Sola Protocol Technical Analysis | High-Throughput, Low-Latency, Low-Packet-Loss VPN Protocol

Protocol Summary

Sola is SingLink's next-generation, in-house VPN transport protocol, created by redesigning and rebuilding the core transport architecture on the foundation of the SingLink 2.0 technology system.

It is not a renaming of SingLink 2.0, nor is it merely a set of parameter adjustments.

Sola's development builds on real-world network experience accumulated through the long-term operation of SingLink 2.0. It revisits the performance problems that VPNs encounter under high bandwidth, low latency, packet loss, sustained transfers, and complex network conditions.

Sola's core design goals include:

High effective throughput, low latency, low packet loss, stable sustained transmission, and higher practical network utilization.

Sola has completed core development and internal testing and is now available to Plus, Pro, Max and Rich members.

In the current phase of internal testing:

• Sola delivered higher overall throughput than the other protocols included in the tests;

• its overall latency was lower than that of the other protocols included in the tests;

• packet loss in the current tests was below 1%;

• in multiple 1 Gbps test environments, effective throughput exceeded 80% of line capacity;

• compared with SingLink 2.0 and earlier protocol approaches, Sola was further optimized for transport efficiency and practical network experience.

These results come from SingLink's current internal tests. Actual performance remains affected by region, carrier, international egress, device, node load, local network, and usage scenario.

Evidence boundary: These results are not from independent third-party testing; the complete test methodology and raw records have not yet been published. After the materials are organized and pass security review, SingLink will progressively add publishable test conditions, methods, and version information under its open-source and transparency plan.

1. What Is Sola?

Sola is a next-generation VPN transport protocol developed in-house by SingLink.

Its development did not begin from zero.

Before Sola, SingLink 2.0 had already established SingLink's own protocol and transport system and had operated for a long period in real production networks.

As usage scale, device types, network environments, and user bandwidth continued to grow, SingLink observed in SingLink 2.0's real operating data that:

The problem facing VPN protocols today is no longer only:

Can a connection be established?

More importantly:

After the connection is established, can the user's existing network capacity actually be put to use?

Sola's development focus therefore extends beyond basic connectivity to:

• transport efficiency;

• high-bandwidth utilization;

• latency control;

• packet-loss control;

• sustained transmission;

• network fluctuation;

• practical performance across different network environments.

Sola ultimately took shape as a redesigned protocol architecture.

From the perspective of protocol evolution:

SingLink 2.0 is the technical foundation, while Sola is the next-generation protocol formed after an architecture-level reconstruction of that foundation.

2. How Are Sola and SingLink 2.0 Related?

Sola and SingLink 2.0 are not two completely independent technologies.

Sola's technical evolution originates from SingLink 2.0.

It can be understood simply as:

SingLink 2.0

Establish SingLink's in-house protocol and transport foundation

↓

Enter long-term production operation

↓

Accumulate real data across countries, carriers, devices, and network conditions

↓

Reanalyze protocol performance bottlenecks

↓

Redesign and rebuild the core transport architecture

↓

Sola

High throughput Low latency Low packet loss Higher bandwidth utilization More stable sustained transmission

Sola is therefore not:

SingLink 2.0 with a new name.

Nor is it:

SingLink 2.0 with a few parameters turned up.

Instead, it is:

A new protocol created by redesigning the core architecture on the basis of the SingLink 2.0 technology system and its production experience.

This is also the biggest difference between Sola and an ordinary minor release.

3. Why Was a New Protocol Design Needed?

Network access capacity has increased rapidly in recent years.

Home and business connections of 500 Mbps, 1 Gbps, and even higher bandwidth are increasingly common.

Yet one familiar problem remains in VPN environments:

A user may have a 1 Gbps connection, but only part of that bandwidth may remain usable after connecting to a VPN.

The VPN server is not necessarily the sole cause.

A complete VPN transport path also includes:

User application

↓

Operating-system network stack

↓

VPN client

↓

VPN protocol

↓

Local carrier

↓

Backbone network or international egress

↓

VPN node

↓

Destination network

Any link in this chain can introduce performance loss.

For the protocol itself, theoretical throughput is not the only concern.

Other considerations include:

• overhead introduced by protocol encapsulation;

• connection-processing efficiency;

• performance changes on high-latency networks;

• throughput degradation after packet loss;

• network fluctuation;

• sustained-transfer capability;

• processing efficiency on different devices;

• coordination between the client and protocol.

At the start of its design, Sola therefore posed a more direct question:

Given that a VPN tunnel necessarily exists, how can performance loss caused by the protocol itself be reduced as much as possible?

This is one of the core starting points of Sola's architectural reconstruction.

4. Sola's Core Design Goals

Sola does not use the “highest Mbps” figure as its only performance metric.

From the design stage onward, the protocol has focused on five core areas at the same time.

1. High Throughput

Sola's first core goal is to improve actual effective throughput in a VPN environment.

Here, throughput does not mean the carrier's advertised theoretical bandwidth or the rated speed of a server's network interface.

What really matters is:

How much bandwidth the user's application can ultimately use after traffic passes through the VPN tunnel.

Sola therefore focuses more on:

Effective Throughput

That is, actual effective throughput.

In multiple internal 1 Gbps test environments, Sola has maintained effective throughput above 80% of line capacity.

2. Low Latency

Speed is not the entirety of the VPN experience.

For example:

• ChatGPT;

• Claude;

• Gemini;

• Cursor;

• X;

• Telegram;

• web browsing;

• APIs;

• remote desktop.

Many scenarios do not actually need hundreds of Mbps of sustained bandwidth.

What often matters most to the experience is:

How long it takes to receive a response after a request is sent.

During its architectural reconstruction, Sola therefore treated latency as a performance goal independent of peak speed.

In current internal comparison tests, Sola's overall latency was lower than that of the other protocols included in the tests.

This means Sola's performance improvement is not limited to:

Faster downloads.

It also includes:

Faster network interaction and response.

3. Low Packet Loss

Packet loss is a highly important but often overlooked VPN performance metric.

Persistent packet loss can cause:

• data retransmission;

• reduced throughput;

• increased latency;

• video buffering;

• interrupted voice calls;

• unstable long-lived connections;

• brief stalls while loading web pages;

• sudden increases in remote-desktop latency.

This is why a familiar situation can occur:

Speedtest looks fast, but actual use does not feel smooth.

The cause is not necessarily insufficient bandwidth.

Packet loss, jitter, and network fluctuation can all create clear differences in practical experience.

In Sola's current internal tests, packet loss was controlled at:

Below 1%.

This is also one of Sola's most important current performance results.

4. Sustained Performance

Sola does not seek to define protocol performance with one exceptionally high Speedtest peak.

Because:

Reaching 900 Mbps for one second

and:

Maintaining relatively high throughput for a long period

are two different things.

Real use can include:

• long video sessions;

• large-file downloads;

• cloud synchronization;

• long-lived AI connections;

• remote work;

• sustained API communication.

These scenarios care more about:

Sustained Performance

In other words, sustained performance.

Sola's reconstruction therefore does not pursue only short-term peaks. It aims to improve stable transmission throughout the entire connection lifecycle.

5. Network Adaptability

VPN users do not all live in the same network environment.

The same protocol may produce completely different results across:

• countries;

• regions;

• carriers;

• home broadband;

• Wi-Fi;

• 4G;

• 5G;

• public networks;

• cross-border networks.

The results can be completely different.

Another core direction for Sola is therefore to reduce performance fluctuation under different network conditions.

Sola cannot change a carrier's physical network or eliminate congestion at international egress points.

But it can minimize the additional performance loss caused by the protocol layer itself.

5. From SingLink 2.0 to Sola: An Architecture-Level Reconstruction

The biggest difference between Sola and a typical protocol update is that this development effort did not merely adjust a particular feature.

It reexamined the entire process, from a client establishing a VPN connection to data passing through the tunnel and reaching the node.

A typical performance update is closer to:

Adjust parameters

↓

Modify part of the processing logic

↓

Improve performance in certain scenarios

Sola's development process was closer to:

Analyze production data from SingLink 2.0

↓

Identify practical performance bottlenecks

↓

Redefine protocol performance goals

↓

Redesign the core transport architecture

↓

Reimplement it

↓

Conduct internal testing

↓

Conduct security and implementation audits

Sola's more precise technical positioning is therefore:

Architecture-level Evolution

That is:

An architecture-level evolution.

It is not a simple parameter-level optimization.

6. Sola's High-Level Technical Architecture

Sola's complete low-level implementation is not currently public.

From a protocol-design perspective, however, this architectural reconstruction can be understood as a redesign around several core questions.

Connection Processing

The first problem a VPN protocol must solve is how to establish, maintain, and end a valid connection.

Sola reexamined the handling of the connection lifecycle in SingLink 2.0 to reduce unnecessary waiting and processing costs.

Data Transmission

After a VPN is established, what truly determines performance is:

How data is transmitted between the client and the node.

Sola's architectural reconstruction treats effective throughput as a core goal and seeks to reduce performance loss caused by the protocol itself in high-bandwidth environments.

Handling Network Fluctuation

The real internet is not a perfectly stable link.

Latency, packet loss, routing changes, and congestion can all vary over time.

Sola's design therefore considers not only ideal laboratory conditions, but also practical transport performance when network conditions change.

High-Bandwidth Processing

As 500 Mbps, 1 Gbps, and even faster connections become widespread, whether a VPN protocol can itself process high throughput is increasingly important.

One of Sola's core performance goals is to reduce the probability that the protocol itself becomes the bottleneck on a high-bandwidth network.

Client Coordination

A VPN protocol does not exist in isolation.

It ultimately works together with:

• the operating system;

• the VPN client;

• network interfaces;

• node systems.

These components work together.

Sola's reconstruction therefore also considers coordination efficiency between the protocol and SingLink clients.

About the Complete Technical Implementation

For reasons related to security, protocol auditing, and continued development, Sola does not currently disclose the full low-level details of:

• the connection-handshake flow;

• key-exchange details;

• specific data-processing algorithms;

• traffic-characteristic handling methods;

• certain protocol parameters;

• server-side implementation details.

Which technical materials will be disclosed in the future will be decided progressively according to security-audit results, protocol stability, and SingLink's technical-transparency plan.

7. Sola's Current Performance-Test Results

Sola has completed its first phase of internal testing.

The main current results include:

An important qualification is required:

These figures come from the current internal test scenarios.

“Other protocols included in the tests” does not mean every VPN protocol in the world, nor does it mean Sola will necessarily produce the same results in every network environment.

8. What Does More Than 80% Utilization of a 1 Gbps Network Mean?

This is one of Sola's most notable current performance results.

A connection advertised as:

1 Gbps

has a theoretical peak of approximately:

1,000 Mbps

But actual VPN transport must also pass through:

• VPN encapsulation;

• encryption and decryption;

• the system network stack;

• the local network;

• the carrier;

• intermediate routing;

• the VPN node;

• the destination server.

Actual application-layer throughput therefore does not simply equal the bandwidth advertised by the carrier.

In multiple internal 1 Gbps test scenarios, Sola has maintained actual effective throughput above 80% of line capacity.

That is:

Effective VPN throughput in the range above 800 Mbps.

For Sola, what this figure truly represents is:

A further reduction in performance loss caused by the protocol and transport system themselves.

It is not a claim that:

Sola will consistently reach 800 Mbps on every 1 Gbps network.

These are completely different concepts.

9. Why Does Sola Not Pursue Only Maximum Speed?

Suppose there are two VPN connections.

The first reaches:

900 Mbps

but also has:

• higher jitter;

• persistent packet loss;

• fluctuating latency.

The second reaches:

600 Mbps

but has:

• stable latency;

• very low packet loss;

• smooth sustained transmission.

If the only task is downloading a large file, the first connection may have an advantage.

But for:

• video conferences;

• AI;

• remote desktop;

• instant messaging;

• web pages;

• APIs;

the second may instead deliver a better practical experience.

Sola therefore does not define VPN performance as one number.

From Sola's design perspective, complete performance is closer to:

Throughput

+

Latency

+

Jitter

+

Packet Loss

+

Stability

+

Connection Quality

This is not a mathematical formula.

It is the evaluation framework Sola uses to understand VPN performance.

10. Why Does Sola Emphasize Low Latency?

Many modern applications do not actually require much bandwidth.

For example, sending a piece of text to ChatGPT may not need hundreds of Mbps at all.

But if latency is high:

User clicks

↓

Waits

↓

Only then does the request reach the server

That waiting is experienced directly as:

“The network is slow.”

As AI, web, API, and interactive applications grow rapidly, VPN performance can no longer be designed only around large-file downloads.

Sola therefore gives:

Response Time

alongside:

Throughput

equal importance.

Current internal tests also show lower overall latency for Sola than for the other protocols included in the tests.

11. Why Is Packet Loss Below 1% Important?

Packet loss directly affects network transport efficiency.

When data does not successfully reach its destination, network protocols generally require subsequent handling or retransmission.

In simple terms:

Packet Loss

↓

Retransmission

↓

Additional waiting

↓

Reduced throughput

↓

Worse practical experience

Therefore:

A fast VPN connection with persistent packet loss is not necessarily better than a slightly slower but stable connection.

Sola's current internal result of:

Packet Loss <1%

means the protocol achieved relatively good data-delivery integrity and stable performance in the current test environments.

The same qualification still applies:

Packet loss is not determined entirely by the VPN protocol.

Local Wi-Fi, carriers, international routing, and the destination network can all cause packet loss.

This result therefore must not be understood to mean:

Sola's packet loss will always be below 1% on every network.

12. Typical Sola Use Cases

Different applications have different VPN performance requirements.

Through a more balanced performance design, Sola aims to cover more modern internet use cases.

AI and Large Models

For example:

• ChatGPT;

• Claude;

• Gemini;

• Cursor.

These services generally care more about:

• latency;

• long-lived connection stability;

• low packet loss;

• response speed.

High peak bandwidth is therefore not the only metric.

Video and Streaming

4K and high-bitrate video depend more on:

• sustained throughput;

• low packet loss;

• stable transmission.

Sola's high effective throughput and sustained-performance design primarily address this type of use case.

Large Files and Cloud Synchronization

These scenarios have a clear requirement for:

High bandwidth utilization.

This requirement is especially clear.

If a user has a 500 Mbps or 1 Gbps network but the VPN protocol can use only a small part of it, the protocol may become the bottleneck.

Real-Time Communication and Video Conferences

These depend more on:

• latency;

• jitter;

• packet loss.

Simply increasing download Mbps offers limited help in these scenarios.

Remote Work

Remote desktop, SSH, enterprise applications, and long-lived connections generally need:

Stability, rather than being extremely fast for a single second.

This is why Sola includes sustained performance among its core design goals.

13. How Does Sola Compare with Other VPN Protocols?

There is no “absolutely fastest” VPN protocol independent of its environment.

Different protocols can produce different results across:

• regions;

• carriers;

• devices;

• network quality;

• servers;

• usage scenarios.

The results can vary.

SingLink therefore will not define Sola as:

Faster than every protocol in every environment.

What can currently be confirmed is:

In the internal comparison tests completed by SingLink so far, Sola showed higher overall throughput and lower latency than the other protocols included in the tests.

That is the precise statement supported by the current data.

Future Sola benchmarks will also place greater emphasis on comparisons made in the same environment.

For example:

The same device

↓

The same network

↓

The same time period

↓

Equivalent node resources

↓

The same test target

↓

The same number of test runs

Only then should different protocols be compared.

Only data collected this way provides meaningful reference value.

14. Security Is Also a Core Sola Requirement

High performance does not mean security can be sacrificed.

After core development and internal testing, Sola is now in production, and security remains a core requirement after release.

Security work on Sola covers:

• protocol implementation;

• connection handling;

• exceptional states;

• client integration;

• permission boundaries;

• potential attack surfaces;

• resource anomalies;

• known security issues.

These areas continue to be reviewed as the protocol evolves.

The current formal status is:

Development: Completed

Internal Testing: Completed

Availability: Plus, Pro, Max and Rich

SingLink still does not describe Sola as:

“Having completed all security verification.”

This article will be updated when more security information about Sola can be published.

Related security work can also be understood through SingLink's existing security-audit materials and no-logs audit; those materials are not a separate audit report for the Sola protocol.

15. Sola's Technical Transparency

Sola does not intend to leave only a few Speedtest screenshots behind.

SingLink plans to progressively build more complete performance and technical materials for Sola.

They include:

• Protocol Version;

• Client Version;

• Benchmark;

• Changelog;

• Latency;

• Jitter;

• Packet Loss;

• Throughput;

• test date;

• test environment;

• known limitations;

• security-audit status.

Different types of data will also be distinguished as clearly as possible:

Internal Test

Testing conducted internally by SingLink.

Community Test

Testing conducted by the community.

User Submitted Data

Test results voluntarily provided by users.

Independent Test

Testing conducted by an independent third party.

This will allow outside readers of Sola data to know clearly:

Who ran the test, where it was run, and what it can prove.

16. What Sola Can and Cannot Do

A formal protocol introduction must also state its technical boundaries clearly.

Sola can optimize:

• the protocol's own transport efficiency;

• VPN-tunnel bandwidth utilization;

• connection handling;

• latency;

• practical transport performance under packet loss;

• sustained performance;

• coordination between the client and protocol.

But Sola cannot change:

• the user's physical bandwidth limit;

• Wi-Fi signal quality;

• local-carrier congestion;

• international-egress capacity;

• third-party website server performance;

• minimum latency caused by physical distance;

• failures in the destination service itself.

For example:

A 100 Mbps local network will not become a 1 Gbps network because it uses Sola.

Likewise:

A severely congested international route cannot have its physical bottleneck completely eliminated by a VPN protocol alone.

What Sola can actually do is:

Avoid, as far as possible, the protocol itself becoming an additional performance bottleneck in the complete path.

17. Protocol Information

Sola Protocol Information

Protocol Name

Sola

Developer

SingLink

Protocol Type

VPN Transport Protocol

Protocol Family

SingLink

Technical Foundation

SingLink 2.0

Architecture

Re-architected / Rebuilt

Primary Design Goals

High Throughput Low Latency Low Packet Loss Sustained Performance Network Adaptability

Internal Testing

Completed

Availability

Plus, Pro, Max and Rich

Current Packet Loss Test

<1%

Current 1 Gbps Test

80%+ effective line utilization in multiple internal test scenarios

18. Sola's Versioning System

To avoid future confusion between the protocol name and client versions, Sola will exist as an independent protocol brand.

In other words:

SingLink

represents SingLink's product and technology system.

Sola

represents the protocol name.

The protocol itself can continue to evolve through version numbers.

For example:

Sola 1.0

Sola 1.1

Sola 1.2

This avoids confusing:

client versions

with:

protocol versions.

This keeps the two from being conflated.

A future SingLink client may support Sola 1.x while the client itself has a completely different software version number.

19. Deployment and Availability

After internal testing, Sola is now available in production.

Sola is included in the following plans:

Subscription plans:

Plus and Pro

Both subscription plans include the Sola protocol.

Data packs:

Max

and:

Rich

Max and Rich are Pro-level data packs, so they include Sola as well.

Sola is not included in:

the Free Plan

and:

Fast

Free Plan and Fast members connect with SingLink Beta, which is available on every plan.

SingLink continues to tune Sola in production based on:

• client adaptation;

• protocol auditing;

• real network data;

• node deployment;

• stability.

To use Sola, sign in on an eligible plan and choose a node marked with the Sola protocol in the client's node list.

Sola's earlier phased rollout was not meant to restrict protocol use. It controlled variables while the protocol entered production at scale, so that performance and exceptional behavior could be observed more accurately.

20. Frequently Asked Questions

What is Sola?

Sola is SingLink's next-generation, in-house VPN transport protocol, created by redesigning and rebuilding the core transport architecture on the foundation of the SingLink 2.0 technology system.

Was Sola developed by SingLink itself?

Yes.

Sola belongs to SingLink's in-house protocol family.

Is Sola just a renamed SingLink 2.0?

No.

Sola builds on SingLink 2.0 technology and production experience, but its core architecture was redesigned and rebuilt. It is therefore not merely a renaming or an ordinary minor release.

What does Sola mainly optimize?

The current main areas include:

• effective throughput;

• latency;

• packet loss;

• high-bandwidth utilization;

• sustained performance;

• practical transport performance on complex networks.

What is Sola's packet-loss rate?

Packet loss was below 1% in the current internal test scenarios.

This does not mean it will remain below 1% for every user and every network environment.

How fast can Sola run on a 1 Gbps network?

Effective throughput reached more than 80% of line capacity in multiple internal 1 Gbps test scenarios.

Actual results vary with the network environment.

Does this mean Sola can guarantee 800 Mbps?

No.

The figure above 80% is a result from specific internal 1 Gbps test environments. It must not be understood as a fixed speed commitment to every user.

Is Sola faster than every other VPN protocol?

That cannot currently be claimed.

What can be confirmed is:

In the current internal comparisons, Sola showed higher overall throughput and lower latency than the other protocols included in the tests.

Different protocols can still perform differently in different network environments.

What is the biggest difference between Sola and SingLink 2.0?

The biggest difference is not one particular feature.

It is that:

Sola redesigns and rebuilds the core transport architecture.

It is therefore an architecture-level evolution rather than a normal parameter-level upgrade.

Has Sola completed development?

Core development and the first phase of internal testing have been completed.

Sola is now available in production to Plus, Pro, Max and Rich members.

Will Sola immediately replace SingLink 2.0?

No.

Sola is available alongside the existing protocols. Existing protocols will continue to be used according to platform, node, network, and actual usage conditions.

Which plans include Sola?

Sola is available to Plus, Pro, Max and Rich members. Free Plan and Fast members use SingLink Beta, which is available on every plan.

21. Conclusion

Sola's significance is not that it gives SingLink one more protocol name.

It represents the next stage of SingLink's in-house protocol system.

SingLink 2.0 established SingLink's own protocol and transport foundation.

But as user bandwidth, device performance, and network use cases changed during long-term production operation, new questions emerged:

Can a VPN protocol further reduce its own performance loss?

How much of a 1 Gbps network's capacity can actually reach the application?

Can latency be reduced while speed increases?

Can high throughput and low packet loss exist at the same time?

Can a protocol maintain more stable sustained performance instead of pursuing only one speed-test result?

Sola was rebuilt around these questions.

It is based on SingLink 2.0.

But it is not a simple continuation of SingLink 2.0.

It redesigns the core transport architecture, redefines SingLink's understanding of VPN performance, and adopts:

High Throughput

Low Latency

Low Packet Loss

Sustained Performance

Network Adaptability

as its new core design directions.

The first phase of internal testing has now been completed.

Current results show:

Packet loss below 1%.

Effective throughput above 80% of line capacity in multiple 1 Gbps test scenarios.

Higher overall throughput and lower latency than the other protocols included in the tests.

Sola's formal technical value, however, is not limited to these figures.

What truly matters is:

When a VPN tunnel exists, can the protocol waste as little as possible of the network capacity the user already has?

This is also the core reason Sola moves beyond SingLink 2.0 toward a next-generation architecture.

Sola.

Based on SingLink 2.0. Redesigned.

Built for higher throughput, lower latency, and more stable real-world network transmission.

Technical and test-data notice: The claims in this article that Sola recorded packet loss below 1%, achieved effective throughput above 80% on 1 Gbps networks, and showed higher throughput and lower latency than the other protocols included in the tests all come from SingLink's current internal test results. Different countries or regions, carriers, devices, local networks, nodes, international egress points, and destination services may affect actual results. Sola has completed core development and internal testing and is now available to Plus, Pro, Max and Rich members. Complete test methods, per-run logs, and raw records have not yet been published, so these figures should be cited only as internal-test results and not as independently reproduced conclusions. Performance, audit, and version information will continue to be updated as the protocol evolves.