A forwarding device, such as a router, in a network may communicate with a service device according to a networking protocol. According to exemplary embodiments, logic for communicating according to the networking protocol may be relocated from the forwarding device to one or more remote controllers. The remote controllers may encapsulate networking messages and forward the networking messages to the forwarding device using a tunnel, thereby allowing the messages to follow the same path through the network as the messages would have followed if the messages had originated at the forwarding device. Accordingly, the forwarding device can be made simpler, updates to the networking protocol or remote controllers may be made without ceasing operations at the forwarding device, errors in the network may be quickly diagnosed, and a backup remote controller may take responsibility for communications in the network if a primary controller is rendered inoperable.