IPNI aims to address the 'content routing' problem in a way that is more private and with better UX than a DHT, while not compromising on decentralization or resiliency.

To do that, the IPNI design incorporates several distinct mechanims:
* Records are encrypted: a key-value looks like `derived hash`->`provider encrypted by primary hash`. This design means that the system does not know what is queried for to replay queries, and does not know which providersa are returned.
* A client only makes one or two queries - and only reveals their network address to the closest IPNI federated nodes. This provides both lower latency, and less exposure than a DHT.
* The client can cross-validate between multiple federated nodes to reduce reliance on trusting or needing availability from an individual server.