What question did this study set out to answer?

The objective is to introduce and evaluate BOLT, a new UDP-based file transfer protocol for high-latency environments.

May 25, 2026Open Access

BOLT: A UDP-Based Bulk File Transfer Protocol with Application-Aware Rate Control

Key Points

The objective is to introduce and evaluate BOLT, a new UDP-based file transfer protocol for high-latency environments.
Developed BOLT protocol featuring a state-machine rate controller and loss-cliff memory.
Conducted evaluations against TCP variants and PEP-accelerated TCP at a Patagonian meteorological station.
Analyzed performance in terms of transfer efficiency and protocol robustness.
BOLT outperforms classic TCP and modern TCP in terms of file transfer speed over high-latency links.
Demonstrates enhanced reliability and lower packet loss compared to conventional methods.
Achieves better efficiency with loss-cliff memory and authenticated encryption features.

Abstract

BOLT is a UDP-based file transfer protocol designed for single-flow bulk transfer between authenticated peers over high-latency, lossy links. The protocol combines a state-machine rate controller with explicit loss-cliff memory, compact packet framing, per-packet authenticated encryption with derived non-transmitted nonces, bitmap-based deduplication and resume, and platform-aware send paths. The paper evaluates BOLT against classic TCP, modern TCP, and PEP-accelerated TCP on the operating conditions of a deployed Patagonian meteorological station.

BOLT: A UDP-Based Bulk File Transfer Protocol with Application-Aware Rate Control

Key Points

Abstract

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