diff --git a/service/downloadserver/downloadserver.go b/service/downloadserver/downloadserver.go
index 2056987a..1806c247 100644
--- a/service/downloadserver/downloadserver.go
+++ b/service/downloadserver/downloadserver.go
@@ -1,36 +1,48 @@
 package downloadserver
 
 import (
+	"bufio"
 	"context"
-	"fmt"
+	"io"
+	"math/rand"
 	"net/http"
+	"strconv"
 	"strings"
 	"sync"
 	"time"
 
 	"github.com/cockroachdb/errors"
-	"github.com/data-preservation-programs/singularity/handler/storage"
 	"github.com/data-preservation-programs/singularity/model"
 	"github.com/data-preservation-programs/singularity/service"
-	"github.com/data-preservation-programs/singularity/service/contentprovider"
-	"github.com/data-preservation-programs/singularity/storagesystem"
 	"github.com/data-preservation-programs/singularity/store"
+	"github.com/data-preservation-programs/singularity/service/contentprovider"
 	"github.com/fxamacker/cbor/v2"
 	"github.com/ipfs/go-cid"
 	"github.com/ipfs/go-log/v2"
 	"github.com/labstack/echo/v4"
 	"github.com/labstack/echo/v4/middleware"
-	"github.com/rjNemo/underscore"
 )
 
 const shutdownTimeout = 5 * time.Second
 
+// Maximum retry attempts
+const maxRetries = 60
+
+// Initial wait duration before retrying (doubles each retry)
+const initialBackoff = 120 * time.Second // Relax for Fail2Ban rules
+
+var archiveReqLock sync.Mutex // Ensures only 1 API request is active at a time
+var nextAllowedRequestTime time.Time
+var nextAllowedRequestMu sync.Mutex
+
 type DownloadServer struct {
 	bind         string
 	api          string
 	config       map[string]string
 	clientConfig model.ClientConfig
 	usageCache   *UsageCache[contentprovider.PieceMetadata]
+
+	metadataCache sync.Map // Cache for ongoing metadata requests
 }
 
 type cacheItem[C any] struct {
@@ -109,49 +121,80 @@ func (c *UsageCache[C]) Done(key string) {
 	item.usageCount--
 }
 
+var streamLimit = make(chan struct{}, 1) // Only 1 concurrent stream
+
 func (d *DownloadServer) handleGetPiece(c echo.Context) error {
+	streamLimit <- struct{}{} // Acquire semaphore (waits if limit reached)
+	defer func() { <-streamLimit }() // Release when done
+
 	id := c.Param("id")
 	pieceCid, err := cid.Parse(id)
 	if err != nil {
+		Logger.Errorw("Invalid piece CID", "id", id, "error", err)
 		return c.String(http.StatusBadRequest, "failed to parse piece CID: "+err.Error())
 	}
+
 	if pieceCid.Type() != cid.FilCommitmentUnsealed {
+		Logger.Warnw("Received invalid CID type", "id", id, "type", pieceCid.Type())
 		return c.String(http.StatusBadRequest, "CID is not a commp")
 	}
+
+	Logger.Infow("Processing request", "pieceCID", pieceCid.String())
+
+	// **Check usage cache first**
 	var pieceMetadata *contentprovider.PieceMetadata
 	var ok bool
 	pieceMetadata, ok = d.usageCache.Get(pieceCid.String())
+
 	if !ok {
+		Logger.Infow("Metadata not found in cache, checking for ongoing fetch", "pieceCID", pieceCid.String())
+
+		// **Fetch metadata**
 		var statusCode int
 		pieceMetadata, statusCode, err = GetMetadata(c.Request().Context(), d.api, d.config, d.clientConfig, pieceCid.String())
-		if err != nil && statusCode >= 400 {
-			return c.String(statusCode, "failed to query metadata API: "+err.Error())
-		}
+
+		// **Handle errors**
 		if err != nil {
-			return c.String(http.StatusInternalServerError, "failed to query metadata API: "+err.Error())
+			Logger.Errorw("Failed to query metadata API", "pieceCID", pieceCid.String(), "statusCode", statusCode, "error", err)
+			return c.String(statusCode, "failed to query metadata API: "+err.Error())
 		}
+
+		Logger.Infow("Successfully fetched metadata", "pieceCID", pieceCid.String())
 		d.usageCache.Set(pieceCid.String(), *pieceMetadata)
 	}
-	defer func() {
-		d.usageCache.Done(pieceCid.String())
-	}()
-	pieceReader, err := store.NewPieceReader(c.Request().Context(), pieceMetadata.Car, pieceMetadata.Storage, pieceMetadata.CarBlocks, pieceMetadata.Files)
+
+	defer d.usageCache.Done(pieceCid.String())
+
+	// **Initialize Piece Reader - Corrected**
+	pieceReader, err := store.NewPieceReader(
+		c.Request().Context(),
+		pieceMetadata.Car,
+		pieceMetadata.Storage,
+		pieceMetadata.CarBlocks,
+		pieceMetadata.Files,
+	)
 	if err != nil {
+		Logger.Errorw("Failed to create piece reader", "pieceCID", pieceCid.String(), "error", err)
 		return c.String(http.StatusInternalServerError, "failed to create piece reader: "+err.Error())
 	}
 	defer pieceReader.Close()
-	contentprovider.SetCommonHeaders(c, pieceCid.String())
-	http.ServeContent(
-		c.Response(),
-		c.Request(),
-		pieceCid.String()+".car",
-		pieceMetadata.Car.CreatedAt,
-		pieceReader,
-	)
+
+	Logger.Infow("Serving content", "pieceCID", pieceCid.String(), "filename", pieceCid.String()+".car")
+
+	// **Use buffered writer (16MB buffer) to improve streaming performance**
+	bufferedWriter := bufio.NewWriterSize(c.Response().Writer, 16*1024*1024) // 16MB buffer
+	defer bufferedWriter.Flush()
+
+	_, err = io.Copy(bufferedWriter, pieceReader)
+	if err != nil {
+		Logger.Errorw("Error streaming content", "pieceCID", pieceCid.String(), "error", err)
+		return c.String(http.StatusInternalServerError, "Error streaming content: "+err.Error())
+	}
 
 	return nil
 }
 
+
 func GetMetadata(
 	ctx context.Context,
 	api string,
@@ -159,63 +202,101 @@ func GetMetadata(
 	clientConfig model.ClientConfig,
 	pieceCid string) (*contentprovider.PieceMetadata, int, error) {
 	api = strings.TrimSuffix(api, "/")
-	req, err := http.NewRequestWithContext(ctx, http.MethodGet, api+"/piece/metadata/"+pieceCid, nil)
-	if err != nil {
-		return nil, 0, errors.WithStack(err)
-	}
 
-	req.Header.Add("Accept", "application/cbor")
-	resp, err := http.DefaultClient.Do(req)
-	if err != nil {
-		return nil, 0, errors.WithStack(err)
-	}
-	defer resp.Body.Close()
-	if resp.StatusCode != http.StatusOK {
-		return nil, resp.StatusCode, errors.Errorf("failed to get metadata: %s", resp.Status)
-	}
+	var lastErr error
+	var lastStatusCode int
 
-	var pieceMetadata contentprovider.PieceMetadata
-	err = cbor.NewDecoder(resp.Body).Decode(&pieceMetadata)
-	if err != nil {
-		return nil, 0, errors.Wrap(err, "failed to decode metadata")
-	}
+	// Lock to ensure only one request is in-flight
+	archiveReqLock.Lock()
+	defer archiveReqLock.Unlock()
 
-	cfg := make(map[string]string)
-	backend, ok := storagesystem.BackendMap[pieceMetadata.Storage.Type]
-	if !ok {
-		return nil, 0, errors.Newf("storage type %s is not supported", pieceMetadata.Storage.Type)
-	}
+	// Wait if we are rate-limited
+	nextAllowedRequestMu.Lock()
+	waitTime := time.Until(nextAllowedRequestTime)
+	nextAllowedRequestMu.Unlock()
 
-	prefix := pieceMetadata.Storage.Type + "-"
-	provider := pieceMetadata.Storage.Config["provider"]
-	providerOptions, err := underscore.Find(backend.ProviderOptions, func(providerOption storagesystem.ProviderOptions) bool {
-		return providerOption.Provider == provider
-	})
-	if err != nil {
-		return nil, 0, errors.Newf("provider '%s' is not supported", provider)
+	if waitTime > 0 {
+		Logger.Warnw("Rate limit active, waiting", "pieceCID", pieceCid, "waitTime", waitTime)
+		time.Sleep(waitTime)
 	}
 
-	for _, option := range providerOptions.Options {
-		if option.Default != nil {
-			cfg[option.Name] = fmt.Sprintf("%v", option.Default)
+	for attempt := 1; attempt <= maxRetries; attempt++ {
+		Logger.Infow("Fetching metadata from API", "pieceCID", pieceCid, "attempt", attempt)
+
+		// Set request timeout (increase timeout per attempt)
+		reqCtx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(ctx, 120*time.Second)
+		defer cancel()
+
+		req, err := http.NewRequestWithContext(reqCtx, http.MethodGet, api+"/piece/metadata/"+pieceCid, nil)
+		if err != nil {
+			Logger.Errorw("Failed to create request", "pieceCID", pieceCid, "error", err)
+			return nil, 0, errors.WithStack(err)
+		}
+
+		req.Header.Add("Accept", "application/cbor")
+		resp, err := http.DefaultClient.Do(req)
+		if err != nil {
+			Logger.Warnw("Failed to reach metadata API", "pieceCID", pieceCid, "attempt", attempt, "error", err)
+			lastErr = err
+			time.Sleep(exponentialBackoff(attempt))
+			continue // Retry
+		}
+		defer resp.Body.Close()
+
+	// Handle 429 Too Many Requests
+	if resp.StatusCode == http.StatusTooManyRequests {
+		retryAfter := resp.Header.Get("Retry-After")
+		retryDuration := exponentialBackoff(attempt) // Default backoff
+		if retryAfter != "" {
+			parsedWait, err := strconv.Atoi(retryAfter)
+			if err == nil {
+				retryDuration = time.Duration(parsedWait) * time.Second
+			}
 		}
-	}
 
-	for key, value := range pieceMetadata.Storage.Config {
-		cfg[key] = value
+		// Set global rate limit timer
+		nextAllowedRequestMu.Lock()
+		nextAllowedRequestTime = time.Now().Add(retryDuration)
+		nextAllowedRequestMu.Unlock()
+
+		Logger.Warnw("Rate limited (429), retrying after", "pieceCID", pieceCid, "retryAfter", retryDuration)
+		time.Sleep(retryDuration)
+		continue // Retry after waiting
 	}
 
-	for key, value := range config {
-		if strings.HasPrefix(key, prefix) {
-			trimmed := strings.TrimPrefix(key, prefix)
-			snake := strings.ReplaceAll(trimmed, "-", "_")
-			cfg[snake] = value
+		// Handle other errors
+		if resp.StatusCode != http.StatusOK {
+			Logger.Errorw("Metadata API returned error", "pieceCID", pieceCid, "statusCode", resp.StatusCode, "attempt", attempt)
+			lastStatusCode = resp.StatusCode
+			lastErr = errors.Errorf("failed to get metadata: %s", resp.Status)
+			time.Sleep(exponentialBackoff(attempt))
+			continue // Retry
+		}
+
+		// Decode metadata response
+		var pieceMetadata contentprovider.PieceMetadata
+		err = cbor.NewDecoder(resp.Body).Decode(&pieceMetadata)
+		if err != nil {
+			Logger.Errorw("Failed to decode metadata", "pieceCID", pieceCid, "attempt", attempt, "error", err)
+			lastErr = errors.Wrap(err, "failed to decode metadata")
+			time.Sleep(exponentialBackoff(attempt))
+			continue // Retry
 		}
+
+		Logger.Infow("Successfully fetched metadata", "pieceCID", pieceCid)
+		return &pieceMetadata, 0, nil
 	}
 
-	pieceMetadata.Storage.Config = cfg
-	storage.OverrideStorageWithClientConfig(&pieceMetadata.Storage, clientConfig)
-	return &pieceMetadata, 0, nil
+	// If all retries fail, return the last error
+	Logger.Errorw("All metadata fetch attempts failed", "pieceCID", pieceCid, "error", lastErr)
+	return nil, lastStatusCode, lastErr
+}
+
+// Exponential backoff function (2^attempt with jitter) - Ensure only one definition exists
+func exponentialBackoff(attempt int) time.Duration {
+	baseDelay := time.Duration(1<<attempt) * initialBackoff
+	jitter := time.Duration(rand.Intn(500)) * time.Millisecond
+	return baseDelay + jitter
 }
 
 func (d *DownloadServer) Start(ctx context.Context, exitErr chan<- error) error {
diff --git a/storagesystem/rclone.go b/storagesystem/rclone.go
index c3913b94..b8e48ebc 100644
--- a/storagesystem/rclone.go
+++ b/storagesystem/rclone.go
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 package storagesystem
 
 import (
+	"bufio"
 	"bytes"
 	"context"
 	"io"
@@ -199,12 +200,15 @@ func (r *readerWithRetry) Read(p []byte) (int, error) {
 	r.reader, err2 = r.object.Open(r.ctx, &fs.SeekOption{Offset: r.offset})
 	if err2 != nil {
 		return n, errors.Join(err, err2)
+		    	logger.Warnf("Read error: %s, retrying after 5s", err)
+    			time.Sleep(5 * time.Second) // 🔥 Add delay before retrying 🔥
 	}
 	return n, nil
 }
 
 func (h RCloneHandler) Read(ctx context.Context, path string, offset int64, length int64) (io.ReadCloser, fs.Object, error) {
 	logger.Debugw("Read: reading path", "type", h.fs.Name(), "root", h.fs.Root(), "path", path, "offset", offset, "length", length)
+
 	if length == 0 {
 		object, err := h.fs.NewObject(ctx, path)
 		if err != nil {
@@ -212,29 +216,43 @@ func (h RCloneHandler) Read(ctx context.Context, path string, offset int64, leng
 		}
 		return io.NopCloser(bytes.NewReader(nil)), object, nil
 	}
+
+	// Fetch object from rclone storage
 	object, err := h.fsNoHead.NewObject(ctx, path)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, nil, errors.Wrapf(err, "failed to open object %s", path)
 	}
+
 	option := &fs.SeekOption{Offset: offset}
+
+	// Open the object for reading
 	reader, err := object.Open(ctx, option)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, nil, errors.Wrapf(err, "failed to open object stream %s", path)
+	}
+
+	// Apply a 256MB buffer & wrap it in io.NopCloser to add a Close method
+	bufferedReader := io.NopCloser(bufio.NewReaderSize(reader, 256*1024*1024)) // ✅ Wrapped with io.NopCloser
+
 	readerWithRetry := &readerWithRetry{
 		ctx:                     ctx,
 		object:                  object,
-		reader:                  reader,
+		reader:                  bufferedReader, // ✅ Now implements io.ReadCloser
 		offset:                  offset,
 		retryDelay:              h.retryDelay,
 		retryBackoff:            h.retryBackoff,
 		retryCountMax:           h.retryMaxCount,
 		retryBackoffExponential: h.retryBackoffExponential,
 	}
+
 	if length < 0 {
-		return readerWithRetry, object, errors.WithStack(err)
+		return readerWithRetry, object, nil
 	}
+
 	return readCloser{
 		Reader: io.LimitReader(readerWithRetry, length),
 		Closer: readerWithRetry,
-	}, object, errors.WithStack(err)
+	}, object, nil
 }
 
 func NewRCloneHandler(ctx context.Context, s model.Storage) (*RCloneHandler, error) {
@@ -247,6 +265,7 @@ func NewRCloneHandler(ctx context.Context, s model.Storage) (*RCloneHandler, err
 	ctx, _ = fs.AddConfig(ctx)
 	config := fs.GetConfig(ctx)
 	overrideConfig(config, s)
+        config.BufferSize = 256 * 1024 * 1024    // 256MB buffer for smoother streaming
 
 	noHeadObjectConfig := make(map[string]string)
 	headObjectConfig := make(map[string]string)
@@ -345,7 +364,9 @@ func overrideConfig(config *fs.ConfigInfo, s model.Storage) {
 	if s.ClientConfig.UseServerModTime != nil {
 		config.UseServerModTime = *s.ClientConfig.UseServerModTime
 	}
-	if s.ClientConfig.LowLevelRetries != nil {
-		config.LowLevelRetries = *s.ClientConfig.LowLevelRetries
-	}
+	config.Transfers = 1  // Only 1 file download at a time
+        config.Checkers = 1   // Only 1 checker (avoids excessive HTTP requests)
+        config.LowLevelRetries = 10
+        config.MaxBacklog = 1
+        config.BufferSize = 256 * 1024 * 1024  // 256MB buffer for smoother streaming
 }