diff --git a/src/device-state-access.h b/src/device-state-access.h
index 8f89cbe2e..51d5633a9 100644
--- a/src/device-state-access.h
+++ b/src/device-state-access.h
@@ -14,8 +14,8 @@
 // with this program (see COPYING). If not, see <https://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
 //
 
-#ifndef DEVICE_STATE_ACCESS
-#define DEVICE_STATE_ACCESS
+#ifndef DEVICE_STATE_ACCESS_H
+#define DEVICE_STATE_ACCESS_H
 
 /// \file
 /// \brief Virtual state access implementation
@@ -158,4 +158,4 @@ class device_state_access : public i_device_state_access {
 
 } // namespace cartesi
 
-#endif
+#endif // DEVICE_STATE_ACCESS_H
diff --git a/src/i-device-state-access.h b/src/i-device-state-access.h
index 1065c7825..075d2bc46 100644
--- a/src/i-device-state-access.h
+++ b/src/i-device-state-access.h
@@ -14,8 +14,8 @@
 // with this program (see COPYING). If not, see <https://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
 //
 
-#ifndef I_DEVICE_STATE_ACCESS
-#define I_DEVICE_STATE_ACCESS
+#ifndef I_DEVICE_STATE_ACCESS_H
+#define I_DEVICE_STATE_ACCESS_H
 
 #include <cstdint>
 
@@ -231,4 +231,4 @@ class i_device_state_access {
 
 } // namespace cartesi
 
-#endif
+#endif // I_DEVICE_STATE_ACCESS_H
diff --git a/src/i-virtual-machine.h b/src/i-virtual-machine.h
index db4cd7abc..e3202ac03 100644
--- a/src/i-virtual-machine.h
+++ b/src/i-virtual-machine.h
@@ -14,8 +14,8 @@
 // with this program (see COPYING). If not, see <https://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
 //
 
-#ifndef I_VIRTUAL_MACHINE
-#define I_VIRTUAL_MACHINE
+#ifndef I_VIRTUAL_MACHINE_H
+#define I_VIRTUAL_MACHINE_H
 
 #include <cstdint>
 #include <string>
@@ -290,4 +290,4 @@ class i_virtual_machine {
 
 } // namespace cartesi
 
-#endif
+#endif // I_VIRTUAL_MACHINE_H
diff --git a/src/jsonrpc-fork-result.h b/src/jsonrpc-fork-result.h
index d42ec64a1..26a5ba73c 100644
--- a/src/jsonrpc-fork-result.h
+++ b/src/jsonrpc-fork-result.h
@@ -14,8 +14,8 @@
 // with this program (see COPYING). If not, see <https://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
 //
 
-#ifndef JSONRPC_FORK_RESULT
-#define JSONRPC_FORK_RESULT
+#ifndef JSONRPC_FORK_RESULT_H
+#define JSONRPC_FORK_RESULT_H
 
 namespace cartesi {
 
@@ -26,4 +26,4 @@ struct fork_result final {
 
 } // namespace cartesi
 
-#endif // JSONRPC_FORK_RESULT
+#endif // JSONRPC_FORK_RESULT_H
diff --git a/src/jsonrpc-machine-c-api.h b/src/jsonrpc-machine-c-api.h
index abfbf43ef..9ae8312c3 100644
--- a/src/jsonrpc-machine-c-api.h
+++ b/src/jsonrpc-machine-c-api.h
@@ -122,12 +122,6 @@ CM_API cm_error cm_jsonrpc_get_server_version(const cm_machine *m, const char **
 /// This function makes it the leader of its own program group.
 CM_API cm_error cm_jsonrpc_emancipate_server(cm_machine *m);
 
-/// \brief Asks server to delay next request by a given amount of time.
-/// \param m Pointer to a valid JSONRPC remote machine object.
-/// \param ms Number of milliseconds to delay next request.
-/// \returns 0 for success, non zero code for error.
-CM_API cm_error cm_jsonrpc_delay_next_request(cm_machine *m, uint64_t ms);
-
 // -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 // Client API functions
 // -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
@@ -167,6 +161,16 @@ CM_API cm_error cm_jsonrpc_get_cleanup_call(cm_machine *m, cm_jsonrpc_cleanup_ca
 /// \returns 0 for success, non zero code for error.
 CM_API cm_error cm_jsonrpc_get_server_address(cm_machine *m, const char **address);
 
+// -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// Debugging and testing
+// -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+/// \brief Asks server to delay next request by a given amount of time.
+/// \param m Pointer to a valid JSONRPC remote machine object.
+/// \param ms Number of milliseconds to delay next request.
+/// \returns 0 for success, non zero code for error.
+CM_API cm_error cm_jsonrpc_delay_next_request(cm_machine *m, uint64_t ms);
+
 #ifdef __cplusplus
 }
 #endif
diff --git a/src/jsonrpc-remote-machine.cpp b/src/jsonrpc-remote-machine.cpp
index 4977a6105..f97a2d76c 100644
--- a/src/jsonrpc-remote-machine.cpp
+++ b/src/jsonrpc-remote-machine.cpp
@@ -62,6 +62,7 @@
 #include "interpret.h"
 #include "json-util.h"
 #include "jsonrpc-discover.h"
+#include "jsonrpc-version.h"
 #include "machine-config.h"
 #include "machine-merkle-tree.h"
 #include "machine-runtime-config.h"
@@ -106,17 +107,6 @@ std::ostream &operator<<(std::ostream &out, log_prefix prefix) {
 using namespace std::string_literals;
 using json = nlohmann::json;
 
-/// \brief Server semantic version major
-static constexpr uint32_t server_version_major = 0;
-/// \brief Server semantic version minor
-static constexpr uint32_t server_version_minor = 5;
-/// \brief Server semantic version patch
-static constexpr uint32_t server_version_patch = 0;
-/// \brief Server semantic version pre_release
-static constexpr const char *server_version_pre_release = "";
-/// \brief Server semantic version build
-static constexpr const char *server_version_build = "";
-
 /// \brief Installs a signal handler
 template <typename HANDLER>
 static void install_signal_handler(int signum, HANDLER handler) {
@@ -723,11 +713,11 @@ static json jsonrpc_get_version_handler(const json &j, const std::shared_ptr<htt
     jsonrpc_check_no_params(j);
     return jsonrpc_response_ok(j,
         {
-            {"major", server_version_major},
-            {"minor", server_version_minor},
-            {"patch", server_version_patch},
-            {"pre_release", server_version_pre_release},
-            {"build", server_version_build},
+            {"major", cartesi::JSONRPC_VERSION_MAJOR},
+            {"minor", cartesi::JSONRPC_VERSION_MINOR},
+            {"patch", cartesi::JSONRPC_VERSION_PATCH},
+            {"pre_release", cartesi::JSONRPC_VERSION_PRE_RELEASE},
+            {"build", cartesi::JSONRPC_VERSION_BUILD},
         });
 }
 
@@ -1697,8 +1687,8 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[]) try {
 
     init_logger(log_level);
 
-    SLOG(info) << "remote machine server version is " << server_version_major << "." << server_version_minor << "."
-               << server_version_patch;
+    SLOG(info) << "remote machine server version is " << cartesi::JSONRPC_VERSION_MAJOR << "."
+               << cartesi::JSONRPC_VERSION_MINOR << "." << cartesi::JSONRPC_VERSION_PATCH;
 
     install_restart_signal_handlers();
 
diff --git a/src/jsonrpc-version.h b/src/jsonrpc-version.h
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..436af16fd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/jsonrpc-version.h
@@ -0,0 +1,32 @@
+// Copyright Cartesi and individual authors (see AUTHORS)
+// SPDX-License-Identifier: LGPL-3.0-or-later
+//
+// This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it under
+// the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public License as published by the Free
+// Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or (at your option) any
+// later version.
+//
+// This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY
+// WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A
+// PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU Lesser General Public License for more details.
+//
+// You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public License along
+// with this program (see COPYING). If not, see <https://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+//
+
+#ifndef JSONRPC_VERSION_H
+#define JSONRPC_VERSION_H
+
+#include <cstdint>
+
+namespace cartesi {
+
+constexpr uint32_t JSONRPC_VERSION_MAJOR = 0;
+constexpr uint32_t JSONRPC_VERSION_MINOR = 5;
+constexpr uint32_t JSONRPC_VERSION_PATCH = 0;
+constexpr const char *JSONRPC_VERSION_PRE_RELEASE = "";
+constexpr const char *JSONRPC_VERSION_BUILD = "";
+
+} // namespace cartesi
+
+#endif // JSONRPC_VERSION_H
diff --git a/src/jsonrpc-virtual-machine.cpp b/src/jsonrpc-virtual-machine.cpp
index aa4b01b7e..66122c30e 100644
--- a/src/jsonrpc-virtual-machine.cpp
+++ b/src/jsonrpc-virtual-machine.cpp
@@ -47,6 +47,7 @@
 #include "interpret.h"
 #include "json-util.h"
 #include "json.hpp"
+#include "jsonrpc-version.h"
 #include "machine-config.h"
 #include "machine-memory-range-descr.h"
 #include "machine-merkle-tree.h"
@@ -330,9 +331,23 @@ const std::string &jsonrpc_virtual_machine::get_server_address() const {
     return m_address;
 }
 
+static inline std::string semver_to_string(uint32_t major, uint32_t minor) {
+    return std::to_string(major) + "." + std::to_string(minor);
+}
+
+void jsonrpc_virtual_machine::check_server_version() const {
+    const auto server_version = get_server_version();
+    if (server_version.major != JSONRPC_VERSION_MAJOR || server_version.minor != JSONRPC_VERSION_MINOR) {
+        throw std::runtime_error{"expected server version "s +
+            semver_to_string(JSONRPC_VERSION_MAJOR, JSONRPC_VERSION_MINOR) + " (got "s +
+            semver_to_string(server_version.major, server_version.minor) + ")"s};
+    }
+}
+
 jsonrpc_virtual_machine::jsonrpc_virtual_machine(std::string address) : m_address(std::move(address)) {
     // Install handler to ignore SIGPIPE lest we crash when a server closes a connection
     os_disable_sigpipe();
+    check_server_version();
 }
 
 static boost::asio::ip::tcp::endpoint address_to_endpoint(const std::string &address) {
@@ -450,6 +465,7 @@ jsonrpc_virtual_machine::jsonrpc_virtual_machine(const std::string &address, for
             spawned.address = m_address;
             // Install handler to ignore SIGPIPE lest we crash when a server closes a connection
             os_disable_sigpipe();
+            check_server_version();
         } catch (...) {
             if (restore_sigprocmask) {
                 sigprocmask(SIG_SETMASK, &omask, nullptr);
diff --git a/src/jsonrpc-virtual-machine.h b/src/jsonrpc-virtual-machine.h
index ddfbd2295..8afd3ff45 100644
--- a/src/jsonrpc-virtual-machine.h
+++ b/src/jsonrpc-virtual-machine.h
@@ -14,8 +14,8 @@
 // with this program (see COPYING). If not, see <https://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
 //
 
-#ifndef JSONRPC_VIRTUAL_MACHINE
-#define JSONRPC_VIRTUAL_MACHINE
+#ifndef JSONRPC_VIRTUAL_MACHINE_H
+#define JSONRPC_VIRTUAL_MACHINE_H
 
 #include <cstdint>
 #include <memory>
@@ -136,6 +136,8 @@ class jsonrpc_virtual_machine final : public i_virtual_machine {
         const hash_type &root_hash_before, const access_log &log, const hash_type &root_hash_after) const override;
     bool do_is_jsonrpc_virtual_machine() const override;
 
+    void check_server_version() const;
+
     mutable boost::asio::io_context m_ioc{1};         // The io_context is required for all I/O
     mutable boost::beast::tcp_stream m_stream{m_ioc}; // TCP stream for keep alive connections
     cleanup_call m_call{cleanup_call::nothing};
@@ -145,4 +147,4 @@ class jsonrpc_virtual_machine final : public i_virtual_machine {
 
 } // namespace cartesi
 
-#endif
+#endif // JSONRPC_VIRTUAL_MACHINE_H
diff --git a/src/virtual-machine.h b/src/virtual-machine.h
index d7c6e82fa..b1e36ed5a 100644
--- a/src/virtual-machine.h
+++ b/src/virtual-machine.h
@@ -14,8 +14,8 @@
 // with this program (see COPYING). If not, see <https://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
 //
 
-#ifndef VIRTUAL_MACHINE
-#define VIRTUAL_MACHINE
+#ifndef VIRTUAL_MACHINE_H
+#define VIRTUAL_MACHINE_H
 
 #include <cstdint>
 #include <string>
@@ -92,4 +92,4 @@ class virtual_machine : public i_virtual_machine {
 
 } // namespace cartesi
 
-#endif
+#endif // VIRTUAL_MACHINE_H
diff --git a/tests/lua/machine-test.lua b/tests/lua/machine-test.lua
index 0426fe790..1dbe35756 100755
--- a/tests/lua/machine-test.lua
+++ b/tests/lua/machine-test.lua
@@ -388,8 +388,8 @@ do_test("register values should match", function(machine)
 end)
 
 if machine_type ~= "local" then
-    print("\n\n check remote get_machine")
-    do_test("get_machine should get reference to working machine", function(machine)
+    print("\n\n checking remote-machine-specific functionality")
+    do_test("connect should get give access to working machine", function(machine)
         local machine_2 = jsonrpc.connect_server(machine:get_server_address())
         assert(machine:get_root_hash() == machine_2:get_root_hash())
         machine_2:destroy()
@@ -400,6 +400,52 @@ if machine_type ~= "local" then
         assert(err:match("no machine"))
     end)
 
+    do_test("timeout mechanism should be respected", function(machine)
+        -- default timeout is -1 (meaning wait indefinitely)
+        local old_tm = machine:get_timeout()
+        assert(old_tm == -1)
+        -- set timeout to 100ms
+        machine:set_timeout(100)
+        -- make sure it stuck
+        assert(machine:get_timeout() == 100)
+        -- ask server to delay response by 1000ms
+        machine:delay_next_request(1000)
+        -- next call should fail with timeout
+        local ret, err = pcall(function()
+            machine:get_root_hash()
+        end)
+        assert(ret == false)
+        assert(err:match("jsonrpc error: timeout"))
+        machine:set_timeout(old_tm)
+    end)
+
+    do_test("cleanup call should be respected", function(machine)
+        -- all machines returned by build_machine are configured to shutdown server
+        assert(machine:get_cleanup_call() == jsonrpc.SHUTDOWN)
+        local address
+        do
+            -- fork server, get address of new server, make sure fork holds a
+            -- machine, and set cleanup to destroy it on close
+            local m2 <close> = machine:fork_server()
+            address = m2:get_server_address()
+            assert(not m2:is_empty())
+            m2:set_cleanup_call(jsonrpc.DESTROY)
+        end
+        do
+            -- connect to server again, make sure it does not have a machine
+            -- anymore, and set cleanup to shut it down on close
+            local m2 <close> = jsonrpc.connect_server(address)
+            assert(m2:is_empty())
+            m2:set_cleanup_call(jsonrpc.SHUTDOWN)
+        end
+        -- now there should be no server at that address
+        local ret, err = pcall(function()
+            jsonrpc.connect_server(address)
+        end)
+        assert(ret == false)
+        assert(err:match("jsonrpc error: post error contacting " .. address))
+    end)
+
     do_test("jsonrpc connection error 49 after rapid successive requests ", function(machine)
         -- On a Mac, this loop will break with  EADDRNOTAVAIL(49)
         -- Setting up the SO_LINGER to 0 fixed this issue