A method of routing an Internet Protocol (IP) packet from a routing device is provided. The method includes receiving a first IP packet having a first IP header and a first IP data field, the first IP packet having a final destination corresponding to a destination device communicatively coupled to the routing device via a network route including at least two hops between the routing device and the final destination. A second IP packet having a second IP header and a second IP data field is generated. The second IP data field is a copy of the first IP data field, and a destination IP address field in the second IP header includes an IP address of a next hop on the network route. The second IP packet does not include an IP address of the final destination in the second IP header.