A clone of social networks to decentralized bootstrapping P2P networks

Bootstrapping is critical in any P2P network, since, on initial startup, a peer must bootstrap and find at least one neighbor. Existing P2P networks simply rely on centralized servers or static peers for bootstrapping, which may become a single point of failure. Recently, the shutdown of BT web-sites in China has caused a serious problem in BT bootstrapping. A decentralized way to bootstrap P2P networks is to clone existing social networks. In particular, a new peer obtains addresses of potential neighbors by sniffing instant messaging packets (e.g., MSN or QQ packets). With such addresses, the peer can bootstrap neighbors and join the network without the help of any centralized server.