An apparatus and a method for performing an efficient address search in an ethernet switch having a plurality of ports. Information packets where the source and destination addresses are one and the same are rejected and not processed. When destination address is not in a local port, the main look up table for the entire switch is then consulted. If the main look up table does not have the destination address, the main look up table learns the address and the port broadcasts the information packet to all ports in the switch. A hash algorithm is used to look up addresses in tables. Thus, more efficient processing of information in the switch can be realized.