We present a generalized distance metric that can be used to implement routing strategies and identify routing table entries to reach the root node for a given key, in a DHT (Distributed Hash Table) network based on either Chord, Kademlia, Tapestry, or Pastry. The generalization shows that all the above four DHT algorithms are in fact, the same algorithm but with different parameters in distance representation. We also proposes that nodes can have routing tables of varying sizes based on their memory capabilities but with the fact that each node must have at least two entries, one for the node closest from it, and the other for the node from whom it is closest in each ring components for all the algorithms. Messages will always reach the correct root nodes by following the above rule. We also further observe that in any network, if the distance metric to define the root node in the DHT is same at all the nodes, then the root node for a key will also be the same, irrespective of the size of the routing table at different nodes.

翻译：我们提出了一种通用距离度量，可用于实现路由策略并确定路由表条目，从而在基于Chord、Kademlia、Tapestry或Pastry的DHT（分布式哈希表）网络中到达给定键的根节点。该泛化表明，上述四种DHT算法实质上属于同一算法，仅在距离表示的参数上存在差异。我们还提出，节点可根据自身内存能力拥有不同大小的路由表，但每个节点必须至少包含两个条目：一个指向距离其最近的节点，另一个指向各环组件中距离其最近的节点（适用于所有算法）。遵循上述规则，消息总能到达正确的根节点。我们进一步观察到，在任何网络中，如果用于定义DHT根节点的距离度量在所有节点处保持一致，则无论各节点路由表大小如何，同一键对应的根节点也将保持不变。