1. A computer-implemented method for forwarding packets, the method comprising: receiving, by a content producing device, a packet that corresponds to a first Interest message from a content requesting device, wherein the first Interest includes a name; responsive to determining that additional time is required to generate a matching Content Object for the first Interest, generating a notification message which indicates a time period after which a second Interest is to be sent out by the content requesting device; and transmitting the notification message to the content requesting device, thereby facilitating the content requesting device to handle a potential timeout event.