+// This is a stub implementation that does not actually support segmentation
+func SegmentSuperpacket(pkt Packet, fn func(seg []byte) error) error {
+	if pkt.GSO.IsSuperpacket() {
+		return fmt.Errorf("tio: GSO superpacket on platform without segmentation support")
+	}
+	return fn(pkt.Bytes)
+}

overlay/tio/tio.go

@@ -18,7 +18,12 @@ type QueueSet interface {
 // Capabilities advertises which kernel offload features a Queue successfully negotiated.
 // Callers consult this to decide which coalescers to wire onto the write path.
 type Capabilities struct {
-	//none yet!
+	// TSO means the FD was opened with IFF_VNET_HDR and the kernel agreed
+	// to TUN_F_TSO4|TSO6 — i.e. WriteGSO with GSOProtoTCP is safe.
+	TSO bool
+	// USO means the kernel additionally agreed to TUN_F_USO4|USO6, so
+	// WriteGSO with GSOProtoUDP is safe. Linux ≥ 6.2.
+	USO bool
 }
 
 // Queue is a readable/writable Poll queue. One Queue is driven by a single
@@ -40,3 +45,78 @@ type Queue interface {
 	// or the zero value when q does not advertise any.
 	Capabilities() Capabilities
 }
+
+// GSOInfo describes a kernel-supplied superpacket sitting in Packet.Bytes.
+// The zero value means "not a superpacket" — Bytes is one regular IP
+// datagram and no segmentation is required.
+type GSOInfo struct {
+	// Size is the GSO segment size: max payload bytes per segment
+	// (== TCP MSS for TSO, == UDP payload chunk for USO). Zero means
+	// not a superpacket.
+	Size uint16
+	// HdrLen is the total L3+L4 header length within Bytes (already
+	// corrected via correctHdrLen, so safe to slice on).
+	HdrLen uint16
+	// CsumStart is the L4 header offset inside Bytes (== L3 header
+	// length).
+	CsumStart uint16
+	// Proto picks the L4 protocol (TCP or UDP) so the segmenter knows
+	// which checksum/header layout to apply.
+	Proto GSOProto
+}
+
+// GSOProto selects the L4 protocol for a GSO superpacket. Determines which
+// VIRTIO_NET_HDR_GSO_* type the writer stamps and which checksum offset
+// inside the transport header virtio NEEDS_CSUM expects.
+type GSOProto uint8
+
+const (
+	GSOProtoNone GSOProto = iota
+	GSOProtoTCP
+	GSOProtoUDP
+)
+
+// GSOWriter is implemented by Queues that can emit a TCP or UDP superpacket
+// assembled from a header prefix plus one or more borrowed payload
+// fragments, in a single vectored write (writev with a leading
+// virtio_net_hdr). This lets the coalescer avoid copying payload bytes
+// between the caller's decrypt buffer and the TUN. Backends without GSO
+// support do not implement this interface and coalescing is skipped.
+//
+// hdr contains the IPv4/IPv6 header prefix (mutable - callers will have
+// filled in total length and IP csum). transportHdr is the TCP or UDP
+// header (mutable - the L4 checksum field must hold the pseudo-header
+// partial, single-fold not inverted, per virtio NEEDS_CSUM semantics).
+// pays are non-overlapping payload fragments whose concatenation is the
+// full superpacket payload; they are read-only from the writer's
+// perspective and must remain valid until the call returns. Every segment
+// in pays except possibly the last is exactly the same size. proto picks
+// the L4 protocol so the writer knows which GSOType / CsumOffset to set.
+//
+// Callers should also consult CapsProvider (via SupportsGSO or
+// QueueCapabilities) for the per-protocol negotiated capability; an
+// implementation of GSOWriter is necessary but not sufficient since USO
+// may not have been negotiated even when TSO was.
+type GSOWriter interface {
+	WriteGSO(hdr []byte, transportHdr []byte, pays [][]byte, proto GSOProto) error
+}
+
+// SupportsGSO reports whether w implements GSOWriter and the underlying
+// queue advertises the negotiated capability for `want`. A writer that
+// implements GSOWriter but not CapsProvider is treated as permissive
+// (used by tests and fakes that don't negotiate).
+func SupportsGSO(w Queue, want GSOProto) (GSOWriter, bool) {
+	gw, ok := w.(GSOWriter)
+	if !ok {
+		return nil, false
+	}
+	caps := w.Capabilities()
+	switch want {
+	case GSOProtoTCP:
+		return gw, caps.TSO
+	case GSOProtoUDP:
+		return gw, caps.USO
+	default:
+		return gw, false
+	}
+}

udp/conn.go

@@ -8,16 +8,49 @@ import (
 
 const MTU = 9001
 
+// MaxWriteBatch is the largest batch any Conn.WriteBatch implementation is
+// required to accept. Callers SHOULD NOT pass more than this per call; Linux
+// backends preallocate sendmmsg scratch sized to this value, so exceeding it
+// only costs additional sendmmsg chunks within a single WriteBatch call.
+const MaxWriteBatch = 128
+
+// RxMeta carries per-packet metadata extracted from the RX path (ancillary
+// data, kernel offload state, etc.) and passed to EncReader callbacks.
+// Backends that do not produce a particular signal leave its zero value.
+//
+// OuterECN is the 2-bit IP-level ECN codepoint stamped on the carrier
+// datagram (extracted from IP_TOS / IPV6_TCLASS cmsg on Linux). Zero
+// means Not-ECT, which is also the value backends without ECN RX support
+// supply on every packet.
+type RxMeta struct {
+	OuterECN byte
+}
+
 type EncReader func(
 	addr netip.AddrPort,
 	payload []byte,
+	meta RxMeta,
 )
 
 type Conn interface {
 	Rebind() error
 	LocalAddr() (netip.AddrPort, error)
-	ListenOut(r EncReader) error
+	// ListenOut invokes r for each received packet. On batch-capable
+	// backends (recvmmsg), flush is called after each batch is fully
+	// delivered — callers use it to flush per-batch accumulators such as
+	// TUN write coalescers. Single-packet backends call flush after each
+	// packet. flush must not be nil.
+	ListenOut(r EncReader, flush func()) error
 	WriteTo(b []byte, addr netip.AddrPort) error
+	// WriteBatch sends a contiguous batch of packets, each with its own
+	// destination. bufs and addrs must have the same length. outerECNs may
+	// be nil (treated as all-zero / Not-ECT); when non-nil it must have the
+	// same length as bufs, and outerECNs[i] is the 2-bit IP-level ECN
+	// codepoint to set on packet i's outer header. Linux uses sendmmsg(2)
+	// for a single syscall and attaches the value as IP_TOS / IPV6_TCLASS
+	// cmsg; other backends ignore it. Returns on the first error; callers
+	// may observe a partial send if some packets went out before the error.
+	WriteBatch(bufs [][]byte, addrs []netip.AddrPort, outerECNs []byte) error
 	ReloadConfig(c *config.C)
 	SupportsMultipleReaders() bool
 	Close() error
@@ -31,7 +64,7 @@ func (NoopConn) Rebind() error {
 func (NoopConn) LocalAddr() (netip.AddrPort, error) {
 	return netip.AddrPort{}, nil
 }
-func (NoopConn) ListenOut(_ EncReader) error {
+func (NoopConn) ListenOut(_ EncReader, _ func()) error {
 	return nil
 }
 func (NoopConn) SupportsMultipleReaders() bool {
@@ -40,6 +73,9 @@ func (NoopConn) SupportsMultipleReaders() bool {
 func (NoopConn) WriteTo(_ []byte, _ netip.AddrPort) error {
 	return nil
 }
+func (NoopConn) WriteBatch(_ [][]byte, _ []netip.AddrPort, _ []byte) error {
+	return nil
+}
 func (NoopConn) ReloadConfig(_ *config.C) {
 	return
 }

udp/udp_darwin.go

@@ -140,6 +140,15 @@ func (u *StdConn) WriteTo(b []byte, ap netip.AddrPort) error {
 	}
 }
 
+func (u *StdConn) WriteBatch(bufs [][]byte, addrs []netip.AddrPort, _ []byte) error {
+	for i, b := range bufs {
+		if err := u.WriteTo(b, addrs[i]); err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+	}
+	return nil
+}
+
 func (u *StdConn) LocalAddr() (netip.AddrPort, error) {
 	a := u.UDPConn.LocalAddr()
 
@@ -165,7 +174,7 @@ func NewUDPStatsEmitter(udpConns []Conn) func() {
 	return func() {}
 }
 
-func (u *StdConn) ListenOut(r EncReader) error {
+func (u *StdConn) ListenOut(r EncReader, flush func()) error {
 	buffer := make([]byte, MTU)
 
 	for {
@@ -179,7 +188,8 @@ func (u *StdConn) ListenOut(r EncReader) error {
 			u.l.Error("unexpected udp socket receive error", "error", err)
 		}
 
-		r(netip.AddrPortFrom(rua.Addr().Unmap(), rua.Port()), buffer[:n])
+		r(netip.AddrPortFrom(rua.Addr().Unmap(), rua.Port()), buffer[:n], RxMeta{})
+		flush()
 	}
 }
 

udp/udp_generic.go

@@ -44,6 +44,15 @@ func (u *GenericConn) WriteTo(b []byte, addr netip.AddrPort) error {
 	return err
 }
 
+func (u *GenericConn) WriteBatch(bufs [][]byte, addrs []netip.AddrPort, _ []byte) error {
+	for i, b := range bufs {
+		if _, err := u.UDPConn.WriteToUDPAddrPort(b, addrs[i]); err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+	}
+	return nil
+}
+
 func (u *GenericConn) LocalAddr() (netip.AddrPort, error) {
 	a := u.UDPConn.LocalAddr()
 
@@ -73,7 +82,7 @@ type rawMessage struct {
 	Len uint32
 }
 
-func (u *GenericConn) ListenOut(r EncReader) error {
+func (u *GenericConn) ListenOut(r EncReader, flush func()) error {
 	buffer := make([]byte, MTU)
 
 	var lastRecvErr time.Time
@@ -93,7 +102,8 @@ func (u *GenericConn) ListenOut(r EncReader) error {
 			continue
 		}
 
-		r(netip.AddrPortFrom(rua.Addr().Unmap(), rua.Port()), buffer[:n])
+		r(netip.AddrPortFrom(rua.Addr().Unmap(), rua.Port()), buffer[:n], RxMeta{})
+		flush()
 	}
 }
 

udp/udp_linux.go

@@ -24,6 +24,22 @@ type StdConn struct {
 	isV4    bool
 	l       *slog.Logger
 	batch   int
+
+	// sendmmsg scratch. Each queue has its own StdConn, so no locking is
+	// needed. Sized to MaxWriteBatch at construction; WriteBatch chunks
+	// larger inputs.
+	writeMsgs  []rawMessage
+	writeIovs  []iovec
+	writeNames [][]byte
+
+	// sendmmsg(2) callback state. sendmmsgCB is bound once in NewListener
+	// to the sendmmsgRun method value so passing it to rawConn.Write does
+	// not allocate a fresh closure per send; sendmmsgN/Sent/Errno carry
+	// the inputs and outputs across the call without escaping locals.
+	sendmmsgCB    func(fd uintptr) bool
+	sendmmsgN     int
+	sendmmsgSent  int
+	sendmmsgErrno syscall.Errno
 }
 
 func setReusePort(network, address string, c syscall.RawConn) error {
@@ -70,9 +86,23 @@ func NewListener(l *slog.Logger, ip netip.Addr, port int, multi bool, batch int)
 	}
 	out.isV4 = af == unix.AF_INET
 
+	out.prepareWriteMessages(MaxWriteBatch)
+	out.sendmmsgCB = out.sendmmsgRun
+
 	return out, nil
 }
 
+func (u *StdConn) prepareWriteMessages(n int) {
+	u.writeMsgs = make([]rawMessage, n)
+	u.writeIovs = make([]iovec, n)
+	u.writeNames = make([][]byte, n)
+
+	for i := range u.writeMsgs {
+		u.writeNames[i] = make([]byte, unix.SizeofSockaddrInet6)
+		u.writeMsgs[i].Hdr.Name = &u.writeNames[i][0]
+	}
+}
+
 func (u *StdConn) SupportsMultipleReaders() bool {
 	return true
 }
@@ -171,7 +201,7 @@ func recvmmsg(fd uintptr, msgs []rawMessage) (int, bool, error) {
 	return int(n), true, nil
 }
 
-func (u *StdConn) listenOutSingle(r EncReader) error {
+func (u *StdConn) listenOutSingle(r EncReader, flush func()) error {
 	var err error
 	var n int
 	var from netip.AddrPort
@@ -183,16 +213,33 @@ func (u *StdConn) listenOutSingle(r EncReader) error {
 			return err
 		}
 		from = netip.AddrPortFrom(from.Addr().Unmap(), from.Port())
-		r(from, buffer[:n])
+		// listenOutSingle uses ReadFromUDPAddrPort which discards cmsgs,
+		// so the outer ECN field is not visible on this path. Zero RxMeta
+		// (Not-ECT) means RFC 6040 combine is a no-op.
+		r(from, buffer[:n], RxMeta{})
+		flush()
 	}
 }
 
-func (u *StdConn) listenOutBatch(r EncReader) error {
+// readSockaddr decodes the source address out of a recvmmsg name buffer
+func (u *StdConn) readSockaddr(name []byte) netip.AddrPort {
 	var ip netip.Addr
+	// It's ok to skip the ok check here, the slicing is the only error that can occur and it will panic
+	if u.isV4 {
+		ip, _ = netip.AddrFromSlice(name[4:8])
+	} else {
+		ip, _ = netip.AddrFromSlice(name[8:24])
+	}
+	return netip.AddrPortFrom(ip.Unmap(), binary.BigEndian.Uint16(name[2:4]))
+}
+
+func (u *StdConn) listenOutBatch(r EncReader, flush func()) error {
 	var n int
 	var operr error
 
-	msgs, buffers, names := u.PrepareRawMessages(u.batch)
+	bufSize := MTU
+	cmsgSpace := 0
+	msgs, buffers, names, _ := u.PrepareRawMessages(u.batch, bufSize, cmsgSpace)
 
 	//reader needs to capture variables from this function, since it's used as a lambda with rawConn.Read
 	//defining it outside the loop so it gets re-used
@@ -211,22 +258,18 @@ func (u *StdConn) listenOutBatch(r EncReader) error {
 		}
 
 		for i := 0; i < n; i++ {
-			// Its ok to skip the ok check here, the slicing is the only error that can occur and it will panic
-			if u.isV4 {
-				ip, _ = netip.AddrFromSlice(names[i][4:8])
-			} else {
-				ip, _ = netip.AddrFromSlice(names[i][8:24])
-			}
-			r(netip.AddrPortFrom(ip.Unmap(), binary.BigEndian.Uint16(names[i][2:4])), buffers[i][:msgs[i].Len])
+			r(u.readSockaddr(names[i]), buffers[i][:msgs[i].Len], RxMeta{})
 		}
+
+		flush()
 	}
 }
 
-func (u *StdConn) ListenOut(r EncReader) error {
+func (u *StdConn) ListenOut(r EncReader, flush func()) error {
 	if u.batch == 1 {
-		return u.listenOutSingle(r)
+		return u.listenOutSingle(r, flush)
 	} else {
-		return u.listenOutBatch(r)
+		return u.listenOutBatch(r, flush)
 	}
 }
 
@@ -235,6 +278,120 @@ func (u *StdConn) WriteTo(b []byte, ip netip.AddrPort) error {
 	return err
 }
 
+// WriteBatch sends bufs via sendmmsg(2) using the preallocated scratch on
+// StdConn. If supported, consecutive packets to the same destination with
+// matching segment sizes (all but possibly the last) are coalesced into a
+// single mmsghdr entry
+//
+// If sendmmsg returns an error and zero entries went out, we fall back to
+// per-packet WriteTo for that chunk so the caller still gets best-effort
+// delivery. On a partial send we resume at the first un-acked entry on
+// the next iteration.
+func (u *StdConn) WriteBatch(bufs [][]byte, addrs []netip.AddrPort, _ []byte) error {
+	for i := 0; i < len(bufs); {
+		chunk := min(len(bufs)-i, len(u.writeMsgs))
+
+		for k := 0; k < chunk; k++ {
+			u.writeIovs[k].Base = &bufs[i+k][0]
+			setIovLen(&u.writeIovs[k], len(bufs[i+k]))
+
+			nlen, err := writeSockaddr(u.writeNames[k], addrs[i+k], u.isV4)
+			if err != nil {
+				return err
+			}
+
+			hdr := &u.writeMsgs[k].Hdr
+			hdr.Iov = &u.writeIovs[k]
+			setMsgIovlen(hdr, 1)
+			hdr.Namelen = uint32(nlen)
+		}
+
+		sent, serr := u.sendmmsg(chunk)
+		if serr != nil && sent <= 0 {
+			// sendmmsg returns -1 / sent=0 when entry 0 itself failed; log
+			// that entry's destination and fall back to per-packet WriteTo
+			// for the whole chunk so the caller still gets best-effort
+			// delivery without duplicating packets the kernel accepted.
+			u.l.Warn("sendmmsg failed, falling back to per-packet WriteTo",
+				"err", serr,
+				"entries", chunk,
+				"entry0_dst", addrs[i],
+				"isV4", u.isV4,
+			)
+			for k := 0; k < chunk; k++ {
+				if werr := u.WriteTo(bufs[i+k], addrs[i+k]); werr != nil {
+					return werr
+				}
+			}
+			i += chunk
+			continue
+		}
+		i += sent
+	}
+	return nil
+}
+
+// sendmmsg issues sendmmsg(2) against the first n entries of u.writeMsgs.
+// The bound u.sendmmsgCB is passed to rawConn.Write so no closure is
+// allocated per call; inputs and outputs ride on the StdConn fields.
+func (u *StdConn) sendmmsg(n int) (int, error) {
+	u.sendmmsgN = n
+	u.sendmmsgSent = 0
+	u.sendmmsgErrno = 0
+	if err := u.rawConn.Write(u.sendmmsgCB); err != nil {
+		return u.sendmmsgSent, err
+	}
+	if u.sendmmsgErrno != 0 {
+		return u.sendmmsgSent, &net.OpError{Op: "sendmmsg", Err: u.sendmmsgErrno}
+	}
+	return u.sendmmsgSent, nil
+}
+
+// sendmmsgRun is the rawConn.Write callback. It is bound once into
+// u.sendmmsgCB at construction so it stays alloc-free in the hot path;
+// inputs (sendmmsgN) and outputs (sendmmsgSent, sendmmsgErrno) ride on
+// the receiver rather than escaping locals.
+func (u *StdConn) sendmmsgRun(fd uintptr) bool {
+	r1, _, errno := unix.Syscall6(unix.SYS_SENDMMSG, fd,
+		uintptr(unsafe.Pointer(&u.writeMsgs[0])), uintptr(u.sendmmsgN),
+		0, 0, 0,
+	)
+	if errno == syscall.EAGAIN || errno == syscall.EWOULDBLOCK {
+		return false
+	}
+	u.sendmmsgSent = int(r1)
+	u.sendmmsgErrno = errno
+	return true
+}
+
+// writeSockaddr encodes addr into buf (which must be at least
+// SizeofSockaddrInet6 bytes). Returns the number of bytes used. If isV4 is
+// true and addr is not a v4 (or v4-in-v6) address, returns an error.
+func writeSockaddr(buf []byte, addr netip.AddrPort, isV4 bool) (int, error) {
+	ap := addr.Addr().Unmap()
+	if isV4 {
+		if !ap.Is4() {
+			return 0, ErrInvalidIPv6RemoteForSocket
+		}
+		// struct sockaddr_in: { sa_family_t(2), in_port_t(2, BE), in_addr(4), zero(8) }
+		// sa_family is host endian.
+		binary.NativeEndian.PutUint16(buf[0:2], unix.AF_INET)
+		binary.BigEndian.PutUint16(buf[2:4], addr.Port())
+		ip4 := ap.As4()
+		copy(buf[4:8], ip4[:])
+		clear(buf[8:16])
+		return unix.SizeofSockaddrInet4, nil
+	}
+	// struct sockaddr_in6: { sa_family_t(2), in_port_t(2, BE), flowinfo(4), in6_addr(16), scope_id(4) }
+	binary.NativeEndian.PutUint16(buf[0:2], unix.AF_INET6)
+	binary.BigEndian.PutUint16(buf[2:4], addr.Port())
+	binary.NativeEndian.PutUint32(buf[4:8], 0)
+	ip6 := addr.Addr().As16()
+	copy(buf[8:24], ip6[:])
+	binary.NativeEndian.PutUint32(buf[24:28], 0)
+	return unix.SizeofSockaddrInet6, nil
+}
+
 func (u *StdConn) ReloadConfig(c *config.C) {
 	b := c.GetInt("listen.read_buffer", 0)
 	if b > 0 {

udp/udp_linux_32.go

@@ -30,13 +30,18 @@ type rawMessage struct {
 	Len uint32
 }
 
-func (u *StdConn) PrepareRawMessages(n int) ([]rawMessage, [][]byte, [][]byte) {
+func (u *StdConn) PrepareRawMessages(n, bufSize, cmsgSpace int) ([]rawMessage, [][]byte, [][]byte, []byte) {
 	msgs := make([]rawMessage, n)
 	buffers := make([][]byte, n)
 	names := make([][]byte, n)
 
+	var cmsgs []byte
+	if cmsgSpace > 0 {
+		cmsgs = make([]byte, n*cmsgSpace)
+	}
+
 	for i := range msgs {
-		buffers[i] = make([]byte, MTU)
+		buffers[i] = make([]byte, bufSize)
 		names[i] = make([]byte, unix.SizeofSockaddrInet6)
 
 		vs := []iovec{
@@ -48,7 +53,28 @@ func (u *StdConn) PrepareRawMessages(n int) ([]rawMessage, [][]byte, [][]byte) {
 
 		msgs[i].Hdr.Name = &names[i][0]
 		msgs[i].Hdr.Namelen = uint32(len(names[i]))
+
+		if cmsgSpace > 0 {
+			msgs[i].Hdr.Control = &cmsgs[i*cmsgSpace]
+			msgs[i].Hdr.Controllen = uint32(cmsgSpace)
+		}
 	}
 
-	return msgs, buffers, names
+	return msgs, buffers, names, cmsgs
+}
+
+func setIovLen(v *iovec, n int) {
+	v.Len = uint32(n)
+}
+
+func setMsgIovlen(m *msghdr, n int) {
+	m.Iovlen = uint32(n)
+}
+
+func setMsgControllen(m *msghdr, n int) {
+	m.Controllen = uint32(n)
+}
+
+func setCmsgLen(h *unix.Cmsghdr, n int) {
+	h.Len = uint32(n)
 }

udp/udp_linux_64.go

@@ -33,13 +33,18 @@ type rawMessage struct {
 	Pad0 [4]byte
 }
 
-func (u *StdConn) PrepareRawMessages(n int) ([]rawMessage, [][]byte, [][]byte) {
+func (u *StdConn) PrepareRawMessages(n, bufSize, cmsgSpace int) ([]rawMessage, [][]byte, [][]byte, []byte) {
 	msgs := make([]rawMessage, n)
 	buffers := make([][]byte, n)
 	names := make([][]byte, n)
 
+	var cmsgs []byte
+	if cmsgSpace > 0 {
+		cmsgs = make([]byte, n*cmsgSpace)
+	}
+
 	for i := range msgs {
-		buffers[i] = make([]byte, MTU)
+		buffers[i] = make([]byte, bufSize)
 		names[i] = make([]byte, unix.SizeofSockaddrInet6)
 
 		vs := []iovec{
@@ -51,7 +56,28 @@ func (u *StdConn) PrepareRawMessages(n int) ([]rawMessage, [][]byte, [][]byte) {
 
 		msgs[i].Hdr.Name = &names[i][0]
 		msgs[i].Hdr.Namelen = uint32(len(names[i]))
+
+		if cmsgSpace > 0 {
+			msgs[i].Hdr.Control = &cmsgs[i*cmsgSpace]
+			msgs[i].Hdr.Controllen = uint64(cmsgSpace)
+		}
 	}
 
-	return msgs, buffers, names
+	return msgs, buffers, names, cmsgs
+}
+
+func setIovLen(v *iovec, n int) {
+	v.Len = uint64(n)
+}
+
+func setMsgIovlen(m *msghdr, n int) {
+	m.Iovlen = uint64(n)
+}
+
+func setMsgControllen(m *msghdr, n int) {
+	m.Controllen = uint64(n)
+}
+
+func setCmsgLen(h *unix.Cmsghdr, n int) {
+	h.Len = uint64(n)
 }

udp/udp_rio_windows.go

@@ -140,7 +140,7 @@ func (u *RIOConn) bind(l *slog.Logger, sa windows.Sockaddr) error {
 	return nil
 }
 
-func (u *RIOConn) ListenOut(r EncReader) error {
+func (u *RIOConn) ListenOut(r EncReader, flush func()) error {
 	buffer := make([]byte, MTU)
 
 	var lastRecvErr time.Time
@@ -161,7 +161,8 @@ func (u *RIOConn) ListenOut(r EncReader) error {
 			continue
 		}
 
-		r(netip.AddrPortFrom(netip.AddrFrom16(rua.Addr).Unmap(), (rua.Port>>8)|((rua.Port&0xff)<<8)), buffer[:n])
+		r(netip.AddrPortFrom(netip.AddrFrom16(rua.Addr).Unmap(), (rua.Port>>8)|((rua.Port&0xff)<<8)), buffer[:n], RxMeta{})
+		flush()
 	}
 }
 
@@ -316,6 +317,15 @@ func (u *RIOConn) WriteTo(buf []byte, ip netip.AddrPort) error {
 	return winrio.SendEx(u.rq, dataBuffer, 1, nil, addressBuffer, nil, nil, 0, 0)
 }
 
+func (u *RIOConn) WriteBatch(bufs [][]byte, addrs []netip.AddrPort, _ []byte) error {
+	for i, b := range bufs {
+		if err := u.WriteTo(b, addrs[i]); err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+	}
+	return nil
+}
+
 func (u *RIOConn) LocalAddr() (netip.AddrPort, error) {
 	sa, err := windows.Getsockname(u.sock)
 	if err != nil {

udp/udp_tester.go

@@ -157,15 +157,24 @@ func (u *TesterConn) WriteTo(b []byte, addr netip.AddrPort) error {
 		return nil
 	}
 }
+func (u *TesterConn) WriteBatch(bufs [][]byte, addrs []netip.AddrPort, _ []byte) error {
+	for i, b := range bufs {
+		if err := u.WriteTo(b, addrs[i]); err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+	}
+	return nil
+}
 
-func (u *TesterConn) ListenOut(r EncReader) error {
+func (u *TesterConn) ListenOut(r EncReader, flush func()) error {
 	for {
 		select {
 		case <-u.done:
 			return os.ErrClosed
 		case p := <-u.RxPackets:
-			r(p.From, p.Data)
+			r(p.From, p.Data, RxMeta{})
 			p.Release()
+			flush()
 		}
 	}
 }