This paper presents a novel approach on bootstrapping Chord and other ring-based peer-to-peer (P2P) systems over mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs). Only interneighbor communication is used to build the ring topology in node ID space of structured P2P systems. Upon this ring entire Chord could be put into normal operation without lengthy stabilization. RAN protocol suite is proposed. It includes three patterns: distributed exhaustive, virtual centralized exhaustive, and random. Two exhaustive patterns adapt well to the disturbance caused by mobility. Simulation results show that the distributed exhaustive pattern has optimal overall performance. Once again the superiority of decentralization is demonstrated.
