[eatonphil]

This is the first time I'm seeing IPFS. So when the IPFS servers are running, they register themselves with some central node to let everyone know they exist/are online? This is how they get away without a static IP address? Am I thinking about this correctly?

[RX14]

No, IPFS uses a distributed hash table to find content and nodes on the network. The only centralised servers are the gateways between the regular Internet and IPFS, due to necessity. However it is possible to run your own gateway, and many do.

[eatonphil]

How are new nodes discovered or registered?

[perfmode]

For now, there is a default bootstrap list:

https://github.com/ipfs/go-ipfs/blob/7fbfecf6fab5920317de2e9...

When new nodes enter the network, they connect to a subset of this list and use this as a starting point for discovery.

After that, queries/operations on the DHT will result in the discovery of other nodes.

[lgierth]

The bootstrap list isn't hard coded, it's just a default. Here's how to work with the bootstrap list: https://ipfs.io/ipfs/QmTkzDwWqPbnAh5YiV5VwcTLnGdwSNsNTn2aDxd... (from ipfs.io/docs/examples)