diff --git a/lib/bootstrap/bootstrap.go b/lib/bootstrap/bootstrap.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e4b6172
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/bootstrap/bootstrap.go
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+package bootstrap
+
+import "github.com/hkparker/go-i2p/lib/common"
+
+// interface defining a way to bootstrap into the i2p network
+type Bootstrap interface {
+	// get more peers for bootstrap
+	// try obtaining at most n router infos
+	// if n is 0 then try obtaining as many router infos as possible
+	// returns nil and error if we cannot fetch ANY router infos
+	// returns a channel that yields 1 slice of router infos containing n or fewer router infos, caller must close channel after use
+	GetPeers(n int) (chan []common.RouterInfo, error)
+}
diff --git a/lib/bootstrap/doc.go b/lib/bootstrap/doc.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c85b2ad
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/bootstrap/doc.go
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+//
+// provides generic interfaces for initial bootstrap into network and network reseeding
+//
+package bootstrap
diff --git a/lib/common/base64/base64.go b/lib/common/base64/base64.go
index 9b3ea29..f056796 100644
--- a/lib/common/base64/base64.go
+++ b/lib/common/base64/base64.go
@@ -7,7 +7,11 @@ import (
 	b64 "encoding/base64"
 )
 
-var I2PEncoding *b64.Encoding = b64.NewEncoding("ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz0123456789-~")
+// i2p base64 alphabet
+const Alphabet = "ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz0123456789-~"
+
+// i2p base64 encoding
+var I2PEncoding *b64.Encoding = b64.NewEncoding(Alphabet)
 
 //
 // Return a go string of the I2P base64
@@ -16,3 +20,11 @@ var I2PEncoding *b64.Encoding = b64.NewEncoding("ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZabcde
 func EncodeToString(data []byte) string {
 	return I2PEncoding.EncodeToString(data)
 }
+
+//
+// decode string using i2p base64 encoding
+// returns error if data is malfromed
+//
+func DecodeFromString(str string) (d []byte, err error) {
+	return I2PEncoding.DecodeString(str)
+}
diff --git a/lib/common/hash.go b/lib/common/hash.go
index 14fcb9f..553eba4 100644
--- a/lib/common/hash.go
+++ b/lib/common/hash.go
@@ -1,3 +1,27 @@
 package common
 
+import (
+	"crypto/sha256"
+	"io"
+)
+
+// sha256 hash of some data
 type Hash [32]byte
+
+// calculate sha256 of a byte slice
+func HashData(data []byte) (h Hash) {
+	h = sha256.Sum256(data)
+	return
+}
+
+// calulate sha256 of all data being read from an io.Reader
+// return error if one occurs while reading from reader
+func HashReader(r io.Reader) (h Hash, err error) {
+	sha := sha256.New()
+	_, err = io.Copy(sha, r)
+	if err == nil {
+		d := sha.Sum(nil)
+		copy(h[:], d)
+	}
+	return
+}
diff --git a/lib/common/router_info.go b/lib/common/router_info.go
index 2e3b7d1..67c9f89 100644
--- a/lib/common/router_info.go
+++ b/lib/common/router_info.go
@@ -89,6 +89,19 @@ func (router_info RouterInfo) RouterIdentity() (router_identity RouterIdentity,
 	return
 }
 
+//
+// Calculate this RouterInfo's Identity Hash (the sha256 of the RouterIdentity)
+// returns error if the RouterIdentity is malformed
+//
+func (router_info RouterInfo) IdentHash() (h Hash, err error) {
+	var ri RouterIdentity
+	ri, err = router_info.RouterIdentity()
+	if err == nil {
+		h = HashData(ri)
+	}
+	return
+}
+
 //
 // Return the Date the RouterInfo was published and any errors encountered parsing the RouterInfo.
 //
@@ -196,6 +209,7 @@ func (router_info RouterInfo) Options() (mapping Mapping) {
 func (router_info RouterInfo) Signature() (signature Signature) {
 	head := router_info.optionsLocation()
 	size := head + router_info.optionsSize()
+	// TODO: signature is not always 40 bytes, is 40 bytes for DSA only
 	signature = Signature(router_info[size : size+40])
 	return
 }
diff --git a/lib/config/bootstrap.go b/lib/config/bootstrap.go
index 0d7b1b1..e8cee6f 100644
--- a/lib/config/bootstrap.go
+++ b/lib/config/bootstrap.go
@@ -1,5 +1,23 @@
 package config
 
-type BootstrapConfig struct {
-	LowPeerThreshold int
+// configuration for 1 reseed server
+type ReseedConfig struct {
+	// url of reseed server
+	Url string
+	// fingerprint of reseed su3 signing key
+	SU3Fingerprint string
+}
+
+type BootstrapConfig struct {
+	// if we have less than this many peers we should reseed
+	LowPeerThreshold int
+	// reseed servers
+	ReseedServers []*ReseedConfig
+}
+
+// default configuration for network bootstrap
+var DefaultBootstrapConfig = BootstrapConfig{
+	LowPeerThreshold: 10,
+	// TODO: add reseed servers
+	ReseedServers: []*ReseedConfig{},
 }
diff --git a/lib/config/router.go b/lib/config/router.go
index 2aaea6e..eb87ab1 100644
--- a/lib/config/router.go
+++ b/lib/config/router.go
@@ -2,12 +2,14 @@ package config
 
 // router.config options
 type RouterConfig struct {
-	NetDbDir string
-
-	Bootstrap BootstrapConfig
+	// netdb configuration
+	NetDb *NetDbConfig
+	// configuration for bootstrapping into the network
+	Bootstrap *BootstrapConfig
 }
 
 // defaults for router
-var Router = &RouterConfig{
-	NetDbDir: "./netDb",
+var DefaultRouterConfig = &RouterConfig{
+	NetDb:     &DefaultNetDbConfig,
+	Bootstrap: &DefaultBootstrapConfig,
 }
diff --git a/lib/crypto/doc.go b/lib/crypto/doc.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5a7dfa5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/crypto/doc.go
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+//
+// package for i2p specific crpytography
+//
+package crypto
diff --git a/lib/netdb/bootstrap.go b/lib/netdb/bootstrap.go
deleted file mode 100644
index b96e08c..0000000
--- a/lib/netdb/bootstrap.go
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,13 +0,0 @@
-package netdb
-
-type Reseed interface {
-	// do reseed, return nil on success otherwise error
-	// sends down all Netdb entries down chan
-	// closes channel when done
-	Reseed(chnl chan *Entry) error
-}
-
-func GetRandomReseed() Reseed {
-	// TODO: hardcoded value
-	return HTTPSReseed("https://i2p.rocks:445/")
-}
diff --git a/lib/netdb/entry.go b/lib/netdb/entry.go
index 5f3e250..b9f1873 100644
--- a/lib/netdb/entry.go
+++ b/lib/netdb/entry.go
@@ -1,16 +1,14 @@
 package netdb
 
 import (
+	"github.com/hkparker/go-i2p/lib/common"
 	"io"
-	"path/filepath"
 )
 
+// netdb entry
+// wraps a router info and provides serialization
 type Entry struct {
-	fname string
-}
-
-func (e *Entry) FilePath(n StdNetDB) (str string) {
-	return filepath.Join(string(n), e.fname)
+	ri common.RouterInfo
 }
 
 func (e *Entry) WriteTo(w io.Writer) (err error) {
diff --git a/lib/netdb/kad.go b/lib/netdb/kad.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..cc51f7d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/netdb/kad.go
@@ -0,0 +1,32 @@
+package netdb
+
+import (
+	"github.com/hkparker/go-i2p/lib/common"
+	"github.com/hkparker/go-i2p/lib/tunnel"
+	"time"
+)
+
+// resolves router infos with recursive kademlia lookup
+type kadResolver struct {
+	// netdb to store result into
+	netDB NetworkDatabase
+	// what tunnel pool to use when doing lookup
+	// if nil the lookup will be done directly
+	pool *tunnel.Pool
+}
+
+// TODO: implement
+func (kr *kadResolver) Lookup(h common.Hash, timeout time.Duration) (chnl chan common.RouterInfo) {
+	return
+}
+
+// create a new resolver that stores result into a NetworkDatabase and uses a tunnel pool for the lookup
+func KademliaResolver(netDb NetworkDatabase, pool *tunnel.Pool) (r Resolver) {
+	if pool != nil && netDb != nil {
+		r = &kadResolver{
+			netDB: netDb,
+			pool:  pool,
+		}
+	}
+	return
+}
diff --git a/lib/netdb/netdb.go b/lib/netdb/netdb.go
index 5577bac..10146be 100644
--- a/lib/netdb/netdb.go
+++ b/lib/netdb/netdb.go
@@ -1,14 +1,35 @@
 package netdb
 
 import (
+	"github.com/hkparker/go-i2p/lib/bootstrap"
 	"github.com/hkparker/go-i2p/lib/common"
+	"time"
 )
 
+// resolves unknown RouterInfos given the hash of their RouterIdentity
+type Resolver interface {
+	// resolve a router info by hash
+	// return a chan that yields the found RouterInfo or nil if it could not be found after timeout
+	Lookup(hash common.Hash, timeout time.Duration) chan common.RouterInfo
+}
+
 // i2p network database, storage of i2p RouterInfos
 type NetworkDatabase interface {
-	// obtain a RouterInfo by its hash
-	// return a channel that gives 1 RouterInfo or nil if the RouterInfo cannot be found
-	GetRouterInfo(hash common.Hash) chan *common.RouterInfo
+	// obtain a RouterInfo by its hash locally
+	// return a RouterInfo if we found it locally
+	// return nil if the RouterInfo cannot be found locally
+	GetRouterInfo(hash common.Hash) common.RouterInfo
+
 	// store a router info locally
-	StoreRouterInfo(ri *common.RouterInfo)
+	StoreRouterInfo(ri common.RouterInfo)
+
+	// try obtaining more peers with a bootstrap instance until we get minRouters number of router infos
+	// returns error if bootstrap.GetPeers returns an error otherwise returns nil
+	Reseed(b bootstrap.Bootstrap, minRouters int) error
+
+	// return how many router infos we have
+	Size() int
+
+	// ensure underlying resources exist , i.e. directories, files, configs
+	Ensure() error
 }
diff --git a/lib/netdb/reseed.go b/lib/netdb/reseed.go
deleted file mode 100644
index 5e0b2be..0000000
--- a/lib/netdb/reseed.go
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,8 +0,0 @@
-package netdb
-
-type HTTPSReseed string
-
-func (r HTTPSReseed) Reseed(chnl chan *Entry) (err error) {
-	close(chnl)
-	return
-}
diff --git a/lib/netdb/std.go b/lib/netdb/std.go
index 5016a78..d482d6b 100644
--- a/lib/netdb/std.go
+++ b/lib/netdb/std.go
@@ -1,14 +1,41 @@
 package netdb
 
 import (
-	log "github.com/golang/glog"
+	"bytes"
+	"fmt"
+	log "github.com/Sirupsen/logrus"
+	"github.com/hkparker/go-i2p/lib/bootstrap"
+	"github.com/hkparker/go-i2p/lib/common"
+	"github.com/hkparker/go-i2p/lib/common/base64"
 	"io"
 	"os"
+	"path/filepath"
 )
 
-// standard network database implementation
+// standard network database implementation using local filesystem skiplist
 type StdNetDB string
 
+func (db StdNetDB) GetRouterInfo(hash common.Hash) (chnl chan common.RouterInfo) {
+	fname := db.SkiplistFile(hash)
+	f, err := os.Open(fname)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil
+	}
+	buff := new(bytes.Buffer)
+	_, err = io.Copy(buff, f)
+	f.Close()
+	chnl = make(chan common.RouterInfo)
+	chnl <- common.RouterInfo(buff.Bytes())
+	return
+}
+
+// get the skiplist file that a RouterInfo with this hash would go in
+func (db StdNetDB) SkiplistFile(hash common.Hash) (fpath string) {
+	fname := base64.EncodeToString(hash[:])
+	fpath = filepath.Join(db.Path(), fmt.Sprintf("r%s", fname[0]), fmt.Sprintf("routerInfo-%s.dat", fname))
+	return
+}
+
 // get netdb path
 func (db StdNetDB) Path() string {
 	return string(db)
@@ -17,26 +44,38 @@ func (db StdNetDB) Path() string {
 //
 // return how many routers we know about in our network database
 //
-func (db StdNetDB) KnownPeerCount() (routers int) {
+func (db StdNetDB) Size() (routers int) {
 	return
 }
 
 // return true if the network db directory exists and is writable
 func (db StdNetDB) Exists() bool {
-	_, err := os.Stat(db.Path())
-	return err != nil
+	p := db.Path()
+	// check root directory
+	_, err := os.Stat(p)
+	if err == nil {
+		// check subdirectories for skiplist
+		for _, c := range base64.Alphabet {
+			if _, err = os.Stat(filepath.Join(p, fmt.Sprintf("r%s", c))); err != nil {
+				return false
+			}
+		}
+	}
+	return err == nil
 }
 
 func (db StdNetDB) SaveEntry(e *Entry) (err error) {
 	var f io.WriteCloser
-	f, err = os.OpenFile(e.FilePath(db), os.O_WRONLY, 0600)
+	var h common.Hash
+	h, err = e.ri.IdentHash()
 	if err == nil {
-		err = e.WriteTo(f)
-		if err != nil {
-			log.Errorf("failed to write netdb entry: %s", err.Error())
+		f, err = os.OpenFile(db.SkiplistFile(h), os.O_WRONLY|os.O_CREATE, 0700)
+		if err == nil {
+			err = e.WriteTo(f)
+			f.Close()
 		}
-		f.Close()
-	} else {
+	}
+	if err != nil {
 		log.Errorf("failed to save netdb entry: %s", err.Error())
 	}
 	return
@@ -44,49 +83,34 @@ func (db StdNetDB) SaveEntry(e *Entry) (err error) {
 
 // reseed if we have less than minRouters known routers
 // returns error if reseed failed
-func (db StdNetDB) Reseed(minRouters int) (err error) {
-	current := db.KnownPeerCount()
-	if current <= minRouters {
-		// we need to reseed
-		rs := GetRandomReseed()
-		log.Infof("Reseeding from %s", rs)
-		chnl := make(chan *Entry)
-		// receive entries from reseed
-		go func(c chan *Entry) {
-			count := 0
-			for {
-				e, ok := <-c
-				if ok {
-					// got an entry
-					// save it to our netdb
-					err := db.SaveEntry(e)
-					if err == nil {
-						count++
-					}
-				}
-			}
-		}(chnl) // call
-		err = rs.Reseed(chnl)
-	}
+func (db StdNetDB) Reseed(b bootstrap.Bootstrap, minRouters int) (err error) {
 	return
 }
 
-// ensure that the network database exists and is seeded with a minimum number of routers
-func (db StdNetDB) Ensure(minRouters int) (err error) {
+// ensure that the network database exists
+func (db StdNetDB) Ensure() (err error) {
 	if !db.Exists() {
 		err = db.Create()
 	}
-	if err == nil {
-		// database directory ensured
-		// try to reseed
-		err = db.Reseed(minRouters)
-	}
 	return
 }
 
 // create base network database directory
 func (db StdNetDB) Create() (err error) {
-	log.Infof("Create network database in %s", db.Path())
-	err = os.Mkdir(db.Path(), 0600)
+	mode := os.FileMode(0600)
+	p := db.Path()
+	log.Infof("Create network database in %s", p)
+
+	// create root for skiplist
+	err = os.Mkdir(p, mode)
+	if err == nil {
+		// create all subdirectories for skiplist
+		for _, c := range base64.Alphabet {
+			err = os.Mkdir(filepath.Join(p, fmt.Sprintf("r%s", c)), mode)
+			if err != nil {
+				return
+			}
+		}
+	}
 	return
 }
diff --git a/lib/router/router.go b/lib/router/router.go
index 57cf013..97fff7c 100644
--- a/lib/router/router.go
+++ b/lib/router/router.go
@@ -11,19 +11,24 @@ type Router struct {
 	ndb netdb.StdNetDB
 }
 
+// create router with default configuration
 func CreateRouter() (r *Router, err error) {
-	cfg := config.Router
-	r = &Router{
-		cfg: cfg,
-		ndb: netdb.StdNetDB(cfg.NetDbDir),
-	}
+	cfg := config.DefaultRouterConfig
+	r, err = FromConfig(cfg)
+	return
+}
+
+// create router from configuration
+func FromConfig(c *config.RouterConfig) (r *Router, err error) {
+
+	r = new(Router)
 	return
 }
 
 // run i2p router mainloop
 func (r *Router) Run() {
 	// make sure the netdb is ready
-	err := r.ndb.Ensure(r.cfg.Bootstrap.LowPeerThreshold)
+	err := r.ndb.Ensure()
 	if err == nil {
 		// netdb ready
 	}
diff --git a/lib/tunnel/pool.go b/lib/tunnel/pool.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..de02722
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/tunnel/pool.go
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+package tunnel
+
+// a pool of tunnels which we have created
+type Pool struct {
+}