In the real world, how is a node mapped to the position on the ring, I have the following questions -
Each nodes's IP address is hashed using SHA-1 hashing algorithm which will produce this hash - 73.128.154.69 hashed into 60CBFB98C9052A425D684A2C3D8D8D38424129A3
This should have been in the range of 0 to (2^m) - 1 where m is the number of bits
How should I convert this hashed value into a number
Will the IP address after leaving and re-joining the ring get the same placeholder position?
Are placeholders or node positions ordered numbers at all?