Techniques for initializing a connection in a peer-to-peer replication environment. Responsive to a request to add a target node to a data replication group, embodiments receive a first message, at a target node, from an initiator node within the data replication group, indicating that the initiator node will begin replicating changes to the target node without waiting for any acknowledgements relating to the first message. The changes are applied to a first instance of a data entity on the initiator node. A second message is transmitted, from the target node, to at least one other member in the data replication group, announcing that the target node is joining the data replication group. Embodiments receive a plurality of replicated changes, at the target node, from the initiator node, and process each replicated change in the plurality of replicated changes against a second instance of the data entity at the target node.