A network switch for network communications includes a protocol determining means for determining whether an incoming packet is an IP packet or an IPX packet. L3 lookup tables, IP router tables, and IPX router tables are provided. A concurrent lookup is performed of the L3 lookup table, and either the IP router table or the IPX router table, depending upon the determination of the packet type. If a match is found on the L3 table, the packet is forwarded based on the L3 match. If no match is found on the L3 lookup, then a longest prefix cache lookup is performed on the appropriate IP or IPX router table, and the packet is forwarded based upon the match of the longest prefix cache lookup. If no match is provided, then the packet is forwarded to the CPU interface.