In an apparatus for forwarding a present data packet from a present source network entity to a present destination network entity, the present destination network entity is selected from a plurality of destination network entities. The apparatus receives the present data packet and selects the present destination network entity based on a load balancing criterion. The apparatus forwards the present data packet to the present destination network entity and receives a response data packet from the present network destination entity. The response data packet includes information on a data packet association. The data packet association is an association between a plurality of different data packets belonging to a data session between a data source and a data destination. The apparatus stores the information on the association.