A method for sending an Internet Protocol, IP, packet, comprising: acquiring, by a control plane of a router, an IP address and a MAC address of a first network element via Point-to-Point Protocol over Ethernet, PPPoE; sending, by the control plane of the router, the IP address of the first network element to a routing forward table in a data plane of the router to generate a first table entry; wherein a destination IP address of the first table entry is the IP address of the first network element, and an IP address of a next hop in the first table entry is the IP address of the first network element; sending, by the control plane of the router, the IP address and the MAC address of the first network element to an Address Resolution Protocol, ARP, buffer table in the data plane of the router to generate a second table entry; wherein a destination IP address of the second table entry is the IP address of the first network element, and a destination MAC address of the second table entry is the MAC address of the first network element; advertising, by the router, a routing message to a neighbor router of the router; wherein the routing message contains the IP address of the first network element; receiving a first IP packet forwarded by the neighbor router; wherein a source IP address of the first IP packet is an IP address of a second network element, a destination IP address of the first IP packet is the IP address of the first network element, and the IP address of the first network element and the IP address of the second network element are in different network segments; looking up, by the router, the first table entry according to the destination IP address of the first IP packet; looking up, by the router, the second table entry according to the IP address of the next hop in the first table entry; and forwarding, by the router, the first IP packet according to the destination MAC address of the second table entry. acquiring, by a control plane of a router, an IP address and a MAC address of a first network element via Point-to-Point Protocol over Ethernet, PPPoE; sending, by the control plane of the router, the IP address of the first network element to a routing forward table in a data plane of the router to generate a first table entry; wherein a destination IP address of the first table entry is the IP address of the first network element, and an IP address of a next hop in the first table entry is the IP address of the first network element; sending, by the control plane of the router, the IP address and the MAC address of the first network element to an Address Resolution Protocol, ARP, buffer table in the data plane of the router to generate a second table entry; wherein a destination IP address of the second table entry is the IP address of the first network element, and a destination MAC address of the second table entry is the MAC address of the first network element; advertising, by the router, a routing message to a neighbor router of the router; wherein the routing message contains the IP address of the first network element; receiving a first IP packet forwarded by the neighbor router; wherein a source IP address of the first IP packet is an IP address of a second network element, a destination IP address of the first IP packet is the IP address of the first network element, and the IP address of the first network element and the IP address of the second network element are in different network segments; looking up, by the router, the first table entry according to the destination IP address of the first IP packet; looking up, by the router, the second table entry according to the IP address of the next hop in the first table entry; and forwarding, by the router, the first IP packet according to the destination MAC address of the second table entry.